What does a comedian, a housewife and an Italian Prison have in common?

The headline of this article sounds like it should be the opening line of a joke, but trust me it is not a joke, but more of a lesson on family history research!

While searching for Italian marriage records in the Palermo area with the surname, "Misseri," I ran across an interesting item that needed a little more attention. At face value, one could skim through the document and pick out the names and the dates to record the marriage information. The item in particular, a Marriage Proclamation, turns out to hold much more information if you take the time to dig deeper into the text. Yes, the handwriting is in Italian cursive, but with all the modern technology, the text can be transcribed and put through a translator. With that process, it is not 100% perfect - probably closer to 90%, but it is a whole lot better than just getting the basic facts from the document.

After taking the time to really look and read (with the help AI) the Marriage Proclamation of Francesco Misseri and Maria Vitellaro, the details bring out the complexity of life that our ancestors lived. The first major fact in the document is that Francesco Misseri was incarcerated in the Judicial Prison of Palermo (Carceri Giudiziarie di Palermo). Wow, that is a big piece of information. The next detail, which I have yet to understand how or why this was accepted or approved, but an official from the prison helped facilitate the Marriage Proclamation on behalf of Francesco Misseri and Maria Vitellaro while he was in jail. Again, wow, that is kind of crazy to think that even happened.

As the details of document unfold a little more, it is learned that the groom, Francesco Misseri is 29 years old and next, it lists his occupation. Here is another detail I didn't see coming, he is a comedian! Yes, I have to say that again, he's a 'funny-man' - yes, a comedian, someone who makes you laugh for a living. It goes on to say that Francesco Misseri's father, Antonino Misseri is in America working as a "trafficante" or better known in English as a dealer / merchant. Next, it lists Francesco's mother as Susanna di Gregorio, a housewife who lives in Palermo. Knowing the names of Francesco's parents is the backbone of genealogy, because I immediately recognize the names and realize that Antonino Misseri is the older brother of my great-grandfather, Pietro Misseri. Amazing to be able to link this cool discovery directly to my immediate family.

Continuing on in the document, I learn that the bride, Maria Vitellaro, is 22 years old, a housewife, resident in Palermo, and the daughter of Giuseppe, now living in Palermo, and of the late Giovanna Annunziata, a former housewife, resident in Palermo for life.

As the document wraps up, the prison official states "the groom and bride have asked me to publish the banns for the marriage that the spouses intend to celebrate in this Municipality, with the Roman Catholic rite, and have declared to me that they have had residence in this Municipality for over a year, that they were born in this Municipality, of have no father nor adoptive parents, and that there is no impediment to their marriage due to kinship or any other impediment established by law."

All this was posted on the notice board of the Town Hall (Palermo) on the 26th of February 1933.

So, this is just an example of what you might discover if you take the time to read and examine the documents of the people you are researching. So many details are waiting to be discover that can help paint a picture of the people we add to our family trees.

The original records are housed at the Tribunale di Palermo. If you want to see the digitized copies of the record on FamilySearch, here are the links:

"Palermo, Palermo, Sicily, Italy records," images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-C9YS-1ZM2?view=explore : May 30, 2026), image 430 of 485; Tribunale di Palermo.

Image Group Number: 101182172

"Palermo, Palermo, Sicily, Italy records," images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-C9YS-1ZSY?view=explore : May 30, 2026), image 431 of 485; Tribunale di Palermo.

Image Group Number: 101182172

Suzanne Russo Adams: An Accredited Genealogist & Italian Researcher

Suzanne Russo Adams is Accredited Genealogist® specializing in Italian research. The photograph above is from the icapgen.org website.

While in college she published her research thesis as Coexistence and Conflict: Popular Catholicism, the Council of Trent and the Life Cycle in Carini, Palermo, Italy (which you can download by clicking on the link). It gives a wonderful look about what life was like in Carini, Palermo, Italy in the early seventeenth century (1590–1650). As someone who researches the lives of people from northern Sicily, it is so amazing to read about very specific things that were going on with the lives of people and how the Catholic Church shaped their everyday activities regarding Births, Marriages and Deaths.

She has also published a great book on how to do Italian genealogical research called: Finding Your Italian Ancestors: A Beginner's Guide. You can find the book online for your typical retail sites. It is a well laid out book covering the basics of Italian research regarding both church and civil records. It explains how to obtain the records with sample letters and guides on how to read the documents that will be in Latin or Italian. 

If you get a chance to take a class or hear one of her lectures, be sure not to miss it, because Suzanne has so much knowledge to share with fellow researchers.

Here is Suzanne Russo Adams' current bio from Brigham Young University.

Misseri's in Carini, Palermo, Sicily, Italy

Since I am currently spending the majority of my research time working with the records from Southern Italy (i.e.: the towns of Carini in Sicily and Modugno / Grumo Appula in Puglia), I thought would share a bit about the Misseri's who live in and around Carini. There are two family groups of Misseri's on the island of Sicily. One group comes from the province of Siracusa on the southeastern part of the island of Sicily, while the other population of Misseri's is in the town of Carini.

The Misseri family line that I focus on is from Carini, a town just outside of Palermo, Sicily. In the 1400's through the mid 1700s, the surname was actually Lo Misseri. Then, little by little, the "Lo" was dropped when recording the births and deaths of individuals. I've seen Lo Misseri used as late as 1774 on a death record for Vincenzo Lo Misseri (about 1770 - 1 Dec 1774).

Other interesting facts about the Misseri's of Carini:

• Sacerdote / Priest Cesare Misseri (15 Dec 1752 - 10 Sep 1828)
• Sacerdote / Priest Lorenzo Salvatore Misseri (12 Oct 1777 - 5 Jan 1834)
• Sacerdote / Priest Cesare Misseri (25 Sep 1821 - 4 Apr 1904)
• Don Salvatore Misseri (17 Oct 1829 - 9 Jan 1903) was the mayor of Carini for 5 years, from 1861-1865. His wife was Dona Anna Lo Geloso (22 Jan 1835 - 21 Jan 1910)
• Don Francesco Misseri (14 Apr 1832 - Abt 1930) was an Avvocato / Lawyer in town for many years. I'm pretty sure he died in 1930 because there is a "Francesco Misseri" that is listed in the 1930 Death Index. But the problem is, there are dozens and dozens of pages that did not get uploaded and are missing on the Antenati website. I have written a letter to Carini asking for a copy of the death record for the Francesco Misseri that died in 1930, but I have never received any information back to confirm my hunch.
• There are plenty of contadinos / farmers and yet, on the other side of the spectrum, there are many Misseris who were landowners.

There is a street in the old part of Carini, that is near the main piazza and church, named "via Antonino Misseri" (see the images at the top of the page). I've seen records that show people living at a particular address on via Misseri as early as 1802. It is hard to believe that the street has been around for more than 200 years. Someday, I hope to be able to figure out which Antonino Misseri the street was named after. If I do, I'll be sure to update this article with the new and additional information.

Little by little, a few various branches splinter off and moved beyond Carini. Obviously, the place with the largest number of Misseri's outside of Carini is the city of Palermo. But I have traced them in Corleone, Montelepre, Monreale, and Villabate - all in Palermo province. And of course, Misseri's have travelled beyond Italy to France, Tunisia, and the United States, just to name a few other places.

I am sure I will find other details about the Misseri's of Carini, and when I do, I'll be sure to add the details here.