ancestors in Campobas

[lcicchino]

I am now tracking Nicola, Vincenzo, Phillip, and Giacamo Cicchino. Father is (I believe) Genetore Cicchino. I have leads that the family is from Campobasso. I also have info that the family is from Campobas, Abruzzi, Italy. Is this the same area? As of now I can only find info on Nicola, and Vincenzo. I would love some help if anyone offer any!

[jamiecapaldi]

Abruzzo is a region north west of Campobaso. Campobaso is in the molise region.

[JohnArmellino]

Many immigrants from the Molise region referred to themselves as Abruzzese. At the time, Abruzzo and Molise were part of one region called Abruzzi e Molise. Today, Molise is a separate region, comprised of two provinces: Campobasso and Isernia. The inhabitants of this new region now call themselves Molisani. This may explain why your ancestors referred to Campobasso, Abruzzo, Italia.

Today, Campobasso is both a province and a city (the provincial capital). In the old days, there was the distretto of Campobasso and the city of Campobasso.

The surname Cicchino is not indigenous to the city of Campobasso. However, when an immigrant family said they were from Campobasso, they were often referring to the then distretto of Campobasso or to the general area surrounding the city of Campobasso. In your case, Cicchino is most often found in the comune of Castelpetroso, now located in the province of Isernia, about 15 miles from Campobasso as the crow flies. It is the second most common surname in that town (116 individuals of a total population of 1644). The surname is also found in several other towns of the region, although in far fewer numbers: Roccamandolfi (9), Isernia (9), Termoli (9), Bojano (5), Pesche (3), Vinchiaturo (3), Macchia d'Isernia (3). Since all records are kept at the town level, it's important to locate your town of origin. I think that Castelpetroso is your best bet.

[Tessa78]

What records have you located for Nicola and Vincenzo? ship manifest? census data?

Do you have a year of arrival?

We may be able to help you pin down the town of birth with records. The more you provide in details the better our search.

T.

[lcicchino]

Thank you so much for all of the help! I do know that Nicola was born Nov. 17 1876 died in 1965 ( in Lambertville, NJ). Through the NJ census I believe he came over in 1904. Possibly on the ship the Sicilian Prince. Vincenzo was born in 1874, died in 1960, again in Lambertville NJ. Both brothers married sisters, Nicola married Isabella Biondi, ( possibly immigrating on the ship the Moltke in April 1905 from Naples). Vincenzo married Maria Biondi. All of the info except for the ships I am sure of (tombstones). I am having problems with the immigration records--several diffferent Nicolas, Nicolangelos, Nicholas...etc! I am planning on visiting a LDS local research place to see if I can trace birth records. I do have a copy of what I believe is Vincenzo and Maria's marriage certificate but it is all in Italian! It does have the town of Castelpetrossa on it. Since there are so many Cicchinos I am not sure if I am looking at the right ones! Thank you for explaining the geography of the area too. I really appreciate any insight anyone can offer!

[JohnArmellino]

The surname Biondi is also found in Castelpetroso. The civil records of Castelpetroso, 1809-1899, have been filmed by the LDS. Go here

http://www.familysearch.org/eng/library ... ++di++Cast++

to view the film details. You can find the nearest Family History Center at the same website. If you can scan the marriage certificate and post the image here I'm sure the members of this forum will help you with a translation.

[Tessa78]

If you haven't used an image sharing site, a good one is
imageshack.com

After uploading, copy the "direct link code" and post in this forum or better yet in the translation forum...

T.

[Tessa78]

Is this the Nicola Cicchino you refer to?

Given Name: Nicola
Surname: Cicchino
Last Place of Residence: Castelpetroso,
Date of Arrival: 13 Apr 1904
Age at Arrival: 21y
Ethnicity: So. Italian, Italy
Port of Departure: Naples
Port of Arrival: New York
Gender: Male
Marital Status: M
US Citizen:
Ship of Travel: Sicilian Prince
Collection: New York Passenger Arrival Lists (Ellis Island), 1892-1924

He was going to a cousin in New Jersey (Newark) named Felice Vecchiarello...

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

T.

[Tessa78]

Ship manifest for Vincenzo Cicchino and wife Maria Biondi, arriving NY in January of 1909, leaving "no one" in Castelpetroso... Vincenzo's last permanent residence is listed as USA... going to brother-in-law Giovanni diMazzo, 60 Adams St., Newark, NJ.


page 1 - line 10 and 11
http://www.ellisisland.org/EIFile/popup ... &line=0010

page 2
http://www.ellisisland.org/cgi-bin/tif2 ... 7.tif&S=.5

T.