25b-Serrapede and Muro Families-Agropoli and America-Patterns in naming the children

Introduction

As Uncle Sammy and I delved deeper into the charts of descent at ImaginesMaiorum and our family tree we noticed over and over the recurrence of certain first names in our direct line and branch family lines. It turns out that during the time our ancestors lived very strong traditions existed in the selection of a name for a child.  We note them in the next section and then examine how this tradition was at work for Uncle Sammy’s paternal line (Serrapede).

Traditional Naming Patterns in Italian Families of the Past

In the past Italian families followed a traditional pattern of naming their children as follows:

Who was named after paternal Grandparents:

**The first son in the family was named after his paternal Grandfather.
**The first daughter was named after her paternal Grandmother.

Who was named after the maternal Grandparents:

**The second son was named after his maternal Grandfather.
**The second daughter was named after her maternal Grandmother.

25a-Muro and Serrapede Families in Agropoli: Meet the family of Giuseppa Ruocco Muro

Acknowledgement

Anthony Vermandois of Imagines Maiorum-Ancestors from Campania, has compiled vital statistics for the families of our ancestral hometown of Agropoli, Salerno, Campania Italy. His research beings around the 1790s and covers the entire 19^th through early 20^th centuries.  This week we have used his data on the Ruocco and Serrapede families to become more acquainted with the lineage of Giuseppa Ruocco, one of the matriarchs in our direct  bloodline.

Ruocco Family, Part B

Serrapede Family

Relationship Notes

Chart for Giuseppa Ruocco.

Giuseppa Ruocco was the daughter of Nicola and Clarice (nee Serrapede) Ruocco.  Her entry to our blood line brought the Serrapede DNA into Sammy’s maternal line, the Muro family. Since Sammy’s paternal line is also from the Serrapede family questioned how close the relationship was in our last posting.  We also learned much about Giuseppa’s family in the process.

Giuseppa’s granddaughter Josie Muro Serrapede was named after her. Since Josie is very dear to us we have decided to spend some extra time getting to know her namesake.  Josie was Sammy’s Mother and EmilyAnn’s maternal Grandmother.

Pedigree chart for Uncle Sammy showing descent from Giuseppa Ruocco and Pietro Muro.

Giuseppa Ruocco Muro was:
–Sammy’s Great Grandmother
–EmilyAnn’s Second Great Grandmother

24-The Muro and Serrapede Families in Agropoli: How close were our ancestors related to each other?

Acknowledgement

We acknowledge the research of genealogist Anthony Vermandois as the basis of our exploration into the lives of our ancestors from Agropoli in Campania province, Italy. At his website Imagines Maiorum, Anthony presents information gathered from vital records and marriage banns in Agropoli, along with data from the U.S. Federal Census records.  Families from other towns in Southern Italy are also being added to his database.

This week his research on the Serrapede and Ruocco families starts our discussion about relationships between the members of these families who married into our direct line.

We have also used a series of free on-line Genetics Fact Sheets provided by the New South Wales Goverment’s website of the Health Centre for Genetics Education. Their Fact Sheet No. 16 on issues related to consanguinity made the complex genetic issues surrounding marriage between closely related family members very easy to understand.

Please see the Resources section at the end of this posting for links to the articles and Fact Sheets which provided the background reading for this posting.

Anthony Vermandois

http://www.imaginesmaiorum.net

Ruocco Family, Part B  http://www.imaginesmaiorum.net/surname.cfm?id=323

Serrapede Family

http://www.imaginesmaiorum.net/surname.cfm?id=169

NSW Genetic Fact Sheets

http://www.genetics.edu.au/

main website link for Acknowledgement.

Our Muro and Serrapede Family Bloodline: Descended from Cousins, Distant Relatives or Different Branch Families?

In our last posting we became acquainted with Nunziante and Anna Maria, the earliest ancestors Anthony has documented in our Muro bloodline. Their son Nicola Muro married Giuseppa Ruocco.  When we analyzed Giuseppa’s pedigree we learned that her mother was from the Serrapede family!

 

Pedigree chart for Sammy’s paternal line (Serrapede-Ruocco)

This was a great surprise for us since Sammy’s paternal line is from the Serrapede family. His paternal Grandfather Gennaro Serrapede was descended from the bloodlines of the Serrapede, Ruocco, Conte and Borelli families.  These lines of descent are shown in the chart above with blue and purple borders around Gennaro’s ancestors.

Sammy’s maternal line (Ruocco-Serrapede).

Giuseppa Ruocco Muro was Sammy’s Great Grandmother through his maternal line. Giuseppa’s marriage into the Muro family brought the Serrapede, Ruocco, Cavollo and Carnicelli DNA into Sammy’s maternal bloodline.  Giuseppa’s descent from these families is shown in the diagram with orange and green borders around her ancestors.

Please note that the Luigi Serrapede (born circa 1800) in Giuseppa Ruocco’s line is a different person from the Luigi Serrapede (born before 1815) in Sabato Serrapede’s line as shown in the two charts above.

23-The Muro Family in Agropoli: Nunziante and Anna Maria

Acknowledgement

Thanks to the extensive research done by Anthony Vermandois of Imagines Maiorum-Ancestors from Campania, the American descendants of the Agropolesi who immigrated to America are now able to learn about their roots. Anthony has compiled the vital statistics for families in Agropoli which we use as the basis for the exploration into the earliest known ancestors in our direct line and branch families.

In addition to Agropoli, other towns are being added to his site. Please visit this page for a complete listing.  For this posting we have used the charts of descent for the Muro family in Agropoli.

Relationship Notes

 Uncle Sammy’s pedigree chart.  His Muro ancestors come through his maternal line and are marked off by the black borders.

In posting no. 21-Scotti Family in Agropoli-Carmine and Maria-Years of hardship, Years of Good-byes we introduced Nicola Muro as the man who married Letizia Scotti.  Together with their baby daughter Giuseppa, they immigrated to the United States after 1909.

Nicola and Letizia Muro were:
-Sammy’s maternal Grandparents
-EmilyAnn’s maternal Great-Grandparents

We are going to go back as far as Anthony’s research has taken him to learn more about Nunziante and Anna Maria (nee Monzillo) Muro, the earliest Muro ancestors in our direct line.

Nunziante and Anna Maria Muro were:
-Sammy’s 2nd Great-Grandparents
-EmilyAnn’s 3rd Great-Grandparents

Our ancestors from Agropoli were all Roman Catholics. The faith was so interwoven in every level of daily life that almost every name given to a child was not just in memory of an ancestor but also carried a meaning connected to the religion.  We’ll consider some of these names as we begin our study of the Muro family.

It’s February and we’re back!

We’re resuming the family history postings.  I’ve enjoyed interacting with all our readers and getting to know them better during our Winter break.  The next series of postings focuses on the Muro family.  Posting no. 23 started out as a regular review of our family tree and soon Uncle Sammy and I got into a discussion of the Italian celebration of Name Days.

We hope you’ll enjoy this development in the course of the posting.  It provided a good way for us to reconnect to the past and create a new custom in our lives.  Now, in addition to our birthdays, Uncle Sammy and I will celebrate our Name Days.  It brings back many happy memories of our childhood education when we attended religious instruction classes in the Catholic church.