Our ancestors lived in a region of the South Tyrol that is
now known as Trentino Alto-Adige. This border area has been the subject
of many political disputes. It has been marked by the Roman civilization,
the advent of Christianity, Medieval feudalism, the Renaissance, the invasion
of many armies, and greatly influenced by ideas originating from the Reformation
and the French Revolution.
In 1525 the farmers of Val di Non revolted against high taxes, the privileges
of the nobility and actions of the clergy. The spark for this rebellion
came from the Reformation. In Trentino the rebellion was called the Rustic
War in reference to the poor farmers who organized it. Although not entirely
successful, this insurrection did lead to some changes. In later years
the Tyrol suffered greatly during the wars which followed the French Revolution.
Our ancestors lived during turbulent times.
The progenitor of the FERRARI family was JACOBI (Giacomo)
FERRARI. He lived in the town of Gardolo which is where his son, JACOBI
ANTONIO FERRARI, was born on 4 April 1742. Some of his descendants
moved to Ravina where they lived for several generations.
Sometime between 1859 and 1862 one branch of the family moved north
from Ravina to Magre all'Adige/Magreid, Province of Bolzano. Our direct
ancestor,GIOVANNI FERRARI, was born there in 1862. Giovanni's parents
were ANTONIO FERRARI and Maria TERESA TONINA.
Research indicates that Antonio, Teresa and family did not remain in
Magre for any great length of time. The family soon moved further north
to Laives/Leifers. Giovanni and two of his brothers, VALENTINO,
and ANTONIO, lived in Laives prior to immigrating to the United
States.
GIOVANNI, the first of the brothers to leave Europe, arrived
in the United States in 1888, a few days before the famous blizzard of
'88. He worked in the coal mines of Locust Gap and Mt. Carmel, Pennsylvania
and later in the dye houses in Paterson, NJ.
In 1907, at age 45, Giovanni married TERESA BAILONI, age 39,
in Mt. Carmel, PA. Teresa had recently immigrated from Vigolo Vattaro,
Trento. It was the first marriage for both.
While living in Europe Valentino Ferrary married MARIA ANESI
and Antonio Ferrary married TERESA YORI. All the children of Antonio
and Valentino were born in the Tyrol and immigrated to the United States
with their parents. The descendants of Antonio, Giovanni and Valentino
spell their name as FERRARY.
Valentino Ferrary's son, Fr. Leo
Ferrary,OFM was a missionary in China from 1932 until his death in
December 1944. During the war years Fr. Leo was a good friend to the G.I.'s
stationed in Chungking. A professor at the National Central University
of China wrote a story about Fr. Leo, his unique personality, his "socials"
and his concern for the G.I.'s. The article, titled Father
Ferrary Throws A Party, was published in the Catholic Digest,
July 1944.
The progenitor
of the BAILONI family, VALENTINO BAILONI, was born about
1610. His son, also named VALENTINO BAILONI, was born in Vigolo
Vattaro on 4 September 1640.
The Bailoni family has very strong and long ties to Vigolo Vattaro.
We also have a distant tie to the village's well-known daughter, Saint
Pauline of the Agonizing Heart of Jesus.
A few of our other ancestral surnames in this ancient village are BIANCHINI,
FRACALOSI, MORATELLI, NICOLETTI, TAMANINI, and ZAMBONI. Many
of these names can still be found in Vigolo Vattaro and the surrounding
area.
The winters are long and hard in Trento. One of the old traditions was
the filo. During the winter months farmers and their families
would gather in the room at the entrance to a farmer's cowshed. While the
women did their spinning, the men exchanged news. Story-tellers took turns
entertaining the group with a mixture of stories and songs about love,
war, work, and the mountains. The filo also served as a "chaperon"
for budding romances. The filo has long since gone. The informal
gatherings of yesteryear have been replaced by amateur dramatic groups
and singing societies. These groups are a vital part of the culture of
Trentino today; they continue to express the sentiments and preserve heritage
of the Trentini people.
Genealogy databases for the FERRARI and BAILONI families can be viewed
in the Reports Section of our Family Treemaker Home Page: Bailoni
Data Base - - - Ferrari/Ferrary
Data Base. Some early photographs are included in Our
Family Photograph Album.
Ships They
Sailed - 1888-1928 contains a brief overview and links to specific
information about our immigrant ancestors' arrivals in the United States.
In an effort to establish links to the descendants of Trentino
emigrants, the Autonomous Province of Trento offers a free 8-volume series
of books, La Patria D'Origine - The Homeland Series. The books are
absolutely wonderful; they are available with parallel texts in English,
German, French, Spanish, and Portuguese. (If you request the books, be
certain to specify the language of your choice.) The series covers many
topics - art, food, songs, folklore, poetry, history, etc. An atlas is
also included. In addition, the Province issues a quarterly magazine to
all those on their mailing list. To contact the Provincial Office send
an e-mail to uff.emigr@provincia.tn.it.
Links to other sites on the Web:
Late
Nineteenth Century - Tyrolean Folk Dress
Vigolo Vattaro
Valley
of Meran - In The Tyrol, Penny Magazine - July 18, 1835
Trentino
- Genealogy and Culture
Trentino Alto-Adige
GenWeb
atzki@optonline.net
© 1998 (excluding graphics and music)