On this day: October 7th

On this day, October 7, in...

... 1832, Rosaria Giovanna Antonina Misseri was born in the Palermo area of Molo, Palermo, Sicily, Italy.

... 1883, Antonino Rosario Misseri was born in Carini, Palermo, Sicily, Italy.

On this day: July 29th

On this day, July 29, in...

... 1901, Antonino Rosario Misseri and Susanna Francesca Grazia di Gregoli were married in Carini, Palermo, Sicily, Italy.

Are Two Francesco Giuseppe Misseri's the same Individual?

Another mystery has appeared during my family history research, and it is the first time that I have found a birth record that just lists the father as a parent (within my Misseri surname research), with no mother documented.

This is what I have discovered: 

Francesco Giuseppe Misseri (I'm going to add a #1 after his name the rest of the time in this article) was born to Antonino Misseri (the father) on 11 Jun 1902 in Carini. On the birth registration it states in Italian 'una donna che non consente essere nominata" or translated in English as, "a woman who does not allow herself to be named." Obviously, Antonino Misseri had a child, possibly out of wedlock and/or the mother was trying to hide something for reasons we may never know. But it is one of the main points in this article.

Source Citation: Archivio di Stato di Palermo > Stato civile italiano (registri dei Comuni) > Carini > Registro 4, pag-179 https://antenati.cultura.gov.it/ark:/12657/an_ua36080543/0JXovKQ

Source Citation: Archivio di Stato di Palermo > Stato civile italiano (registri dei Comuni) > Carini > Registro 4, pag-180; https://antenati.cultura.gov.it/ark:/12657/an_ua36080543/wb39JMv

Then twenty days later, there is a death registration for Francesco Giuseppe Misseri (#1) on 1 July 1902. Again, the mother remains unknown. All the information lines up and makes sense, with the exception there is no baptism record for Francesco Giuseppe Misseri (#1) in Carini. It doesn't mean, the child couldn't have been baptized in another place. So far, nothing else has been found for Francesco Giusppe Misseri (#1) in the surrounding towns.

Source Citation: Archivio di Stato di Palermo > Stato civile italiano (registri dei Comuni) > Carini > Registro 4, pag-76, https://www.antenati.san.beniculturali.it/ark:/12657/an_ua36080583/wWZNXWm

Now this is where the story gets a little strange. 

On 30 May 1902, there was a Carini baptism performed on a newborn with the name of Francesco Giuseppe Misseri (I'm going to add a #2 after his name the rest of the time in this article). The baptism record does not have the words "hodie" or "heri," designating the child was born today or yesterday. This Francesco Giuseppe Misseri (#2) was born to the parents of Antonino Misseri and Susanna di Gregoli, who married on the 29 July 1901. So, a baby born in late May of 1902 works out perfectly for a newly married couple. This is what gets a bit strange, there is no birth registration for this Francesco Giuseppe Misseri (#2). A complete opposite situation from the earlier Francesco Giuseppe Misseri (#1). One has a birth registration and no baptism record and the other has no birth registration and has a baptism record.

Source Citation: "Italia, Palermo, Diocesi di Monreale, Registri Parrocchiali, 1531-1998," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:S3HT-6LJW-NFV?cc=2046915&wc=MG34-HZS%3A351041601%2C351041602%2C351366601 : 20 May 2014), Carini > Maria Santissima Assunta > Battesimi 1895-1904 > image 440 of 517; Archivio di Arcidiocesi di Palermo (Palermo ArchDiocese Archives, Palermo).

I am not sure what to make of all this because the dates do not match up, but they are close to make you wonder if they are they are one and in the same. But with any good puzzle, you need to start thinking a little broader.

I know that Antonino Misseri and Susanna di Gregoli had other children, so I thought I would look to see if there is a street address of where the other children were born, since I knew the Francesco Giuseppe Misseri (#1) was born on via Santa Caterina in Carini. And yes, sure enough several other children born to Antonino Misseri and Susanna di Gregoli were born on via Santa Caterina in Carini Palermo, Sicily, Italy. The other thing that matches up is the age of Antonino Misseri who is listed as the father of Francesco Giuseppe Misseri (#1). Antonino Misseri's age is 19 in 1902, making his birth year in 1883, which is the same birth year of the Antonino Misseri who is married to Susanna di Gregoli.

Another idea I had was to look at the naming convention of the other children born to Antonino Misseri and Susanna di Gregoli. Here is a chart showing the other children and their names.

Descendants of Don Antonino Rosario Misseri and Donna Susanna Francesca Grazia di Gregoli

1-Don Antonino Rosario Misseri b. 7 Oct 1883, Carini, Palermo, Sicily, 
  Italy
 + Donna Susanna Francesca Grazia di Gregoli b. 25 Oct 1879, Carini, Palermo, 
  Sicily, Italy
|--2-Francesco Giuseppe Misseri b. 11 Jun 1902, Carini, Palermo, Sicily, Italy, 
|    d. 1 Jul 1902, Carini, Palermo, Sicily, Italy
|--2-Francesco Misseri b. 4 May 1903, Carini, Palermo, Sicily, Italy, d. 18 Apr 
|    1976, Palermo, Palermo, Sicily, Italy
    + Maria Vitellaro b. 13 May 1910, Palermo, Palermo, Sicily, Italy, d. Bef 
     1966
    + Carmela La Barbera b. {unknown date}, Palermo, Sicily, Italy
|--2-Giuseppe Vincenzo Misseri b. 13 Jan 1905, Carini, Palermo, Sicily, Italy, 
|    d. 18 Dec 1988, Palermo, Palermo, Sicily, Italy
    + Rosa Schillaci b. Abt 1910, Palermo, Palermo, Sicily, Italy
|--2-Grazia Rosalia Crocifissa Misseri b. 23 Apr 1906, Carini, Palermo, Sicily, 
|    Italy, d. 20 Feb 1908, Carini, Palermo, Sicily, Italy
|--2-Vincenzo Misseri b. 17 Jun 1907, Carini, Palermo, Sicily, Italy, d. 10 Aug 
|    1907, Carini, Palermo, Sicily, Italy
|--2-Maria Grazia Misseri b. 19 Aug 1908, Carini, Palermo, Sicily, Italy, d. 2 
|    Jan 1996, Voghera, Pavia, Lombardia, Italy
---2-Rosalia Crocifissa Misseri b. 3 Oct 1910, Carini, Palermo, Sicily, Italy, 
     d. 5 Jul 1975, Palermo, Sicily, Italy
    + Giovanni Martino b. 25 Jul 1909, Palermo, Palermo, Sicily, Italy, d. 19 
     Apr 1935, Resuttana, Palermo, Sicily, Italy
    + Enrico Lo Jacono b. {unknown date}, Palermo, Sicily, Italy

To help with the naming convention, the parents of Antonino Misseri are Francesco Misseri and Maria Grazia Lombardo, and Susanna di Gregoli's parents are Giuseppe di Gregoli and Rosalia Bernarda di Leone.

As you can see from the chart, Antonino Misseri and Susanna di Gregoli had several children and the children are named exactly as you would expect them to be; even more so because they combined both the grandparent's first names into the names of their children if you take into account of the Francesco Giuseppe Misseri (#1) (potentially their first son) that we are researching and Grazia Rosaila Crocifissa Misseri (their first daughter).

Next, I decided to investigate are the autograph signatures on the various birth records of the children of Antonino Misseri and Susanna di Gregoli. From my untrained eye, it appears to be the same signature of Antonino Misseri on both the Francesco Giuseppe Misseri (#1) birth record and the subsequence birth records of Antonino Misseri and Susanna di Gregoli.

The last observation I have about the Antonino Misseri who married Susanna di Gregoli, is that he came from a respected family. Antonino Misseri and his father, Francesco Misseri, both had the title of "Don" within the community. His mother also had the title of Donna. Did the stature and family name have anything to do with the no mother being listed on the birth record of Francesco Giuseppe Misseri (#1)? Susanna di Gregoli also came from a distinguished family as both her father and mother had the titles of Don and Donna attached to their names. I bring this up only as another thing to think about when looking at the over-arching picture of this puzzle. 

My gut is telling me it is the same person, but I still have several questions that linger.

In the end, the big question remains, are the two Francesco Giuseppe Misseri's the same person? And if so, why the discrepancy of the dates? Why does one have a birth record and no baptism, and it is the other way around for the other person? There are just too many strange coincidences that is hard to believe that something is not quite right. Maybe the families used their influence to change or delay the reporting of birth or the baptism dates?

If it the same person, how on earth can there be a baptism record from 30 May 1902 and a birth registration on 11 Jun 1902? That is the biggest question that I have after going through this whole process of researching the records. I am very intrigued if anyone else has any thoughts about this mystery of Francesco Giuseppe Misseri (#1) and Francesco Giuseppe Misseri (#2).

A couple of side notes:

• Antonino Misseri, the husband of Susanna di Gregoli, is the brother of Pietro Misseri, who I am a direct ancestor of
• Antonino Misseri and Susanna di Gregoli's second son, Francesco Misseri (born in 1903) spent time in a Palermo prison. You can read the article here.