This Story,
                     is best began somewhere in the middle, in this it is also a reflection of my research, as I started with my grandfather Gerard and began to work backwards through the generations to the earliest I could find. The idea being that once the early generations are completed the intention is to research forward, filling in all the gaps to the present.
 

St Peters Church, Liverpool

Maurangelo Palombella married a Betsy Thorpe at St Peter's Church, Liverpool on the 25 March 1878, sometime before that date Maurangelo and his younger brother Saverio travelled from Molfetta, Italy to the shores of the Mersey, to the great seaport of the old world, Liverpool! And that is where it began for the Palombella's of the UK.

Why they came to Liverpool? That question may never be truly answered but one can surmise based on family stories and discovered evidence that there may have been a number of reasons behind it.

During the latter part of the 19th century nearly all mercantile vessels of the world would at some point during there service to the sea end up berthed somewhere amongst the 11 miles of Liverpool dockland. Maurangelo was a mariner, he was actually recorded as a shipwright on his marriage certificate but most mariners took dockside jobs when there was no ship to sail on or if they needed to stay in port for reasons such as getting married.

Maurangelo was recorded as being 24 years old at the time of his marriage but in fact he would have turned 26 years old a month before the event. Let that be a lesson to all wanna be genealogists; you can never rely on documented ages of ancestors because the bottom line is that your ancestors did not always know there age or at least conveniently forgot.

It is also worth noting that at this point in time that Saverio Palombella would have just turned 18 years old but is not recorded on Maurangelo's marriage certificate as witness. So did he follow later? That question I have not been able to answer but the family story is that he stowed away with Maurangelo at the tender age of twelve. If it is true then that would have been 6 years before Maurangelo's marriage placing there arrival to Liverpool as early as 1872.

The reason for the brothers staying in Liverpool maybe a simple case of sailor meets girl in port, falls in love, gets married and stays in port. Maybe that simple but still there was a set of circumstances at play. Betsy Thorpe was from Bolton, Lancashire, the daughter of a cotton mill worker. Maybe the lure of a cosmopolitan seaport or and the hope of a different life to that of the cotton mills, which she had worked in since being a young girl was her reason. How long she had lived in Liverpool before she got married is something else I have failed to uncover. 
 

Sail ships where still prominent in the early 1870's

Maurangelo and Saverio's father Lazaro was also a mariner and according to family tradition owned a number of fishing vessels in Molfetta. Fishing was and is one of Molfetta's primary industries.  Saverio was the youngest of ten children and Maurangelo was not much further up the pecking order. The fact that there older siblings in line to work in the family trade may have been the catalyst for these two brothers to seek pastures new.
 

St George's Church, Everton, Liverpool

The first real evidence of Saverio being in Liverpool is his marriage to Betsy Thorpe's younger sister Mary Ellen at St George's Church, Everton, Liverpool on 2 January 1882. Saverio was recorded as being a mariner and aged 22 years. Impressive! he got his age correct in fact he was two months off his twenty third birthday. There is evidence from the 1881 census that he was living in Everton with Maurangelo and Betsy. Maurangelo was recorded as Angelo on Saverio's wedding certificate as witness.

Maurangelo and Betsy did not have children, the family story goes that she could not have them, maybe that was the reason he never lost his spirit for travel.
Because in 1884 he travelled to Sydney, Australia with Betsy on the ship Belgravia and set up business as a fruit shop owner and fishmonger. He also made trips back to England, and in 1890 sailed on the 'Kaiser Wilhelm', which docked at Southampton. On the passenger list for the Kaiser Wilhelm he was recorded as being a dealer, suggesting he was importing/exporting. Contact must have been maintained as Frank Palombella was recorded on the passenger list for Suevic, which arrived in Sydney on the 23 September 1904. Whether for a holiday or a long stay with his uncle I have not been able to establish.
 

Kaiser Wilhelm II 1889-1901

Angelo requested and was granted naturalization to the state of New South Wales, Australia in 1901. By 1908 he left Australia with Betsy probably for the last time and sailed on the ship 'Langton Grange' back to England and docked in London. They then settled and lived in Haworth Street, Bolton Lancashire, one could summise to be nearer to Betsy's roots.

Betsy died an accidental death by choking on a piece of rind at the age of 68 years in 1922. Angelo remarried to a Mary Ann Gibbons at St Richards Church, Leigh, Lancashire at the age of 71 years, and Mary being a mere 46 years old. Angelo died in Bolton in 1931 80 years old.
 

Not all Scouse Italians lived in ‘Little Italy’

Saverio and Mary Ellen lives could not be more of a contrast than that of Angelo’s and Betsy’s. They had 10 children and lived for most of their lives in Kirkdale, Liverpool mainly in the small terraced houses of Brisbane Street. The first child was called Frank, born in Olivia Street, Bootle 28 December 1883. He was the very first British born Palombella and the eldest of all of us to follow. Frank/Francesco was a very significant name to the Palombella family, as this was Saverio’s grandfather’s name and also his grandfather‘s name before him. The second child was named after Maurangelo and was called Angelo born 1885; who died the same year. Saverio himself was named after his uncle who was baptized as Francesco Saverio but known as Saverio. Angelo was named after his grandfather on his mother's side who was called Maurangelo de Gioia.

All the rest of the Saverio's children were named after names that where prevalent in Mary Ellen’s family history such as Walter born 1887, Otterwell born 1889, Nancy Ann aka Annie born 1892, Thomas Andrew aka Andrew born 1894, Margery born 1890 who died 1907, Margaret born 1898 and Catherine Mary born 1901. These are all the first generation of the Liverpool Palombella’s.

Soon after Angelo's birth Saverio stopped going away to sea and took work as a dock worker no doubt working the north end docks, which where in the vicinity of were he lived. This life would have been in stark contrast to that of growing up in Molfetta, a small southern Italian town on the Adriatic coast with a fishermen and farming community. Whereas Kirkdale in the latter part of the 19th century had Liverpool's most populated district with miles of dockland and terraced street after terraced street.
 

Mary Ellen Thorpe

Saverio and Mary Ellen lived in Kirkdale for the rest of their lives. Mary Ellen died at 69 years old in 1929 and Saverio died with heart problems in Walton Hospital aged 76 years in 1936. He was buried in Anfield Cemetery, in a public grave so there is no grave stone but I believe I have located the area of where he would have been buried.
The exact date of this image of Mary Ellen is not known, possibly just before 1920. It was taken by Jerome's of Liverpool. Saverio also had is photo taken at the same time but I have not seen or found out if it still exists.

Most of the research I have undertaken has been concentrated on earlier generation so my records are incomplete regarding future generations of Palombella families.

Starting with the girls of Saverio and Mary Ellen's children: Margaret married Arthur Holbrook at St Athanasius, Kirkdale, Liverpool 1920, and had 5 children. Annie first married James Woolley in 1911 also at St Athanasius and then as a widow married Paul Steen in 1933 once again at St Athanasius. She had two children from both marriages. Catherine Mary married Albert Mowbray at St Athanasius in 1923, they had eight children.

The eldest son Frank married Margaret Brown at St Aidan's Kirkdale, Liverpool in 1911, they had eight children. Walter married Mary Kevlin at St Athanasius in 1915, and had 10 children. Otterwell married Harriet Hoey at St Athanasius in 1912, and had eleven children. and finally Andrew married Elizabeth Williams at St Mary's Kirkdale, Liverpool, and they had ten children. In respect of still living Palombella's I have decided not to document any subsequent generations.
 

Palombella's in Molfetta

As mentioned above, Saverio was one of ten children see family Tree his father Lazaro married Nunziata de Gioia. Nunzia's father was named Maurangelo and was also a fisherman.

Via Sant' Angelo

Lazaro and Nunzia lived all there married life in Via Sant' Angelo situated close to the cathedral, just outside of the 'Centro Storico'
Lazaro, himself was one of nine children. The two eldest Vitantonio and Pasquala where to Lazaro's father Francesco first marriage. His first wife's name was Marianna Minutillo, who died before civil registration was recorded pre- 1809. Francesco also married his second wife Caterina de Santis before 1809 so exact date also has not been established. Caterina father's name was Saverio who worked as a Calzolaio/shoemaker. Her mother was called Teresa Silvestri.
 

Via Sant' Orsola 1

Lazaro was born in Via Sant' Orsola 1 in the 'Centro Storico'. The historic centre was built on a small peninsular that juts out into the Adriatic Sea. It must of been wonderful to awaken each morning to the open sea.
Lazaro, like his brother Antonio followed there father Francesco and became marinaro/mariners.

Francesco Palombella's was born around 1766, As mentioned above he first married  Marianna Minutillo, and to date two children have been found from this marriage Vito Antonio 1799 and Pasquala 1802. Marianna died before 1809 as Francesco had his first child Pasqua Teresa to his second wife Caterina de Santis.

Francesco died in 1826, which turned out to be a bad year for the family as his eldest daughter Pasquala died aged 24 years in January and his youngest son Niccolo Domenico died in August just one month old, and then Francesco himself died in the September.

His father was Vito Antonio Silvestro Palombella 1736 - 1817 and his mother was Caterina Salvemini 1737 -1817. Antonio initially trained and worked as a Scrivano/scribe, which was a public figure of great social importance because through his office the illiterate could enter into correspondence with distant people and fulfill all the tasks in public.

A Scribe held a public profession that bordered the world of letters and a world without, the Scribe undertook besides their day to day civic duties those of a much personal nature such as constructing letters for individuals who lacked the ability to read and write. It is worth reminding ourselves that in some parts of Italy illiteracy was a high as 98 % during the 19th century.  

Antonio, at some point in his life gave up the quill for a life at sea as a marinaro/mariner, which to future generations was a very significant decision because future generations of Palombella men followed this tradition and become Gente di Mare, and ended up sellting in lands as far as England and Argentina.

Antonio had eight known siblings to date. His elder brother Lazzaro Giussepe Santos Palombella became the Notaio of Molfetta, a kind of a government lawyer. In fact their is an article presented on the Molfetta Live it web site, Where a Notaio Francesco Saverio Palombella is referenced in relation to a conflict regarding the upgrade of a road affecting a swimming pool 'Piscina Schivazappa' in 1848. The article discusses the importance and different forms in Molfettese history of retaining water for the purpose of preventing droughts and resulting famine.

Another interesting fact I discovered during research was when Antonio's wife Caterina Salvemini died in 1817, on her death registration Antonio recorded his occupation as Marinaro\Mariner. He himself died three days later, his great nephew Lazzaro son of Antonio's nephew Notaio Francesco Palombella, who was the son of Antonio's elder brother Lazzaro Giuseppe registered the death and recorded Antonio's profession as Scrivano/Scribe. This action does suggest that Antonio's brother Lazzaro Giuseppe side of the family did not agree with Antonio's preference for the sea over the quill. Maybe it an embarrassment on the family status.

Lazzaro, grandson of Lazzaro Giuseppe was also a Scrivano/scribe as was his younger brother Domenico, and that side of the family based on recorded titles carried more status in town and also moved in professional circles, In fact Domenico Palombella became a land and shop owner in the region of Via Sant' Angelo and was referred to as Don Domenico Palombella.

Information recorded on the 'Catasto Onciario' for Molfetta, a census undertaken in the Kingdom of Naples during the mid 1700's possibly around 1758, recorded Antonio (who was 13 years at the time) and his brothers as being  students. Only wealthy families in southern Italy at this time had their children educated. Antonio's father was called Francesco Paolo Palombella born 1704 and his mother was Pasqua de Candia born 1706. Francesco aka Ciccio married Pasqua 1730 in Molfetta. I am yet to discover the profession of Ciccio as it seems by the time of the Catasto Onciario he was unable to work. Further information taken from the Catasto showed that the family owned a house on the road of Sant' Andrea in Molfetta and five orchards of olive trees.

There is another Palombella family recorded in Molfetta at the time of the Catasto Onciario. The father was named Mauro Palombella and the mother was Angela Sabbatelli see Other Family Tree's they had at least six children. Mauro was a Scarparo an old Molfetese word for shoe maker.

To date, all subsequent Palombella's in Molfetta I have recorded, either descend from Francesco Paolo Palombella or from Mauro Palombella so if in future research I discover that Francesco Paolo and Mauro are related then that would mean that all Molfettese Palombella's descended from a single ancestor.

That concludes my research to date.

Mark Palombella Hart 11 June 2009