What if they went back? - Sicilian Birds of Passage

I have mentioned before that I enjoy researching my husband's Italian roots. Not only did his Italian ancestors leave their homeland of countless generations in search of a better life, they traveled through Ellis Island and were part of the immigrant lifestyle that has made New York City what it is today. I'm fascinated by their trials and tribulations.

Currently, I'm trying to iron out the path the Pagano line took from Ventimiglia, Sicily, to New York City where they settled. There were two Pagano men that originally traveled from Ventimiglia in 1892: Salvatore and Vito Pagano. Their port of arrival was New Orleans, where many Sicilian immigrants traveled. Salvatore and Vito were close in age so I had assumed they were brothers, but I found Sicilian records that indicated they were not brothers...perhaps cousins? That is a fact yet to be discovered. Somehow both men ended up in New York City prior to 1896. I do not know how they got there or what precipitated their move from New Orleans north. More than likely it was work related. Family stories indicate that they worked in the sugar cane fields in New Orleans. Perhaps farming yet again in their new home was just more than they wanted to deal with.

I know that both men were "birds of passage" that returned to Sicily to retrieve their wives and younger children. Where are the records tracing these arrivals by in Sicily? The United States did not begin to record individuals leaving the United States until 1908. How do I track their return trips?

Italian naming patterns

I recently checked out The Family Tree Guide Book to Europe, by Erin Nevius and the editors of the Family Tree Magazine, from my local library. The book looks at 14 different countries across Europe and gives tips and ideas for researching your ancestors from those countries.

One thing that grabbed my attention is the naming patterns followed by southern Italian families. The pattern is one that I believe my husband's ancestors followed and I am hoping to follow the pattern to further trace back the maternal lines. Here is how it goes:

- First son named after father's father
- Second son named after mother's father
- Third son named after the father
- First daughter named after father's mother
- Second daughter named after mother's mother
- Third daughter named after mother

Names were also used again if a child were to die in order to maintain the naming pattern. In the case of the Pagano family the family names are as follows:

Salvatore and Mary Pagano deviated from the convention with their third son, named Guiseppe rather than Salvatore. It is possible that the Paganos had other children that I have yet to discover. In the case of my Pagano family, they did not continue the naming pattern once they arrived in America in the 1890s. I wonder if this was one way to seal their Americanism and separate from the old ways. I now plan to apply this naming pattern to other Italian lines and see if that can open up some new leads.

Yet another set of Italian names I can't trace

I have thoroughly enjoyed researching my husband's Italian ancestry. It is mostly because deep down inside I wish I were Italian. But I also enjoy the successes I find when I hit brick walls in Italy. They seem that much sweeter because they were difficult to overcome.

I have a new set of Italian names I can't trace. The main line I am researching is Pagano. I have long since traced them to Ventimiglia, Sicily and have found birth and marriage records for the family via LDS research. The Ingraffia family married in to this Pagano line following their immigration to New York City. I have not had as much success with this line. Although I know they immigrated in 1898, I don't know from whence they came. The father of this line, Angelo Ingraffia, died prior to the immigration and the mother, Catherine Spalitto, remarried...which caused all kinds of confusion in my research. Now it is her maiden name that causes me untold grief.

I have seen this name as Spragleti, Spalliffan, and Spalletto. I recently received a copy of her death certificate:

Yes, yet another spelling. The cherry on top is her mother's maiden name. Normally a wondrous thing, but in this case it opens up another can of worms. During a brief research foray on the above names I find nothing. I can find little to no trace of the surname "Narfia." Not even a hint of where the name originates. I'm not sure if the Spalittos, Narfias and Ingraffias are from Sicily or somewhere else in Italy.

I have found two ship manifests that may help in my search. One manifest lists a Giovanna Ingraffia (possibly my husband's great-grandmother) arriving in New York November 16, 1899, her last residence listed as Mezzojuso. A second manifest lists a Catherina Spalletto and Pietrina Ingraffia arriving in New York on June 28, 1899, last residence listed as Mezzojuso. I do not have conclusive proof that these manifests are for the individuals I'm researching, but at this point it's all I have to go on. Ah, the joys of research.

Help from my Friends Friday - Paganos on the 1900 census

I am starting this new blog prompt as a way for genealogy bloggers to get help from fellow researchers on their smaller brick walls. Every once and a while we all need a little breather from our own research and this prompt is meant to get you to think for a moment about someone else's brick walls. It might just give you a fresh insight in to your own research. It is ideal as a prompt for some of the smaller genealogy bricks that need a fresh set of eyes.

I have spent all morning searching for the Pagano family, which I wrote about here, on the 1900 census. Actually, I've been looking for them on this document for a couple of years, but this morning was my most recent attempt. I refuse to believe that they were not counted. I have tried every trick I know for census searches: searching by first name only, searching by the mother's maiden name, searching page by page near every residence the family ever lived at. I even tried Steve Morse's great census search engines, but I got nothing. Absolutely nothing.

I may have found Filippo or Philip Pagano:

In this household is a Filippo Pagant, born January 1880 in Italy, immigrated in 1892 and was working as a barber. My Philip Pagano was a barber all his life, was born in January 1880 in Italy and immigrated in 1892. The Filippo on the census is listed as living at 264 W. 35th Street. In 1910, my Philip Pagano lived just blocks away at 422 W. 35th Street. It seems like too much of a coincidence to set aside, but I have no proof.

But what about the rest of the Paganos? The father, Salvatore, died in December 1899, so he is out of the picture. That leaves his wife, one son and two (or three) daughters to find on the census. Here is the information I have on the rest of the family:

Maria Rosa (Cassata) Pagano - wife of Salvatore, born in Italy circa 1858; immigrated circa 1896; also documented as Rose Pagano, Mary Pagano and Marie Pagano.
John Pagano - second son of Salvatore and Mary, born in Italy January 1883; immigrated circa 1897; given name is Giovanni, but found on all American documents as John.
Josephine Pagano - daughter of Salvatore and Mary, born in Italy March 1891; immigrated circa 1896; given name is Guiseppa, but listed on all American documents as Josephine.
Mary Pagano - daughter of Salvatore and Mary, born in New York City in 1899.
There may also be a third daughter, Concetta, born circa 1888.

All of the Paganos are listed on the 1910 census (except for Salvatore and Concetta) living together at 422 West 35th Street, Manhattan, New York. Later they move to the Bronx. Salvatore lived at 224 Chrystie Street, Manhattan, when he died in December 1899.

You may ask why is the 1900 census so important to your research? Well, frankly, it's not. It will not advance my knowledge of the family much more but I refuse to let it beat me! I appreciate any thoughts you may have on ways to put a beat down on this census and drag my Paganos out of it.

I wish I were Sicilian...they have some great resources

I'm not Italian, but I wish I were. I have many friends that are of Italian descent and after hearing their stories I know I would have loved to have gone to Nona's house every Sunday for a massive portion of pasta. I am jealous of my husband because he has Italian roots. I must vicariously live through him.

As I have been researching my husband's family I have come across many great Italian resources. My husband's Italian lines start with the Pagano family. They were from Ventimiglia, Sicily and immigrated to America in the early 20th century. I find this line fascinating, not only because they are Italian, but because they traveled to America during the massive migration of immigrants to the United States. It seems that the patriarch of the family, Salvatore Pagano, immigrated with his son, Philip, on the Trinacria, a ship bound from Palermo, Italy to New Orleans arriving on November 7, 1892.

Philip was only 12 at the time. By the time I find the family again, they are living in New York City. Philip has married a girl named Jennie and has four children. The family is living at 422 W. 35th Street and in one home there are 15 people. Philip and his family live with his brother John and his family, his mother and two sisters and a brother-in-law. Notably missing from the equation is Salvatore, the patriarch of the family. He is not listed on the census and his wife is not listed as a widow.

I wanted to find out more about the intervening years between records: 1892-1910. A lot had happened in that 18-year span. I do not know how Salvatore and Philip got to New York City, although family stories say that they worked in the sugar cane fields in Louisiana for a time. I have not found proof of that, but it is not farfetched. Many Sicilians traveled to New Orleans, worked for a time and then traveled elsewhere in the States to settle. I tried every trick in my genealogical book, but try as I might I could not find the family on the 1900 census. One of Philip's sisters, Mary, is listed on the 1910 census as having been born in 1899 in New York, so I know they were in New York by 1900, I just don't know if they made it on the census.

I was at a standstill. I decided to look in to some Italian genealogy websites to see if I could get some tips. I came across the Italian Genealogical Group website which has a wealth of databases focusing on the Italians of New York City. On this site I was able to find a marriage for Philip Pagano and Giovanna Ingraffia, which happened in 1902. With this information I was able to send a request to NYC for a copy. I found quite a bit of information on the website and it opened countless doors.

As I mentioned, the Pagano family was originally from Ventimiglia, Sicily. When I searched for genealogy and Ventimiglia I found the Sicilian Family Tree. This site provides information on several Sicilian cities and databases of vital record information. Volunteers have provided transcriptions of some of their forays in to LDS records. It is a great resource for Sicilian research.

I can't change my heritage to Italian, but I can at least revel in their great resources.