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First, let me thank everyone who has contributed to this endeavor. It has taken a lot of hours of interviewing, sifting through eMails and photos, translating documents written in Italian, and visiting town halls and cemeteries to compile our genealogy. I would especially like to thank Elia (Ollie) Malgieri for lending me his research and my father, Alexander Malgieri, for the countless hours he spent helping me. Their efforts mean we can pass our heritage on to the generations that will follow us.
Second, this WEB site and most especially our genealogy is a living document of our heritage. You will notice that the family tree is not complete. I need your help to keep the information complete and accurate. Please fill in the blanks or correct any inaccuracies by eMailing the WEBAdmin.
Third, let me address your privacy. The Internet is a dangerous thing so I purposefully omitted data (i.e. birth information for anyone living) that could be used to compromise your identity. Therefore, you will notice that there is just enough information to wet your appetite. Rest assure that the complete family tree exists in a safe place and is available to anyone in the family upon request. In fact, I hope to unveil it at a future Malgieri family reunion (hint hint).
Finally, you probably aren't aware that under Italian nationality laws we all have the right to petition your local Italian consulate for citizenship. This means that you can possess both U.S. and Italian citizenship. Italian nationality is based on blood not birth place. Therefore, if you can prove a blood line back to Italy, then you can petition the Italian consulate for citizenship. Italian citizenship also means that you are a citizen of the European Union, which has many legal, business, and education advantages. The documents contained on this WEB site can help you through the process.
Now onto the good stuff........
Genealogy
We were able to trace our lineage back to 1837 when our grandparents, Vito Malgieri and Filomena Scanniello, were both born. Vito and Filomena were both from Vallata, Italy in the province of Avellino in the Campania region of southern Italy. While their wedding date is a mystery, they subsequently were married and gave birth to their son Vincenzo (see Vincenzo's official birth certificate). The earliest and most interesting documentation we found is an affidavit from the Mayor of Vallata regarding the birth of Vincenzo. It was customary at the time for the father to present male children to the mayor of the commune soon after birth. In this case our grandfather, Vincenzo, was only 2 hours old. The text of the affidavit is below and was translated from Italian.
Order number 98
Vincenzo Malgieri
In the year 1873 on the fifteenth day of September in the city hall at one o'clock in the afternoon. There did appear before me, Cavalier Michele Netta, mayor of the commune of Vallata in the vicinity of Ariano Di Puglia, one Vito Malgieri, thirty-six years of age and a miller by trade. He is a resident of Vallata and is the son of Giuseppe Malgieri, now deceased. He presented me with a baby of masculine gender who, he declares, was born to him on the fifteenth day of the month of September at eleven o'clock in the morning from his wife Filomena Scanniello, a women of peasant background. She is the daughter of Michele Scanniello, now deceased, and resides with her husband at 55 Via Chianchione. Vito Malgieri declares that he has given the name of Vincenzo to the child. This declaration was made in the presence of Paolo Cirillo, aged 55 years and the son of Felice Cirillo, now deceased, and of Pietro Di Gennaro aged forty years and the son of Felice Di Gennaro, now deceased. Both these individuals are landowners and residents of this commune and were chosen as witnesses by the declarer, himself. After having read this official account those present placed their signatures along with mine on both registers with the exception of Vito Malgieri, who was not capable of signing because he is illiterate.
Paolo Cirillo - Witness
Pietro Di Gennaro - Witness
Michele Netta, Mayor and Officer of the State
We unearthed a couple of historical facts from the Mayor's affidavit. First, Vito's father was Giuseppe. Unfortunately, we couldn't find any documentation about him. However, we were able to surmise that he was born sometime in the late 1700's, during the French occupation of Italy by Napoleon. We also learned that Vito and Filomena resided on Via Chianchione. Via Chianchione exists today (see a map of Via Chianchione). The street was named after a terrible battle that took place in 1496 in which 250 citizens of Vallata were slaughtered by the invading troops. You can find more historical information about Vallata by clicking here.
Vincenzo Malgieri married Maria Rosaria Fredella on November 29, 1894 (see their official marriage certificate). Maria Roasria Fredella was the daughter of Pasquale Fredella and Rachele Zamarra and was born on January 14, 1873, the same year as her husband Vincenzo (see Maria's official birth certificate). They were both 21 years old at the time. Soon after their marriage a boy was born. According to family stories, he passed away soon after his birth but we did not locate any official documentation of his death because we do not know his name.
Vincenzo and Maria emigrated to the United States via Ellis Island on June 10, 1897 at the age of 24. They immediately moved to Fall River, Massachusetts and on August 27, 1898 gave birth to their second son, John. Vincenzo was a shoemaker by trade and his shop was on Stafford Road. Many of you probably remember playing in his shop as a child. I remember helping my father dismantle his shop and turning it into an apartment.
Vincenzo became a U.S. citizen on March 26, 1915 at the age of 42 (see Vincenzo's Petition for Citizenship). It is worth noting several items from his petition for citizenship. First, Vincenzo filed his petition using the name James. According to family stories, Vincenzo felt James was easier for Americans to pronounce. Second, you will also notice that he filed his petition in March of 1915. This was the same year Italy entered World War I. Finally, in his petition he had to renounce his allegiance to King Victor Emmanuel III. You may find it odd that the U.S. government would require someone to renounce their loyalty to a king when Italy was a Parliamentary Democracy. Well, in 1915 the Italian Parliament asked then Prime Minister Antonio Salandra to resign because he opposed Italy entering the war. King Emmanuel refused Salandra's resignation and entered the war anyway, which paved the way for Benito Mussalini to seize control in 1922.
Maria Rosaria Fredella passed away on October 7, 1918 from Influenza or La Grippe. She was 45 years old. The great influenza epidemic of 1918 killed about 50 million people.
Vincenzo subsequently married Maria Giovanna DeFusco, who was a widow with one son.
Vincenzo passed away on August 24, 1934 at the age of sixty-one. His record of death indicates that he died of coronary occlusion associated with coronary sclerosis and chronic myocarditis (see his official record of death). Oddly enough his record of death indicates his father's name was Francisco. We assume this is an error because it differs from his birth record and the mayor's affidavit. Vincenzo lays at rest in Notre Dame Cemetery in Fall River, Massachusetts. If anyone cares to visit, his plot number is grave B-165, section 4C, row 10, between pass 3&4. There isn't a headstone marking the grave. We are discussing collecting a family fund to provide one.
Vincenzo and Maria had seven children, who represent the first American generation of Malgieri's. There is now a total of 4 American generations born from the descendents of Vincenzo and Maria. To see all the generations please turn off your pop-up blocker and click on the tree.
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