Monday, November 18, 2002
More from the Catasto Onciario of 1754. According to the baptismal records, my 5G grandfather, Giovanni di Pietrosimone (husband of Vittoria Masuccio, who was the daugther of Michelangelo Masuccio and Anna Maria Paterno), was born on 28 Dec 1753 to Agostino di Pietrosimone and Angiola Coluccio (my 6G grandparents). Despite being born six months before the official date of the Catasto, he does not show up in it. His parents, Agostino and Angiola, however, do. Agostino, a 46 year old peasant farmer, and Angiola, his 44 year old wife, have only one child alive and living with them at the time of the Catasto, their 13 year old daughter Mariana. Baptismal records record Mariana as having been born on 25 Feb 1740, so that points to this family record being recorded in 1753. That would put Agostino’s birthdate at about 1707 and Angiola’s at about 1709.
There are quite a few other people living in the di Pietrosimone household. Or perhaps it should be the Coluccio household, since most of them are Coluccios. Agostino’s brother-in-law (and therefore Angiola’s brother) Vincenzo Coluccio was also a peasant farmer, age 29 and married to Costa di Biase, age 49. Nicolina Coluccio, Angiola’s sister, age 22, and her husband Cosimo Santillo (son of Basilio), age 23, are living in the house as well, with their one year old daughter Cristina.
The most interesting listing here, and the one that allows me to push back another generation, is Anna Maria Piteo, who is listed as socera to Agostino. That’s a corruption of the Italian word suocera, which means mother-in-law. Anna Maria Piteo was the widow of the late Paolo Coluccio, and they were my 7G grandparents. I didn’t have those names before. Anna Maria was 61 years old in 1753, which places her birth date at about 1692.
I don’t see either Agostino di Pietrosimone or Angiola Coluccio in the baptismal records. The first child listed for Paolo Coluccio and Anna Maria Piteo in the records is a Giuseppe Coluccio, born 5 Apr 1715. There are other children. Angiola’s sister Nicolina was born 5 Mar 1727. I don’t know how complete the baptismal records are that early. I suppose it’s possible Agostino and Angiola were born in another parish, in, say, Piedimonte. In any case, I’m delighted to have pushed back another generation here.
Sticking with Piteos, my 6G grandmother, Maria Clemente Piteo, was born on 13 Oct 1746, as discussed in my entry for March 13, 2002, the daughter of Nicola Piteo and Portia Farina. These names I already had. I also had a name for Nicola’s father, Casimiro. Nicola and Portia are in the Catasto. Nicola is listed as the son of the late Casimiro, so I know that Casimiro was dead by 1754. Nicola was 52 at the time of the Catasto and working as a peasant farmer. Portia was 42. They had four children alive at the time of the Catasto. My 6G grandmother Maria was five years old, and given her birthdate, that places the time of this record at roughly 1752. The other three children, all sons, were Giuseppe, age 17; Domenico, age 15; and Angiolo, age 2.
This was enough to send me back to the baptismal records, where I found Nicola Piteo baptized on 5 Mar 1701, son of Casimiro Piteo and Diana Piazza. Diana’s name is new, and she is my 8G grandmother. Given Nicola’s birthdate, Casimiro and Diana were likely born no later than about 1683, possibly much earlier. Nicola is the only child of Casimiro and Diana to appear in the baptismal records, so if they had others, it may have been before the beginning of the existing records in 1697.
A Portia Farina shows up in the baptismal records at the right time. Someone by that name was born on 16 Feb 1710 to Nicola Farina and Angela Leggiero. But I can’t say for sure if it’s my Portia Farina. It probably is, but I don’t have anything else saying who her parents were. A marriage or death record that tied Portia to Nicola Piteo and listed her parents would be helpful.
Catasto Onciario
Baptismal Records
Posted at 9:34:46 PM
