Cari familiari e amici,

At a large family gathering early in 1996, I became aware that I frequently could not explain to my daughter her relationship to many of those present (and those who were not but of whom we were gossiping. 😉)  The lines between family and friend, cousin and paisano had become fuzzy.  Even though I had grown up surrounded by these people, I was unsure of many relationships; hence, my quest for family information.

To date I have added over 1200 members of the Casciato, Carano, Ajamie, and Bell families and their branches to my database.  Unfortunately, the database is mostly an outline of family names, dates and relationships, and lacks the personal information, stories and family histories that make genealogy so interesting.

Should you have any information that would help me in filling in missing members, or information (or corrections!) about family members currently in the database, please contact me via the contact link on the home page.

Surnames for which I need additional information include: Falasca, Carano, Silvestri, DiIorio, DeFalco, Riccilli, Tisone, Bishotti, (do you see a pattern of Italian surnames developing here?), Izzi, Mastroianni, Labate , Gizzi and of course, Casciato.

Our Italian family hails from the following cities/towns/villages/provinces: Caroville Campobasso (Carano, DiIorio, Silvestri) ; Pescocostanzo, Provincia L’Aguila, Abruzzi (Casciato); San Pietro, Avellana (Mastroianni); Catanzaro, Provincia Reggio, Calabria (Zito), and probably many other places for which I have no data.

A note on the spelling of “Mastroianni.” I have several sources listing various spellings. For the most part, I have used the most common spelling, that is, “Mastroianni.” Be assured that I have a reference fore each “Mastroianni” listed, regardless of the spelling.

I owe a debt of gratitude to our previously unknown cousin, Amilio Casciato, who provided the information that linked our two families through eight generations.

I hope some of this information may be of help in your research.

I’ve also added a few items of personal interest that I hope you will enjoy.

John Vincent Casciato