Fran Cardella Posted 12 May , 2021 Share Posted 12 May , 2021 This man was my great grandfather. Can anyone tell me anything about his uniform?This man was my great grandfather. Can anyone tell me anything about his uniform? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Austin Pagels Posted 12 May , 2021 Share Posted 12 May , 2021 Could you provide any more information about your GGF? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moonraker Posted 12 May , 2021 Share Posted 12 May , 2021 Welcome, Fran Knowing his name and a few more details might prompt some GWF members to check records that you may be unaware of and provide you with fresh info. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FROGSMILE Posted 12 May , 2021 Share Posted 12 May , 2021 The collar stars and cuff decoration suggest an Italian Army junior non commissioned officer (NCO) around 1900-1908. The elaborate cuff knots were a feature of rank. An Italian officer’s uniform was mostly double breasted at that time and other ranks single breasted, so a NCO seems the more likely. The Italian Army was divided into regional regiments during that period (e.g. Palermo, Sardinia, etc.), with each distinguished by different colour piping and insignia on the uniform (shoulder straps especially). You will really need an Italian specialist to identify which regiment, but as conscription (compulsory national service) was normal in Italy, knowing where your great grandfather came from will be a big clue. See: https://www.greatwarforum.org/topic/287553-can-anyone-help-identify-this-wwi-italian-uniform/?tab=comments#comment-2967388 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fran Cardella Posted 12 May , 2021 Author Share Posted 12 May , 2021 (edited) My great grandfather was from Reggio di Calabria. I would so very much love to know his name and anything about him. Hi son, Ferdinando Cardella, ( my grandfather) was born in 1881. Edited 12 May , 2021 by Fran Cardella Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fran Cardella Posted 12 May , 2021 Author Share Posted 12 May , 2021 8 hours ago, Austin Pagels said: Could you provide any more information about your GGF? Yes. My great grandfather from Reggio di Calabria. I wish that I knew his name but I do not. His son, Ferdinando Cardella, was born in 1881 in Reggio di Calabria. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fran Cardella Posted 12 May , 2021 Author Share Posted 12 May , 2021 4 hours ago, Moonraker said: Welcome, Fran Knowing his name and a few more details might prompt some GWF members to check records that you may be unaware of and provide you with fresh info. I believe that he was from Reggio di Calabria. His son Ferdinando Cardella , my grandfather, was born in 1881 In Reggio di Calabria. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FROGSMILE Posted 12 May , 2021 Share Posted 12 May , 2021 (edited) 25 minutes ago, Fran Cardella said: My great grandfather was from Reggio di Calabria. I would so very much love to know his name and anything about him. Hi son, Ferdinando Cardella, ( my grandfather) was born in 1881. According to the table above showing shoulder straps, the infantry regiments for the ‘Calabrian Brigade’ were the 59th and 60th, and had red shoulder straps with a blue central stripe. That’s all that I can tell you about his uniform. Edited 12 May , 2021 by FROGSMILE Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
knittinganddeath Posted 12 May , 2021 Share Posted 12 May , 2021 Assuming the uniform indeed dates from 1900-05 and given that your grandfather was born in 1881, is it possible that the photo actually shows your grandfather? If I were you, I would look for your grandfather's birth certificate, which at the very minimum should tell you the name of his parents. Once you have found out the names of his parents, you can search for their marriage certificate. I know Americans who have claimed Italian citizenship through great-grandparents and they say that the document search can be crazy but also that you can often get a good start on genealogy websites. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fran Cardella Posted 12 May , 2021 Author Share Posted 12 May , 2021 I am using ancestry.com and getting nowhere trying to locate my great grandfather. I have records on both my grandfather and my grandmother and cannot get any information either one of their parents. Any thoughts? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FROGSMILE Posted 12 May , 2021 Share Posted 12 May , 2021 (edited) 46 minutes ago, Fran Cardella said: I am using ancestry.com and getting nowhere trying to locate my great grandfather. I have records on both my grandfather and my grandmother and cannot get any information either one of their parents. Any thoughts? Are you sure that it isn’t your grandfather rather than great grandfather in the photo? You said your grandfather was born in 1881 (unless that was an error) which is about right for the appearance of the man in the photo you posted, who I would estimate to be in his early 20s some time in the first 8-years of the 1900s (approx). Edited 12 May , 2021 by FROGSMILE Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
busterfield Posted 12 May , 2021 Share Posted 12 May , 2021 Going on this site, familysearch there is quite a lot regarding Ferdinando Cardella, born 1881. https://www.familysearch.org/search/record/results?q.givenName=ferdinando&q.surname=cardella&q.surname.exact=on&q.birthLikeDate.from=1879&q.birthLikeDate.to=1883&count=20&offset=0&m.defaultFacets=on&m.queryRequireDefault=on&m.facetNestCollectionInCategory=on He seems to have more than one immigration form. Plus a draft registration form, which, while from a different State has the same birthday.One of the immigration forms has a Mother ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fran Cardella Posted 12 May , 2021 Author Share Posted 12 May , 2021 9 hours ago, knittinganddeath said: Assuming the uniform indeed dates from 1900-05 and given that your grandfather was born in 1881, is it possible that the photo actually shows your grandfather? If I were you, I would look for your grandfather's birth certificate, which at the very minimum should tell you the name of his parents. Once you have found out the names of his parents, you can search for their marriage certificate. I know Americans who have claimed Italian citizenship through great-grandparents and they say that the document search can be crazy but also that you can often get a good start on genealogy websites. Thanks. I have tried finding my grandparents' birth records through ancestry.com but unfortunately I have had no success. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fran Cardella Posted 12 May , 2021 Author Share Posted 12 May , 2021 19 hours ago, Austin Pagels said: Could you provide any more information about your GGF? Hi Austin. I wish that I could. But I have never been successful finding any information about my grandparents' parents.....my great grandparents. I used ancestry.com but have found no birth certificates for my grandparents who were both born in Italy. My grandfather, Ferdinando Cardella, was born in Reggio di Calabria in 1881. My father, Pasquale Cardella, was the oldest of 12 children. My dad and one brother were born in Italy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fran Cardella Posted 12 May , 2021 Author Share Posted 12 May , 2021 On 13/05/2021 at 01:20, FROGSMILE said: Are you sure that it isn’t your grandfather rather than great grandfather in the photo? You said your grandfather was born in 1881 (unless that was an error) which is about right for the appearance of the man in the photo you posted, who I would estimate to be in his early 20s some time in the first 8-years of the 1900s (approx). Hello Frogsmile. No, I really cannot be sure that it isn't my grandfather although it doesn't look like another photo that I have of him. (attached). The photo appeared in their old homestead. Only one of my 12 aunts and uncles (Ferdinando's children) is alive and she was too young to have any useful memories . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FROGSMILE Posted 12 May , 2021 Share Posted 12 May , 2021 Thank you for posting the second photo. I am entirely confident that they are one and the same man. Clearly your grandfather was for a time in the Italian Army. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fran Cardella Posted 12 May , 2021 Author Share Posted 12 May , 2021 (edited) Is there any way of knowing his rank? There was a rumor of his being a general. Any chance that could be true? Edited 12 May , 2021 by Fran Cardella Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FROGSMILE Posted 12 May , 2021 Share Posted 12 May , 2021 (edited) 14 minutes ago, Fran Cardella said: Is there any way of knowing his rank? There was a rumor of his being a general. Any chance that could be true? No, I don’t believe so, I think he was a Corporal going by the thin piping formed into decorative knots on his cuffs. He appears to have been completing his national service, something that all Italian young men had to do at that time. Edited 12 May , 2021 by FROGSMILE Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
knittinganddeath Posted 13 May , 2021 Share Posted 13 May , 2021 (edited) 11 hours ago, Fran Cardella said: Thanks. I have tried finding my grandparents' birth records through ancestry.com but unfortunately I have had no success. I don't think Ancestry has comprehensive records for the whole of Italy. A lot hasn't been digitized. You might need to go there yourself, or hire someone to search on your behalf. The passenger list excerpted above by busterfield says that Ferdinando Cardella's last place of residence in Italy was the municipality of San Procopio in the province of Reggio Calabria. May be a place to focus your inquiries? On an unrelated note, I agree with Frogsmile that the second photo shows the same person as in your original post. Edited 13 May , 2021 by knittinganddeath Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fran Cardella Posted 13 May , 2021 Author Share Posted 13 May , 2021 1 hour ago, knittinganddeath said: Thank you so very much for taking the time to write to me Knittinganddeath. With the pandemic I won't be going back (been there 3 times) to Italy anytime soon. I wish that things were different right now! I have hit a real roadblock trying to find any relatives beyond my grandfather and grandmother on my father's side. Fran I don't think Ancestry has comprehensive records for the whole of Italy. A lot hasn't been digitized. You might need to go there yourself, or hire someone to search on your behalf. The passenger list excerpted above by busterfield says that Ferdinando Cardella's last place of residence in Italy was the municipality of San Procopio in the province of Reggio Calabria. May be a place to focus your inquiries? On an unrelated note, I agree with Frogsmile that the second photo shows the same person as in your original post. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FROGSMILE Posted 13 May , 2021 Share Posted 13 May , 2021 Here is a photo of Italian soldiers in the same style uniform as your grandfather. Notice the white linen cravats used to protect the neck from the rough wool of the tunic collar. photo courtesy of Antologia Militare Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fran Cardella Posted 13 May , 2021 Author Share Posted 13 May , 2021 20 minutes ago, FROGSMILE said: Here is a photo of Italian soldiers in the same style uniform as your grandfather. Notice the white linen cravats used to protect the neck from the rough wool of the tunic collar. Thank you so very much ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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