Our branch of the Cavalletto family immigrated to America a century ago from Vesignano,
Vesignano is a small town north of Turin.
Map showing Vesignano:
- Satellite map from Google.
- Road maps from Expdia.com.
- PDF file (Zoom in on the lower-left corner, which shows the village just north of Rivarolo Canavese.)
Starting in the late 1880s, a number of Cavallettos left the Vesignano area to seek their fortune in the Americas. Many of them headed for areas they had heard of from neighbors or relatives, so they created clusters of Cavallettos in a handful of locations, including Santa Barbara, California; Spring Valley, Illinois; and other places in North and South America.
We get a snapshot of some of these emmigrants (although not our direct ancestors) in the records of these that passed through New York harbor's Ellis Island. Vesignano was too small to be known, so the embarkation records usually list the point of origin for most of them as the town of Salassa (two miles north) or Rivarollo (two miles south).
Ellis Island records for Cavalletto, Cavaletto, and Cavallette. (From ellisisland.org)The extended Cavalletto family in the Santa Barabara area has gathered information about the history of the family.
How the Cavallettos settled in Santa Barbara, with a family tree since 1600, accompanying letter from George Sr.
Illinois Cavallettos Home Page and early history (originally from ourfamilyties.net, now offline, archived at www.archive.org).
Have more information? Contact Matthew Cavalletto by email: matthew at cavalletto dot org.