Italian Research

[steve62]

Hi sanie,
Looking at the site "Archivo di Stato Firenze" they should have a copy of the Birth, but they say they need  00/00/0000.  I have sent an e-mail and kindly asked if they could look at the year 1857.
As I mentioned before it may take time for them to answer.

Steve

[sandiep]

thanks Steve, and thanks for Italian name I wasn't sure of it or spelling!!

will have another look for any dates I might have missed

sandie

[sandiep]

 bit of a problem Steve on the dates  Henry was in workhouse and dates entered were 1851,52 and 53 .............1901 census says he is 44 mind he has just married a 24 year old
his death record says abt 1857 this was in 1933 so it could be I am asking too much
Sandie

[steve62]

No problem wait and see what the archives have to  say.  Workhouse 'record  could be eŕror.  Inclined to believe the 1901.

Steve

[sandiep]

ok thank you Sandie

[stephenbonn]

Hi Stephen,
E-mailed Ragusa again and got no answer.  Telephoned them the other day (thanks for the reminder) and seems no go there either.

Any other info that might pin point something.  The records are somewhere or is it someone is not looking properly here.

Steve

Hi Steve

All I know is that Nicholas at 24 years came to Tasmania in 1856 from Liverpool, England, we don't know if he was a passenger or a crewman, he wasn't mentioned on either lists, he said that he arrived on the same ship "Sir W F Williams" as did his future wife Euphemia Fraser with her two sisters. He always worked on the ships in Tasmania going from Hobart to Melbourne or Sydney, on the ship manifests it was written that he came from Trieste, Italy, he worked on the ships for about 40 years. His parents were Marcello and Catarina with no last names.
On the ship manifests they spelt his name as Bonachit or Bonachi, which eventually turned into of what it is today Bonnitcha which is pronounced Bonni cha with a silent (t). When his children were born the name had different variations like Buoneitach, Bonacich, Bonicha, Bonachi, so his accent must be strong and they had a wild guess and spelt the name how it sounds.
On his naturalization papers in 1909 he said that he came from Ragusa, Austria, so a bit of confusion there. Nicholas died in 25th September 1913 in Hobart, Tasmania and was born 25th December 1833 ?, if this was his true birth date.

This is all I know,

Cheers Stephen

[steve62]

Hi Stephen,
Thanks for the info.  I'll have a look at the history of Italy-Austria at that time and where Ragusa was.  Could be he is in Austrian records.
Anyway leave it with me and I'll do some checking here and there.  Not much  to do at the moment, so it'll be a pleasure.

Steve

[steve62]

Hi Stephen,
I must be stupid.  Just been making notes on the salient points in your posting.  Ragusa is a Province of Sicily.  How he came to put Ragusa, Austria on his Naturalization papers, have no idea.  It may be an indication for Trieste.  Trieste is and was a large port and that is more indicative place of his Birth as being a merchant seaman as well.  So will concentrate on Treiste and when it became part of Italy and when it was part of Austria.

Intrigued with this guy now.

Steve

[steve62]

Hi Stephen,
Been doing some research on Trieste as I think that is where he came from.
In what I write now might give an indication of the confusion.
Trieste is in the Fruili-Venezia-Giulia Region of Northern Italy and lies between the Adriatic Sea and Slovenia and Croazia lies some 30 kms to the South.  (Think you mentioned sometime Croazia.)
It was part of the Habsburg Monarchy from 1832 to 1918. (Thats where the Austria bit you mentioned comes in). It was the fourth largest city of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. (So now we have Hungary)  In 1918 Trieste was given to Italy.  In 1945 after WW2 it was split into two zones; Zone A to Italy and Zone B to Yugoslavia.  In 1954 under the Memorandum of London Trieste joined Italy.   I think in 1918 "given" means that was annexed to Italy.
The nearest surnames I can find for the province of Trieste are; Bonaccio, Bonacchi and Bonacci.

After all that do we assume he was born in Austria and the records are there somewhere or was it registered in Trieste all the same.

In conclusion I have written to the State Archives in Trieste because they may have records even though it was part of Austria at the time.  If they do not have the records where can I find them.

Might take time for them to reply, but have penned a note in my diary for a follow-up if needed.  Very intriguing.

Steve