A Coincidence or Something Else?
The previous story about the
restoration project for San Vincenzo did not
cover an interesting coincidence. On Friday February 11, the
bronze plaque arrived unexpectedly, 6 weeks in
advance of its expected delivery date. Meanwhile in Craco, the
wooden board that will be used to mount the
plaque was shipped. And at the same time, the
translation of Breve Storia del Comune di
Craco
del suo Protettore S.
Vincenzo Martire
into English was completed.
While these three things were
occurring, the world was watching Egypt as the
government changed and the street demonstrations
turned into celebrations.
Lest anyone forget, San Vincenzo was an Egyptian
serving with the all Christian Theban Legion.
They were members of the Coptic rite and today
they are the significant religious minority in
Egypt representing 10% of the population.
Could it be something more
than a coincidence that all these events
occurred on the same day?
Although the church calendar
of the Coptic rite does not celebrate any feast
days for the Legion, they are venerated and the
Coptic Church website has an extensive history
of Saint Maurice and the Theban Legion.
Craco Photographs
Last month two unique
photographs of life in Craco Vecchio were
published. One of them was an undated
photograph of a school class would have been
taken before the Palazzo Cammarota (which housed
the school at the time and is shown in the
background) underwent renovations to the
exterior balcony after WWII. The people are
seated by “La
Croce” a very significant landmark
for the Crachesi. La Croce (the Cross) as a
small monument located at the intersection of
the main road into Craco and the road leading to
St. Peter’s Church. It is probably remembered
most by Crachesi as the final stop of a funeral
procession before proceeding towards the
cemetery for internment. In Craco a funeral
mass was always followed by a small procession.
Once the people arrived at “La Croce” extended
family members and friends gave their final
condolences to the immediate family and returned
home. The immediate family continued on to the
cemetery for the internment. Bells at the
Chiesa Madre were rung during funeral
processions with small high pitched bells giving
a jubilant tone used for infants and children
while the main bell was used for adults. The
bell ringers watched the funeral procession from
a window in the bell tower; they would stop
ringing the bells when the funeral procession
reached “la Croce.”
The other photograph was not
taken in Craco. Sa la Consilina is a small town
in the Salerno region where the Corso Magistrale,
was given. This course was the education stream
to train teachers. Msgr. Rinaldi is pictured
when he took the course to become a teacher.
Another
photograph, shown to the left, is from a 1938
school class in Craco.
Although taken at the same
location the composition of the class is
different as is the teacher.
Note Storiche sul Comune di
Craco, the history of Craco references several
teachers during this era so we cannot identify
her. This photograph was provided by Pia Boffilo
Mann and includes her mother who is among the
students.
Craco Vital Records
Those who are interested in
researching family history from the Basilcata
region are very lucky. First the record keeping
system for vital records (birth, death,
marriage) in the region goes back to 1809. The
second fortunate aspect is that these records
are available in North America. The Church of
Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons) has
microfilmed the records and maintains them at
their Family History Library in Salt Lake City,
Utah. They make these films available to anyone
through their local centers or some public
libraries.
The birth, marriage and death
(Nati, Matrimoni, Morti) records for Craco are
included in this treasure trove of data that is
listed as the “Registri dello stato civile,
1890-1925.” The microfilms are organized by
type of record and year in an alphabetical
sequence by the towns in the region.
For example, to find a birth
event in 1885 the microfilm for “Nati 1885
Bollita-Tursi” would be ordered since it
includes the records for Craco during that year.
Once the tape is available, you would search
through the film for the Craco birth register.
The index at the beginning lists the
individuals and a number reflecting the sequence
of their birth record. Going to that record
number, you would be able to obtain the
information for the individual.
The records contain the
filing date, witness’s names, ages and
occupations, parents’ names, ages, place of
their birth and occupations, time, date, and
address where the birth occurred, and the
child’s name. On some records baptismal
information may be included.
Of course these records are
in Italian, but they take a standard format so
key information can be extracted by
understanding where the information is located
in the document.
There is guidance available
online for this at FamilySearch.org under their
heading for Italian Civil Registrations. They
also provide tools such as a publication titled,
Finding Records of Your Ancestors, Italy
1809-1910 on their web page for Italy which
should be a starting point for anyone
researching these records.
The Craco Society has some
vital records material that was given as gifts
by individuals who made copies of records while
researching their family. These records although
incomplete are useful as an aid when starting a
search. The vital record information includes:
1. Birth, Death & Marriage
Index from 1866-1895. These digital images of
the index for Craco can identify the year and
record number making it easier to locate the
record.
2. Digital copies of full
registers for a very limited number of years
enable location of a full record. These include:
Births
1873-1874, 1878-1879, 1884, 1890-1891
·
Deaths 1868-1869, 1895-1896
·
Marriages 1866-1867, 1878-1879, 1881
3. Craco Vital Record File is
a compilation of random birth, marriage and
death records that contain 898 names of
individuals in Craco from 1843-1910.
These records are listed on
the Craco Society’s GENEALOGY webpage and
members can request copies at:
memberservices@thecracosociety.org.
The Society also has a presentation prepared for
the 2007 Reunion providing details about using
these records and other resources to conduct
research on Craco family history that may be
useful for the beginner genealogist.
In the future access may
become even easier. Ancestry.com is digitizing
the vital records for Basilicata so they can be
accessed online. Currently records for the
province of Potenza from 1861-1938 are
available. Subscribers to Ancestry.com can
access these records for the towns in that
province if they have ancestors from there.
During our 2008 trip to
Craco the Society was given a gift of copies of
records known as Foglio di Famiglia” for
1904-1907. Although they are not actual vital
records they contain birth, death and marriage
information, along with other details making
them an important resource.
The ultimate source for Craco
vital records is the town itself. These can be
obtained directly from them by following the
instructions on the Society’s
GENEALOGY web page.
Craco Trip 2011
Whether you are planning to visit Craco this
Spring or not, members might want to take a trip
to Craco Vecchio by using the virtual tour of
the town on the Society website.
This
unique rendering of the town as it looked over
50 years ago before the Frana was developed with
over 400 hours of input by volunteers. It allows
viewers to tour through the town and even sees
inside buildings.
This tour also contains old
photographs of the town with current photos of
some of the same locations and a map identifying
the key features on it. We believe it is the
only capability in existence that provides an
interactive view of Craco Vecchio as it looked.
This unique view of the town
is an important element in the Society’s mission
to preserve the history of the town.
But to get the real look and
feel of Craco, there is nothing like the real
thing. If you haven’t made your plans yet to
join the trip don’t hesitate any longer.
Contact Marge Folkes
(1-905-891-0111) to make arrangements.
