Hi, My name is Darin Mazzie and I live near Newcastle-upon-Tyne, England.
I have found the town of birth of my Gt.-Gt.-Gt.- Grandfather FERDINANDO ROBERTO MAZZEI (1819-1904) who was a Plaster Figure Maker from Lucca Province.

He came to the UK in 1845, arriving at Dover from Ostend. He was born in the Alpe di Stazzema, Stazzema, Lucca Province, Tuscany on 21st June 1819. He was the son of IACOPO MAZZEI (born approximately 1788, son of PELLEGRINO MAZZEI) and ROSA GUAZZELLI.

I know of at least 3 other brothers of Ferdinando - LUIGI MAZZEI (born Chiozza, Castiglione di Garfagnana approx. 1809/1810); PELLEGRINO MAZZEI (b. Alpe di Stazzema 8th April 1811); and GIOVANNI MAZZEI (b.Alpe di Stazzema 17th May 1813).

Pellegrino and Giovanni (Plaster Figure Makers) also came to the UK in the 1840's. Luigi stayed in Lucca Province, settling in Pescaglia - (his son Giovanni Mazzei came to England in the 1890's).


I received the birth details of Pellegrino, Giovanni and Ferdinando from the "Archivio di Stato di Firenze" after about 8 years of me pestering them. I have tried to obtain details of other siblings of Ferdinando, but Firenze will no longer respond to me.

The Archivio di Stato di Lucca say they have no information, as do the Comune di Stazzema and the Comune di Castiglione di Garfagnana.

I have also wrote to several churches in the region but have never recieved a reply.

Can anybody suggest how I can trace the family back further? It may be in Stazzema or Castiglione di Garfagnana.

Also, how can I find other children of Iacopo Mazzei and Rosa Guazzelli? Does anybody know of a florence based researcher who would search the Archives, but would not charge over the odds?

Thanks,

Darin.

Hi Darin and welcome to the forum.

You can try searching the microfilms from the LDS church for your families records. First find a Family History Center (FHC) near you. I've provided the link
www.familysearch.org/E...et_fhc.asp

Next look through the available films, write down the numbers you'd like to view and go to the center to order. Where I'm at the cost per film is $3.50 USD. Here's the link for your films. Films include birth, death, marriages etc.
www.familysearch.org/E...o+civile++

Castiglione di Garfagnana
www.familysearch.org/E...o+civile++

Pescaglia
www.familysearch.org/E...escaglia++

I hope this might be of some help to you. If you have any questions don't hesitate to ask.

Hi Elizabeth,

Thank you for your reply.

I have used the 1841 Stazzema census from the LDS before, but as Luigi was living in Pescaglia by 1832, he wasn't there - and neither were Pellegrino, Giovanni or Ferdinando (probably plying their trade of Plaster Figure Making in Europe (maybe France as this is where Luigi's son Giovanni lived in the 1880's before he came to the UK).

There was a Rosa Mazzei in Stazzema in 1841 - listed as "Vedova" (widow) - who was possibly Iacopo's widow.

I once borrowed a birth microfilm (nati), but stupidly I borrowed the wrong surname (A-B) so it was not much use trying to find the Mazzei's!

I have found that Stazzema is listed in the birth, death and marriage microfilms from 1808. However, Castiglione di Garfagnana is not, probably because in those days it was governed by the state of MASSA - and not LUCCA as it is today. I have wrote to the Archivio di Stato di Massa, but they have told me that they have no information.

Regarding other children of Iacopo and Rosa born in Stazzema, can you tell me if EVERY child born in Stazzema from 1808 will be listed on the microfilms? Or were there many not registered?

Also, do you know what information these microfilms actually give (as I never bothered looking at the one I ordered as it was the wrong one)? Do they give parents names and comune of birth etc?

Thank you,

Darin.

Hi Darin,

For your question about children being registered. Yes, I'd say that all the children got registered. The parents had 8 days after the birth of the child to report to the registrar with the baby. You'll see that most of the dates on the birth acts are either the same day or the day after the birth. There are actually two dates on the documents. The first one at the top is the day the child is registered and a few lines down gives the actual date and time of birth. The information on the civil registrations list the father, mother, child, grandparents, who presented the baby (usually the father but sometimes the midwife, neighbor, friend or family memeber), all of their ages. Sex of child, if parents were married or not, if father recognized the baby or not (many times you'll see the fathers name listed but it states not recognized by father) and I've even got some that have the fathers recognizing the child and the mother isn't listed (figure that one out)!! The documents also have places of residence with addresses (usually), witnesses because most people then couldn't read or write and then any special notations such as the father is recognized but lives out of the country etc. It will also tell you if the child was still born or if it died before they could get it registered etc There's alot of good info and useful info on these documents.

As for the marriage documents it's about the same thing groom, bride, parents of groom and bride (by the way its' the parents full names not just first names), addresses, occupations for everyone listed on the document including witnesses, everyones ages, if the bride or groom had been married before and to whom (had to present the death or divorce certificates), a list of other documents that had to be presented (bride and grooms birth acts), approval from parents for bride and groom to marry etc.

Death acts are the same as marriage's and include if the deceased spouse was already dead or still alive. But all the same info as the other documents I listed.

Here's a couple of samples for you to look at - the first is my great uncle and he was a twin (it lists that on the birth act) 1891
img504.imageshack.us/i...1serj0.png

This is a death act of my great great grandmother 1871
img339.imageshack.us/i...005uj5.png

Marriage bann of my great grandmother and it shows it's her second marriage
img339.imageshack.us/i...dguvc9.png

My second set of films just came in this week and they go from 1865 to 1800 so I'm pretty eager to get at them. I hope the images I posted will give you a good idea of what to expect. Like I said, they're full of information.

Let me know if you have any questions or if you have trouble viewing the images.

Elizabeth

Quote::

and I've even got some that have the fathers recognizing the child and the mother isn't listed (figure that one out)!!

I can help with this one...or at least tell you one reason why this could have happened. If the mother was previously married and a widow, receiving a pension and she had a child with another man (even a spouse), she could not be listed or she would risk losing her pension.

I realized this when I got my fathers birth certificate..his mother is not listed so I questioned it and this is what I was told.

Hope that helps.

Thanks Nuccia I didn't know that.

No problem! Theres still a lot I need to learn, too!