Antonio's documents (with scans)
The images are screenshots taken while consulting Antenati and FamilySearch. Click an image to enlarge it. Uncertain readings are highlighted like this.
1. Birth record no. 3, part II — Chiusa Sclafani, 7 January 1898
To the said child I gave the name Antonio and the surname Verghe, and I send him to the foundling hospital of Palermo by means of Concetta Lo Verde […].
Witnesses: Tommaso Palisi, aged seventy-two, and Nicolò Di Martino, aged forty-eight, farm workers, both resident here.
Margin notes:
· «Married in Lercara to Bongiovanni Marianna, daughter of Calogero […]» (the rest is hard to read)
· «Verghi Antonino died in Palermo on 25-9-1941, record no. 1416 […] — Chiusa Sclafani, 15-5-1944?, the Civil Registrar».
Note: in the Commune's copy the first witness is given as «Tommaso Parisi», but the original clearly reads «Tommaso Palisi» (checked by Dario). Palisi is the surname of Vincenzo Caravella's wife: see the section «The witness Tommaso Palisi».
2. Context: record no. 4, part II — Giulia Gennarino, January 1898
The procedure is identical: Rosalia Giordano, aged 35, presents a baby girl found in the Corso Nuovo wheel, «Giulia Gennarino», entrusted to Concetta Lo Verde for the Palermo foundling hospital. This confirms that Rosalia Giordano and Concetta Lo Verde had an official role (receiver and carrier) and were not relatives of the children. Record no. 1 of 4 January 1898 is also presented by Rosalia Giordano as «receiver of foundlings».
3. Marriage record no. 40 — Lercara Friddi, 21 April 1921
2nd Bongiovanni Marianna, aged twenty, housewife, born in Lercara, resident in Lercara, Via A. Manzoni, daughter of Calogero, resident in Lercara, and of Franzino Maria, resident in Lercara.
The bride's parents gave their consent to the marriage […].
4. Birth record of daughter Giuseppa Verghi — Lercara Friddi, 23 December 1921
This is the first document in which the form «Verghi» appears.
5. Death record of Antonino Verghi — Palermo, 25 September 1941
9 p.m., Palermo. Stated age: 43. Born in Chiusa Sclafani. Husband of Marianna Bongiovanni, who outlived him until 7 August 1987 (Palermo). (No scan in this dossier: the document is held by the family.)
The family of Antonio and Marianna
| Family | People | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Antonio Verghe × Marianna Bongiovanni m. Lercara Friddi 21 Apr 1921 | Giuseppa (Giuseppina) * Lercara 23 Dec 1921 † 2000 · Gaetano 1927–1999 · Calogero · Carmela · Lucia · Maria * 1933 | Lercara records; MyHeritage |
The Chiusa Sclafani families linked to the matches
Caravella family
married in church 25 Feb 1868
c. 1853 – † 18 Dec 1915
married Rosalia Giglio, then Rosa Schifano
→ son Giuseppe (b. 1885) → Anthony J. Caravella Sr (DNA match 51.9 cM)
married Francesco Provenzano, 1883
† 7 Sep 1876, as a child
† 4 Jul 1933
wife of Domenico Ferina (already before 1892)
in 1898: aged 20, single
married Concetta Gennusa on 10 Sep 1899
in 1898: aged 18, single
married Rosalia Blanda on 17 Jan 1901
Anthony J. Caravella Sr's line descends from Antonino Caravella (1853–1915). Antonino was Vincenzo's brother: this is confirmed by the parish death index, where both appear as sons of Giuseppe Caravella and Giuseppa Cancemi (see the documents below). Antonino's first wife, Rosalia Giglio (1850–1883), had only children who died young: Giuseppe 1879, Giuseppa 1880 († 1880), Giuseppe 1881. His second wife was Rosa Schifano (married 1883), mother of Giuseppe (b. 1885), Anthony's father.
Also according to the FamilySearch Family Tree, a generation earlier the Caravella had already married into the Gendusa: a Giuseppa Caravella (1835–1895), wife of Domenico Altamore, was the daughter of Pietro Caravella and Marianna Gendusa.
Other Caravella marriages in Chiusa between 1899 and 1902: Salvatore (to Maria Cortese, 1899), Angelo (1900, transcribed record), Salvatore (to Antonia Maggiore, 1902), Vincenzo (to Maria Calderaro, 1902). The parish marriage index also shows a Gregorio Caravella married to Rosalia Liberto.
Gendusa / Gennusa families
| Person | Father | Mother | Other details | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Calogero Gendusa c. 1808 – † 6 Feb 1861 | the late Emanuele | the late Bernarda Ragusa | Husband of Concetta Crapitto. Father of Emanuele. | Parish death index 1840-1900 |
| Gaetano (Caietano) Gendusa c. 1827–1891 | the late Antonino | the late Agnese Lorino (reading confirmed by the parish index) | Shoemaker. His second wife was Petronilla Marchese († 1877), widow of Giovanni Zito. Died in vicolo Genovese aged 64. | Death record, Chiusa 1891 no. 72, and parish index |
| Emanuele Gendusa / Gennusa c. 1839 | the late Calogero | Concetta Crapitto (living in 1867) | Named after his paternal grandfather Emanuele. On 21 Nov 1867 he married Rosalia Casella, daughter of Mastro Antonio and the late Grazia Crapa?, a family from Ventimiglia di Sicilia. Farm worker. Lived in Palazzo Adriano around 1879–82, then returned to Chiusa. | Parish marriage, San Nicolò di Bari, 1867, record 59 |
| Concetta Gennusa | Emanuele | Rosalia Casella | * Palazzo Adriano 19 Jan 1879. Married Giuseppe Caravella in 1899. | Births Palazzo Adriano 1879 no. 14 |
| Grazia Gendusa | Emanuele | Rosalia Casella | † Chiusa 1888 | Parish death index |
Conclusion: Gaetano and Emanuele were not brothers. Gaetano was the son of Antonino Gendusa and Agnese Lorino. Emanuele was the son of Calogero Gendusa and Concetta Crapitto, and grandson of Emanuele Gendusa and Bernarda Ragusa. A more distant link (Antonino and Calogero as cousins or brothers) remains possible but is not documented. The same index also lists an Antonino Gendusa, son of the late Giuseppe and the late Marianna Cultrera, who died on 24 January 1861 aged 60, husband of Vincenza Gebbia. He could be Gaetano's father, if Agnese Lorino was his first wife: this needs checking. Other Emanuele Gendusas of Chiusa must not be confused with him: one was the son of the late Francesco and Rosalia Cascio Ingurgio, married to Calogera Bondì; another the son of the late Gioacchino and the late Rosaria Cultrera.
Blanda / Marchese families
Rosalia Blanda (c. 1879), wife of Nicolò Caravella, was the daughter of Pietro Blanda and Anna Marchese. Her parents married in the mother church of Chiusa on 15 September 1877. Pietro was the son of Giuseppe Blanda and Rosalia Incalcaterra. Anna was the daughter of Antonino Marchese and Rosalia Di Giorgio. A brother of Rosalia, Giuseppe Blanda, was born on 6 February 1881.
Anna Marchese and Petronilla Marchese were not sisters. Petronilla was the daughter of Giuseppe Marchese and Rosalia Rossi. She died on 7 February 1877 aged 55 (born around 1822), widow by her first marriage of Giovanni Zito and married secondly to Gaetano Gendusa. A generation also separates them: Anna was born around 1855. It remains possible that Anna's father, Antonino Marchese, was Petronilla's brother (making Anna her niece), but this is not documented. In both Caravella marriages (1899 and 1901) a Vincenzo Gendusa acts as witness.
Documents of the Chiusa families (with scans)
Marriage of Giuseppe Caravella – Concetta Gennusa · Chiusa, 10 September 1899, no. 22
Marriage of Nicolò Caravella – Rosalia Blanda · Chiusa, 17 January 1901, no. 7
Birth of Concetta Gennusa · Palazzo Adriano, 19 January 1879, no. 14
Marriage of Emanuele Gendusa – Rosalia Casella · Chiusa, 21 November 1867 (parish register)
The FamilySearch index wrongly transcribes «Emmanuel Zanduga, son of Calogerus and Conceptio Trodoro» and «Josepha Avella»: these are the indexer's misreadings. The mother's surname is Crapitto, confirmed by the parish death index (see below).
Death of Gaetano Gendusa · Chiusa, 1891, no. 72
Death of Concetta Caravella · Chiusa, 4 July 1933, no. 71
From the parish death index: Andrea Ferina, son of Domenico and Concetta Caravella, died on 3 July 1894 aged 20 months (so born around late 1892), and Vincenza Ferina, daughter of Domenico and Concetta Caravella (date to be checked). Concetta was therefore already married before 1892.
Antonino and Vincenzo Caravella as brothers · parish death index 1901-1920
Caravella Antonino, son of the late Giuseppe and the late Cancemi Giuseppa, married to Schifano Rosa, aged 62 — † 18-12-1915
Same parents: Vincenzo and Antonino were brothers. Antonino, husband of Rosa Schifano, is the great-grandfather of Anthony J. Caravella Sr (Antonino → Giuseppe, born 1885 → Anthony).
Death of Calogero Gendusa · Chiusa, 6 February 1861 (parish death index)
Gendusa Calogero, son of the late Emanuele and the late Ragusa Bernarda, married to Crapitto Concetta, aged 53 — † 6-2-1861
Death of Petronilla Marchese · Chiusa, 7 February 1877 (parish death index)
Marriage of Pietro Blanda – Anna Marchese · Chiusa, 15 September 1877 (parish register)
The FamilySearch index wrongly gives «Rosalia Tropea» instead of Incalcaterra.
Death of Giuseppa Caravella, daughter of Vincenzo · Chiusa, September 1876 (parish death index)
She was Vincenzo's firstborn, born soon after the 1871 marriage. In the FamilySearch Family Tree she is the only Giuseppa among his children, and no second Giuseppa born later has turned up in the registers.
Checking the hypotheses
The research done to test hypotheses A, B and C about Antonio's parents.
Why not a quick shotgun wedding? (checks of 12 Nov 2026)
- In 1898 both couples were old enough to marry (Civil Code of 1865: 18 for him, 15 for her). But under 25 (men) and 21 (women) parental consent was required: Giuseppe was 20, Concetta 19.
- Military service: Giuseppe was in the class of 1877, called up precisely in 1897-98; Nicolò in the class of 1879, called up in 1899-1900. Each married after his own service period. Military service records are not online: they must be requested from the State Archives of Palermo, which hold the Palermo conscription lists up to 1905.
- Children after the marriage: the Chiusa decennial birth indexes for 1900 to 1904 show no child of Giuseppe Caravella and Concetta Gennusa, nor of Nicolò Caravella and Rosalia Blanda. The only Caravellas born in those years are children of other Caravellas: Antonino (1900, of Giuseppe and another Giuseppa), Giuseppa (1903, of Vincenzo and Maria Calderaro), Pellegrino (1904, of Salvatore and Maria Cortese). Nor do any of their children appear in the parish death registers. For Nicolò and Rosalia the explanation is confirmed: they emigrated to the United States in 1903 (see the document below). For Giuseppe and Concetta the question is still open.
- An objection to keep in mind: a couple who later married could have recognised the child and taken him back from the foundling hospital. Antonio, however, is still «son of N.N.» in 1921. This is not proof against, because many foundlings were never reclaimed, but it is a point that needs explaining.
Nicolò Caravella emigrated to America · Declaration of Intention, Chicago, 22 May 1924
The date of birth matches exactly that of Vincenzo Caravella's son (12 Nov 1879), and his wife is called Rosalia: this is our Nicolò, the candidate father in hypothesis B. He left Palermo in 1903, two years after the marriage, and settled in Harvey, on the southern edge of Chicago, where he still appears in the 1942 draft register. This explains why no children of his were born in Chiusa: the family grew up in Illinois. The descendants of Nicolò and Rosalia should be sought in the United States, in the Chicago area, including among your father's DNA matches. For Giuseppe Caravella and Concetta Gennusa I have not yet found any trace of emigration.
The Chiusa line in Mark Woolfson's tree (42.7 cM)
Woolfson's Sicilian ancestors, on the side of his mother Beatrice Fasulo (1932–1995), can be traced from his MyHeritage tree:
- Antonino Tortomasi (1851–1937) and Agnese Gendusa (1857–1899). Agnese was the daughter of Caietano (Gaetano) Gendusa and Petronilla Marchese, the same people we found in the registers. Their daughter Petronilla Tortomasi (1879–1911) married Giuseppe Fasulo.
- Vincenzo Tortomasi (1845–1919, Antonino's brother) and Caterina Napoli. Their son Salvatore (1878–1913) married Maria Santa Giglio, daughter of Pietro Giglio and Lucia Butera. In Gaetano Gendusa's death record (1891) the informant is «Vincenzo Tortomasi, aged 46, mason»: that is him, born around 1845.
What this means for the hypotheses. On the Gendusa side, Woolfson descends from Gaetano Gendusa and Petronilla Marchese. In both hypotheses the link to Antonio would be very distant:
- Hypothesis A: it would run through the parents of Calogero and Antonino Gendusa, assuming they were brothers.
- Hypothesis B: it would run through Giuseppe Marchese and Rosalia Rossi, assuming Anna Marchese's father was Petronilla's brother.
Either way your father and Woolfson would be roughly 5th cousins, and for that relationship 42.7 cM over 4 segments is a lot, even allowing for marriages between relatives, which were common in a town like Chiusa. A value like this suggests a closer relationship, with common ancestors born between 1840 and 1860: the Tortomasi, the Gendusa-Marchese, the Napoli or the Giglio-Butera.
New lead (hypothesis C): Antonio's mother could have been an unmarried Tortomasi daughter, born around 1875–1880. For example a daughter of Antonino Tortomasi and Agnese Gendusa, sister of Petronilla (b. 1879), or of Vincenzo Tortomasi and Caterina Napoli. In that case your father and Woolfson would be 2nd–3rd cousins a few generations removed, a relationship consistent with 42.7 cM. The father would remain on the Caravella side, as the match with Anthony indicates. To check: the children of Antonino Tortomasi and Vincenzo Tortomasi born between 1872 and 1882, and their marital status in 1898.
The Tortomasi girls in 1898 (hypothesis C) · decennial birth index 1876-1885
| Name | Parents | Birth | Age in January 1898 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Salvatore Tortomasi | Antonino and Agnese Gendusa | † July 1878 | — |
| Salvatore Tortomasi | Vincenzo and Caterina Napoli | 23 Sep 1878 | male (later married Maria Santa Giglio, Woolfson's ancestors) |
| Petronilla Tortomasi | Antonino and Agnese Gendusa | 12 Jan 1879 | 19. Later married Giuseppe Fasulo (Woolfson's ancestors). |
| Concetta Tortomasi | Vincenzo and Caterina Napoli | 20 Sep 1881 | 16 |
| Caterina (?) Tortomasi | Antonino and Agnese Gendusa | May 1882 | 15 |
| Concetta Tortomasi | Antonino and Agnese Gendusa | c. 1884 – † 1891 | — |
Update on the marriages. Petronilla Tortomasi married Giuseppe Fasulo on 2 December 1905 in Brooklyn, New York (New York City Marriages; in the record her mother is written «Agnese Giannusa»). In 1898 she was therefore unmarried, in Chiusa. She died in Brooklyn in 1911. According to Woolfson's tree her siblings were Antonino, Caterina Maria, Concetta (born 1893), Gaetano and five others. The family of Vincenzo Tortomasi and Caterina Napoli also emigrated to Brooklyn: their son Pietro (born 1892) married there in 1928. For Concetta (born 1881) I have not yet found either a marriage or a death.
What became of Concetta Tortomasi (b. 1881)? · Marriage banns, Chiusa, 30 August 1934, no. 14
The Ellis Island lists include Pietro Massaria, aged 39, married, from Chiusa, who arrived on 14 October 1910 aboard the König Albert from Genoa. The record links him to a Concetta Tortomasi, in all likelihood the wife who stayed in Italy. It is therefore very likely that Concetta Tortomasi, Vincenzo's daughter born in 1881, married Pietro Massaria (born around 1871) and had a son, Salvatore, around 1906–07. This is now confirmed by the marriage record (see below).
Marriage of Pietro Massaria – Concetta Tortomasi · Chiusa, 28 October 1899, no. 35
Conclusion. Concetta Tortomasi, daughter of Vincenzo and Caterina Napoli, married at 18 on 28 October 1899, 21 months after Antonio was abandoned: the same pattern as Concetta Gennusa (September 1899) and Rosalia Blanda (January 1901). The groom, Pietro Massaria, is not a Caravella. If Concetta were Antonio's mother, the father would therefore not be her husband but a Caravella who did not marry her: DNA points to a Caravella father. In this hypothesis the Woolfson group comes from the Tortomasi (Concetta was a first cousin of Salvatore, Woolfson's ancestor), and the Caravella group from the father. That leaves three candidate mothers, all of whom married between 1899 and 1901. Only DNA can tell them apart: a descendant of Concetta and Pietro Massaria (for example among the children of Salvatore Massaria and Giuseppa Noto) would share a lot of DNA with your father if Concetta were Antonio's mother.
The realistic candidates as mother (hypothesis C) are therefore Petronilla (19) and, less likely given her age, Concetta (16). Petronilla is a direct ancestor of Woolfson: if she were Antonio's mother, Woolfson would descend from one of his half-siblings, i.e. a close relative, and more than 42.7 cM would be expected. Concetta, Vincenzo's daughter, would instead be a first cousin of Woolfson's ancestor Salvatore: a relationship that fits well with 42.7 cM. Next steps: find out what became of Concetta, daughter of Vincenzo, and check the Ellis Island lists for when Petronilla and Concetta left.
Known links between the two families
- Caravella × Gendusa: Giuseppe Caravella marries Concetta Gennusa (1899). A generation earlier, Pietro Caravella had married Marianna Gendusa (from the FamilySearch Family Tree).
- Caravella × Marchese: Nicolò Caravella marries Rosalia Blanda, daughter of Anna Marchese (1901).
- Caravella × Giglio: Antonino Caravella's first wife is Rosalia Giglio. The Giglio surname also appears in Woolfson's tree.
- Gendusa × Marchese: Gaetano Gendusa's second wife is Petronilla Marchese († 1877), who however was not Anna Marchese's sister.
- A Vincenzo Gendusa is a witness at both Caravella marriages (1899 and 1901).
The witness Tommaso Palisi
The first witness on Antonio's birth record (1898) is Tommaso Palisi, aged 72, farm worker, so born around 1826. The wife of Vincenzo Caravella, paternal grandmother of the candidates Giuseppe and Nicolò, was called Vincenza Palisi. I checked the Chiusa parish registers to see whether and how the two were related.
Vincenza Palisi · marriage to Vincenzo Caravella, 25 February 1868
Two new facts: the church wedding was in 1868 (not 1871), and Vincenzo was the widower of a first wife. By 1868 Vincenza's father, Nicolò Palisi, had already died.
Vincenza's parents · marriage of Nicolò Palisi and Veronica Cari, 13 September 1842
Tommaso Palisi · marriage to Vincenza Liberto, 2 January 1872
He is the only adult Tommaso Palisi in the Chiusa registers, and fits the 1898 witness. The death index also shows a brother, Giuseppe Palisi «son of Bernardo and Bondì Anna Maria».
Other Palisi from the birth indexes (1879–1881)
- Veronica Palisi, daughter of Antonino and Cantavespri Giuseppa, 1879. She has the same name as Vincenza's mother (Veronica Cari): in all likelihood Antonino was a brother of Vincenza Palisi, who named his daughter after her grandmother.
- Anna Palisi, daughter of Bernardo and Giacone Giuseppa, 1881. Bernardo is the name of Tommaso's father: probably a son of Tommaso naming his daughter after her grandmother Anna Maria Bondì.
- Antonino Zito, son of Salvatore and Concetta Palisi, 1881.
The two Palisi lines, Tommaso's (Bernardo–Bondì) and Vincenza's (Nicolò–Cari), remain distinct at the level of the parents. Any link, if there is one, lies a generation further back.
Conclusion
| Father | Mother | |
|---|---|---|
| Tommaso Palisi (c. 1826), 1898 witness | Bernardo Palisi | Anna Maria Bondì |
| Nicolò Palisi, Vincenza's father | Vincenzo Palisi | Rosa (Lo?) Verde |
Tommaso was not Vincenza's father, nor her uncle: at most he was her father's cousin, if Bernardo and Vincenzo Palisi were brothers, but this is not documented. That the witness is a Palisi at all remains a clue, though. In an abandonment record the witnesses were often neighbours or people from the receiver's circle, but sometimes they had a connection with the child's family.
A curiosity worth remembering: Vincenza's grandmother was called Rosa Verde, and the woman who carried Antonio to the foundling hospital was Concetta Lo Verde. It is a common surname in Chiusa, so on its own it proves nothing.
To check: the parents of Bernardo Palisi and Vincenzo Palisi (death index 1840-1880 and marriages before 1828), and where Tommaso Palisi lived in 1898 compared with the Caravellas.
DNA: details
Searching the father's matches for Chiusa surnames (12 Nov 2026)
MyHeritage search also compares the surnames found in the matches' trees.
| Surname searched | Matches found |
|---|---|
| Tortomasi, Gendusa, Marchese, Giglio, Butera, Napoli | Mark Woolfson (42.7 cM). For Butera also Angela Sara Butera (12.4 cM, 3-person tree); for Napoli other weak matches with no evident link. |
| Caravella, Cancemi | only Anthony J. Caravella Sr (51.9 cM) |
| Schifano | Francesco Pennestrì (20.1 cM). Mostly Calabrian tree; on the maternal side Michele Schifano and Innocenza Di Raimondo appear, alongside surnames from the Palermo hinterland (Mondello, Insalaco, Chiavenza). The link with Rosa Schifano, wife of Antonino Caravella, still needs checking. |
| Casella | Joanne Salvo (15.8 cM), tree managed by Peter Spera |
| Zito / Gloriosa | Nina Zito (27.0 cM, over 90). Her parents are Salvatore Zito (San Giuseppe Jato 1890 – NY 1966) and Vittoria Gloriosa, «adopted», born in Palermo on 3 June 1898. Gloriosa is a typical surname given to foundlings: Vittoria was probably a Palermo foundling, born the same year Antonio was sent to the Palermo foundling hospital. At 27 cM she cannot be his half-sibling (200–400 cM would be expected), and the matches shared with Nina do not belong to the Caravella or Woolfson groups. The shared DNA probably comes from the Zito/Lo Faso line of San Giuseppe Jato, or from a line other than Antonio's. A curious coincidence, but not a lead for now. |
| Massaria, Palisi, Gennusa, Blanda, Crapitto, Ferina, Incalcaterra, Chiusa (place) | no matches |
| Liberto, Lo Verde, Di Giorgio | only weak matches (9–19 cM) with no evident link to Chiusa |
Conclusion: among the father's MyHeritage matches, links to Chiusa still run only through Anthony Caravella and Mark Woolfson. There are no known descendants of the Massaria, Blanda or Gennusa families. Finding them would require uploading your father's DNA to other sites too (FamilyTreeDNA, GEDmatch, and above all AncestryDNA or 23andMe via a new test), where descendants of emigrants from Chiusa to the United States are more numerous.
Y-DNA
Estimated haplogroup R-CTS9219 (R1b › Z2103 › Y5592), a low-resolution estimate with no Y matches on MyHeritage. The Y chromosome passes down the direct male line, from Antonio to his biological father. A Y-37 or Big Y test at FamilyTreeDNA, or a comparison with the haplogroup of a male Caravella descendant (for example from Anthony Sr's line), could confirm or rule out Caravella paternity.