The Garrafa's
The Garrafa name is not Italian in origin. I believe it is Portuguese. I have found more Garrafa's in Portugal and the Carribbean than in Italy. When I began searching the family history I began knowing only a few names. My grandfather Giuseppe Napolitano, his parents, Enrico and Angela, his cousin Maria Concetta Garrafa and her parents Domenico Garrafa and his wife Emilia Napolitano and 3 other cousins. As I searched the records I found many Garrafa's. I am still trying to sift through all the names and relationships. As time permits I will attempt to include all branches of this family on these pages. For now, I will detail those linked to my own family. There are several branches of the Garrafa family I have been unable to link to anyone yet.
The Napolitano's And The Garrafa's
Many Napolitano's and Garrafa's married. I have found over a dozen marriages between the 2 families. My Grandfather Giuseppe Napolitano was an orphan by the age of 15. After his mother's death in 1907 he lived with his Uncle Domenico Garrafa and his second wife Giuseppina Ferranti and his children from both wives. Domenico Garrafa's first wife was Emilia Napolitano the sister of Giuseppe's mother Angelina. Domenico and Emilia's daughter, Maria Concetta married Giuseppe Napolitano (a second cousin of my Grandfather) in 1905. In 1912 Maria Concetta joined her husband in Chicago never to return to the place of her birth. Emilia's brother, Bernardino was married to Maria Cristina Garrafa, who was Domenico Garrafa's cousin. Maria Cristina was the daughter of Filippo Garrafa and Maria Stella Speranza. Bernardino and Maria Cristina had at least 13 children together.
The Garrafa's took in my Grandfather, Giuseppe Napolitano and his half brothers and sisters from his mother's second marriage to Raffaele DeSeta. When I first began looking for my family in the records, Domenico Garrafa was my guide - the only name I knew was connected to my family somehow. I traced Domenico and his family as carefully as my own. Now that I know most of the family that was my grandfather's family, I am even more curious as to why Domenico Garrafa took my grandfather and his brothers and sisters into his home when their mother died. The Garrafa genealogy will be on these pages.
The Garrafa Families
I have updated these pages 27 January, 2008. I have just found documents that connect Maria Napolitano (Domenico Garrafa's grandmother) to my grandfather's paternal side of the family's family. Maria was the daughter of Raffaele Napolitano. I also recently uncovered information that leads me to believe that Luisa Napolitano's father was the same Vincenzo as my great great great grandfather who was also married to Maria Stella Nicastro until her death in 1839. Luisa married Pietro Garrafa.
Here are the current Garrafa pages on this site:
Photo of Montalto Uffugo by Angie Verri Filippowicz.
