Hi there and thanks for any leads you may be able to provide me. My sister has embarked on our family tree and has done a lot of work and received a lot of help. We are at a stumped point and cannot locate the origins of part of our family despite having researched and visited the village in Sicily. In fact, the home where our grandfather was raised is a huge hole with the neighbors claiming they have no idea why. My spouse and I lived in Italy for some time and are comfortable with the language, etc.. Besides writing here, my next step is spending another trip there with records at the commune.

ALLORA...here's what we have beginning with my grandfather

1. Guiseppe Catarello (Joseph Patrell) b.Mar 3 1902 Serradifalco Sicily (via Volpe 6) d. 1991Michigan

2. Guiseppe Catarello b. Sept 27 1872 Mussomeli Sicily. d. May 24 1943 Detroit, MI married Rosalia Barbiera b. Jul 21 1875 Serradifalco. d. ?

3. Vincenzo Catarello b. Apr 3 1843 Mussomeli d. ? married G. Montalto (Montante) b. Mar 17 1850 Serradifalco d. ?

4. Guiseppe Catarello 1793-1871 Mussomeli married Ludovica Tuzzeo 1803-1871 Mussomeli

It is known that #2 Guiseppe left Mussomeli to work in the sulpher mine in Serradifalco. Maybe #3 Vincenzo did the same??? The cognome Montalto/Montante is native to Serradifalco with many relatives still there. I think #4 Tuzzeo cognome is still found in Mussomeli.

We are stumped at the Catarello point. I've been told it's not a native Sicilian name and despite having ancestors from both villages, no one with that last name exists there today. My grandfather did not provide any stories of family origin except being from Sicily. Any help is appreciated!

The surname Catarello was originally from Torino (piemonte) area with two listings in early 1700's from the town of Prascorsano (there is one there today). The surname is not listed inthe Italian surname dictionary and is either imported and italianized or local in origin based upon nickname, anecdotal or work related. It has no word meaning.

The surname shows up in Sicily in the 1800's in Naso, Messina province. www.familysearch.org under ancestor search relates.

If you go to www.paginebianche.it and put in Catarello inthe firstline and Piemonte for that entire region and click Cerca for all Catarello in that area.Do the same for the LAZIO region where there are 3 other Catarello persons listed. Go to www.gens.labo.net/en/cognomi for surname distribution thruout Italy which remains as Piemonte and Lazio. =Peter=

I've forwarded the info to my sister and we'll begin looking into this information.

Thanks!

PeterTimber wrote:

If you go to www.paginebianche.it and put in Catarello inthe firstline and Piemonte for that entire region and click Cerca for all Catarello in that area.Do the same for the LAZIO region where there are 3 other Catarello persons listed. Go to www.gens.labo.net/en/cognomi for surname distribution thruout Italy which remains as Piemonte and Lazio. =Peter=

You know, I did that last year and couldn't believe the name was found that far north! I should not have counted that out. Who would think that someone would migrate that great of distance in the 1700's??

Everything just took longer then but life does not change much only the plumbing does. =Peter=

While we are at it, there is a heraldic element to the surname CATARELLI coming from a "sub-alpine" area of northern Italy. If you take a look at www.stemmario.it and put in Catarello both Catarelli and Cattarelli will spring up and may be a worthwhile study.

There is an indicationthat the surname mayhave indeed been imported and that it was originally CATAREL (appears to be of french origin) but nothing definitive is noted. =Peter=