Presta family from Sicily, Italy

[Claddagh]

Hello everyone,

I've been trying to find Carmino Presta's family.

On the Canadian Census it mentions that he was a Southern Italian.

Can you offer any suggestions on how to find this man's family?

His father was named Giuseppe/Joseph.

His name is at times spelled "Presto" or "Presti" but I believe that it was originally Presta and then changed to Press/Prest when he immigrated to Canada in 1890 and naturalized in 1897.  Could it be "Lo Presto", "Lo Presta" or even "Lo Presti"?

The search has been ongoing with no news until I found a detailed obituary in a past newspaper mentioning that his city of birth was Melly/Melle/Male. The previous obituary I found stated that we was born in Sicily. In this new (to me) obituary, I find that the first letters of the city seems squished and had me worried that the name might be wrong. I still believe that he was a Sicilian.

I'm attaching the first obituary that I found years ago.

Any help would be much appreciated.
 

[Karen McDonald]

Hi,

Maybe I'm seeing it wrong  but I am not convinced about the word starting with "M".

OK, the clipping is a little fuzzy, but there are 2 examples of "Mr." in it and both look the same. The "M" at the beginning of the town name looks much bigger/longer. I was wondering if it might be something else entirely...
"Fi", for example.

Just a thought...

Also, I don't know if Italian names can end with a "y", so it was probably written phonetically and actually ends with "e" or "i".

Best regards,
Karen

[davecapps]

Ancestry has a lot of familys named Presta, Presti, lo Presti in Sicily

There majority of them come from Agrigent(o) and Regalbuto

There is also a place called Melilli in the vacinity. Might be worth taken into consideration

Dave

[Claddagh]

Karen McDonald

I thought the same thing when I saw this obituary. The first letters look odd. It wasn't the same "M" and certainly not a "W". I've added the original obituary that I found. I am convinced that "Sicily" is his birth place. You can see that the "i" is as tall as the "l". Strange how the type can be confusing.

Thanks for looking; I appreciate it!
 

[Claddagh]

Thank you davecapps! I appreciate your help.

I've added the original obituary that I found. Since finding this new (to me) obituary, I am convinced that Sicily is the birth place for Mr. Presta. The type used to print the obituary looks odd and it might be due to scanning. Who knows at this point.

As mentioned, he is a man with many names. I still haven't found him on a passenger list arriving to Canada. Two sons were born in the US and the rest of his children were born in Canada. I don't believe that he married his Canadian wife in Canada because I cannot find a Marriage Certificate.

I've found a Border Crossing that states he was visiting a brother named William Presto in the US.

Some of his children are named "Presta", "Presto", "Prest" and "Press". He also goes from Carmine Presto to Camille Prest on his children's birth certificates.

He has many aliases: Carmino Presta, Carmen Presta, Camille Presta, Carmine Presto, Camille Press and Camille Prest.

I will keep on searching and hopefully one day the information I seek will be finally found.

Thanks again!
 

[Karen McDonald]

Hi,

The first 2 clippings are indeed rather fuzzy. The word before the one under discussion looks like "In" - the space between the body and the dot of the "i" is no longer visible.

So...I'm just wondering whether it could be something as simple as a typing error?! In the "new" scan which you added, it is most definitely "Sicily". Maybe, in the earlier one, somebody typed "Ficily" in error. The lower-case "i" in both cases looks like an "l", due to the fuzziness, sending us down the wrong track.

It's just an idea. But stranger things happen at sea... 

Best regards,
Karen

[Claddagh]

Karen McDonald - Letters were probably distorted, smudged or stretched out once printed. Sicily seems to make sense.

I have a photo of Carmino. I should try to find an Italian message board and post it to see if he has that Sicilian look to him. It's worth a try.

Thanks for help; I appreciate it!
 

[Karen McDonald]

Thanks for help; I appreciate it!

Thanks for uploading! I/we love this kind of thing.

[Claddagh]

Thanks again Karen McDonald!

Everyone is so kind and supportive. It is wonderful to see how everyone rallies together to offer help and suggestions.

We are never alone on our genealogical journey.

Have a wonderful day,