Isabella Civitano and Michele Sollecito

April 26, 2021 / Sharon / 3 Comments

Isabella Civitano was the daughter of Francesco Civitano (1834-1879) and Giuditta Maria Sportelli (1839-1908)

She was born 21 July 1865, Grumo Appula, Italy. Isabella was my great grandaunt. She was the sister of my great grandfather Vincenzo and his brother Vito Luigi Civitano. Both Vincenzo and Vito Luigi immigrated and began our our Civitano families here in New York. Isabella however, remained in Grumo Appula.

Isabella’s Birth Certificate

I have written briefly about Isabella before. I have had no luck in locating information on or connecting with any family members of her branch. It is my hope in keeping her current I may be able to discover more about her from readers.

Isabella married Michele Sollecito on 31 January 1891 in Grumo Appula, Italy.

Marriage Certificate for Isabella and Michelle

Michelle Sollecito was born 11 March, 1864 in Grumo Appula. He was the son of Leonardo Sollecito (1836 -18730 and Francesca Filomena Capozzolo (1840 – 1916)

Birth Certificate of Michele

Backtracking just a bit, Isabella’s father Francesco had been convicted of robbing a stage coach and assault on August 30, 1873. He was 39 years old at the time. He was sentenced to 18 years of forced labor at the Bagno Penal Facility in Civitavecchia. He would only serve 6 years, passing away at age 45, in prison.

Isabella was only 8 years old when her father was convicted. Mother Giuditta was left with her daughter and her two sons, Vito Luigi (13) and Vincenzo (5) to raise. A great deal of responsibility must have been placed on Vito Luigi being the oldest child.

When Isabella married Michele in 1891, brother Vito Luigi was already married (1882) to Angelina Marvulli and brother Vincenzo was still single and would not marry Nicoletta Marvulli until 1900.

Isabella and Michele’s first son was Leonardo Sollecito born 25 Feb., 1893. He too remained in Grumo Appula, passing away on 5 March 1954, Grumo.

Their next three children, all named Francesco did not live to adulthood, all passing within a 2 years of being born.

A daughter Francesca was born on May 15, 1902. I have no other information on her. She was followed by Giuditta born 25 Feb. 1905. She would live for 15 years before passing away on March 6, 1920.

Isabella and Michele last child was Donata born on November 14, 1908. She went on to marry Pasquale D’Erasmo. Pasquale was the son of Vito D’Erasmo and Rosa Burdi. It appears they made their home in Grumo where Donata died on 26 July, 1973. I have no other information on Pasquale.

Brother Vincenzo was the first to immigrate to New York, arriving on June 19, 1903, Vito Luigi followed on May 8, 1907.

Their mother, Giuditta passed away on February 21, 1908 leaving Isabella, her only child in Grumo Appula to bury her. Actually she was not alone her sister in law, Vito Luigi’s wife, Angelina, was still there. She would not join her husband until 1910. Vincenzo’s wife Nicoletta (Angelina’s sister) was already in New York, having traveled in 1906 to join him.

While the details of Isabella and Michele Sollecito and family remain limited I am hopeful more information will eventually surface.

Elisabeth Caso nee Panacciulli ~ a found gem

April 14, 2021 / Sharon / 6 Comments

In my last posting I shared the wonderful wedding photos of Elizabeth Panacciulli to Guy Thomas Caso (1947). Hoping to find some additional information or details on their wedding I turned to newspapers.com and genealogy bank to try and locate something. I had no luck in either but in newspapers.com, I noticed a mention for an Elizabeth Panacciulli, the year 1937, in a Louisiana paper. It didn’t match my search criteria but I had to take a look.

From The Town Talk – 1937 – 10 – 29 – Page 14

The article highlights 2 letters, the 1st by Rabbi Baum who shipped ‘Louisiana bounteous products’ up to his sister Mrs. Harold Abrahams to share with her public school pupils.

A check on ancestry.com, I located a Sylvia Abrahams (29) living with her husband Harold, at 12 W. 72 St., N.Y.C.. Her occupation was listed teacher – public school. This seemed as the most likely person but the fact she was living in the city and not in Queens, I wanted to confirm this. My next step was to try and prove that Sylvia was actually Sylvia Baum, sister of Rabbi Baum. I was able to locate a marriage license for August 8, 1933 for Harold L. (Leonard) Abrahams to Sylvia Baum, Brooklyn, N.Y.. The marriage took place on the August 15th. I had our sister and teacher.

The 2nd letter highlighted was written by Queens, N.Y. 4th grade student Elizabeth Panacciulli. Her letter starts at the bottom of the article, Dear Dr. Baum. She writes they were learning about Louisiana in class and goes on to say her teacher, Mrs. Abrahams let them taste the peanuts. She wrote “we wish the children down there could see the biggest building in the world. It is the Empire State Building.”

We know that Elizabeth was born in 1 Jan., 1927 which would have made her 10 years old in 1937. The right age for a 4th grader. A check on ancestry and she was the only Elizabeth Panacciulli living in Queens. I feel very confident this is our Elizabeth.

I can only assume that she and her family were made aware that her thank you letter had been chosen to be highlighted in the newspaper. What a huge honor and thrill that must have been. And if for some reason this never was made known – it now has for her descendants.

Wedding Bells for Guy T. Caso and Elizabeth Panacciulli

April 11, 2021April 12, 2021 / Sharon / 5 Comments

In my posting of March 12, 2021, I shared engagement party photos for Gaetano (Guy) T. Caso and his soon to be bride Elizabeth Panacciulli. Guy was my 2nd C 1x removed. Below are a few of those photos.