Barbieri Ancestors
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In the 1500’s there were 5 lines of Barbieri families living in Cerreto Sannita, Italy. Information on the 5 families can be found in the book Not Forgotten written by Michael J. Barbieri. Mike can be contacted at mj2barberi@yahoo.com.
The Barbieri information on this website will focus on the line of Barbieri’s that are Rich’s ancestors. If you’re related to Rich and your last name is Barbieri, or a derivative of it, then this information is about your ancestors.
Cerreto Sannita, Italy
Nine generations of ancestors were born in Cerreto Sannita, Italy. Cerreto Sannita is a small mountain town in the Province of Benevento, Region of Campania. Itâs located approximately 45 miles Northeast of Naples and 20 miles north of Benevento.
While the history of the town dates back prior to the 12th century, that was the old town of Cerreto Sannita. The town had existed on a mountain and in the late afternoon of June 5, 1688 a significant earthquake severely damaged numerous towns completely destroying Cerreto Sannita and Guardia Sanframondi.
The town was rebuilt in the valley of the mountain where it had existed. An innovative no wall grid plan was developed by royal engineer, Juan Bautista Manni and by order of Count Marzio Carafa, his brother Marino Carafa and Bishop Juan el Bautista de Bellis.
In order to honor the destroyed town and the many people who died in the earthquake, the remaining residents went back up the mountain and recovered as many house doors as possible. Some of the doors are still in use today. Beautiful pottery had been made there, and still is today, and pieces of pottery broken by the earthquake reside in the Civic and Ceramics Museum of Cerreto (Museo Civico e della Ceramica Cerretese).
Oldest Ancestors
The oldest record that could be found is for G9 Great Grandfather Filippo Antonio born in 1585 and who married Camilla Ciarlo in 1606. Another name for Camilla was Ciarli. Camilla passed away and Filippo then married Marzia Lombardo (Riccio) in 1610 in Cerreto Sannita (CS). Records for 4 children from this marriage have been located. One of the children was G8 Great Grandfather Pietro Antonio Barbieri. Filippo passed away in 1625.
G8 Great Grandfather Pietro Antonio Barbieri was born on 25 Dec 1621 in CS and died on an unknown date in CS. Pietro married Isidora Carlo 1646-1648 in CS. They had two children. One of the children was G7 Great Grandfather Geronimo Barbieri.
G7 Great Grandfather Geronimo Barbieri was born on 20 Oct 1648 in CS and died on an unknown date in CS. Another name for Geronimo was Gerolamo and Barbero. Geronimo married Dorotea Sanzero in 1689 in CS. Another name for Dorotea was Torotea. They had five children. One child was G6 Great Grandfather Angelo Barbieri.
G6 Great Grandfather Angelo Barbieri was born in CS on 16 Jan 1695 and died in CS sometime before 1769. Angelo married Vittoria Di Meola in 1718 in CS. Angelo and Vittoria had 10 children. One of the children was Great Grandfather Giovanni Antonio Tommaso Barbieri.
G5 Great Grandfather Giovanni Antonio Tommaso Barbieri was born in CS on 1 Jan 1729 and died in CS sometime before 1797. Giovanni married Brigida Venditto in 1759 in CS. Giovanni and Brigida had 5 children. One of the children was G4 Great Grandfather Stefano Nicola Barbieri.
G4 Great Grandfather Stefano Nicola Barbieri was born 27 Dec 1768 in CS and died in CS on 17 Apr 1844. Stefano married Maria Antonia Sanzeri in CS in 1793. The couple had 13 children. One of them was Great Grandfather Raffaele Barbieri.
G3 Great Grandfather Raffaele Barbieri was born 1 Feb 1809 in CS and died in CS on 7 Aug 1884. Raffaele married Maria Grazia Di Meola in 1830 in CS. Raffaele and Maria had 11 children. One child was G2 Great Grandfather Federico Antonio Barbieri.
G2 Great Grandfather Federico Antonio was born in CS on 17 Dec 1832 and died in CS in Mar 1880. Federico married Maria Grazia Giordano on 15 Feb 1854 in CS. The couple had 8 children. Two children died young. Five sons and a daughter came to the U.S.
More information about Federico Antonioâs children is in the searchable name file that’s accessible from the People tab.
Immigration
Those ancestors who immigrated to the U.S. did so during what has been referred to as the Great Arrival of Italian immigrants that occurred during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. There are many reasons why people decided to leave their country and families to come to the U.S. Two links below provide interesting information regarding why Italians came to the U.S. and what they found when they arrived.
The story of Great Grandmother Filomena Petronzi is illustrative of what occurred with many Italian immigrants. Filomena Maria Petronzi was born in Cerreto Sannita on 16 Apr 1866. She married Great Grandfather Carmine Antonio Barbieri on 8 Sep 1888. As was often the case with Italian immigrants, Carmine came to the U.S. ahead of his wife to get âestablished.â He arrived in Paterson, NJ on 18 Jun 1900, didnât speak English and had $6.00 on him (1900 value). His brothers Giuseppe Antonio and Angelo Raffaele Andrea had arrived prior to that.
Filomena arrived in NY on 4 Mar 1901, didnât speak English, had $3.00 on her (1900 value) and 5 young children ranging in age from 2 -12. Procedures at Ellis Island were that immigrants couldnât leave Ellis Island without someone to pick them up. For whatever reason, Filomenaâs husband Carmine wasnât there when she arrived. She had to stay there the night until Carmine arrived the next day. How many of us today would be willing to do something similar?
The 5 brothers immigrated between 1893 and 1900. By that time, their father had passed away. Federicoâs children ranged in age from 7 to 26 when he passed away. Filomena, Federico’s wife, date of death is unknown but it’s certainly possible that the death of their parents contributed to the decision by the children to leave Italy for the U.S. In Italy, the older brothers worked as stone cutters. Some continued that occupation in the U.S. while others went to work in the silk mills. It’s highly likely that the grave market for Angelo Raffaele was made by one on his brothers.
Click on the link below to see a chart of the ancestors who immigrated to the U. S.
On the topic of immigration, Grandmother Rosaria Medici was born 1901 in Polla, Italy. The Medici family was extremely prominent in Italy between the 15th and 18th century. For more information on the House of Medici see the link below. Unfortunately, Rosaria wasnât from this branch of the Mediciâs. Rosaria’s family were farmers before coming to the U.S.
Rosariaâs family has been traced back to mid-1700âs. Rosariaâs father Angelo came to the U.S. in 1902 and settled in Paterson, N.J. Her mother, Mary Priore, immigrated in 1904 and came with Rosaria who was 3 years old at that time. Angelo and Mary had 6 other children all born in the U.S.
In the U.S. some of the family decided to use the name Marrich in lieu of Medici. Itâs not known why and itâs strange because the family was obviously Italian but the name Marrich isnât Italian. All of the records for Medici/Marrich families are included in the searchable database.
Paterson, NJ was where the majority of our ancestors who immigrated lived as well as many of their descendants. Below are two links that provide additional information about Paterson.