The last time this page was updated

07/15/2010 03:02:10 PM

I Wonder If This Is Where It All Began?

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( Notice the name of the place Vellano (frazione di pescia) 

My research has now uncovered some interesting facts as you will read below. Mary and I have spent 3 weeks in Italy and driven the 2 hour trip to Vellano, it was wonderful, the top of a mountain, a beautiful picturesque area north east of Florence. We have a video of the trip and pictures as well.

I wouldn't doubt that this is where our family name started ... long before Sicily!

So here's my theory on how we arrived with the name DeVellano.Well family stories has it that when my great grand father arrived in New York, like most other immigrants didn't speak English. As a result he was met at the US border by immigration who didn't speak Italian. I'm betting that when asked his name ...he answered  mariano pedi villano . Much to difficult for USA and Canadians of the day...so it was changed to Divillano then Mike Devellano.

I am researching the vast database of records from www.ancestry.ca and www.ellisisland.org and have tried different spellings and came up with a lot of great information. Click here for more docs

.That Mariano Pede Villano (Mike Devellano) was from Termini Imerese, Sicily early in his life and he met Marianne Boviconti in Canada and they married (still researching marriage certificates).  Why Canada? Apparently according to the immigration records posted on www.ancestry.ca if he had $20.00 in his pocket and IF he could come up with $1.00 more he could have ended up in California...BUT chose Canada, Prince Edward , Picton Ontario area.. Eventually  they moved to Toronto and then the family grew from these humble beginnings.

Fred And Mary De Vellano 2005

 

Update July 13, 2010: PediVellano And Pedi Villano which has surfaced on official paperwork. 

EllisIsland shows Angela Pedevilano in the archives versus Pedivellano. I have now located one of the grandsons of this person and post the update Feb 8 2009:

My grandmother was Angela Pedevilano, my grandfather was Rocco Di Pietro...lo and behold their names are on the ships manifest on your website!!!
Angela and Rocco had sons...Charles...Andre..(my father born new york 1902) ...Rocco...Lucien. daughters..Mary..never married...Nella Cuva.
Charles was missing and presumed dead during WW1 in the lost battalion in the Ardennes...Andrew died in New York 1972...Lucien..Mary and Nella all passed in the 70s from natural causes...I was the only child of Andre and Rose Mauro DePietro...for some reason my father changed the Di to De..never told me why.The family lived in Hells Kitchen Manhattan, moved to 112th street then 116th street and then Hunt Ave. in The Bronx. My grandmother lived in the house there until her death but all my familys records were lost in a house fire.My fathers sister Mary had done some research many years ago and told me of the family crest of the shoe and that " we were born to the purple"...the family was nobility in Sicily...Thats about all I know but it was great to find your site and get info on my family.
Best regards
Bill De Pietro
Greenfield, Massachusetts 

 

We now  have a documents dated back to 1911 from www.ancestry.ca and the 1900 ship manifest and 1901 and 1911 Census records. 

Also from Sue M. grandfather Salvatore (Sam) Devellano that she had translated.  

  Click here to see the document.  

We have a pension document and we believe that it reads that Sams grand mother being Marianna became a widow in 1924, she was born in the town (Municipio di Termini Imerese), that Salvatore 

PEDE VILLANO, born in 1904. 

  1. This is a database that may also hold answers as time moves on: http://www.termini-imerese.org/  

  2. LDS.org (Latter Day Saints) has microfilmed the civil records for Termini Imerese for the years of 1820 thru 1910. 

  3. And This Is The Largest Database On Earth Created By The Mormons LDS  http://www.familysearch.org/

  4. This is a great resource link  http://www.cyndislist.com/portsentry.htm

  5. And this is Canadian  http://www.collectionscanada.ca/genealogy/022-500-e.html

  6. Ontario Database: http://www.archives.gov.on.ca/english/common/collections.htm

  7. http://www.censusfinder.com/ontario-canada-census-records.htm

  8. http://ontariocensus.rootsweb.com/transcripts/10251-1.html

  9. www.ancestry.ca

 

 

 

Back to the year 1300

Vellano, Pescia,(Tuscany) Italy

This place in Vellano goes back a lot longer then the last 100 years of my great-grandfathers life. 

This goes back to the year 1000 and the castle in 1300.

So we KNOW for a fact that the original couple Michele and Maria came from Termini Imerese, Sicily, but If the family name is Pedivellano D'Vellano or Di Vellano or De Vellano then perhaps it started back in Tuscany, northern Italy.

In Vellano, there is an old...old family name VELLANO so my guess is that our name is a derivative of the original. The town was unified by 

Giuseppe Garabaldi.  Giuseppe Garibaldi (July 4, 1807 – June 2, 1882) was an Italian patriot and soldier of the Risorgimento. He personally led many of the military campaigns that brought about the formation of a unified Italy. He was called the "Hero of the Two Worlds", in tribute to his military expeditions in South America and Europe.

 

Vellano is a Castle...

The castle of Vellano dates back to the 10th century, Giuseppe Garabaldi played a major role in defending Italy during regional up risings and wars. As a result there is a plaque that recognizes him as a hero of the village, it's posted above the old church door. There are about 600 people in Vellano, (Tuscany, Italy) beautiful mountains and lush green valleys, the wine is considered of the best in the world...Tuscany. There are no Vellano's left in the Village, but there are Vellano's in different places in Italy and New York , NY USA.

Click to email me

Here's some interesting research, I have uncovered there are numerous spellings of our name...which has been shown incorrectly in numerous governmnet docsuments over the last 100 years.

In the New York area, one spelling is from .The Vellano brothers corporation is a large company in the pipeline industry. It is headed up by key executives who are all descendants of the family Vellano. The original Vellano started this company in the 1920's his name was Paul Vellano, he started his company with his son's John and Anthony. Today it has grown to become a leading company in New York state based out of the Latham NY area. The third generation of the family and company is Joseph CEO, and others James, Anthony,John, and Paul all of which are executives with the corporation.

Some of the pictures in the hyper links below were provided to me by Joseph Vellano , via Susan Vellano. http://www.vellanobros.com/

www.ellisisland.org

www.ancestry.com

My search continues I have located the ship and the manifest shown below

 

Marco Minghetti Passenger Vessel

 

And the ship manifest is part of the search

Alternate Spelling

Pedevilano

Lots Of Documents Are At This Link

 

To Make The Picture Larger Just Click The Image.


 

 

'To have seen Italy without having seen Sicily is not having seen Italy at all, for Sicily is the key to everything.'

So said Goethe. Tuscany might want a look in, and Rome might beg to differ, but Sicily, with a history of foreign occupation across the centuries, is certainly fascinating, with a real pot-pourri of culture, cuisine and architecture. Plus the odd volcano.

Sicily was chosen by the Gods of Olympus as the scene of their stories of love and hatred, of passion and revenge, of sudden wrath and deep compassion, and today it's still a land of fire and passion. (Click here for a potted guide and history.)

It's also a land of great beauty and contrast, not least the contrast between what the local politicians say they'll do with the money, and what eventually ends up getting built/maintained/improved.

http://www.knowital.com/sicily/

 

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