Fantastic Find Friday - Marcantonio Casillo Birth Record

Not only is this a Fantastic Find Friday, it is also my 200th post:-)  My first foray into foreign language records was to try and find my gg grandfathers Italian birth record.  In addition to getting incredibly lucky that the woman volunteering at the FHC was an expert in Italian records, the record was also exactly where it should be!  That doesn't happen too often, especially when dealing with birth records.  I was also excited when, written in the margins, was a note telling his marriage date and the town it occurred in.  I am told this happens rather often in Italian records, but I had never heard of it before.  I wish other cultures did that as well;-)

(Sorry for the blurry photos)

Roccaromana, Caserta, Italy, "Anno 1868 Comune di Roccaromana Provincia di Terra di Larone Registro dell e Nascita Ufficio," (Archivio di Stato, Caserta, e nel Tribunale di Santa Maria Capua Vetere, Caserta), 1868 Nascita, Marcantonio Maria Casillo; FHL microfilm 1,801,953, item 2.

Surname Saturday: Casillo/Casell

Each Saturday this year I am posting one of my surnames, going in alphabetical order.  This weeks surname is Casillo, which was changed to Casell after immigration to the US to fit in better on the railroad where my gg grandfather worked.

According to Gens, Casillo is most common in the Campania region of Italy, which is where my family came from.

Looking at Italy in Full Detail, Casillo is most popular in the Napoli province today, although 17.15 people with the surname still live in Roccaromana, Caserta, Italy, where my ancestors came from.

I currently have 2 microfilms on order for Roccaromana, which should be arriving any day now.  I am hopeful these will expand upon this line.


Descendants of Guiseppe Casillo
-------------------------------
1-Guiseppe Casillo d. Bef 1868
 +Unknown
|--2-Pietro Casillo b. Abt 1835
    +Angela Rosa Palmiero b. Abt 1845
   |--3-Marcantonio Maria Casillo (Marco Antonio Casell) b. 11 Jan 1868, Roccaromana, Caserta,
   |    Campania, Italy, d. 26 Nov 1937, Colden, Erie, New York, USA
       +Caroline Izzo b. 3 May 1876, , , , Italy, d. 2 Oct 1934, Buffalo, Erie,
        New York, USA
      |--4-Amelia Angela Maria Casillo b. 14 Jun 1903, Buffalo, Erie, New York,
      |    USA
      |--4-Alfredo Marco Casillo (Alfred Marco Casell) b. 28 Jun 1906, Buffalo, Erie, New York, USA,
      |    d. 25 Jan 1981, Buffalo, Erie, New York, USA
      |--4-Angela Casillo b. 28 Jun 1906, Buffalo, Erie, New York, USA
      |--4-Lucia Marian Casillo b. Dec 1910, Buffalo, Erie, New York, USA, d.
      |    1993, , , California, USA
      |--4-Clara Casillo b. Abt 1914, Buffalo, Erie, New York, USA

Genealogy Happy Dance - Marcantonio Casillo

I had the best night ever at the FamilyHistory Center today. I walked in, grabbed my microfilms and the woman working asked what I was looking at today. I said Canadian land records and Italian birth records, but I wasn't so sure on the Italian. She said that Italian records were her favorite and offered to help!

Apparently, back in the day, someone helped her at a FHC with the Italian records and now she was going to help me. She asked about my family and my interest in genealogy. I told her I was looking for my great-great grandfather Marcantonio Casillo's birth record. According to his daughter who told her nephew (my grandfather) Marco was born 11 January 1868 in RocRoma, Caserta, Italy. Try as I may, I never have been able to find a RocRoma, but in checking familysearch.org, I saw many Casillos listed in Roccaromana, Caserta and thought that was close enough and ordered the microfilm. According to my grandfathers family tree Marco's father was Peter, mother Unknown. According to Marco's death certificate his parents were John and Angeline.

The woman who helped me said it was the worst microfilm she ever saw. Very tiny, bad writing and very fuzzy. It took quite a while, but then we FOUND IT!!!

Registered on the 15 January 1868. Father Pietro Casillo, son of the dead Guiseppe, age 33, profession Guardilegata(?any ideas anyone? hard to read), living in Roccaromana. Baby, masculine, born 11 January 1868, at 4 o'clock. Mother Angela Rosa Palmiero, daughter of the alive Rafeal and Maria Guiseppa Agua/Agia/Igia/Izio, age 23. Baby named Marcantonio Maria.

And I got luckier still, on the side of the page was a notation that Marcantonio married Carolina Izio 5 December 1901 (I had September from my grandfathers information. This explains why I couldn't find a certificate in Buffalo, they married in Italy. I also had Carolina Izzo)

Now I need to try and find some relatives on the film... Even if I can't though, I found him! I have a town! And parents! And grandparents! And proof of a marriage! Woo-hoo!!!

They arrived!

Yesterday my two other microfilms arrived at the FHC. I went through the Halstead marriage records, still none for my ancestors, but a few for their siblings. The roll also happened to have marriage banns from Knockholt, Kent, where I have relatives from! Again, none for direct ancestors, but some for siblings, including one of the siblings from Halstead, who married a man in Knockholt. That was a nice surprise:-) The records from Roccaromana, Caserta, Italy also came in and I can't read them. Now, obviously I realize I can not read the Italian, but it is so tiny (it's one of those small microfilms) that I cannot make out any of the words/letters. I am going to buy a magnifying glass, but I'm not sure that will help enough. Any recommendations are more than welcome!

Today my birth/death/marriage certificates came in from Buffalo. It took just a week and a day from ordering them, which is really decent time. Unfortunately, the marriage record couldn't be found, but the index was fuzzy, so I think I must have guessed the wrong year. Next time I'm there I'll check the library microfilm, which might have the record.

I received death certificates for:

• Charles Herman Eichhorn, which has his parents names, Nicholas Eichhorn and Dora Schneider, and shows I had the right family in Canada! Now I have to continue my search there and eventually back to Germany. He was buried at Buffalo Cemetery and hopefully his wife is next to him, as I have no idea when she died.
• Elizabeth Whitehead, my great aunt, who died at 9 days old. The death cause is different than the one listed in the church records; this one makes more sense (cerebral hemorrhage).
• Maria Tross, which has her maiden name as Strassheim (on a marriage record of her child it looked like Crossheim or Crosshein). It also says she was buried in Buffalo Cemetery, so hopefully I can find some info on her husband (Wenzel/Wesley Tross) there and in her obituary.
• Mrs. A. [Barbara] Fleeman. She died in 1870, so there is pretty much no information, other than she was born in France about 1824, but no maiden name. Also no cemetery, but based on her probate file, they might not have been able to afford burying her.
• Adam L. Fleeman. Not my ancestor as hoped, but rather his grandson, who died at 3 months, 24 days. He is buried in Forest Lawn, so I will go visit next time I am in Buffalo.

I received birth certificates for some of the siblings of my ancestors as follows:

• William Tross Eichhorn, son of William F. and Augusta (Tross) Eichhorn.
• Clara Evelyn Eichhorn, daughter of the same.
• Adeline Whitehead, daughter of Charles and Anna M. (Sanderson) Whitehead.
• Amelia Angela Maria Casilla [sic] daughter of Marcantonio and Carolina (Izzo) Casillo.

Time to go update the Legacy file:-)