Mazza family from Ragusa

[mcappello]

I am looking for more info on my 2x great Grandfather Salvatore Mazza. A family member told me he was born in Ragusa. He was born in 1884 moved to the US at unknown date and married Giovannina Scribano in NYC. He passed away in Staten Island, NY in 1939. I am trying to find the names of Salvatore's parent's, when & where they were born etc. What is the best way to search for this info? I'm also having a difficult time on pinpointing his arrival to the USA. There seems to be multiple Salvatore Mazza's born around 1884 arriving in the USA.

Thank you for your time,
Michael

[PippoM]

This should be his marriage record:


Nome: Salvatore Mazza
Data dell'evento: 25 Mar 1916
Luogo dell'evento: Manhattan, New York, New York, United States
Luogo dell'evento: Manhattan, New York
Sesso: Male
Età: 32
Stato civile: Single
Etnia: White
Anno di nascita (approssimativo): 1884
Luogo di nascita: Vittoria Seracusa, Italy
Nome del padre: Francesco
Nome della madre: Rosa Nicastro
Nome del coniuge: Giovanna Seribano
Sesso del coniuge: Female
Età del coniuge: 22
Stato civile del coniuge: Single
Etnia del Coniuge: White
Anno di nascita del coniuge (approssimativo): 1894
Luogo di nascita del coniuge: Vittoria Seracusa, Italy
Nome del padre del coniuge: Georgio
Nome della madre del coniuge: Carmela Di Benedetto

An image of it can be seen at a FHC.
However, it seems he was born in Vittoria, Siracusa

[PippoM]

This is his birth record:

http://dl.antenati.san.beniculturali.it ... ewsIndex=0

He was born on Mar 20th, 1883 at 31, via Marsala
son of Francesco, 28 years old, cart driver, and Rosa Nicastro

The side annotation states he married Giovanna Scribano (daughter of Giorgio) in the Italian Parish of San Gioacchino in NY, on Apr 9th, 1916

[mcappello]

Thank you for your time and thank you for finding this information! I'm far from an expert in genealogy so please forgive my ignorance, is Vittoria Seracusa the same as Syracuse?

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!

[mcappello]

I was looking for the arrival date to the US for Salvatore Mazza. There are several Salvatore Mazza's who match in age but most of them came from other towns that don't seem to match my records. There's only one that comes close and his last place of residence shows Palazzolo Acreide, Sicily, which is also in the province of Syracuse. What are the chances of this being my Salvatore Mazza?

[PippoM]

Vittoria is a town in the province of Siracusa at that time (Province is an administrative entity, something like a "county").
It is in the province of Ragusa, now.

[PippoM]

This can be his ship manifest:

https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903 ... cc=1368704

surname was wrongly indexed as "Marza".
He arrived at NY on Jul 7th, 1907, on ship "Principe di Piemonte", that sailed from Palermo on Jun 21st.
In last column, father's name is reported as "Francesco", so, this should be him.

[mcappello]

When searching for Sal’s father Francesco all I can find is https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XVBV-44D

I’m not sure if this is the right Francesco as he was born in Arigento. Was it common for families to move to different cities during those times?

[PippoM]

Only some of Italian records have been indexed till now!
What you have found probably was just a person by the same name.
You should search here:

http://dl.antenati.san.beniculturali.it ... di+Ragusa/

in "Stato civile italiano" for records from 1866 on, and "Stato Civile della Restaurazione" for records before.

[mcappello]

Thank you Pippo you have been a great help. Thanks to your help I believe I just found the birth certificate for my Francesco Mazza! Do you think this would be my ancestor based off of my previous known information.

http://dl.antenati.san.beniculturali.it ... ewsIndex=0

[PippoM]

No, he isn't.
You should have looked for his marriage record, before.
And it's here:

http://dl.antenati.san.beniculturali.it ... ewsIndex=0

You can see parents are different.

[PippoM]

From here on:

http://dl.antenati.san.beniculturali.it ... ewsIndex=0

you find the "allegati" for Francesco's marriage: birth certificates of the spouses, some death certificates, and the interesting copy of a criminal sentence against Rosa's father, who was sentenced to hard labor for life, for attempted murder

[mcappello]

You are correct. I made the mistake by assuming that was my Francesco Mazza. So should I always find the marriage document first and then the birth certificate? And never the other way around?

[mcappello]

Gosh that criminal sentence is several pages long. Was being sentenced to hard labor for life common in those days? Or do I just have a crazy grandfather lol. From the death certificate I believe I can make out the father of Carmelo Mazza being Giacomo? Does that sound correct? Does it show Carmelo’s mothers name anywhere? I cannot locate her name.

[PippoM]

You are correct. I made the mistake by assuming that was my Francesco Mazza. So should I always find the marriage document first and then the birth certificate? And never the other way around?

It depends on the info you already have.
If you don't know parents' names, you better search for marriage record before, to avoid getting other persons by the same name.