I recently received a post from Wally who lives in Hillsville, Pennsylvania. He told me that many people from Martone and the surrounding comunes moved there. I had never heard of this cluster of immigrants and it made me wonder what other places the Martonese emigrated to. My hometown of Meriden, Connecticut is another large cluster in the United States. Toronto, Ontario in Canada. Sydney, Australia. Turin (Torino), Italy. These are the places that I know about. I would love to hear more about these places and the other places I am unaware of. I would not doubt that there is at least one place in South America. This discussion could help us find some long lost relatives and get more answers about our family history. I look forward to hearing from everyone!!
Martone.info
Famiglie di Martone, Italy – Genealogy Project
My family, starting with my great-grandfather Giorgio (George) Macri, was from Martone and also went to Meriden, CT. Maybe we are related.
Most of us with family from Martone are distantly related. I would need more info, like Giorgio’s birth date, death date, wife’s full name, etc. in order to check if we may be related. Please send me more info if you would like me to pursue this further. Thanks!! Have a great weekend!
Here’s some info to help answer your query to my daughter Yasmeen. My grandfather Giorgio Vincenzo Calvi was reportedly born May 29, 1875 in Martone, the son of Nicolo Calvi and Maria Teresa Noti. I cannot locate his immigration records but he reportedly first came over with his father Nicolo and according to various census data he came in either 1885 or 1890 at age 10 or age 15. He settled in Hingham, Massachusetts where, presumably, there were other families from Martone and nearby towns. (See the list of names I gave Yasmeen.)
Virginia Rose Scarfo, born 1877, was the daughter of Nicolo Scarfo and Maria Concetta Barillaro, of Gioiosa Ionica. Virginia Scarfo had one brother, Nicolo, who emigrated to Boston, Massachusetts and two sisters. One sister, Maria Giuditta Scarfo married Joseph Barillaro and they moved to Meriden, CT. The other sister, Teresa Scarfo, remained in Italy (probably Gioiosa Ionica) and married Raffaele Caraciolla.
Virginia Scarfo and her mother M. Concetta Barillaro emigrated to Boston, Massachusetts in 1900 after the death of her father and was met by brother Nicolo. She married Giorgio Calvi in June 1902 and died in childbirth at age 40.
Giorgio Calvi came as a “farmer” but trained and pursued a career as a stone mason. To my knowledge he never returned to Italy and died at the age of 51, the father of eight children, the youngest being my mother. Being able to read and write (he took American citizenship c. 10 years after he arrived) Giorgio was a leader of the small Italian community, represented their needs to the town and wrote letters home to Italy for them. We all would love more information about his family background in Italy as he was a strong and intelligent man.
Here are some details about my great grandfather. Georgio Rocco Giovanni Macri, 1889–1984.
BIRTH 21 AUG 1889 • Martone, Reggio Calabria, Italy
DEATH 4 MARCH 1984 • Meriden, New Haven, Connecticut, United States of America
His wife’s name is Maria Gratta, 1892–
BIRTH 2 AUG 1892 • Chiaravalle, Prov Catanzaro, Italy
DEATH Unknown
I believe his father is Francesco Saverio Salvatore Macri, 1853–
BIRTH 18 DECEMBER 1853 • Martone, Reggio Calabria, Italy
And his mother is Maria Giuseppa Valerioti, 1861–1939
BIRTH 11 MARCH 1861 • Martone, Reggio Calabria, Italy
DEATH 1939
Any information you could share with me would be wonderful.Feel free to email me.
Hi Michelle – I am checking my records to see what additional info i can provide for you. I will email you anything that I find. Thanks for posting and I’ll get back to you soon. Carmen
Hi, I recently had a DNA ancestry analysis done on 23andme.com and came up with some Papallo DNA relatives as the closest matches. My great grandfather, Giorgio Calvi was listed in the ship’s records as being from Gerace but my great aunt once said she thought they were from Martone. My great grandmother, Virginia Scarfo was from Gioiosa Ionica. Her mother was a Barillaro. They were married in the U.S. and lived in Hingham, Massachusetts.
I believe the Barillaros settled in Meriden, according to my mom.
Hi Yasmeen, I sent you an invite on 23andMe so we can see if and how we may be related. If you have any birth, death, or marriage dates for any of your relatives, I can see what records I may have. Did Hingham, MA have a lot of families from the Martone-Gioiosa area? If so what was the reason for them to settle there. Meriden, CT was a huge manufacturing town and that is why so many families from Martone clustered there. Thanks for posting. Have a nice night! Carmen
Hi Carmen, yes there were a number of families. My mom looked at the 1745 census you posted and gave me the names (below) of families who lived on Kilby Street in Hingham, MA. where my mom grew up much of her childhood. I’m not sure of the reason they moved to the South Shore. My great grandfather was a stone mason and the ground there has a lot of rock which had to be removed to build houses. A number of them were gardeners for the summer home owners in the area (like the Kennedys). Some, particularly the Portuguese immigrants, were fishermen.
Calvi
Candido
Barillaro
Lombardo
Ferraro (Nick Ferraro married my Grandma’s sister Jenny Calvi)
Falletti
Silipo
Galluzzo
Infusino (My Uncle Herman Calvi’s wife was Fannie Infusino)
Also:
Papandrea (Fred married to cousin Albina Barillaro in Connecticut)
Longo (a family in Cohasset)
Caracciolo (one married to Teresa, the sister of Virginia Scarfo my great grandmother)
My relatives were Tutono and Maria Achille that lived om Kilby Street in Hingham….any info on them?
Nick
My grandfather came to NYC from Martone in 1902
Hi Diane, thanks for visiting the site. Could you share some more info on your grandfather? His full name, parents names, wife’s name, etc. I can see what info I have on him and I would also like to see if we are related. My dad’s mom was a Lombardo and both of her parents were Lombardos from 2 different lines. Take care. Carmen
The name is Candito from Kilby st. My grandfather was Joseph Candito my Grandmother was Francesca. They had sons Philip, Salvatore, James, Christopher, john, Daughters Rose, and Margaret as well as a baby lost at Birth. Im researching now the Town my Grandfather was born so i can vist .
Hi Christopher – I am assuming you are planning on visiting Martone. The town is most active at the beginning of August when the Festival of St. George is held. Here is a link with some info about Martone that may help you plan for your trip. http://calabria.indettaglio.it/eng/comuni/rc/martone/martone.html
I sent you a message on 23andme with some questions, thanks!
A Barillaro family did settle in Meriden. They raised quarter horses for harness racing but unfortunately the stables burned in the 60’s and they lost many horses. My Dad Vincent was good friends with them and he used to take us to the stables a lot and went riding as a young man. I believe his friends name was Joe Barillaro. They also owned one of the ice cream stores in town as they I believe also raised dairy cows. They made my fathers favorite Maple Walnut ice cream and their store and some of their property was off the road to New Britain. adjacent to where the new mall was built in Meriden.
I am a Barillaro originallyfrom Meriden, CT. Albert was my father, his brother Carmello owned the dairy. I was one of several family members that made and served that ice cream. Rocco was the brother that had the cows. my dad worked for both enterprises. Joe was their cousin with the horses. i tney may have been tennesee walkers but not quarter horses. Almost all of us lived off Chamberlian hwy in meriden. By the way there were 14 brothers and sisters in that generation of our family children of Francesco and Maria Barillaro
Hi Peter – thanks you for providing this info about your family and their history in Meriden!!
Hi I came across this thread. I’m looking for information on Rocco Calvi. He lived on kilby st in Hingham. Died in 1925 he was murdered. His wife was Filomena Femia. There were 2 Calvi families on Kilby but they were not related.
Hi Cheryl. I have no local info here in the U.S. I only have access to the civil records for Martone for the years 1809 – 1910 with several years missing information.
Cheryl-
Rocco Calvi is my GGF; who was murdered by Joseph Silipo on Kilby St. in the doorway of the family home. My GF Joseph Calvi avenged his fathers death some years later (1933) on Kilby St. after Silpo was released from jail. I still live in the home on Kilby St and tend to their graves.
Thanks for providing this history of your family and thanks for your service!!
Hello, I’m trying to find out any info on my fathers side. The name is Gatto.
I think his fathers name was George Gatto.
My mothers maiden name is Silipo. They were both born in Martone, came to Stamford Ct in 1950.
Thanks
Hi Gino – Any additional info that you can provide would be helpful. Your parent’s full names and birthdates. Your dad’s sibling names. Your grandparents names and birthdates. Thanks! Carmen
Hi Gino, my maiden name is Silipo. I was born in Sydney, Australia and my father was born in Martone. Can you tell me your mother’s first name and the names of her parent’s. It would be good to see how connect!
Regards Margaret
Hello:
I’m trying to gather information on family members who were from Martone, Italy, especially my great grandfather, Giorgio Lombardo (born approx. 1877) and his wife Anna Chianesi (born 1892). Giorgio had 3 brothers ( Vincenzo, Salvatore and Pasquale) who also came to the US and a sister who we believe stayed behind and married a man with the last name of Cotrona. Anna Chianesi’s 2nd husband was also from Martone. His name was Joseph Murando (born 1889) and I believe his mother’s name was Maria Macri. Any information that you have on the Lombardo’s, Murando’s or Controna’s would be great!
Hi Jacqueline. Do you know where your Great Grandmother Anna was born? I tried to look briefly through the records and found nothing specific so far. Please let me know any additional info you may have. Thanks. Carmen
Hi, Sorry that I did not respond earlier. Was very busy during the holidays. I asked some family members and Anna may actually have been born in France and not Martone.
Hi there, you may find some information in here with some of those names. https://docplayer.net/68793547-From-scrub-to-skyscrapers.html
This book was written by a distant relative on my nonnas side, Elena Parrelli (lombardo).
It mentions Vincenzo, Salvatore and Pasquale.
My grandparents came to Sydney Australia, along with some others and to my knowledge most went to America
Hi Carmen,
One more bit of information that I have. I believe that my great grandfather Giorgio Lombardi’s (Lombardo) parents were Giuseppe Lombardo and Caterina Panetta and they were married in 1871. Thanks again for looking into this.
Jackie
Hi Carmen,
Jacqueline B and I are cousins. Her grandmother, Angela Lombardi(o) was my mother’s (Mary Ann Lombardi Piscioneri(e) older sister. My father, Anthony George Piscioneri(e) was also born in Martone on March 11, 1918. His parents were Nicoli Piscionere and Maria Calvi. Many of the names you have in your information are so familiar to me! And I do remember visiting relatives in Meriden, CT when I was a very young girl. My dad came to this country April of 1929 at the age of 11 with his dad and settled in Yonkers, NY. Over the years his dad would return to Martone leaving him in NY with friends. His parents, brothers and sisters would eventually all come to the US. Most of them settled in Yonkers, one sister in Long Island. He married my mom in 1945. Thank you for all the work you have poured into this!
Thank you for the info about your family and your kind words.
My mom, Rosina Agostino Macri, and father, Giuseppe Macri, were both born in Martone. They were married in the mid 50’s and then both migrated to Yonkers, NY soon after. Alot of my uncle’s on the Agostino side, also migrated to Yonkers. Yonkers has a strong presence of Martonese and Giosani.
BTW, today is The Feast of San Giorgio – Viva San Giorgio!
There’s a book called from scrub to skyscrapers written by a distant family member of mine. My nonna Elena Parrelli (Lombardo) speaks of times as a youngster, her father Rocco, all her family originated in martone
https://docplayer.net/68793547-From-scrub-to-skyscrapers.html
Hello,
My name is Giuseppi Vinci, my Father and Mother Migrated from Martone. We know a lot of people who migrated to Sydney Australia. My Father’s name is Michaelago Vinci (People knew him as Mimmi u moco) not sure if I spelled that correctly. My Mothers name is Rosa Vinci – Maiden name was Rosa Lombardo. The Migrated Martone community grew big in Australia we even have our own St George Feasta.
Would be a great idea if we could connect with others from Martone via Whats app or a forum we could chat with others who Migrated from Martone. I could pass this on to all my cousins here in Australia.
Sorry, The reason I came onto this website was to ask if there is a Festa this year, if so when? Thank you
Hi, came across this site recently. My mother, Marie Cuneo, will be 100 this year and her grandmother was Concetta Barillaro. We believe Concetta was born in Calabria. She married Vito Tomeo and came to the US in early 1900 with her family and her brother, Joseph Barillaro. Joseph married and moved to Cohasset and Hingham. We are also related to Meriden, CT people (Fred and Albina Papandrea were mentioned in a string; I remember visiting them in the 70s). We are in touch with a Barillaro cousin in Italy, who has done extensive research, even old photos! Happy to share info, thanks.
Hi my name is Michelangelo Cotrona, I left my town when I was 15. I never thought that I would miss my people but I do. So I would like to keep in touch with Martone that I loved!👍
Hi Michelangelo! I’m sure it is hard after living there so long and leaving behind all your friends. It is such a small town and everyone knows each other. I am friends with a lot of people from Martone on Facebook. I would search there for more people you know if you aren’t already. Nice to meet you. Ciao Carmen