Vito-> William?; Buttafuoco?

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BlissIs
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Vito-> William?; Buttafuoco?

Post by BlissIs »

Hi all,

Is it reasonable that William could be American name after paternal GF Vito?

Meaning of Buttafuoco, please.

Many thanks!
[/b]Searching Surnames: Favara Lanzarone Agnello Bonagiuso Zummo Perfumo Consoli Maggio LaRussa Buttafuoco Consoli Montegari Mineo
Locations: Brooklyn NY, Castelvetrano, Santa Margherita de Belice, Milano, Hoboken NJ, Akron OH, Massapequa NY
carubia
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Re: Vito-> William?; Buttafuoco?

Post by carubia »

Vito (along with Vittorio) was usually anglicized as Victor, whereas Guglielmo was William, but immigrants weren't restricted to adopt American names that exactly corresponded to their Italian names, so one could not say it was "unreasonable." I have seen a case where someone with the name Vito went by William in the US.

As for the Sicilian name Buttafuoco, I'm reminded of a parody of The Long Island Lolita Story in the Village Voice where Joey says to Amy, "Come here and I'll show you what my name means in Italian."
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Re: Vito-> William?; Buttafuoco?

Post by Anizio »

Nel linguaggio dialettale siciliano “bbuttafocu” è una specie di salterio a tre corde, un antico strumento musicale a corde pizzicate a forma triangolare o trapezoidale. Buttafuoco potrebbe derivare anche da nome o soprannome medioevale di fantasia, attribuito al capostipite, Butafocus o Butafogus. Qualcuno lo dà cognome di origine linguistica francese, derivato dal termine “boutefoy.”

English:

In the Sicilian language a "bbuttafocu" is a kind of three-stringed zither, an ancient musical instrument plucked triangular or trapezoidal. Buttafuoco could also result from the name or nickname of medieval fantasy, attributed to the founder, or Butafocus Butafogus. Someone gives surname of French linguistic origin, derived from the term "boutefoy."

There is also ample reason to believe it could have come from Boccafuoco, or more specifically Bocca di Fuoco.

This gives us a number of lessons:

1) the name arise in an area with a dialect almost a language of its own, so you shouldn't interpret it using modern Italian.
2) it has a literal meaning....but you don't know why the person who first took on the family name actually adopted it/received it.
3) you don't know that it wasn't something entirely unguessable which just changed over time into Buttafuoco.

So basically....as I tell anyone who wants to know the "meaning" of their name, thats not how it works. Trace your genealogy back. Find the people who started your particular branch of that particular name (not everyone with the same name is related, contrary to what many think) and doing that you will find the evolution of the name likely starting in some dialectical medeival Sicilian nickname that will make no sense today.
TIP: When asking for records from Italy, do NOT ask for an "estratto." ALWAYS ask for a "copia integrale." A photocopy of the original Act will contain more information
erudita74
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Re: Vito-> William?; Buttafuoco?

Post by erudita74 »

BlissIs wrote:Hi all,

Is it reasonable that William could be American name after paternal GF Vito?

Meaning of Buttafuoco, please.

Many thanks!
The husband of one of the sisters of my great grandmother from Sicily was a Vito but he used the name Willie in the U.S.

Erudita
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Re: Vito-> William?; Buttafuoco?

Post by BlissIs »

Wow! You're so kind to share so much detail.
Thank you all very much. I was hoping to connect William to paternal grandfather who may have been named Vito, in my search for Giuseppa Lanzarone's father's name. Seems it's a definite maybe.

Josephine (Giuseppa) Favara Lanzarone's daughter Grace, who had been rescued by neighbors in Brooklyn during an attempted kidnapping by a man in suit and tie when she was 3 years old, had Buttafuoco last name in just located 1976 obit of Josephine in Massapequa Park, LI, NY.

Josephine's interment is St. John's Cloister but no sign of her or her husband Antonino's graves found online.

Grace (Grazia) was born 09 June 1909 in Naturalization docs tho US Census lists 1911. Cannot find any records on her as married woman.

If you're willing, please see what you can find. I'm not an ancestry member.

If you have any ideas how I can proceed, I'm grateful for instructions.

I'l be delighted to be able to trace back. Still seeking first step. Thanks for list of factors. You've given an Italian-by-marriage valuable information. Ty

Stone wall to Josephine has not moved.

May you all find what you seek.

Many thanks for helping me in my search.
Best to all,
BlissIs
[/b]Searching Surnames: Favara Lanzarone Agnello Bonagiuso Zummo Perfumo Consoli Maggio LaRussa Buttafuoco Consoli Montegari Mineo
Locations: Brooklyn NY, Castelvetrano, Santa Margherita de Belice, Milano, Hoboken NJ, Akron OH, Massapequa NY
carubia
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Re: Vito-> William?; Buttafuoco?

Post by carubia »

BlissIs,
Buttafuoco is common in Agrigento province, but not Santa Margherita. Favara is also found throughout the province, but is more common in Trapani - maybe that's the Castelvetrano connection. Lanzarone is less common, but Menfi has a concentration of both that name and Buttafuoco.

Was her maiden name Giuseppa Favara and her husband's Antonino Lanzarone?
BlissIs
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Re: Vito-> William?; Buttafuoco?

Post by BlissIs »

Thanks, Carubia,

Knowing possible areas will be useful.

Yes, Giuseppa or Giuseppina A. (for some form of Antoinette) Favara of Castelvetrano married Antonino Lanzarone of SMB before 1909, somewhere in USA, possibly in New York or New Jersey. She arrived in 1903 and had gone to her Uncle Vito Bonagiuso's home where her brother, Leonardo, was, in Hoboken, NJ.

As you can see I'm willing to try anything to locate Josephine's Sicilian ancestry for her look-alike GGD, my child.

Thanks for helping.
Best!
BlissIs

PS thevelvetrocketdotcom has pictures of St. John's Cemetery. Turns out the 'Cloister' is a mausoleum so no gravestone to check.
[/b]Searching Surnames: Favara Lanzarone Agnello Bonagiuso Zummo Perfumo Consoli Maggio LaRussa Buttafuoco Consoli Montegari Mineo
Locations: Brooklyn NY, Castelvetrano, Santa Margherita de Belice, Milano, Hoboken NJ, Akron OH, Massapequa NY
carubia
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Re: Vito-> William?; Buttafuoco?

Post by carubia »

So you haven't found Giuseppa Favara's birth record yet? Do you know when she was born? Have you found Antonino's birth record?

Edit to add:
Sorry, I didn't remember what you had posted before. Now that I've refreshed my memory I see that while you found Antonino's birth record from SMB, you're still searching for Giuseppa's from Castelvetrano. You know she was born around 1889, but there is no record for her on the microfilm for that year, correct? What other years have you searched?

You wrote to Castelvetrano,but they didn't find the record either, right? If so, what years did they search?

Do you have her death record?
BlissIs
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Re: Vito-> William?; Buttafuoco?

Post by BlissIs »

Yes, Carubia, been on same journey for a while.
And, forgive me, have brain damage from car crash so even writing is quite an exercise. Good for me. My apologies when I'm not making sense.

I think I'm on the right road now. Phone call to St. John's this afternoon may get me Josephine's year of birth. It's not in the files but woman offered to have someone go look at the crypt for me. How wonderful of them! Hopefully the family had engraved a birth year, not all do.

So if I am mailed a year of birth, I'll take another run at Castelvetrano or try for a death certificate although I'm not a direct descendant. Hoping to finally gift me daughter her heritage by her late March birthday.

The LDS record listings did not have a range years near her likely year of birth. You wonderful people found Antonino's immediate family data. Thanks, again. And no machine on island, not even at library branches are in working order here so can't view microfilm.

I had used 1889 and another year I don't recall now, in writing to Castelvetrano on two different occasions. They simply said no such person.

Since I'm pretty sure I've located her brother and his date of birth, fingers are crossed that I'll be good to go.

When I have success, I'll be sure to let everyone know.

Thank for your kind attention.
Have some fun!
Best!
Bliss Is
[/b]Searching Surnames: Favara Lanzarone Agnello Bonagiuso Zummo Perfumo Consoli Maggio LaRussa Buttafuoco Consoli Montegari Mineo
Locations: Brooklyn NY, Castelvetrano, Santa Margherita de Belice, Milano, Hoboken NJ, Akron OH, Massapequa NY
carubia
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Re: Vito-> William?; Buttafuoco?

Post by carubia »

I can order and view the microfilm for Castelvetrano. Which roll(s) would you need? The following one?

Nati magg. 1884-1886 Indice decennale 1876-1885 Nati 1887-apr. 1891
Family History Library
International Film
1339784

There are 3 births on that one that I would look up for myself anyway. I have 6 births on the film after it and 6 on the one before it, too.
BlissIs
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Re: Vito-> William?; Buttafuoco?

Post by BlissIs »

Hi Carubia,

My oh my, thank you. What a generous offer.
Yes, please, that would be great.
St. John's will mail information next week and could take up to 2 weeks to have in hand. Additionally, they may not have year of birth so this is tenuous at best.
What's your timing, please?
[/b]Searching Surnames: Favara Lanzarone Agnello Bonagiuso Zummo Perfumo Consoli Maggio LaRussa Buttafuoco Consoli Montegari Mineo
Locations: Brooklyn NY, Castelvetrano, Santa Margherita de Belice, Milano, Hoboken NJ, Akron OH, Massapequa NY
carubia
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Re: Vito-> William?; Buttafuoco?

Post by carubia »

I go to a local FHC almost every Saturday. I can just order the film the next time I'm there. (Or maybe I'll just wait until you confirm the year or at least narrow it down.) It might take a month for the roll to arrive. Then after the center receives it, I'll look at it the next weekend. I've been using the same FHC for years; I'm just about the only person who uses the microfilm reader there. They have a whole draw full of rolls with my initial marked on them. So I may be able to hold it indefinitely and view it any time they're open and I'm free.
BlissIs
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Re: Vito-> William?; Buttafuoco?

Post by BlissIs »

You're an angel. Thank you.
Maybe we can use PayPal for expense. I'll contact St. John's woman to see if she can tell me if a birth year was located. She can't give me details by phone and may answer a generic query.
Also will provide bro information and possible parents names, in case that would be confirming on the film. I've never seen one. Are parents listed along with date of birth?
[/b]Searching Surnames: Favara Lanzarone Agnello Bonagiuso Zummo Perfumo Consoli Maggio LaRussa Buttafuoco Consoli Montegari Mineo
Locations: Brooklyn NY, Castelvetrano, Santa Margherita de Belice, Milano, Hoboken NJ, Akron OH, Massapequa NY
carubia
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Re: Vito-> William?; Buttafuoco?

Post by carubia »

Don't worry about the expense. It's only a few dollars at most, and recently they haven't even been charging me.

The parent's names would definitely be important, since the name Favara is common enough that there are likely to be several children with that surname born that year, and Giuseppa was one of the most common girl's names. Of course parents' names and the birth date are listed on the birth record. However, at that time, only the age of the person reporting the birth (usually the father) would be listed, whereas earlier birth records included the ages of both parents. This will make it more difficult to track down the birth and marriage records for the parents of Giuseppa.
BlissIs
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Re: Vito-> William?; Buttafuoco?

Post by BlissIs »

Okay, appreciate generosity if you and LDS.

First and foremost, Josephine and Antonino's years of birth were inscribed and will be mailed to me as early as Monday morning.

Memory issues are one of the many impairments from scattered stretched and broken brain fibers so I hadn't recognized microfilm you had asked about until I googled to an old entry here last night we're not looking for anyone who had married a Lanzarone in Italy..

I do not have any idea what Josephibe's first and middle names were, only that Josephine Antoinette are Americanized versions.

Also a family tale about a Vito Favara having been shot on a balcony protesting Mussolini, was married to a Vincenza or Vincenzina or some variant Agnello or Agniello. This was thought to be perhaps an Uncle one some such ancestor of Josephine. It seems to me that record was for other than that combination.

I'm pretty confident I had located her brother, Leonardo Favara by tracking from their mutual uncle, per passenger records.

Leonardo Favara, born Castelvetrano 17 Aug 1879, died NYC Dec 1966, last residence Suffolk County, NY. He lived in Cleveland, OH with his wife, Josephine, before returning to NYC. In my experience one cannot lean on public family trees for accuracy. There's family story there was a sister Catie (sp?) of whom I've found nothing.

Attempting to use great Sicilian naming practices to gather parentage, let me share some details.

Josephine and Antonino's second known daughter and son were named JEAN and ANTHONY, JR..
Leonardo and Josephine's known first daughter and son: VINCENZINA and VITO, per naturalization.

Oh my gosh, Ben at this for a few hours. Attempted review of 3/4" stack of notes I haddiligently gathering when injury occurred over 9 months ago. I am not certain Leonardo has been located. Sorry.

Gotta stop now.
[/b]Searching Surnames: Favara Lanzarone Agnello Bonagiuso Zummo Perfumo Consoli Maggio LaRussa Buttafuoco Consoli Montegari Mineo
Locations: Brooklyn NY, Castelvetrano, Santa Margherita de Belice, Milano, Hoboken NJ, Akron OH, Massapequa NY
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