Francaviglia Sister's Ancestors

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Simone Francaviglia was born and baptized as Simoni on October 11, 1617, in the mother church parish of Sciacca, Agrigento, Sicilia, Italy, the son of Leonarda Bonsignore and her husband Gaspare Francaviglia. (Mouse over and click on his baptism record upper right to enlarge in a new window/tab.) The Basilica of Maria Santissima del Soccorso is the main church of Sciacca, thus called the mother church and is referred to as the Matrice in Latin records.

On October 8, 1645, Sciacca notary Onofrio Sole filed a notarial marriage contract for Simone to marry Rosalia Sanfilippo. She was born on the evening of December 19, 1625, and baptized the next day in the St. Michele parish of Sciacca, the daughter of Beatrice Perni and his husband Calogero Sanfilippo. (Mouse over and click on her baptism record middle right to enlarge in a new window/tab.) On October 28^th, 30^th and November 1^st of 1645 church banns were read for Simone and Rosalia to marry. More than a month later on December 12, 1645, 28 year-old Simone and almost 20 year-old Rosalia were married in the Sciacca mother church. (Mouse over and click on their Latin church marriage record upper left to enlarge in a new window/tab.) They are the parents of two ancestors.

Only five Sciacca mother church baptism records have been found for the children of Simone and Rosalia Francaviglia as follows — ancestor Leonarda was named after her paternal grandmother; Calogera Accursia, was born on the morning of March 5, 1649, and baptized that same day with the female version of her paternal grandfather’s name; Accursia Pumilia was born on the evening of April 25, 1650, baptized the next day, but died and was buried 12 days later on May 7^th; Gaspare was born on the evening of December 18, 1651, and baptized the next day as Gaspar Antoninus, after his paternal grandfather; and ancestor Anna.

There is a May 9, 1652, Sciacca Rivelo (tax record) for this family. (Mouse over and click on their 1652 Rivelo lower right to enlarge in a new window or tab.) Simone is listed as 32 years old, but he was actually 34 on this date. His parents are listed correctly as deceased Gasparo and Leonarda, then his wife Rosalea and their two daughters Leonarda and Calogera are listed without ages. No assets are listed, so it looks like they didn’t own anything that could be taxed.

It is documented that Simone was deceased and Rosalia was still alive on June 9, 1669, the date their daughter, ancestor Leonarda was married. Simone died and was buried in Sciacca on July 31, 1668. (Mouse over and click on his Latin burial record lower left to enlarge in a new window/tab.) His mother church burial record lists him as Simon Francaviglia, age 45, but he was actually 50 when he died. It is not known if Rosalia remarried or when she died, but it is documented that she was alive on January 24, 1677, the date her daughter ancestor Anna was married. For now, this is all that is known about them.

Gaspare Francaviglia was baptized on September 20, 1586, in the mother church parish of Sciacca, Agrigento, Sicilia, Italy, the son of Giovanna Blasco and her husband Giovanni Francaviglia. (Mouse over and click on his baptism image upper right to enlarge in a new window/tab.)

On May 10, 1610, Sciacca notary Calogero Maniscalco filed a notarial marriage contract for Gaspare to marry Leonarda Bonsignore. (Mouse over and click on their marriage contract index image upper left to enlarge in a new window/tab.) A Sciacca baptism record hasn’t been found for her, but she was the daughter of Simone Bonsignore and his unnamed wife who was probably named Caterina. On May16^th, 23^rd and 30^th, church banns were read for their marriage. The next day, May 31, 1610, 23year-old Gaspare and Narda were married at the Sciacca mother church. (Mouse over and click on their Latin church marriage image lower left to enlarge in a new window/tab.)

Six Sciacca mother church baptism records have been found for the children of Gasparo and Leonarda Francaviglia as follows — Giovanna, named after her paternal grandmother, was baptized on April 21, 1611, but died at 19 months old and was buried on December 9, 1612; Vito Petro on September 19, 1612, and died at 17 years old on September 30, 1629; Maria was baptized on December 21, 1614, and married Giovanni Vignolo on June 15, 1631; ancestor Simone was named after his maternal grandfather; another Giovanna was born and baptized as Joa: Francisca on January 10, 1621; and Accursio, who was born on the evening of May 31, 1628, and baptized the next day as Accursius Vitu. Gaspare and Leonarda had another son named Francisco, who is listed on the 1635 tax record, but a baptism or marriage record could not be found for him.

There is a May 29, 1623 Sciacca Rivelo (tax record) for this family. (Mouse over and click on their 1623 Rivelo middle right to enlarge in a new window or tab.) It lists Gasparo Francaviglia son of Gio: as 35 years old, but he was actually 36 at this time. Leonarda his wife is listed next without an age, followed by their children — 10 year old Vito; 5 year-old ancestor Simone; and daughters Maria and Giovanna are listed without ages. It doesn’t list any tax due, so apparently they didn’t own much.

There is another Sciacca Rivelo for this family dated April 15, 1637. (Mouse over and click on their 1637 Rivelo lower left to enlarge in a new window or tab.) Gasparo Francaviglia is listed as 45 years old, but he was actually 48 at the time. Then Leonarda his wife is listed next with their four children —ancestor Simoni is listed as 16, but he was actually 17 ½ at the time; son Francisco is 12; daughter Giovanna is listed without an age; and lastly Accursio is listed as 8, but he was only 6 at this time.

It is documented that Gaspare was alive, but Leonarda was deceased when their son ancestor Simone was married on December 12, 1645. Leonarda died and was buried in the Sciacca St. Dominici church cemetery on October 3, 1640. (Mouse over and click on his burial record lower right to enlarge in a new window/tab.) Her mother church burial record lists her as Leonarda Francaviglia, 50 wife of Gaspari Francaviglia. This puts her birth to about 1590, but burial record ages are usually just an estimate. It is not known when Gaspare died, but it was sometime between December 12, 1645, son ancestor Simone’s marriage and his May 9, 1652, tax record. Unfortunately a burial record for Gaspare in this time period could not be found, so for now, this is all that is known about them.

Calogero Sanfilippo was baptized on February 21, 1585, in the mother church parish of Sciacca, Agrigento, Sicilia, Italy, the son of Geronimo Sanfilippo and his wife Margarita Bentivegna. (Mouse over and click on his baptism record right to enlarge in a new window/tab.) He is listed as being 7 years old on his father’s 1594 Sciacca Rivelo (census), but he was actually about 9 years old at the time.

On September 3, 1620, 35½ year old Calogero married Beatrice Perni at the St. Michele church in Sciacca. (Mouse over and click on their Latin church marriage record left to enlarge in a new window/tab.) She was the daughter of Accursia Gagliano and her husband Giacomo Perni. Unfortunately, a Sciacca baptism record for her could not be found, but she was probably baptized in the St. Michele parish about 1585.

Ten Sciacca baptism records have been found for the children of Calogero and Beatrice Sanfilippo, sometimes abbreviated to SanPho. Seven in the St. Michele parish, and three (4^th, 5^th, and 9^th child), in the mother church parish as follows —Giovanni was baptized as Joanne Antonino, probably after his great grandfather on May 30, 1622, and married Calogera Elia in 1649; Giacoma was born on June 27, 1623, and baptized the next day as Jacoba Antonina, possibly after her maternal grandfather; Vita was born and baptized on October 29, 1624; ancestor Rosalia; Giacomo, named after his maternal grandfather, was born and baptized as Jacobo Didaco on May 30, 1627, the first in the mother church parish; Leonardo was born on June 7, 1629, and baptized as Leonardus Vitus the next day, also in the mother church parish; twins Leonarda Antonina and Josephus were born and baptized on April 5, 1631, in the St. Michele parish; Santo was born and baptized as Sactius Didauis on December 15, 1633, the last in mother church parish; ; and Caterina, who was born on September 10, 1635, baptized the next day as Catharina Calogera and married Calogero Termini on April 12, 1655.

It is not known when Calogero and Beatrice died, but it is documented that he was deceased and she was alive when their daughter ancestor Rosalia was married on November 12, 1645. A Sciacca burial record has not been found for him, but it should be noted that St. Michele burial records are missing between August of 1634 and September of 1637. It is also documented that Beatrice was deceased by the time her son Giovanni Antonino was married on April 25, 1649. She apparently died within that 3 ½ year period, but a Sciacca burial record could not be found for her. For now this is all that’s known about them.

Giovanni Francaviglia’s ancestry is uncertain. He is probably the Jo: son of Master Geronimo Francavigla who was baptized on October 2, 1549, in the mother church parish of Sciacca, Agrigento, Sicilia, Italy, but there is no other proof of this. (Mouse over and click on the baptism record upper right to enlarge in a new window/tab.) What is documented is that he married a woman named Giovanna, who was probably Giovanna Termini. The reason for the uncertainty is twofold. There is a notarial marriage contract entry dated November 26, 1574, in Pellegrino Mortillaro’s book, Andrea Randazzo un notaio storico Volume Primo for Giovanni Francaviglia and Joannella Blasco. (Mouse over and click on the marriage contract entry left to enlarge in a new window/tab.) There is also a Sciacca mother church marriage record, dated the next day, November 27^th, for master Joanni Francavilla and Joannella daughter of Antonello lo Termini. (Mouse over and click on the Latin church marriage record lower right to enlarge in a new window/tab.) It is unclear if these records are for the same couple, but it seems likely that they are. It could be that her maiden name was Termini and she was previously married to a Blasco, so on the marriage contract document, that was her legal name. Another possibility is that someone made an error in writing her surname, either in the transcription of the marriage contract or on the church marriage record. So for now, her surname will remain uncertain. If the above baptism record and the marriage records are for ancestor Giovanni, he would have been 25 years old when he married, which is very plausible.

What is documented are seven mother church baptism records for their children. On each record the parents given names are listed differently as follows — Jo: and Joannella; Joanello and Joanella; Joanni and Joanna; Gioanello and Joanna; Joanni and Joannella; and the last two records list them as Giovanni and Giovanna. In all but the last record their surname is listed as Francaviglia. The last record lists it as Francavilla, but the tax records confirm she was their daughter. The seven baptism records found are for — Margaritella on February 28, 1575; Sebastiano as Bastiano Thomasi on November 11, 1576; Accursio as Curso Gilormo on November 3, 1577; Giuseppe was baptized as Jac’o Giuseppe on September 4, 1581, and as Giuseppe married Caterina Intermaggio in 1610; Leonardo as Nardo on May 13, 1584; ancestor Gaspare; and Antonina as Antella Gioanna on June 25, 1589.

There are three January 1594, Sciacca Riveli (tax records) for Giovanni Francaviglia. (Mouse over and click on their 1594 Riveli to enlarge each in a new window or tab. Lower left is the detail record and lower right is the listing record.) Two are detail records which are dated January 1^st and one is a listing dated January 6^th. They all have the same number of children listed, but some names are spelled differently and on one, ancestor Gasper’s age is different. Listed on all three records are Joanella La Francaviglia head of house without an age; Giuseppi/Joseppi his son 11 years old, but he was actually 14 at the time; Gasparo his son 7 and 10 years old, but he was actually 9 at the time; Accursio his son 13 years old, but he was actual 18 years old; and Antonella/Ant’na his daughter listed without an age. Shown here are two of the easier to read records, one detail and the listing. The third detail record has several faded light areas on it and is harder to read.

It is documented that Giovanna was deceased prior to January 1, 1594, as she is not listed on any of the tax records. Giovanni was alive on that date, but deceased by the time his son Giuseppe was married on June 6, 1610. Being that his burial record is not listed in the available records, which begin in September of 1606, he probably died before that date. Unfortunately, nothing is known about Giovanni and Gionanna’s parents, so this is all that can be said about all of them.

Simone Bonsignore’s ancestry is uncertain, but he lived and raised a family in Sciacca, Agrigento, Sicilia, Italy. There is a Sciacca mother church baptism index record for a Jo: Antoni Simuni in May of 1542, the son of Giacomo Bonsignore, listed as Jacopo, that could be for ancestor Simone, but it is unlikely. (Mouse over and click on his possible baptism record upper right to enlarge in a new window/tab.)

Simone and a woman named Caterina were together, having children prior to 1591. What is documented is that they had a son, who is also an ancestor, baptized as Micheli, the son of Simon Bonsignore and Catinella La Bonsignore, on September 16, 1591, in the St. Michele parish of Sciacca. On ancestor Michele’s mother church marriage record, his father is listed as Simone Bonsignore of this parish. It is likely that Simone and Caterina had other children who were probably born and baptized in another town, and Michele was their last child. It is also not certain that Simone’s wife Caterina was the mother of ancestor Leonarda, who according to her burial record was born about 1590.

There is also a Sciacca mother church marriage record dated May 6, 1596 for Simon and 36 year-old Caterina Rudi. (Mouse over and click on their Latin church marriage record upper left to enlarge in a new window/tab.) If this is ancestor Simone and he was baptized in 1542, he would have been 54 years old at this time. Caterina Rudi was baptized on December 15, 1559, the daughter of Bernardo Rudi and his unnamed wife. Because of their ages and that this marriage occurred 5 years after the birth of Michele, she may have been a second wife. But she may be the same Caterina who was Michele’s mother and possibly ancestor Leonarda’s mother, because Simone and Caterina Rudi could have married previously in another town, another religion, or even secretly because in this period there was an interdict and many marriages were celebrated clandestinely. Without more documentation this will remain unresolved.

There is a February 21, 1616 Sciacca Rivelo (tax record) for this family. (Mouse over and click on their 1616 Rivelo lower right to enlarge in a new window or tab.) It lists Simone as the head of the house age 54, which puts his birth to about 1562. Cat’na his wife is listed without an age, followed by ancestor Micheli his son at age 20, but he should have been 25 at the time. Ancestor Leonarda was already married and out of their house. There is some tax due, so they did own some property.

It is documented that Simone was alive on October 20, 1619, when his son ancestor Michele was married. Simon died and was buried in the Sciacca mother church cemetery on October 4, 1639. (Mouse over and click on his Latin burial record left to enlarge in a new window/tab.) His mother church burial record lists him as Simon Bonsignore, Ottagenario, meaning he was in his 80’s, which would put his birth between 1550 and 1559, which seems plausible. If the above mentioned 1542 baptism record is for ancestor Simone, he would have been 97 when he died, which is very unlikely. There is a March 29, 1636, burial record for a 64 year-old Cath’a Bonsignori, without any mention of a husband. If this is for Caterina Rudi, she would have been 76 years old at this time. It should be remembered that burial record ages are usually just an estimate. Until more documentation can be found, Simone’s wife and ancestry will remain uncertain.

Giacomo Perni baptism is uncertain, as there are two Sciacca, Agrigento, Sicilia, Italy mother church baptism records that could be his. Both list his name as Jacopo with a father named Ant’no li Perni, without a mother listed. The earlier one is dated November 24, 1555, and the later one, January 10, 1563. It seems more likely that the earlier date is for him as he would have been 23 years old when married. (Mouse over and click on his Latin baptism record right to enlarge in a new window/tab.) The later 1563 dated record puts his age at marriage as 16 years old, which doesn’t seem likely.

On June 29, 1579, Jac’o li Perni married at the Sciacca mother church Accursia Gagliano, the daughter of the deceased Orlando Gagliano. (Mouse over and click on their Latin marriage record left to enlarge in a new window/tab.) A Sciacca baptism record could not be found for her, so nothing else is known about her parents.

Eight Sciacca baptism records have been found for the children of Jacobo and Accursia li Perni, the first two in the mother church parish, the next five in the St. Michele parish, and the last one in the St. Vito parish. The eight records found are as follows —Vincenzo Antonino, was baptized on July 12, 1580, with a middle name of his paternal grandfather; Vita was baptized as Vita Pha on July 12, 1583; Giovanni as Jo: Franc’o, the first to be baptized in the St. Michele parish, on June 24, 1588; Giuseppe as Joseph Filippo on March 2, 1591; Caterina on October 24, 1593; Calogero Hyacinto Greco on March 6, 1598; Nicolò as Nicolas Accursio Luca on October 18, 1599, grew up to marry Vita Migliore, daughter of ancestors Margarita Cottone and Bartolomeo Migliore; and Rosa on October 6, 1602, the only one baptized in the St. Vito parish. A baptism record for ancestor Beatrice has not yet been found, but she probably was born in one of the two 5 year gaps shown above.

It is not known when Giacomo and Accursia died, but it is documented that he was alive when his son Nicolò married on September 14, 1626. For now, this is all that is known about Giacomo, Accursia or her father Orlando.

Antonino Perni’s ancestry is unknown, but he lived and raised their family in the mother church parish of Sciacca, Agrigento, Sicilia, Italy. It is not known who he married as Sciacca church marriage records don’t go back this far and a marriage contract could not be found for his name in the probable time period.

Nine Sciacca mother church baptism records have been found for the children of Antonino Li Perni, but only the last two list a mother’s name, and it’s not the same name. None of the dates conflict, so it is possible that these children all had the same father. The nine records found are as follows — Leonardo was baptized as Nardo Vito Vin’zo on July 23, 1554; ancestor Giacomo as Jacopo; Calogero Vincenzo on March 7, 1560; another Jacopo on January 10, 1563; Luciano was baptized as Luciano Pho on July 9, 1566; Petro Luciano on January 2, 1569; Accursio as Curso Jacopo on February 27, 1570; Jacupello on October 23, 1571, whose mother is listed as what looks like Jiuilia; and Grazia, who was baptized as Gratia Angilella on October 2, 1572, with a mother named Antonella.

Because the name Jacopo is mentioned several times in the children’s names, it is possible that Antonino’s father was named Jacopo or Giacomo in Italian. There is a March 7, 1535, marriage contract for a Giacomo Perni and Antonina Peralta documented in Pellegrino Mortillaro’s book, Andrea Randazzo un notaio storico Volume Primo. They could be ancestor Antonino’s parents. There is also a baptism record for a Beatrice Perni daughter of Jacopo, dated September of 1549, who could be ancestor Antonino’s sister. This could be the person ancestor Beatrice Perni was named after.

There is an inventory entry dated January 24, 1572, for an Antonino Li Perni in Mortillaro’s above mentioned book, but it can’t be certain this is for ancestor Antonino. If it is, then ancestor Antonino is not the husband of Antonella and the father of the last child listed above, Gratia Angilella. For now, ancestor Antonino’s life and death will remain a mystery.