Re: LaVia and Taranto Family


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Posted by diane on 21 MAR 2016 0:7:53

I have just found your response on the internet. Margherita Taranto and Giovanni Lavia are my great grandfather's parents. My great grandfather was born on the island of Ustica, Sicily. I often wondered if Nicolo had siblings. My grandfather was Felicie ( excuse my Italian spelling -- but he went by French spelling of Felix). He was Nicolo's second son. Nicolo had 2 sons and 3 daughters. Felix had 2 sons and he named one of them Antony (perhaps after his Uncle ?). He died young about age 21. I once saw a marriage on line of Antony Lavier but think the dates were not right for my great uncle (and accordingly he was not married but had broken hearted girlfriend when he died so young at 21 and sudden of spinal meningitis, about 1936). I found a record of Nicolo and his dad arriving in nola I believe it was April 1867 on the Caterina. For years I was looking for the arrival ship and it was on last pages of the microfiche reel and Lavia was spelled Lava. The ages of father and son were correct. My mother said her grandfather Nick use to tell her he was 10 years old when he arrived in US , a few years after the Civil War. My mother was close to her grandfather and spoke fondly of him and his strong character. Nicolo was originally it seems named Felicie and his father was Giovanni which falls in line with naming the first son after the grandfather and second son after the father. My great uncle was named John and my grandfather as stated was Felix. (There was a man/passenger on the ship Caterina about Felicie's fathers age who had the name of Nicolo so I assumed Felicie liked the name and just took that name i.e. new country new name !). I am very happy to get information from you. I have tried to find Jack's grave but seems like from what I remember there is no record though a cemetery was listed I believe in the obit. I often wondered where the family lived upon arriving in nola. Most of the addresses are in central city -- later the family moved to Metairie. How difficult it had to be for them ! have joined the ustica.org club/congregation. We meet a few times a year and have received some interesting information from the president of that group because he is a computer expert and has done much ancestry search for all of us. I have also visited Sicily and Ustica. It made my mother happy because she loved her grandfather. Lavia is not a Ustica name, Taranto is a Ustica name. So perhaps the Lavia name comes from Catanguia. I am on ancestry.com under lavia1921. (Giovanni "Jack" had 2 sisters and they went to Algeria, North Africa with their husbands about the same time jack came to US; later it seems like the sisters returned to Sicily with one in the Agrigento area). I have more definite dates and names but would have to go to my ancestry pages which would greatly delay my response -- I am not too good at technology or maybe just not flexible enough. I will be more than happy to give you any research I have. Sorry about the late response but I have been having problems with psoriatic arthritis and am too restless to sleep so searching family names on line at random and found your response. Seems like the arthritis (and rheumatism) may be a Lavia (or Ustica) trait ---two of my friends with Ustica ancestry


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