I Know Nothing
By Angelo Coniglio
In previous columns, I have discussed general approaches for finding ancestral information. I want to take a different tack, using a case study. I see innumerable remarks in my email and in response to my genealogy columns that go something like this. “I know nothing but my father’s name. He said he was born in Sicily. Can you help me find my ancestry?”
My usual response is “I’m sure you know more about your father. When was he born? Where did he live? What was his occupation? What were the names of his siblings, in order of age?” The reader responded: “My father’s name was Calogero Montante. He was born in about 1913 in Sicily and lived in Rochester, New York in the 1940’s, marrying my mother Marie. He was the eldest, and his siblings, were Leonard, Raymond, and Carmela. He worked in a glass factory. But I know nothing about his ancestry.”
That’s not a lot of information, but neither is it “nothing.” Start with the most recent information, wary of misspellings. I looked for the Montante surname in the 1940 U.S. Census for Rochester, on Ancestry.com, familysearch.org and other venues. In the census, taken on 1 April 1940, I found a Calogero ‘Montanti’, age at last birthday 50, born in ‘Italy.’ That’s the right name, but he would have been born in about 1890, not 1913. However, in addition to his wife Rose, the census lists children Leonard, Raymond and Carmela. The sons were born in Pennsylvania, and the daughter in New York State. This looked like the right family. A son Calogero wasn’t listed, but being the eldest, he may have lived elsewhere in 1940.
In the U. S., “Charles” is commonly used for “Calogero.” I searched the 1940 census for “Charles Montante” and found one, born in ‘Italy’, age 27 (born about 1913), a mechanic in a glass factory, with a wife Marie and two children, at a different address from the other ‘Montanti’ family. I then searched for the family in the 1930 Census, and found “Charlie” Montante, age 40, with wife Rose and children “Charles,” age 17, Leonard, Raymond and Carmela. The 1940 Census gives no immigration information; while 1930’s states that “Charlie” Sr. immigrated in 1913 and had been naturalized.
Continuing back in time, and since the censuses said some of the children were born in Pennsylvania, I searched the 1920 U.S. Census for that state. I found a Charley ‘Muntanti’, age 30, an alien born in ‘Italy,’ living in Pittston, PA with wife ‘Rosy’ and sons ‘Charles’, Leonardo and Raimondo. So the elder Calogero immigrated in about 1913, and was naturalized as a U.S. citizen sometime between 1920 and 1930. None of the censuses gave any birthplace details except ‘Italy,’ (‘Italy’ included Sicily). Usually no town or city is named, unless the immigrant was from a major city like Rome. Now, one of two approaches might work. Knowing that Calogero Sr. was naturalized between 1920 and 1930, we could search for his naturalization records. These would give his date and place of birth, date of immigration, the ship’s name, his U.S. address, and the names and birth dates of his family members. Such records are not that easy to find, but may be held at a County Clerk’s or local court office.
Another avenue is to search for the ship’s passenger manifest of Calogero Sr. Records are available on-line on familysearch.org, Ancestry.com, and ellisisland.org. I searched, and found a record for Calogero Montante, emigrating on the SS Berlin in May 1913 at age 24, traveling to his brother Antonio in Pittston. The name of the closest relative left behind was Calogero’s wife Rosa Latona, in the town of Occhibanna, Sicily. It also gave Occhibanna as Calogero’s last place of residence and birthplace.
Knowing the critical piece of information, the ancestral town, the next step was to find Calogero Montante Sr.’s birth record. Records for many towns are available on Ancestry.com, familysearch.org & on the official Italian ‘Ancestors’ site at http://bit.ly/ItalianRecordsPortal. 1890 is the approximate year indicated by Calogero Sr.’s age in the census and passenger manifest. His name wasn’t in the 1890 birth index for Occhibanna, so I checked 1889. He was born on 26 April 1889, confirming the report in the 1 April 1940 census: “50 at his last birthday.” The birth record gives his father’s name and age, his mother’s name, and a margin note stating that Calogero married Rosa Latona in 1912. Starting with this information, earlier records were located that extended the reader’s family tree back to the early 1800’s with the names of many of his g-g-g-g grandparents, back to the early 1700’s. All from ‘nothing.’
Coniglio is the author of the book The Lady of the Wheel, inspired by his Sicilian research. Order the paperback or the Kindle version at www.bit.ly/SicilianStory Coniglio’s web page at http://bit.ly/AFCGen has helpul hints on genealogic research. If you have genealogy questions, or would like him to lecture to your club or group, e-mail him at genealogytips@aol.com
