I have decided to make this page for my family because this site is getting so big and I think it may be confusing to many of you. It is beginning to confuse me. What started out as a small site for family has burgeoned into a region wide genealogy resource for several towns. I have been approached by several people who are working on their own family research and would like me to add their information to my site. In addition, I will be moving this site to my own domain before the end of the year. When I do that, this site will be a broader site in association with other people and as the site grows, I do not want you to get lost. On this page I will try to connect the dots of my Grandfather's life and family before he came to America. The family was huge, but through the documents, I have learned who was the closest to Grandfather's family and how they may have lived. I have highlighted some important family members on various pages but have not connected them in a clear picture. I will also provide all the links you need to see what you may think is important.
What About Grandmother's family?!
Our grandmother's family is on hold for the moment and there is a good reason for that. I will never be able to complete the picture on their lives because documents past 1861 are not accessable. The Maiuolo's lived in Cortale during the 1860's so I can go back in the records for their roots and intend on doing that. But the Scruigli's (the surname of her mother Natalina) did not live in Cortale in 1861 or before that. I am searching for where they came from. I have help and am waiting for a response from the town records office. Eventually, I hope to go there and obtain the necessary records from the church.
To see more on her family go to Family From Cortale .
The Family of Giuseppe Napolitano
The family was huge!! In order to fully understand the family there you have to know some of the history there. But I will try to keep the history brief when I must reference it. Grandpa had many cousins, some lived very close and others further away. Obviously those closer in distance were probably closer in relationships. In order to understand this, I need to give you a brief geography of the area.
About Montalto Uffugo
Click on the map for a larger view
This map shows detail of the Comune of Montalto Uffugo and surrounding comunes. Montalto Uffugo is a large town (the second largest in the province) that is made up of many villages, sections and hamlets. Using the City of Chicago as a model for comparision, Chicago is made up of sections and communities like Bucktown, Wrigleyville, Old Town, etc. Grandpa came from the village of Parantoro located within the city of Montalto Uffugo. Other family lived in Vaccarizzo and Santa Maria LaCasagna and in the hilltop center of town. Although they lived in Parantoro, they attended church in Vaccarizzo. This leads me to believe that they lived near the border of the 2 villages.
Grandpa's Grandparents
I will begin with Grandpa's grandparents. What I know about them will help explain the family dynamic and influences. I will begin with his paternal side.
Filippo Napolitano and Caterina Nicastro
Filippo Napolitano and Caterina Nicastro were the parents of Giuseppe's father Domenico Enrico Napolitano. Luigi's professions have been listed as a property owner, a farmer, a miller and a laborer. In short, he owned a farm with a mill on it, worked the farm and was a miller. He probably milled wheat which was a huge typical crop in the area. These professions are all the same for all of our Napolitano men. Filippo was born around 1819 in Montalto Uffugo and died there in 1907 at the age of 90. Caterina Nicastro was born around 1824 and died in 1904 and her age was listed as 80 on her death record. Caterina was the daughter of Giuseppe Nicastro and Carmela Alfano. So far, I have found 11 children for Filippo and Caterina. The youngest was born when Filippo was about 53 years old. These are the aunts and uncles of my Grandfather:
Carolina Concetta, born: November, 1845 died: 1908
Pasqualina, born: February, 1848
Rosa, born 1853 died 1886
Luigi, born: 1855 Died: 1907
Francesco Saverio, born: 1857 died: 1872
Maria Concetta, born: 1859
Raffaele, born: February, 1862
Filomena, born: 1864 died: 1948
Angela, born: 1868
Domenico Enrico, born: 1869 died: 1895
Vincenzo, born 1872
There may be more children that I have not found yet. All of these aunts and uncles stayed in Montalto Uffugo until their deaths (or until the records ended in 1910) with the possible exception of Raffaele. I just found Raffaele in June through his birth record. There are no marriage or death records for him so he either lived a long life as a bachelor, became a priest or left town and made his life outside Montalto Uffugo. It is interesting to note that 3 of these sisters above married Arturi men. Two of the Arturi's were brothers.
Costantino Napolitano & Pasqualina Aiello
My grandfather’s maternal family
Costantino Napolitano was born about 1824 in Montalto Uffugo and owned a mill and farm in Parantoro. He was the eldest known son of his parents Vincenzo Napolitano and Maria Stella Nicastro. He married Pasqualina Aiello sometime before 1850. Pasqualina Aiello clearly came from a different background than the Napolitano's. Pasqualina was born about 1824 and was the daughter of Raffaele Aiello and Giuseppina Golia. Raffaele was a tailor as was the majority of this Aiello family. Most of the men were tailors and shoemakers and the women were cloth makers or "filatrices" which translated means loomers. Because of her great niece, the Blessed Elena Aiello, we know more about the family dynamic of the Aiello's. They were a devoutly Catholic family with their faith driving them. They were a close family who lived near the center of town probably because that is where the business district was which would have been an important location for a tailor. Pasqualina was a filatrice but probably had to give that up for life as a farmer's wife. None of her daughter's were listed as filatrice's in the documents. Pasqualina definitely would have instilled an importance of their Catholic faith in her children. The family probably grew wheat (since Costantino was a miller), had fig trees, chestnuts, a vineyard, and perhaps more. They would have had chickens for eggs and meat and at least one donkey for manual labor.
A Filatrice in Calabria A young Elena Aiello
The Children Of Costantino Napolitano and Pasqualina Aiello
Vincenzo, born: about 1850
Federico, born 1853 Died 1853
Filomena, Born: about 1854
Emilia Natalina, Born: 1855 Died: 1885
Bernardino (Bernardo), Born: 1862
Enrico, Born: February, 1864
Alberto, Born: 1866 Died: February, 1867
Letizia, Born: 1868
Angelina, Born: 1872 Died: 1907
Grandpa's Great Grandparents
PATERNAL LINE - Parents of Filippo Napolitano
Luigi Napolitano & Maria Rua
Luigi Napolitano was a miller and a farmer. At this time I do not know much about Luigi and his wife because I have not found any of their documents yet. I know Luigi was probably born in the late 1700's and died before 1867. I anticipate learning more soon.
The Children Of Luigi Napolitano & Maria Rua
Filippo Napolitano
Born: about 1819 Died: 1907
Spouse: Caterina Nicastro
Rosa Napolitano
Born: about 1824 Died: 1852
Spouse: Antonio Cairo
Giuseppe Napolitano
Born: about 1825 Died: 1893
Spouse: Rosina Lucchetta
Maria Stella Napolitano
Born: About 1830 Died: 1902
Spouse: Giuseppe Folino
Maternal Line
Costantino Napolitano's Parents
Vincenzo Napolitano & Maria Stella Nicastro
Not much is known about Vincenzo and Maria Stella Nicastro. Vincenzo was a miller and a farmer as many of his descendants were, born about 1800. His wife, Maria Stella Nicastro died young in November, 1839 at the age of 33. It is very possible Vincenzo remarried after her death. Maria Stella Nicastro was the daughter of Francesco Nicastro and Caterina Scarlato. Both her parents were still alive when she died. View her death record here.
I have found the death records of several Vincenzo's that may be ours but since the spouses listed on the record were unknown to me I cannot be sure.
The children of Vincenzo Napolitano and Maria Stella Nicastro were:
Costantino Napolitano
Born: About 1827 Died: 1889
Spouse: Pasqualina Aiello
Pietro Napolitano
Born: About 1834 Died: 1902
Spouse: Carolina Chimenti & Maria Stella Palmire
Michele Napolitano
Born: About 1832 Died: 1909
Spouses: Concetta Muglia & Rosina Garafolo
Pasqualina Napolitano
Born: About 1834 Died: 1878
Spouse: Luigi Stancati
Maria Concetta Napolitano
Born: About 1835 Died: 1893
Spouse: Costantino Crivaro
Gaetano Napolitano
Born: April, 1836 Died: 1880
Spouse: Teresina Aiello
There may be more children of Vincenzo with Maria Stella Nicastro or a second wife. I have a number of people whose father was Vincenzo but the mother's name is still unknown.
Grandpa's Cousins
I have not found all grandpa's cousins yet. But, so far I have found 51 children of his mother's brothers and sisters and 50 children of his father's brothers and sisters. That is a total of 101 first cousins and counting!!! I will list them on another page I am working on. In the meantime, here are the surnames of his first cousins:
Napolitano
Arturi
Riso
Garrafa
LoFeudo
Zingone
Double Cousins!! What's that?
I have found what I call double cousins. Cousins that are related on our Grandfather's father's side and his mother's side of the family. My aunts and uncles will remember a cousin of their father named Rocco Napolitano. Rocco's father was Enrico Napolitano, brother of Angela (grandpa's mother). Enrico married Aguilina Arturi, daughter of Saverio Arturi and Pasqualina Napolitano (sister of Enrico, Grandpa's father). Hence the children of Enrico Napolitano and Aguilina Arturi were first cousins on both sides of his family. Enrico Napolitano and Aguilina Arturi had 8 children.
Another example of double cousins comes from grandpa's grandparents on his mother's side. Costantino Napolitano was married to Pasqualina Aiello. Costantino's brother, Gaetano was married to Teresina Aiello, Pasqualina's sister. It was very common for brothers to marry sisters from another family.
The brothers and sisters of Grandpa's parents also have examples of this.
Costantino's daughter Letizia married Vincenzo Riso the brother of Chiara Riso who married Vincenzo Napolitano, Letizia's older brother.
Napolitano's Marrying Napolitano's?!
Don't jump to any conclusions here. There were several distinctively different Napolitano families in Montalto Uffugo. One branch lived in the Vaccarizzo section. Ours lived in the Parantoro section. Some lived in other areas of Montalto Uffugo. I have been unable to connect these different branches yet, until the 1870's when they began marrying into each other. It is clear that they all knew each other because I have noticed they were witnesses in the State Civil records to each other's events. Second cousin Giuseppe Napolitano who married Maria Concetta Garrafa and immigrated to Chicago has 2 Napolitano parents too. His father, Angelo Napolitano was the son of Vincenzo Napolitano and Caterina Filippo. His mother, Aguilina Napolitano was the daughter of Giuseppe Napolitano and Rosina Luccetta. There were several other examples of this but so far, I have been unable to connect any of these family lines together. As I go further back in the records, this will become more clear. I have already found 1 Napolitano family that came from San Vincenzo La Costa and another from San Benedetto Ullano.
What Happened to all the Napolitano's?!!
Today, in the Parantoro section of Montalto Uffugo there are only 2 Napolitano men, 1 Napolitano woman and a few of their children left living there. In the whole town there are less than 30 left. In the 1880's there were hundreds of them. So, where have all the Napolitano's gone to?
In the 1870's through the early 1900's a number of them began leaving for the nearby towns of San Fili, San Vincenzo La Costa, Malito, San Benedetto Ullano, Marano Marchestato and other nearby towns. Some moved as far away as Catanzaro Province. I have only found a few records of them coming to America during this time. I know at least 1 family moved to Argentina, although which one is unknown at this time.
More modern immigration patterns are not unique to Montalto Uffugo. In the 1960's the youth began leaving for larger, more modern cities of Italy in the north. They went where the colleges and universities were and never returned or went on to other cities where the jobs were. Rome and Milan are where I found a few of them. Some moved to Toronto during this time.
Events in Calabria
During my grandfather's life in Italy, a few events occurred that would have affected him and the rest of the family.
The cholera outbreak in the summer of 1910
Whooping cough epidemic 1901-1905
The earthquakes in 1895, 1905, 1907 and 1908
New page here: Clementina Napolitano
More to come soon
Other pages of interest to you
The Family Of Giuseppe Napolitano
More family information
More information on Grandpa
When grandpa was 5 years old his widowed mother married into this family
Domenico Garrafa,the Spouse of Emilia Napolitano (grandpa's Aunt) and the parents Of Maria Concetta Garrafa, Grandpa's cousin who was married to the other Joe Napolitano and moved to Chicago. Domenico Garrafa took my grandfather and his siblings in when his mother died in December, 1907.
Learn about Pasqualina Aiello's family here
Grandmother's side of the family
