Surname Amerinda or Degnovivo from Campobasso

[BillieDeKid]

Ok. It was just a thought, after searching again. I even searched the incorrect name used on the manifest for Clotilde (Amerinola instead of Amerinda). I hope you find something tomorrow night.

[JohnArmellino]

Hey, you never know. Let's see what we can find tomorrow.

[JohnArmellino]

Clotilde Amerinda was found opposite the ruota di proietti in Campobasso at 4:30 in the morning on 20 APR 1875. She appeared to be about 35 days old. She was wrapped in diapers, without a token or other sign, except a note of white paper on which was written the words Clotilde Amerinda. Palmarosa Ricciuti, of the foundlings' home, presented her to Mayor Francesco Duca Frangipani, who then assigned to her the given name Clotilde and the surname Amerinda and appointed Carolina di Cesare, wife of Berardino Ciaramella, as his wet nurse. FHL INTL Film 1733187, NATI 1875, PARTE II, No. 20, 20 APR 1875.

Giuseppe Degnovivo was found outside of the ruota di proietti in Campobasso at 2:00 on the night of 12 MAR 1872. He appeared to be a few hours old. He was wrapped in diapers, without a token or a letter. Palmarosa Ricciuti, of the foundlings' home, presented him to Mayor Cesare Palombo, who then assigned to him the name Giuseppe Degnovivo and appointed Mariantonia Pasqualone, wife of Costanzo Mancini, as his wet nurse. FHL INTL Film 1733186, NATI 1872, No. 122, 13 MAR 1872.

I had thought that the post-1865 birth records of foundlings in Campobasso did not record the names of the assigned wet nurse and her husband, but clearly I was wrong. Apparently, it varies from year to year. These records actually give quite a bit of information.

Elizabeth – I think you were right on the money about Amerinda being her given name! In all likelihood, her natural parents or parent gave her the given name of Clotilde Amerinda and the Mayor simply used the second name as her surname.

John V – Your GGM Clotilde Amerinda was placed into the care of Carolina di Cesare, who was the wife of my 3C4R Berardino Ciaramella. That would make you my 7C via your quasi-adoptive line. I still think we will connect eventually on your Vallillo/Palladino/Santoro/Serafino line. As to Giuseppe Degnovivo, his wet nurse was my 2C4R Mariantonia Pasqualone.

The mystery remains: Why did Clotilde and Giuseppe consider themselves siblings? I would have thought that they were raised by the same couple, but that doesn’t seem to be the case.

[JohnArmellino]

Each of the wet nurses mentioned above had just lost an infant child. Mariantonia Pasqualone's infant daughter Anna Maria Mancini had died on 05 MAR 1872 at the age of seven days. Carolina di Cesare's infant son Francescopaolo Ciaramella had died on 06 APR 1875 at the age of 4 days. As was the custom in Campobasso, these women and their families took in a foundling after the death of their own children.

[jvillilo]

Wow... you're right, the information really is quite specific and puts Clotilde in a whole new light in our family. It's still quite a mystery about both Guiseppe and Clotilde but they rest together in Lake View Cemetery in Cleveland. Maybe the wet nurses were close friends and told both of them they were brother and sister but had to be raised separately. We'll likely never know.....

[BillieDeKid]

Here's a little more food for thought John. If Clotilde had a hand written note attached to her...........then whoever left her had to be educated. Most of the people could not read or write. So my guess is that her birth father held some sort of position in the community or that an educated person was a friend of Clotildes birth mother.

Were there any Degnovivo's that held an office at anytime or maybe were land owner's that were educated? I have another theory..............

[BillieDeKid]

Here's something else to think about. In an earlier post on this thread we ask jvillilo if he had the death certificate for Giuseppe Degnovivo and here's what he posted

..........I do have Giuseppe's (Joseph) death certificate and it lists Pasquale Degnovivo as his father and Filomene (unknown) as his mother.

Now.......why would the mayor give him the surname of Degnovivo if he was left at the home only a few hours old with no name?

Coincidence that the mayor names him Degnovivo and he lists his parents as Pasquale Degnovivo and Filomena?

Maybe you should look for a female death certificate in March, maybe even April of 1872 and see if her name might be Filomena or Philomena or a womans death and husband is Pasquale Degnovivo.

Maybe I'm crazy but something just doesn't seem right.

[JohnArmellino]

Here's a little more food for thought John. If Clotilde had a hand written note attached to her...........then whoever left her had to be educated. Most of the people could not read or write. So my guess is that her birth father held some sort of position in the community or that an educated person was a friend of Clotildes birth mother. Were there any Degnovivo's that held an office at anytime or maybe were land owner's that were educated?

Perhaps it was because Campobasso was the provincial capital, but in the late 19th century many people there could read and write and it would not have been necessary for them to hold a high position to do so. Many marriage records are signed by the bride and groom with their own signatures rather than an X.

...why would the mayor give him the surname of Degnovivo if he was left at the home only a few hours old with no name? Coincidence that the mayor names him Degnovivo and he lists his parents as Pasquale Degnovivo and Filomena? Maybe you should look for a female death certificate in March, maybe even April of 1872 and see if her name might be Filomena or Philomena or a womans death and husband is Pasquale Degnovivo.

There are no families named Degnovivo in Campobasso, other than the children of Giuseppe Degnovivo. It appears to simply be a name created by the Mayor (or whomever he consulted about such things) and assigned to this abandoned infant. The surnames assigned to foundlings varied from town to town. Some towns used surnames such as Proietto or Trovato [foundling], Esposito [of this place - very prevalent in Napoli], and D'Ignoti [of unknown], which surnames reflected the status of the child. Some surnames were tongue-in-cheek, such as d’Amore. [In 1928 these methods were outlawed as being detrimental to the foundlings so named.] Other towns used the surnames of noted men or of families that had died out. My own GGF was a proietto named Michele Armellino, perhaps after the noted (and often despised) Cardinal Armellino. During the early part of the 19th century, Campobasso often used the names Esposito and Fortunata. By the middle of that century they often used variations of common surnames, e.g., Angellillo to Angellini. By the end of the century, they sometimes used descriptive names, often quite beautiful, such as Cuorgiusto [true heart] and Fiorebello [beautiful flower]. Such appears to be the case here, as Degnovivo can be literally translated to mean worthy alive [degno vivo].

I think the use of the Degnovivo for the father's surname in the respective death records of Clotilde and Giuseppe was a result of confusion --- in the USA, we would expect Giuseppe's father to carry the same surname as his son and Clotilde's father to carry the surname of her perceived brother. However, we just can't be sure and the mystery remains as to exactly why any parents were named at all and how the given names of Pasquale, Filomena, and Lorenzo fit in. John V, this must be driving you nuts!

[BillieDeKid]

John I found something. Manifest for Filomena Colitto line 8 traveling with line 9 Giuseppa Di Vivo. Says Filomena is going to her son-in-law Degnavivo but I can't make out his first name and the address looks like Port something. Line 9 is going to the same place and it says to her brother-in-law. You think this might be our Filomena?

page 1
http://www.ellisisland.org/EIFile/popup ... &line=0008
page 2
http://www.ellisisland.org/EIFile/popup ... &line=0008

Elizabeth

[JohnArmellino]

Elizabeth - I believe Line 9 is Giuseppina di Niro from Ferrazzano (BTW, Robert DeNiro's family originated in Ferrazzano). Line 7 is Luigi de Santis of Campobasso, but it seems that he was travelling to a different destination (Jersey City). To my eye, Filomena was travelling to her son-in-law Domenico di Biase.

[BillieDeKid]

You're correct. Holy cow......I need to get my eyes checked!!!! My apologies. The rate I'm going, I'll be blind before I'm 50!!!!!

[JohnArmellino]

Oh, to be 50 again...

[BillieDeKid]

That's ok John, my husband keeps saying he wishes he was 50 again too!!!

[jvillilo]

You're right, John, it is driving me nuts. If I could find out Clotilde's birth father or mother, it would open up a whole new line of blood relatives. The same thing happened on my mother's side of the family. We just found out a few years ago my GF on my mother's side was adopted but then found his birth certificate and started researching and have taken his family line back to the Revolution and the Mayflower. When I left this summer for Washington DC, it was his family's graves I went to find in cemeteries in DC and did find them to photograph. I could do the same on my Father's side when I go to Campobasso next year.....

[Degno]

Hi. I'm Michael Degnovivo. Don't know if this helps or not, but my sister has Guiseppe Degnovivo's naturalization papers and some other things of his. I've been trying to track/contact people possibly related to me for the time when I eventually make my way to Italy, to hopefully meet my relatives. Please respond. Thanks.