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Post by Sicilianhunter on May 26, 2020 9:28:13 GMT -7
ALRA Bib:
I was born in south west Sicily in about 1720 to a fishing village called Agrigento .
A local fishing boat was taking on crew and I was accepted due to many of the able-bodied men having succumbed to a fever in the village.
I was in my early 20s.
Around 1750 or so,I was pressed into service with the British Navy when our Fishing boat was boarded off the coast of Gibraltar.
As a man in my 30s I deserted the Navy while offloading cargo in the American colony of New York.
In the late 1760s or possibly early 1770s I joined the militia and campaigned on the frontier of south western New York defending settlers as they raised crops on small farms.
After my service I moved to the southern colony of Virginia in an effort to make a profit hunting deer So I could buy a piece of land to farm.
The trading house I worked for eventually hired me on a hunting party captain.
Now 53 and still in their employ, I am able to scout for a plot of land for myself while also pointing out likely tracts of land for purchase by the trading house.
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Keith
City-dweller
Bushfire close but safe now. Getting some good rain.
Posts: 990 
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Post by Keith on May 26, 2020 13:22:29 GMT -7
ALRA Bib: I was born in south west Sicily in about 1720 to a fishing village called Agrigento . A local fishing boat was taking on crew and I was accepted due to many of the able-bodied men having succumbed to a fever in the village. I was in my early 20s. Around 1750 or so,I was pressed into service with the British Navy when our Fishing boat was boarded off the coast of Gibraltar. As a man in my 30s I deserted the Navy while offloading cargo in the American colony of New York. In the late 1760s or possibly early 1770s I joined the militia and campaigned on the frontier of south western New York defending settlers as they raised crops on small farms. After my service I moved to the southern colony of Virginia in an effort to make a profit hunting deer So I could buy a piece of land to farm. The trading house I worked for eventually hired me on a hunting party captain. Now 53 and still in their employ, I am able to scout for a plot of land for myself while also pointing out likely tracts of land for purchase by the trading house. Good one, well thought out. Keith. |
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Post by Black Hand on May 26, 2020 16:38:23 GMT -7
My uncle was from Agrigento. My family and I visited the Greek temples there a few years ago. Probably hasn't changed too much in the last couple hundred years...  |
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Post by brokennock on May 26, 2020 17:15:35 GMT -7
Well done my friend. I do have a question though, and I alluded to it in another topic regarding using one's self as the basis for their persona. Do we have any census data, or references, that include much in the way of Sicilian/Italian last names? It seems all the names I encounter are of obvious English, French, Irish, Scots, German/Dutch, extraction. Even a Swedish or Norwegian sounding name seems more likely than names that make one thing of Italy, Sicily, or even Portugal or Greece. Not a criticism, just a question I've thought about before. Even if someone who matched your story were to change their name, if they were mentioned in someone else's memoir or journal, I'm betting their accent or the way they spoke would be commented on.
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Post by Sicilianhunter on May 27, 2020 4:29:52 GMT -7
Le Loup,
Many Thanks!!
I had the basic story rattling around in my head for a while but putting the timeline math to it really put things into perspective.
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Post by Sicilianhunter on May 27, 2020 4:33:15 GMT -7
Hand,
My Grandparents came from Canacatti, just north and a bit inland from there.
I just moved "home" closer to the shore to fit my story.
Sicily is definitely a trip on my bucket list as I've already been to Gibraltar where my Mother's parents are from
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Post by Sicilianhunter on May 27, 2020 4:39:27 GMT -7
Well done my friend. I do have a question though, and I alluded to it in another topic regarding using one's self as the basis for their persona. Do we have any census data, or references, that include much in the way of Sicilian/Italian last names? It seems all the names I encounter are of obvious English, French, Irish, Scots, German/Dutch, extraction. Even a Swedish or Norwegian sounding name seems more likely than names that make one thing of Italy, Sicily, or even Portugal or Greece. Not a criticism, just a question I've thought about before. Even if someone who matched your story were to change their name, if they were mentioned in someone else's memoir or journal, I'm betting their accent or the way they spoke would be commented on.
Nock, A good point and something I've been thinking about for two reasons : A) Our "hero" is a deserter from a military institution and would need to hide his identity in several ways. B) I was thinking with 8 years in His Majesty's Royal Navy a smart Sicilian would work on losing his accent and picking up an English one if his plan was to escape his servitude. Hence, his service in the militia may have been under a false name such as the English translation of his Sicilian name : John Anthony Short... |
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