A few weeks ago I received an e-mail from John and Janet Sweeney (not a common Italian name) asking if I could let them know where to find birth and marriage certificates of Janet’s family as she wanted to claim her Italian citizenship. Her grandparents, Ulia Aniballi and Ernisto Bacchiocchi, had lived and married in San Giorgio and had then headed west to America.
Records of births and marriages are available from the local registry office and records begin in about 1866. So I was able to go to the local town hall and the very helpful Massimo Branchini who has responsibility for the records, quickly found and copied the marriage certificate and the birth certificate of the grandmother Ulia Aniballi. The marriage certificate showed that the grandfather, Ernisto Bachiocchi, had been born in Monte Porzio, a town about 10 kilometres away.
Not knowing the registrar in Monte Porzio meant that getting his birth certificate took slightly longer. Forms needed filling in and stamping, my identity card needed copying which had to be done by a different staff member, and the photocopying of the certificates took some time as the registrar wasn’t sure how to reduce the image on the copier etc. However, after some time and a charge of 50cents for the photocopy I had the certificates and Janet was able to start the process of gaining dual nationality.
Out of interest I tried to trace some Ainiballis or Bacchiocchi in San Giorgo who may be related to Janet. Monique, of Mike and Monique who come here in the summer, is also an Aniballi on her mum’s side and in fact her mum remembers Ulia and Ernesto children from when she was a child growing up in America. Monique’s Aniballi family are still here in San Giorgio. However, Janet is from a different branche of the family and so far no “living relations” of Janets have been found alive and well and living in San Giorgio.
The same day that the email arrived from John and Janet, our friend Rinaldo arrived with a letter addressed to his brother, the local priest, Don Giorgio. It was a letter from Greg Cesar, an American who was wanting to come to San Giorgio to look at the parish registrers of births, deaths and marriages.
When Greg arrived I asked him if he had been fortunate in finding any useful information. I was surprised to discover that from the Italian parish records he had, over the years, traced his family tree back to the 1700s. In Italy local churches were required to keep records after a decision at the Council of Trent in 1563. So Greg was spending a holiday looking at records in local churches and pushing his family tree further back. Being American he had not only Italian blood but also Irish and Polish and had, on various holidays, also traced these branches of the family.
No link has been established between Janet and Greg’s respective family from San Giorgio. The one thing they do have in common is that both sides had the sense to get some Irish blood into the mix.
Hi,
My husband’s family is from Pesaro. His grandfather’s name was Alfred Aniballi and his grandmother’s name was Palma Bacchiocchi, both listed on the Ellis Island website as from from Pesaro, San Giorgio. They came to live in New Haven, Ct. where the family has all but remained. These are not common names in this part of the country. Most of the Italian immigrants in the New Haven area are from Amalfi/Naples area. My late father-in-law, blond with green eyes, always was proud his family was from Marche.
Bonnie Aniballi
Hi,
Another San Giorgio descendant from Connecticut. My great great grandfather Crescentino Secchiaroli was born in San Giorgio di Pesaro in 1840 (his father’s name was Angelo who married Maria Scarpetta). Crescentino married Teresa Pierpaoli.
I know Crescentino ended up in Castlevechio di Monte Porzio and then in the 1890’s went to Corinaldo.
If you, Greg, or Massimo Branchini ever comes across Secchiaroli’s in San Giorgio di Pesaro in your research, I’d be very grateful for any information or civil/church documents you could share.
I enjoy this site. All the best,
Michael Secchiaroli