"Still Born" Child was Alive...It's a Cover Up!

[Rossonero3]

A mystery that I believe will go unsolved and revolve around theories only. Backstory...I've been assisting a person on Ancestry with some of his ancestors and one in particular came up that seemed very odd. He had a different last name than both of his parents. He had told me that he learned his GGGF may have been adopted, which btw showed that way on a 1915 New York State Census, the child was listed with a different last name and said adopted next to it. I figured out the family came from Tramonti, Salerno and his GGGF's birth date was consistent across military and naturalization records, and all show Tramonti as his birth place. One thing early on that i caught on to however, was his last name seemed made up or bastardized anywas, at the name "Cariddo" does not exist in that area or even those regions for that matter. That surname was used consistently across his own records, Declaration, petition, Oath, military, and later in life etc. Anyway, when searching the birth records in Tramonti, I could not locate him. His parents names were Alfonso Imperato (b. 1864) and Carmela Del Pizzo (b. 1862). I went back to the records in Tramonti again with that specific birth date of 24 Feb 1887 and sure enough there was a birth record for Giuseppe, parents as listed above, BUT, in the side bar instead of his name it read, "Un bambino senza vita" and is one of those birth records showing it was a still born child. Now, the guy I'm helping had spoken to relatives recently who said the one family story was that the mother (Carmela Del Pizzo) had an affair with a police officer and after being ashamed they sent the child to America (obviously it didn't quite happen like that). Or that the child was illegitimate. So could the "bambino senza vita" been a lie? Could have been a cover up???
Here is the record link; #35

https://antenati.cultura.gov.it/ark:/12 ... 98/0nNxYKn

It's really been quite a mystery. It was super hard finding his passenger manifest but i ultimately found it. He was traveling with his mother Carmela Del Pizzo and siblings (in 1896). However, the last residence was not Tramonti, but Maddaloni, Caserta. The family went on to live in Manhattan together. It seems like the name Cariddo was completely made up. If anyone has any questions i've more details on the family.

[Tessa78]

In the record it states that the child was presented to the official (as was the custom) and that the official (in this case the mayor) was recognized by him to be without life.
I believe that the child of this couple was indeed deceased.

However, it MAY be that another child was born and abandoned and Carmela Del Pizzo was given that child to nurse and care for (as was common in that time since she would have been lactating). Perhaps (legally or illegally) she came to treat that child as her own, and continued to care for and raise it. Certainly a mystery.

The fact that the surname Cariddo does not exist in that area supports the abandoned/orphaned child theory, since abandoned children were assigned their name by the official, and the name was usually a "fantasy name" or a name that was NOT found in the town/area.

T.

[Rossonero3]

Thank you Teresa, your theory makes sense and is one that I’m also aware of or have heard before, I will pass it along. It certainly sounds plausible.

[Rossonero3]

In the record it states that the child was presented to the official (as was the custom) and that the official (in this case the mayor) was recognized by him to be without life.
I believe that the child of this couple was indeed deceased.

However, it MAY be that another child was born and abandoned and Carmela Del Pizzo was given that child to nurse and care for (as was common in that time since she would have been lactating). Perhaps (legally or illegally) she came to treat that child as her own, and continued to care for and raise it. Certainly a mystery.

The fact that the surname Cariddo does not exist in that area supports the abandoned/orphaned child theory, since abandoned children were assigned their name by the official, and the name was usually a "fantasy name" or a name that was NOT found in the town/area.

T.

My only reservation is that somehow the family has this information or story that the child (Giuseppe) may have been a product of illegitimacy by means of an affair. Any thoughts on that?

[Tessa78]

There is always that possibility...

May I ask you to post the records you found for Giuseppe Cariddo?
You mention arrival manifest, census, and military records.
I'd like to take a look at those first, if I may.

Or you can send them to me in a Private Message if you prefer.

T.

[Rossonero3]

I will PM you in a bit since the family is not my own.

Also, I’ve seen records in other comunes that would list the parents as ‘ignoti’, I’m wondering if there’s a birth in or around the same year here that we could possibly attribute to being Giuseppe.

[Tessa78]

I will PM you in a bit since the family is not my own.

Also, I’ve seen records in other comunes that would list the parents as ‘ignoti’, I’m wondering if there’s a birth in or around the same year here that we could possibly attribute to being Giuseppe.

Yes, the births of abandoned will usually be listed with parents "ignoti" -
There are some that list just the mother with the father not acknowledging the child (making it illegitimate), and others where a father will recognize the child giving it his surname, but the mother is not named. In the case of abandoned children, some are left "at the wheel" and some are presented by the midwife. Sometimes the child is left with tokens or items that will help to identify it should the parents want to reclaim their child. These items (ribbons, half a religious card, sash, etc.) are recorded in the registered birth. If the parent(s) later claim the child or "legitimize" it - there will be a second record of rectification of the birth. It can be anytime, even years, after the birth and will be found in the supplement/parte II of the birth book.

What is curious is that the child in this case has the first name Giuseppe, and the same birth date.

Have you written directly to the town of Tramonti to request the birth act of Giuseppe Cariddo? You should explain that he is of "parents unknown" and give whatever information you can provide. Some towns have a separate "book" for the birth records of the "exposed" also known as the "proietti" - these are sometimes called Diversi.

When you (or the person you are doing this for) writes to the comune, be sure to include a photo ID, and an email address where you can be reached.
It is worth a shot.

On another note...
There are some curiosities I found when searching for records for Giuseppe Cariddo.
I found that Giuseppe Cariddo lists on his naturalization papers (with the 24 February 1887 birthdate) that he arrived in USA in 1896 March, on the Chateau Ignene(SP?)... Yet I find that Carmela Del Pizzo and 3 of her children arrive in 1906. I do find Alfonso Imperato in a 1905 NY State Census as a boarder. Do you have an arrival manifest for Alfonso?
I was unable to find a ship manifest for Giuseppe, and there is no certificate of arrival in the images for his naturalization papers. However, he appears to have completed the process, so an arrival must have been verified. Do you have it?

T.

[Rossonero3]

Or you can send them to me in a Private Message if you prefer.

T.

Hi Tessa, please confirm receipt of the PM's sent.
-Mark

[Rossonero3]

Not sure why but the other 3 messages are still in my Outbox after 15 min....

[Rossonero3]

Passenger Manifest 1902_Imperato Alfonso.jpg

Passenger Manifest 1896_Cariddo-Del Pizzo.jpg

[Rossonero3]

New York State Census 1915.jpeg

[Rossonero3]

WW1 Draft Reg_Cariddo_Gisueppe.jpg

Militarty Service 1919_Cariddo_Gisueppe.jpg

[Rossonero3]

Declaration & Petition 1908-1910.jpg

Oath of Allegiance.jpg

[Tessa78]

They stay in the outbox until I read them...

Sorry, I was searching in Maddaloni.

Thank you for the docs. It will take me some time to review.

EDIT TO ADD:

The documents you provided were all generated in the USA. Since no birth act/certificate is necessary for verification of dates, etc., we cannot rely on the contents being accurate (e.g. as to the birthdate)
Immigrant-provided information was very inaccurate across the board.

As to the ship manifest - the information contained there was usually taken from an Italian document such as a passport or visa (traveling papers) and usually have the accurate information.

Given that Italian women maintain their maiden name, and since Carmela would travel using that surname, it happened that her children were listed as Del Pizzo. This was a common error on manifests.
This manifest image that you provided does not give the date of arrival, nor does it identify the name of the ship. It is only the Customs list of passengers. Do you have the original ship manifest?

As to Maddaloni - I found a birth act for a Giuseppe Imperato in 1895 - born to Domenico Imperato who was the son of Antonio. It just verifies that there were Imperato families in Maddaloni.

T.

[Rossonero3]

They stay in the outbox until I read them...

Sorry, I was searching in Maddaloni.

Thank you for the docs. It will take me some time to review.

T.

Ok thanks, let me know if you find anything in Maddaloni, nothing turned up for me. No idea why they would have gone there. But i'm certain it's them.