Calogero Sabella's Ancestors

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Translations provided by members of the GenAG - Genealogie Agrigentine and the Italian Genealogical Records Facebook groups.

Note that the Latin months September thru December are often written in numbers, 7ber, 8ber, 9ber and 10ber, respectively.

Sebastiano Sabella was baptized as Bastiano Calogero on January 8, 1576, in the mother church parish of Sciacca, Agrigento, Sicilia, Italy, one of the four documented children of Angela Benfari and her husband Democrito Sabella. (Mouse over and click on his Latin baptism record upper right to enlarge it in a new window or tab.) Sebastiano also had six older half siblings from his father's first marriage.    

In or before 1594, Sebastiano married a woman named Leonarda, but her surname is unknown. They had at least eleven children all baptized in the St. Michele parish of Sciacca on the dates shown — Filippa Dorothea on October 4, 1595; Antonino Francesco on October 21, 1596; Vincenzo Antonino on October 15, 1598; Angelica Calogera on January 8, 1600, who may have died young; Angelica Virginea on December 3, 1602; Michael Vito on February 28, 1604, who may have died young; Angela Domenica on August 3, 1605; Maria Juilia on January 8, 1608;  Giovanni, just 11 months later on November 5, 1608; Michele on March 17, 1610, who died at 6 months old on October 4, 1610; and another Michele on September 11, 1611, who married Antonella Mancuso at the St. Vito church in Sciacca on October 29, 1628. There was one more son born who died, but a baptism record could not be found for him - Silvestro son of Bastiano Sabella was buried in the St. Vito cemetery on May 11, 1618. Seven months later, Sebastiano’s wife Leonarda died and was buried in the St. Vito church cemetery on December 27, 1618. (Mouse over and click on her Latin burial record lower right to enlarge it in a new window or tab.) Her burial record lists her as Narda wife of di Bastiano Sabella. Being left with several young children, less than 2 months later Sebastiano remarried.

On February 11, 1619, at St. Michele’s church in Sciacca, the now 43 year-old Sebastiano married Caterina Catena, the daughter of Pietro Catena and his wife Giovanna, whose surname is unknown. (Mouse over and click on their church marriage record left to enlarge it in a new window or tab.) Eight years later, after having three sons, Sciacca notary Giacomo Lauro filed a notarial marriage contract for them. This may have been a dowry restitution contract.

Sebastiano and Caterina had at least five more children, all baptized in the St. Michele parish of Sciacca on the dates shown — Tommaso was baptized as Thomas Joseph on December 22, 1619, and married Aloisia Savona in 1637; Vito Gaspare on June 3, 1626; ancestor Calogero; Pietro was baptized as Petro Joannes on June 25, 1629, and was probably named after his maternal grandfather; and Michele, who was baptized as Michael Isadori Petrius on September 29, 1634, who on February 4, 1665, married as his second wife Caterina Spanò, the sister of ancestor Grazia Spanò.

All that is known about Caterina’s parents is that her father and mother were deceased on the day she was married. It is not known when Sebastiano and Caterina died, but he is listed as deceased on his son Tommaso’s February 22, 1637, marriage record. This means that Sebastiano died sometime after his last child was born in late 1634, but before Tommaso’s marriage in early 1637. On that marriage record, Caterina is listed as alive and living in the city, so it is not known if she remarried or when and where she died. Unfortunately, nothing else is known about Sebastiano, Caterina and her parents Pietro and Giovanni.

Democrito Sabella was baptized in Sciacca, Agrigento, Sicilia, Italy, in May of 1537, the son of Valentiana Ferraro and her husband Antonino Sabella. The actual baptism date is unknown as the only document found is an index record. (Mouse over and click on his Latin baptism index record upper right to enlarge it in a new window or tab.) His given name is spelled several different ways, for example, on his Latin baptism index it is spelled Demortra, but on his first marriage contract entry his given name is recorded as Democrito.

On April 8, 1559, Sciacca notary Geronimo d'Agostino filed a notarial marriage contract for “Democrito Isabella, son of Antonio, and Valentiana Isabella Ferrario, and Nunzia Perollo daughter of Pietro, and Agata Perollo.” (Mouse over and click on their marriage contract entry upper left to enlarge in a new window or tab.) Unfortunately, Sciacca church marriages are not available for research for this date. Wikipedia states, “Sciacca, a port city in southwestern Sicily, was the home of numerous powerful noble families of the time: predominant over all were the Perollo family (a family of French origin, which had acquired a prominent role as early as the 13th century) . . .”

Democrito and Nunzia had at least five daughters and one son together,all born and baptized in the mother church parish of Sciacca. These baptism records are very hard to read, so their names are uncertain. They are as follows — Marcella Andriana on March 4, 1560; Angelica Andreina on December 9, 1562; Maria Petra on October 21, 1565; Marietta Lucrezia on December 12, 1568; Marta on February 26, 1572; and within a year later, Antoni Alferi, who was born sometime between November of 1572 and late January of 1573, but wasn’t baptized until October 9, 1573, after his father remarried. He was the first son, so he was named after his paternal grandfather. On his baptism record and his 1592 marriage to Brigida Saluto document, Nunzia is listed as his mother. Nunzia probably died giving birth to him, but death records for this time period are not available for research. Democrito was left with six children, the eldest being 13 years old, and with the chaos of losing a wife and finding someone to take care of his children, he probably forgot to get his son baptized. Within a short period of time after his wife died, Democrito remarried.

On February 3, 1573, Geronimo Agostino filed a notarial marriage contract for Democrito Isabella, and Angela Benfari. She was probably also from Sciacca, the daughter of  Nicolò Benfari and his wife Giulia Cutrona, but a Sciacca baptism record could not be found for her. The now 35 year-old Democrito and Angela married at the mother church in Sciacca on March 1, 1573. (Mouse over and click on their Latin church marriage record middle right to enlarge it in a new window or tab.) Their church marriage record is only one line, but there is a 10 page dowry document that is extremely hard to read, where his surname is spelled Ysabella. (Mouse over and click on the first page of their marriage contract lower left to enlarge it in a new window or tab.) Being 10 pages long may indicate that both families were somewhat wealthy.

Besides ancestor Sebastiano, Democrito and Angela had at least three other children born in Sciacca. The first two were baptized at the mother church there and the last one at St. Vito’s, as follows — Tommaso Vincenzo, who was baptized as Masi Vinco Mazio on September 5, 1579; daughter Filippa Giacoma who was baptized as Pha Jaca, on December 7, 1581, but listed on the index as Pha Jacoba; and Antonino Thomas on June 7, 1588. They may have had other children, but these are the only ones with baptism records found so far. Angela probably was the only mother known to Nunzia’s last three children.

Democrito was called a Magnifico, like his father. This title translates to magnificent. They “were called the jurors of the time who were the administrators of the city (mayor, councilors of today). Today the title in Italy is held by the dean or rector of universities.”  

It is not known when Democrito and Angela died, but they both were alive when their last child was born in 1588. It is documented that Democrito was deceased by the time his son Antoni Alferi was married on January 27, 1592. But he was deceased at least a year before his son’s marriage, as Angela remarried. Angelica widow of the deceased Mochito Sabella married Giacomo Galati, as his third wife, at the Sciacca mother church on November 4, 1590. (Mouse over and click on her Latin burial record lower right to enlarge it in a new window or tab.) Democrito died sometime between these two dates, but burial records for this time period are not available for research to confirm this. Unfortunately, nothing else is known about Democrito and Angela.

Antonino Sabella was probably born in Sciacca, Agrigento, Sicilia, Italy, the son of Margarita Chiravulu and her husband Giuliano Sabella. Like his son, he was called Magnifico, an administrator of the city.

On December 2, 1533, Sciacca notary Bartolomeo Modica filed a notarial marriage contract for Antonino to marry Valentiana Ferraro. She was the only known daughter of three children born to Andriana Medico and her husband Geronimo Ferraro. (Mouse over and click on their hand written marriage index upper left to enlarge it in a new window or tab.) This marriage contract date is taken from the Latin “manuscript containing the indices of the dowries and testaments of the notaries of Sciacca,” which was transcribed into Italian and printed, which is easier to read. (Mouse over and click on their marriage contract entry right to enlarge it in a new window or tab.)

Six mother church baptism records have been found that are most likely the children of  Antonino and Valentiana. There are no detailed register records before September of 1543, so the first four are index records only. These index records only list the father’s name and month and year of the baptism. The fifth child has an incomplete detail record with an incorrect surname on the index record. The given names of these children all seem to be in line with ancestor Democrito’s unusual name. They are as follows — Marta Antonia Agrippa in August of 1535; ancestor Democrito; Pamfilia Margarita, was given the middle name of her paternal grandmother in December of 1542; Giulia Caterina, who was named the female version of her paternal grandfather’s name in January of 1543; Gioanella Angeletta on April 14, 1544; and Antonino, who was baptized on September 25, 1550.

There are two entries in Pellegrino Mortillaro’s book, Andrea Randazzo un notaio storico, one in each volume, for Antonino’s name that are probably for this ancestor. They both were filed by Sciacca notary Pietro Falco. The first, in volume 2, is dated in the year 1557, with no month or day listed and is the Solemn Testament of Antonino Sabella, which was his will. (Mouse over and click on his will entry lower left to enlarge it in a new window or tab.) The other is in volume 1, is dated August 8, 1558, and is the Division of the Inheritance of Antonino Isabella. If these are for ancestor Antonino, it means he wrote his will in 1577, and died prior to August 8, 1558. Because there are no church records available for research for this time period, it is not known for certain if these are for ancestor Antonino and if his wife Valentiana remarried. Unfortunately, nothing else is known about Antonino and Valentiana.

Nicolò Benfari was the son of Antonio Benfari, but it is not known when and where he was born or raised. What is known is that he lived at least part of his adult life in Sciacca, Agrigento, Sicilia, Italy, and raised a family there. On February 12, 1529, Nicolò entered into a notarial marriage contract in Sciacca to marry Giulia Cutrona. (Mouse over and click on their full handwrittten marriage contract right to enlarge it in a new window or tab.) This marriage contract is documented in Pellegrino Mortillaro’s book, Andrea Randazzo un notaio storico Volume Primo, and is easier to read than the handwritten document. (Mouse over and click on their marriage contract entry upper left to enlarge it in a new window or tab.) For some unknown reason, a notary is not listed in this entry. She was the daughter of Aleonora Benfari and her husband Baldassare Cutrona. Unfortunately, church marriage documents are not available for research for this time period, but they probably married soon after the contract was completed.

Seven Sciacca mother church baptism records have been found for the children of Cola Benfari. The full register records begin in September of 1543, but the index begins in 1528. The available register baptism records for these children are extremely hard to read. Although the indices are clearer, they only list the month and year of the baptism. They all state the father’s name as Cola, which is what he is called on ancestor Angela’s marriage document. The mother’s name is not mentioned in either the indices or the register records. The baptism info for these seven children is as follows —Mirolea in September of 1530; Margarita in March of 1539; Antonino Joseph Giuseppe in March of 1542; Nicolia in February of 1544; Vita Carmilla in August of 1545; Spuria Benvenuta Novella in August of 1546; and Sebastiano Antonio on January 12, 1548. A baptism record for Angela’s name has not been found. It is possible that she is one of the daughters mentioned above, but using the name Angela.

Nothing is known about Nicolò’s father, only his name Antonio, is mentioned in Nicolò’s handwritten marriage contract. It is also not known when Nicolò and Giulia died, but he was deceased and she was still alive when their daughter ancestor Angela was married on March 3, 1573. There is a December 24, 1576, Testamento entry, a will filed by Sciacca notary Geronimo Agostino, in Mortillaro’s second volume for Giulia Benfari that is probably for ancestor Giulia, but there is nothing to confirm it is her. (Mouse over and click on her possible will entry lower left to enlarge it in a new window or tab.) For now nothing else is known about them.

Giuliano Sabella and Margarita Chiravulu’s ancestries are unknown, but they lived in Sciacca, Agrigento, Sicilia, Italy. It is estimated that Giuliano was born around 1480. What we know of them comes from their marriage, which is documented in the book, Andrea Randazzo un notaio storico Volume Primo. The author Pellegrino Mortillaro, organized the data, including marriages, from the beginning of the 15^th century to the 1700’s that was compiled by the notary Andrea Randazzo, who lived in Sciacca between 1726 and 1756. Mortillaro translated the Latin records into Italian, preserving the data and making it easier to research. It doesn’t give details of the events, just the basic information, but it is a wonderful tool for researchers.

Giuliano and Margarita were married on October 12, 1509, in Sciacca. (Mouse over and click on their marriage contract listing left to enlarge it in a new window or tab.) The pictured image is from a dowry deed written by notary Vincenzo Perniciaro, and “is taken from a manuscript containing the indices of the dowries and testaments of the notaries of Sciacca from about 1434 to 1680.” It should be noted that in both documents Giuliano’s surname is spelled Isabella. Their only known child was ancestor Antonino. Unfortunately, nothing else is known about them, so our Sabella line ends with them.

Geronimo Ferraro lived and raised a family in Sciacca, Agrigento, Sicilia, Italy, the son of Baldassare Ferraro and his wife Caterina, whose surname is unknown. Baptism records are not available for research this far back, so his exact name is not known. Although his given name was said to be as Girolamo, it is recorded as Geronimo in several places in both volumes of Pellegrino Mortillaro’s book, Andrea Randazzo un notaio storico. There are no records that call him Girolamo. It turns out that Geronimo is the Italian form of the Latin name Hieronymus, meaning holy name, which is of Greek origin. Gerolamo is the Italian form of the Latin name Hieronymus, meaning holy name and Girolamo is a variant spelling of the Italian name Gerolamo, again meaning holy name. So today he would be called Girolamo.

On April 13, 1505, Sciacca notary Vincenzo Perniciaro filed a notarial marriage contract for Geronimo and Andriana Medico. (Mouse over and click on their handwrittren marriage contract listing upper left to enlarge it in a new window or tab.) This contract is also documented in volume 1 of Mortillaro’s book mentioned above. (Mouse over and click on their marriage contract entry upper right to enlarge it in a new window or tab.) Andriana was the daughter of Antonella Siragusa and her husband Baldassare Medico. They probably married soon after this contract was signed.

Geronimo and Andriana had at least four children together, but their birth dates are unknown. What has been found are five Sciacca marriage contracts that list their parents names. They are listed here in chronological order of their marriage contract dates — Baldassare, named after his grandfathers who was probably the eldest, was contracted to marry Laurea Xarrino on February 9, 1521, and after she died married Margarita Graffeo on April 24, 1544; ancestor Valentiana married next; Giuseppe was contracted to marry Francischella Mauricio on December 18, 1542; and lastly son Giacomo was contracted to marry Carmixina Anselmo on September 4, 1549. It is almost certain that they had other children, but no documentation has been found for them because church records are not available for research this long ago.

Volume 1 of Mortillaro’s book, states that on November 26, 1511, Sciacca notary Pietro Buscemi filed an “agreement between Geronimo Ferraro, and Antonino Medico.” (Mouse over and click on the agreement entry lower left to enlarge it in a new window or tab.) This is six years after he married into the Medico family, so Antonino may be ancestor Andriana’s brother. There are three entries for long term leases of property, in a section of Sciacca called Carbollaci, made by Geronimo Ferraro. The first sale was to Cesare Graffeo on February 13, 1512; the second to Francesco Graffeo on September 26, 1512, and the third was to Giovanni Frixia on December 1, 1513. Two years later on October 7, 1515, there is a restitution contract filed by the same Sciacca notary who filed their marriage contract, which roughly translates to “Return of the dowries from Geronimo to Andreana Ferrario.” (Mouse over and click on the Restitution entry lower right to enlarge it in a new window or tab.) This happened over 10 years after they married. It is not known why this legal action occurred, but in the 1400’s it was used mainly to separate a converted Christian man from his non-converted Jewish wife. It should be noted that her surname, Medico, has been documented as a Jewish name in Sciacca during the 1400’s.

There are two Sciacca inventory entries that could be for ancestor Geronimo. The first is dated October 15, 1525, for Geronimo Ferrario and was filed by notary Pietro Buscemi; and the other is for Geronimo Ferraro and was filed by notary Pietro Falco on September 26, 1533. Either one could be for ancestor Geronimo, or it is possible they both are for the same man. Also of interest is a statement filed on September 27, 1533, one day after the later inventory was taken. It is for the sale of property in Carbollaci, by the heirs of Geronimo Ferraro to Giovanni Filippo Ferraro. Unfortunately, this is all that’s known about Geronimo, and his wife Andriana.

Baldassare Cutrona was the son of Giovanni Cutrona and his unnamed wife. It is assumed he was born and raised in Sciacca, Agrigento, Sicilia, Italy. On March 19, 1511, notary Marco Perniciaro issued a dowry contract for Baldassare to marry Aleonora Benfari. (Mouse over and click on their marriage contract listing right to enlarge it in a new window or tab.) She was also probably from Sciacca, the daughter of Pietro Benfari and his unnamed wife. They probably married soon after this contract was completed, but church records do not exist for this time period. Their only known child was ancestor Giulia.

Little is known about Baldassare and Aleonora, but their fathers were both Sciacca notaries. Giovanni served as a notary in Sciacca from 1489 to 1534 and Pietro served in 1482, 1483 and again from 1492 to 1497. Being that Giovanni served for 43 years, it is likely he died soon after he retired. It is not known when Baldassare and Aleonora died, but there is a marriage contract dated May 4, 1525, for an Aleonora Benfari and Pietro Falco that was issued by notary Giovanni Cutrona. (Mouse over and click on this marriage contract entry left to enlarge it in a new window or tab.) Being that 14 years past since Aleonora married Baldassare, it could be that he died and she remarried or it could be just a coincidence! What is interesting is that 2 years after Aleonora married Pietro, he is listed for the first time as a notary for 1527-1528 term. Could it be that this marriage was a political stepping stone for Pietro? Unfortunately, nothing else is known about them.

Caterina and Baldassare Ferraro’s ancestries are unknown, but they lived in Sciacca, Agrigento, Sicilia, Italy. What we know of them comes from both volumes of Pellegrino Mortillaro’s book, Andrea Randazzo un notaio storico. Caterina’s surname is not given in any of the records. There is an entry dated January 15, 1494, in volume 2 of Mortillaro’s book that translates to “Testament of the magn. Caterina Ferraro wife of Baldassare Ferraro in said Notary.”  (Mouse over and click on her will entry right to enlarge it in a new window or tab.) The abbreviation magn. stands for Magnifico, which means that he was an official of Sciacca. At that time the wives took the same title as their husbands, so Baldassare was some sort of administrator of the city. Giving a Testamento meant, that she wrote her will which was filed by Sciacca notary Giovanni Cutrona.

Caterina and Baldassare had at least two children who both married in Sciacca — ancestor Geronimo; and his sister Nicolosa, who entered into a marriage contract with Antonio Panormo on January 3, 1497, which is documented in volume 1 of Pellegrino Mortillaro’s book. This book also documents her will being filed by Sciacca notary Giovanni Cutrona on February 15, 1501, and states Testamento of the nob. Nicolosa Panormo. The word nob. is an abbreviation of nobile, which translates to noble. Caterina and Baldassare probably had other children, but no records of them have been found.

It is not known when Caterina and Baldassare died, but the fact that Caterina was alive when she wrote her will and she is listed as the wife, not the widow of Baldassare, they both died sometime after January 15, 1494. There is an inventory entry for Baldassare Ferrario, filed by Pietro Falco on November 5, 1552, that may be for ancestor Baldassare, but there is no other supporting documents that this is him. Unfortunately, this is all we know about them, so this Ferraro line ends with them.

Baldassare Medico and Antonella Siragusa’s ancestries are unknown. What is known about them comes from the first volume of Pellegrino Mortillaro’s book, Andrea Randazzo un notaio storico. It is not documented that Baldassare and Antonella lived in Sciacca, Agrigento, Sicilia, Italy, but they are the documented parents of ancestor Andriana and two other children, who married in Sciacca. Their children’s birthdates are not known, but they all entered into Sciacca notarial marriage contracts as follows — daughter Autilla married twice, the first contract was filed by notary Pietro Buscemi on March 21, 1501, for her to marry Giovanni Antonio Panormo, and after he died, notary Vincenzo Perniciaro filed a contract for her to marry Raimundo Peralta on January 5, 1503, and also on November 20, 1506; ancestor Andriana was contracted to marry next; and lastly, son Filippo was contracted by notary Pietro Buscemi to marry Giulia Maringo on November 20, 1506. Antonella’s surname comes from these two marriage contracts for her son Filippo, where his parents are listed as Baldassare, ed Antonella Medico, e Siragusis. Baldassare and Antonella probably had other children, but no documentation has been found for them. This is all we know about them, so our Medico line ends with them.