House of Angotta

Merriam-Webster Dictionary:

House = A family including ancestors, descendants, and kindred.

A coat of arms is an outward indication of nobility (Edmondson, Complete Book of Heraldry, p. 154), and arms are officially described as "Ensigns of Nobility (Nisbet's Heraldry, iii, ii, 65). A patent of arms is a Diploma of Nobility, (Sir Thomas Innes of Learney, Scots Heraldry, page 20)

The House of Angotta is a worldwide organization which seeks to globally unite those who bear the last name of Angotta and it's alternate spellings of Angota, Angiotta, Angotto, Angotte, Angotti, Angot, Angaut and Ansgaut into one House.

This website will enable us to explore our history and heritage as one.

Whenever located, specific dates of birth and death are noted in the Pedigree. Our research of various government documents in Italy, Spain, France, Tunisia, the United Kingdom and the United States uncovered multiple last names for the same individual.

The oldest know reference to the House of Angotta was in 1651, when Don Antonio de Amato y Buglio, Duke of Asti, was inducted into the Spainish Knightly Order of Alcantara, his paternal grandmother was stated to be Dona Constanza de Angota, a native of Sicily.

Records Researched:

The State Archives of Cosenza, Italy
The State Archives of Palermo, Italy
Town Tax and Census Records, Rose, Cosenza, Italy
The Family History Library located in Salt Lake City, Utah
The Land Records of the Town of Greenwich, CT
Office of Vital Records, Town of Greenwich, CT
St Mary's Roman Catholic Church, Greenwich, CT
The Land Records of the City of Stamford, CT
Office of Vital Records, City of Stamford, CT

Archivo General Militar de Segovia. ‘Indice de expedientes personales:

compuesto por la Comisión del mismo nombre, presidida por el coronel D. Federico Heredero y Roura. Asesorada por D. Vicente de Cadenas y Vicent.’ Madrid : Hidalguía – Diana, 1959-1963.

Archivo de la Real Chancillería de Granada. ‘Inventario, Sección de Hidalguía’. Edited by Pilar Núñez Alonso. Granada : Real Maestranza de Caballería, 1985.

Archivo General de Simancas. ‘Secretaría de Guerra (Siglo XVIII) Hojas de Servicios de América’. Ricardo Magdaleno (Editor). Valladolid: Patronato Nacional de Archivos Históricos, 1958.

Archivo Histórico Nacional (España). ‘Sección de Consejos: Índice de relaciones de méritos y servicios conservadas en la Sección de Consejos / por Ramón Paz.’ Madrid : Archivo Histórico Nacional [etc.], 1943.

Archivo Histórico Nacional (España). ‘Consejo de la Suprema Inquisición: Catálogo de las informaciones genealógicas de los pretendientes a cargos del Santo Oficio / Archivo Histórico Nacional.’ Valladolid : [s.n.], 1928

Archivo Histórico Provincial de Cádiz. ‘Índice de Testamentos 1600-1900’. Electronic database. 2007.

Archivo del Reino de Galicia. ‘Albalá’. Electronic Database. 2008.

Cadenas, Vicente de (Ed.) ‘Caballeros de Calatrava que Efectuaron sus Pruebas de Ingreso Durante el Siglo XVIII’. 4 Vols. Madrid: Hidalguia, 1986.

Cárdenas Piera, Emilio de (Ed.) ‘Caballeros de Santiago que Efectuaron sus Pruebas de Ingreso Durante el Siglo XVIII: Índice Onomástico’. Madrid: Hidalguía, 1995.

Couto de León, Mª Dolores. ‘Pruebas Para Contraer Matrimonio con Caballeros de Santiago’. Madrid: Ministerio de Educación y Ciencia, 1976.

Díaz-Trechuelo López-Spinola, Lourdes (Ed.). ‘La emigración andaluza a América, siglos XVII y XVIII’. Sevilla : Consejería de Cultura y Medio Ambiente, 1990.

Garcia Caraffa, Alberto; García Caraffa, Arturo. ‘Diccionario heráldico y genealógico de apellidos españoles y americanos’. Madrid : Imp. Antonio Marzo, 1920-1963.

Matilla Tascón, Antonio. ‘Índice de expedientes de funcionarios públicos : Viudedad y orfandad, 1763-1872’. Madrid : Hidalguía, 1962.

Ministerio de Educación, Cultura y Deporte. ‘Portal de Archivos Españoles’. Electronic catalogue database. Madrid, 2008.

Mogrobejo, Endika de. ‘Diccionario hispanoamericano de heráldica, onomástica y genealogía’. Bilbao, 1995-

Ocerin, Enrique de. ‘Índice de los expedientes matrimoniales de militares y marinos que se conservan en el Archivo General Militar (1761-1865). [Prólogo de José Mª de Palacio y de Palacio, Marqués de Villarreal de Álava]’. Madrid : Instituto Jerónimo Zurita, 1959-1967.

Valgoma, Dalmiro de la. ‘Real Compañia de Guardias Marinas y Colegio Naval: Catálogo de Pruebas de Caballeros Aspirantes’. Madrid: Instituto Histórico de Marina, 1943-56.

                                       The following Pedigree extends patrilineally

              Fedele Angotta
              birthdate: unknown
              birthplace: Rose, Cosenza, Italy
              died: before December 18, 1827
                 place of death: Rose, Cosenza, Italy

                    Gennaro Angotta
                   birthdate: 1766
                   birthplace: Rose, Cosenza, Italy
                   died: December 18, 1827
                        place of death: Rose, Cosenza, Italy

                               Domenico Angotto
                             birthdate: January 22, 1803
                             birthplace: Rose, Cosenza, Italy
                             died: before March 1871
                                    place of death: Rose, Cosenza, Italy

                                         Michele Angotta
                                    birthdate:January 26, 1831
                                    birthplace: Rose, Cosenza, Italy
                                    died: date unknown
                                             place of death: Rose, Cosenza, Italy

                                     Antonio Angotti
                                        birthdate: March 5, 1871
                                        birthplace: Rose, Cosenza, Italy
                                        died: July 1949
                                                  place of death: Greenwich, CT, USA

                                                          Dominick Angotta
                                                 birthdate: April 30, 1919
                                                             birthplace: Greenwich, CT USA
                                                             died: July 2008
                                                 place of death: Stamford, CT USA




.

Maternal Surnames associated with our family include:
Bria, Casalano, Chiappetta, Costantino, Covello, D'Ambrosio, D'Andrea, Grosso, Petrona, Suso, Telesco, Ursomarso and Veltri.

Angotta Arms as recorded in the book "Araldica" by Giovanni Santi-Mazzini

The following entry can be found with regards to the Angotta name in the State Archives of Sicily. The link to the archives is below.

ANGOTTA

Nobile famiglia originaria dalla Spagna e che godette nobiltà in Messina dal
secolo XV al XVII ed in Palermo. Un Girolamo fu giudice straticoziale di Messina
negli anni 1417-8, 1438-39-40; un Giulio tenne la stessa carica negli anni
1520-21, 1530-31 ed un Francesco nell’anno 1616-17. Un Andrea trovasi notato
nella Mastra Nobile del Mollica, lista XI anno 1597. Un Antonio fu Giudice della
Gran Corte negli anni 1617-18-1619 e 1625; un Giuseppe, giudice pretoriano di
Palermo nell’anno 1739-40. Troviamo infine questa famiglia pure nella terra di
S. Angelo, nelle persone di un Ercole proconservatore di detta terra a 28 aprile
1586, di un Gaetano con la stessa carica nel 1683, di un Saverio Angotta e
Franchi giurato nel 1710 e di un Nicolò con la stessa carica nell’anno 1812-13.

Arma: d’azzurro, alla banda d’oro, caricata da un dragone dello stesso e
sostenuta da due sbarre accompagnate da sei stelle, 2. 2. E 2, il tutto
d’argento.

http://www.regione.sicilia.it/beniculturali/bibliotecacentrale/mango/angelica.htm

English translation

Angotta.

Noble family originally from Spain and enjoyed that nobility in Messina
from XV to the XVII century in Palermo. A Girolamo was
straticoziale judge of Messina in years 1417-8, 1438-39-40; a Giulio
held the same charge in years 1520-21, a 1530-31 and Francisco in year
1616-17. Andrea is noticed as the Master Nobleman of the
Mollica, in the year 1597. Antonio was Judge of the Great Court in the
years 1617-18-1619 and 1625. A Giuseppe, pretoriano judge of Palermo
in year 1739-40. We find finally this family pure in the earth of S.
Angelo, in the persons of a proconservatore Ercole of said earth to 28
you open them 1586, of a Gaetano with the same charge in 1683, of a
Saverio Angotta and sworne Franchi in 1710 and of a Nicolo with the
same charge in year 1812-13.

Arm: of blue, to the band of gold, loaded from a dragon with same and
supported from two slabs accompanied from six stars, 2. 2. And 2, all
of silver.

Italian Naming Traditions and their Ramifications

There has been a strong custom in Italy that determines how children are named:

The first male is named after his paternal grandfather.
The second male is named after his maternal grandfather.
The first female is named after her paternal grandmother.
The second female is named after her maternal grandmother.

The subsequent children could be named after the parents, a favorite aunt or uncle, a saint or a deceased relative. You will see evidence of this tradition throughout your family tree. Although this custom is pervasive, you should never use this as a method for assuming an ancestor's name. For example, if you know that your grandfather, Francesco, was the oldest son, don't automatically assume that his paternal grandfather was named Francesco. There are exceptions to this naming custom that preclude this assumption. Let's look at a few possible exceptions.

If your ancestor had a falling out with his family and was estranged from them, he would probably not name his children after his parents. Or perhaps he was orphaned and didn't know his parents' names.

A more common exception to the naming tradition is seen in the following scenario. Giovanni Sorrentino names his first born son Luigi, after his father. He has several other children that he names according to custom. When little Luigi is about 8 years old he suddenly dies This was not uncommon. Children often did not live to adulthood in pre-twentieth-century Italy. Since he now has no child named for his father, Giovanni will give the name Luigi to his next son, who happens to be the fourth son. If you were to view this family at this time, the child who appears to be the oldest son is named after his maternal grandfather, not his paternal grandfather. The child named after his paternal grandfather is actually the fourth son. If you were to assume the names of the grandfathers in this situation, you would be wrong.

A final example of exceptions to the naming custom can be seen in the nontraditional family of my great-great-grandparents, Pasquale and Rosa. They were great opera fans who named all of their children after characters from their favorite operas. Due to theses types of exceptions, you cannot use the Italian naming tradition to assume an ancestor's name.

This naming tradition has an even more important ramification in genealogical research. Because of the pervasiveness of this custom, you will find many people sharing the same name.

Let's look at the following example:

Vito Savino marries a woman named Rosa and they have three sons, Pasquale, Domenico and Pietro, as shown in the following chart. Each of these sons marries and has his own children. According to custom, they will all name their first son Vito, after their father, and they will all name their first daughter Rosa, after their mother.

We have three Vito Savinos all born in the same town, within the same generation, possibly even born in the same year. The same situation exists for Rosa Savino. And this is a greatly simplified example since most Italians in this time period had more than three children! All the children would follow this naming tradition, even the daughters, although the daughters would name the second son and second daughter after the maternal grandparents.

Now, you come along looking for the birth record of your great-great-grandfather, Vito Savino. You have answered all four W's of your research goal, so you know where and when he was born, but you do not know his parents' names. You find these three Vito Savinos, but how do you know which one is your great- great-grandfather?

An even worse situation could occur if you first find Vito Savino number two (son of Domenico) and stop searching because you assume that you have found your great-great-grandfather. Meanwhile, Vito Savino number three (son of Pietro) is really your ancestor. You now begin pursuing the ancestors of Vito Savino number two. On the paternal side you will at least be on the right track, but on his maternal side you will be barking up the wrong family tree and not even know it.

At first blush, this logic creates a frightening situation. How can you ever know if you've found the right ancestor?

Well, don't panic. There are methods you can use to insure that you're working on the right ancestor. We briefly reviewed some of these methods in a general fashion in the last chapter. Later, we will get more detailed and talk about margin notations and the appropriate sequence in which to pursue records.

The important point to retain from this discussion is that due to the Italian naming tradition, you will find many people with the same names. Therefore, you must be absolutely certain to confirm that you have found your direct ancestor.

Note: from A Genealogist's Guide to Discovering Your Italian Ancestors
copyright © 1997 by Lynn Nelson.

House of Angotta

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