Hi, my name is Carmen Papallo and my family originated in Martone, Reggio Calabria, Italy.
I have had a blog site related to Martone since 2013 . I started the site in order to try and bring all the families of Martone together. I have been interested in my family history since I was a teen and got heavily into it in 2009. Since then I worked on gathering all the civil records available on microfilm related to Martone and the surrounding communes at the local Mormon Family History Library. These records cover the period from 1809 – 1910. Of course, technology is finally catching up and most of these records are now available online at the Mormon libraries and also on Italian sites.
I have worked with several cousins and friends who have been researching their families from Martone and nearby communes. We have also been able to get access to the Catasto from 1745 for Martone which is basically a census of the people and their possessions. The latest project funded by my cousin Louis Loccisano has gotten us copies of the church records for Martone and several surrounding communes. This data will let us trace back many of our families into the 1600’s and even late 1500’s.
I have also had mine and my parents DNA tested with 23 & Me. I hope this will provide me with new connections and clues about my family as more people get tested. The people from Martone are now scattered all over the world and I look forward to working with anyone interested in their family history. Researching together will help us to preserve the history of this wonderful commune!
About the author
I have been compiling from the record images on the Antenati site for my ancestral town of Castelcivita, Salerno, known as Castelluccia until 25 January 1864. My advice would be to start with the most recent available marriage records. These form the framework by providing six names, the groom, the bride and their parents. The birth dates of the groom and bride can be calculated from their ages. The most recent records will have the easiest handwriting and you adjust as you work your way back. I built chains when finding somebody else with the same parents. If you’re not sure that Maria Teresa Russo is the same mother as Teresa Russo, hold off until you do the birth records.
The processetti, which are packages of marriage records with the supporting record transcriptions, can also be used. These contain transcriptions of the birth records of the groom and bride, and death records of their parents and even paternal grandfathers to explain why their consent was not provided. If you have trouble with the handwriting on a marriage record, you can consult the corresponding but separate handwriting on the copy in the processo.
Document every person and fact as you add it. I include a link to the image on the Antenati website where the record starts.
While I added the material for my ancestors and their descendants, and the spouses and spouses’ parents, to FamilySearch Family Tree, which is a free service run by the Mormon Church, I began more recently to include the unrelated lines as I go. I have bumped into a number of Castelcivitesi who are also compiling their lines. FamilySearch Family Tree is a collaborative effort and they can add or correct my work. The drawback is that material that is already correct can be replaced with material that is wrong.
The web form for adding this comment allows me to include a link, so I choose to share my website with Castelcivita material.
Please can you help me? My nonno came from the isle of Ischia , probably early decades of the 20th Century. His name was Castlucta or similar then changed to Killaspy in the UK. I would appreciate any help or advice. Yours hopefully, Francesca xx
Please contact me. I am trying for a long time to trace my family in Calabria. No success so far. Tramontano was my grand mother surname. How can I search my relatives in Calabria?
Can you help me too please? My nonno came from the isle of Ischia, family name Castlucta or similar. No luck so far, would really appreciate any help or advice. Francesca xx
Did you find anything? This is my family too! We thought the name was something like Caselcio. Thank you, Mel