I’m hoping someone with experience in Ligurian genealogy can point me in the right direction.
For years, all I knew about my 2nd great-grandmother was that Maria Maddalena Mangini died in Brooklyn in 1915. Her daughter, Rose Malva, and later her son Angelo’s death certificate both identify their parents as Luigi Malva and Mary (Maria Maddalena) Mangini.
Recently I made what I thought was a breakthrough in Cicagna, Genoa.
I found:
* Marriage banns (4 Feb 1877) for Maria Maddalena Mangini, age 19, daughter of Giuseppe Mangini and Vittoria Arata, intending to marry Giuseppe Legale.
* Marriage banns (27 Nov 1880) for the same Maria Maddalena, now engaged to Carlo Bevilacqua.
* Marriage record (11 Jan 1881) showing Maria Maddalena Mangini, age 23, marrying Carlo Bevilacqua, age 19, a celibe, figlio di ignoti (son of unknown parents), from San Colombano Certenoli.
* Passenger manifest (18 Mar 1881) showing Carlo Bevilacqua (19) and wife Maddalena (23) arriving together in New York.
This appears to be a perfect paper trail.
The problem is that once they arrive in New York, they completely disappear.
I cannot find Carlo’s death, a census entry, city directory, naturalization, burial, or any children under the surname Bevilacqua. Instead, a few years later, the family appears using the surname Malva, with Luigi Malva consistently identified as the father of Rose and Angelo.
I’m trying to determine what happened between March 1881 and the appearance of Luigi Malva. Did Carlo die shortly after arrival? Did Maria remarry? Could Carlo have somehow used another surname? Or am I following the wrong Maria Maddalena despite how well the chronology fits?
Anyone that has ANY information about this family, I would be very grateful!
Any suggestions for record sets or research strategies would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you!
-Sal
Bevilacqua/Mangini/Malva Mystery - Cicagna, Genoa, Liguria - Family Branch
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thedipumas
- Newbie

- Posts: 16
- Joined: 12 Oct 2023, 15:42
Re: Bevilacqua/Mangini/Malva Mystery - Cicagna, Genoa, Liguria - Family Branch
From this rough family tree, we can assume (with some certainty) that they might be the Carlo Bevilacqua and Maddalena Mangini you are looking for.
The Bevilacqua surname appears to be misspelled.
Apparently, a daughter named Maria was born in Manhattan on April 8, 1882, so the dates line up.
https://www.familysearch.org/en/tree/pe ... s/MYG9-49P
This is the record:
https://a860-historicalvitalrecords.nyc.gov/view/51054
To view the certificate click on “Download PDF”
The Bevilacqua surname appears to be misspelled.
Apparently, a daughter named Maria was born in Manhattan on April 8, 1882, so the dates line up.
https://www.familysearch.org/en/tree/pe ... s/MYG9-49P
This is the record:
https://a860-historicalvitalrecords.nyc.gov/view/51054
To view the certificate click on “Download PDF”
-
thedipumas
- Newbie

- Posts: 16
- Joined: 12 Oct 2023, 15:42
Re: Bevilacqua/Mangini/Malva Mystery - Cicagna, Genoa, Liguria - Family Branch
I do believe you are right! Thank you so much for this, at least I have an address for them now! At some point Carlo dies early on and she remarries a Luigi Malva. I haven’t been able to locate these records at all. Birth, marriage or death. It’s as if he just exists as a name in some documents.
