Michele Donato

The tree puts his birth at Scilla in 1851. Act 162 of 1892 makes him THIRTY-SIX in July 1892, so born about 1856 -- and gives him a trade the tree does not record, pescatore. But the Scilla birth indexes for 1851, 1856 and 1859 each hold a complete D section and NONE of them has a Donato in it, while 1892 has two Donato households. On this evidence the surname arrives at Scilla between 1859 and 1892 and he was probably born in another comune. CONFIRMED INDEPENDENTLY: the New Orleans manifest of 1908 records him aged 52, off the Liguria -- a birth about 1856, agreeing with act 162 and not with the tree's 1851. And the 'Donato arrived at Scilla late' hypothesis is dead: fifteen Donato gave Scilla as their last residence at Ellis Island between 1893 and 1921. THE MANIFEST IMAGE adds a third witness and more: aged 52, a SAILOR, and his nearest relative in Italy given as 'Wife Maria Sofi, Via Grotte, Scilla' -- the same street as act 162. He was bound for Quincy, Florida.

THE ACT THIS ARCHIVE LOOKED FOR LONGEST. Declared on 4 October 1855 by his father DOMENICO DONATO, thirty-eight, MARINARO, «figlio di CANDELORO»; his mother NUNZIATA SOFI, thirty-seven. Three generations in one act. The tree says 1851 — four years out — and the search failed for a fortnight because 1851, 1856 and 1859 were read and 1855 was not.

Birth year — Born about 1856. Thirty-six in his daughter's birth act of July 1892, and fifty-two on the New Orleans manifest of 1908 -- and the New Orleans manifest image names him a SAILOR whose nearest relative is 'Wife Maria Sofi, Via Grotte, Scilla' -- three independent witnesses agreeing.

Trade -- missing entirely — PESCATORE, a fisherman. Living at Via Grotte 31, Scilla, in 1892.

Death -- missing entirely — DIED AT SCILLA ON 10 MAY 1936, «Padre Domenico, Madre Nunziata Sofi, Coniuge Maria Sofi» -- all three matching this archive exactly. He was fifty-two on the New Orleans manifest of March 1908, sailing for Quincy, Florida; he came home and lived another twenty-eight years. THE LAST MAN ON THE DONATO LINE WHOSE END WAS UNKNOWN.

Birth year — BORN ABOUT 1856, NOT 1851, AND TWO RECORDS AGREE AGAINST THE TREE. His death act of 10 May 1936 makes him «di anni OTTANTA»; the New Orleans manifest of March 1908 makes him FIFTY-TWO. Both point at 1855 or 1856. THE TREE'S 1851 WOULD HAVE MADE HIM EIGHTY-FIVE AT DEATH AND FIFTY-SEVEN ON THE SHIP. Five years out, and it matters because he is on the spine.

Trade -- missing entirely — MARINAIO -- a mariner, not a fisherman. The distinction is worth keeping: his contemporary GIOVANNI ARENA, who died six weeks earlier and sixty yards away, is also «marinaio», while ROCCO ARENA four years before is «pescatore». Scilla's men went to sea two different ways.

Death -- missing entirely — DIED AT SIX IN THE MORNING ON 10 MAY 1936, AT VIA GROTTE 66, SCILLA. «e morto DONATO MICHELE, di anni ottanta, marinaio, residente in Scilla, nato in questo Comune, dal fu DOMENICO e da fu SOFI NUNZIATA, MARITO DI SOFI MARIA.» Both parents dead, HIS WIFE STILL LIVING. The declarants were LICO FRANCESCO DI DOMENICO, twenty-four, and PALAMARA GIOVANNI FU ANTONINO, thirty-seven, both day-labourers.

Where the two disagree, the chart above still draws the tree as it stands. This archive does not silently rewrite what it was given — the acts are here.