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Page 79 of 107
PIETRO COLLORAFI
and CATERINA COLLORAFI
and DESCENDANTS
Two of the children of Giuseppe Collorafi and Febronia Amato -Pietro Collorafi and Caterina Collorafi, left Patti, at different times, around the turn of the century, and came to New York. We have evidence that Pietro continued to correspond with his brothers who had moved to Tunisia. This picture of him was send to us from his nephew's widow, Marie Collorafi, who had brought it with her from Tunisia. It was also shared with us by Pietro's great-grand daughter, Michele Collorafi Roomey, from England! Rita Collorafi Destenay remembers that her father, Giuseppe, wrote to his relatives in New York from Tunisia. She especially remembers the nice Christmas cards that the family received each year from the USA.
Pietro Collorafi,
born in Patti about 1858, moved his family to New York.
This is his signature
from a document in Patti, Sicilia, Italia.
We know about his branch
of our family from several sources: the civil records of Patti, Sicilia;
family records of Peter S. Collorafi, Michele Collorafi Roomey of England
social security records;
and the ongoing help of Pietro's great grandson, Dr. James Nicholas, as
well as Ellis Island records.
The Jeannine Brosseau
& Peter S. Collorafi Family - descendants of Pietro & Maria.
back row: l-r,
son-Robert Collorafi holding his son, Matthew,son- James Nicholas, (nee
James Collorafi) first row, l-r, Robert's wife - Julia Clampett, holding
their daughter, Mary Elizabeth, Jeannine Brosseau Collorafi holding grandsons
John Paul and Peter Collorafi, Andrew Roomey
(groom) and daughter
Michele Karen Collorafi Roomey (bride)-father of the bride -
Peter S. Collorafi,
since this was taken, Robert & Julia had another son, Christian Gregory
Collorafi. circan1994
We learned a great deal about the descendants of Pietro and Maria from their grandson, Peter S. Collorafi of New York. His father, Calogero, was born in Patti, Sicilia, but served in the United States Army.
Calagero (Charles)
Collorafi
circa 1917.
The town of Patti is a very interesting one with a strong Norman influence. We see this reflected in Calagero's blue-gray eyes and light complexion. This family seemed closely connected to the Collorafi family of San Piero Patti, Vallone Di Vina and Librizzi. We see this through the names of their children and family profession. For the most part, the Collorafi Famiglia of Patti were not farmers, but were fruit sellers and merchants. Pietro's brothers , Rosario, Giuseppe and his children continued these occupations not only when they moved to Tunisia, but when Rosario's grandson, also named Rosario, moved to France in the 1960's.
Mt. Etna played a part in the fate of Calagero. A lovely young Sicilian girl, from Catania, was visiting relatives in New York and was advised to extend her stay because of the activity of Mt. Etna, which tends to destroy Catania about every one hundred years. During the time of this "extended" stay, Saerafina Rapisardi and Calagero married. Calagero had two brothers, Giuseppe and Francesco, whose names were modified to the more American ones of Frank and Joseph. Calagero went by the name Charles.
A 19th century
painting of the city of Catania
built entirely
of lava from Mt. Etna.
Wedding picture
of Calagero Collorafi &
Serafine Rapisardi,
New York.
The family history is included in the family tree section of this book. It is believed that the Colloraffi family of California, using the 2 f spelling, is part of this branch of our family. In Sicily, the name was first spelled as Cullorafi in Patti in 1820, but became Collorafi by the 1880's.
Daughter of Calagero
& Serafina - in red dress - Maria Collorafi Zorn,
with husband to
her left - Philip Zorn, with Marie Zorn Sallie (their daughter)
and her husband,
Brian Sallie. Not pictured is their son, Philip Zorn.
Peter S. Collorafi
son of Calagero
& Serafina
The name Pietro
has been in the Colloraffi Famiglia for over 400 years.
This is an extremely talented and hard working part of our Collorafi family. Calagero & Serafina's grandson, James, has a PHD in the field of music and is a true scholar knowing several languages; another grandson was a pilot, who was killed in a plane crash. Grandson, Robert, is a teacher.
We welcome information about this branch of the family.
CATERINA MARIA COLLORAFFI
We learn a little more about this family from the Ellis Island Records. We know that Pietro's oldest sister, Maria Caterina Colloraffi, who went by the name Caterine, at age 50, came to the USA, along with Vincenz Marino, age 17, who is probably her daughter. They arrived in New York on October 9, 1899 on the ship Archimede, which departed from Genoa (even though the record spells is Genova). Ship records indicate that they are both from Patti.
The Archimede
Built by Alexander
Stephen & Sons, G. Scotland, 1881, 2,837 gross tons; 350 feet long,
40 feet wide, compound engine screw. Service spped 12 knots, 20 first class
passengers,
56 second class,
550 third class. Built for Navigazione Generale Italian Line, Italian flag
in
1881 and named
Italy-New York service...Remained Cal? - Italy-Egypt service, wrecked
March 5, 1905.
The next record from this family that we discover on the Ellis Island web site is for Pietro's son, Giuseppe. He arrives in New York on April 6, 1900, on the ship, Manilla, that sails from Naples, Campania, Italy. He is only 14 years old and may be traveling with Gaetano Foti, age 26, also from Patti. We do not know what their relationship is but their names are listed together - which usually indicates that they are traveling together.
The Vincenza Marino eventually marries Giuseppe in New York, There is not a record of the manifest, at this time, so we do not know if Giuseppe's Aunt Caterina meets him when he arrives in the USA.
GIUSEPPE AND ROSARIO AVALLONE
As we mentioned earlier, letters were exchanged between the brothers of Tunisia, Giuseppe and Rosario, and the brother and sister - Pietro and Caterina, that lived in New York. Rosario had a daughter named Febronia, who was married to Vincenzo Avallone. They had two sons, Giuseppe and Rosario Avallone who came to the United States. It is possible that they were assisted, in some way, or knew of their cousins and aunts and uncles. Below is a picture, which came from Tunisia to France with Marie Collorafi, wife of Giuseppe Collorafi - pictured in the Tunisian section of our book. It is believed to be one of the Avallone sons.
This is believed
to be either Giuseppe or his brother, Rosario Avallone.
We welcome more information about this family.
Page 79 of 107
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