Not yet fully verified. Facts are tagged with their confidence level; family-supplied details have not all been checked against a primary record.
Biographical Information
Rocco Perino was born in Simbario, in the Calabrian province of Catanzaro (Vibo Valentia since 1992), on 9 June 1884 Confirmed. He emigrated in 1903 through Philadelphia Confirmed and by 1910 was on the iron range at Ishpeming, Michigan Confirmed, before settling in Chicago, where he was naturalised in 1925 Confirmed. With his wife Giuseppina Andriacchi - also of Simbario - he had at least nine children. He worked as a labourer and, by the end of his life, lived at 10847 W 153rd St, Orland Park. He died a widower on 30 April 1971Confirmed and was buried on 3 May 1971 at St Mary Catholic Cemetery, Evergreen Park.
Confidence of each fact: Confirmed primary record · Probable strong but unproven · Inherited family knowledge · Conflict sources disagree · Hypothesis working theory
Full Name & Name Variations
Rocco Perino
Rocco Perino - Italian originalInherited
Surname spellings to search: Perino, Perri, Perrino, Perina, PerinoInherited
Birth & Death
Born: 9 June 1884 [CONFIRMED — WWI draft card]
Place: Simbario, Calabria (prov. Catanzaro, now Vibo Valentia) Confirmed
Died: 30 April 1971 [CONFIRMED — Cook County death record]; buried 3 May 1971, St Mary Cemetery, Evergreen Park
Places of Residence
Simbario, Calabria (b. 1884)
Ishpeming Twp, Marquette, Michigan (1910)
Chicago (from c.1912; 1940 census)
Orland Park, Cook Co. — 10847 W 153rd St (at death, 1971)
Occupation(s)
Labourer [CONFIRMED — 1971 Cook County death record gives occupation "Laborer"]
Iron-range work at Ishpeming, 1910 (consistent with a labouring career)
CONFIRMED as father, with Giuseppina Andriacchi, of at least three Cook County children, by three independent records: Carmela Perino b. 7 Sep 1908 (birth certificate), Anthony Perino b. 13 Jun 1916 (death record), Frances Elizabeth Perino b. 25 May 1924 (Social Security NUMIDENT).Confirmed
'Rocco' is already the Italian form and needed no correction - unusual in this tree.Inherited
THREE NEW SIBLINGS for Antoinette, none on the original chart: Carmela (b. 1908), Anthony (b. 1916, d. 12 Aug 1973 Palos Heights, buried Evergreen Park, spouse Ann Dodija), Frances Elizabeth (b. 1924, d. 26 Nov 1998).Inherited
NAMING-CUSTOM COROBORATION for his own father: Rocco named a son ANTHONY (b. 1916). Southern Italian custom named sons after the paternal grandfather. The chart independently records Rocco's father as ANTHONY PERINO. The two agree. This is supporting inference, NOT proof - the custom was common but not universal, and no record yet names Rocco's parents directly.Hypothesis
CAUTION - NAME COLLISION: Anthony Perino b.1916 is Rocco's SON. The chart's Anthony Perino (PER-003) is Rocco's FATHER. Two different men, same name, easily conflated.Inherited
(Superseded) His birth — 9 June 1884 — and his Simbario/Calabria origin are now CONFIRMED; see the records below.Confirmed
Hypothesis WHERE THE SURNAME MAPS DISAGREE WITH THE CHART - and why the chart probably still wins. PERINO is a common surname (1,985th) whose recorded distribution is overwhelmingly PIEDMONTESE (Torino, Biella, Caravino, Cirie) and French, with almost nothing in Calabria. Taken alone that would argue against the chart's Calabria.Hypothesis
BUT the argument from his WIFE is stronger. He married GIUSEPPINA ANDRIACCHI, and Andriacchi is a rare name concentrated in Vibo Valentia and Caraffa di Catanzaro, CALABRIA. Marriage in this period was overwhelmingly local - people married within their comune or a neighbouring one. A rare Calabrian surname in the wife is far better evidence of origin than a common surname in the husband.Inherited
ALSO CONSIDER SPELLING. The Calabrian form of his name may not be PERINO. Variants to search: PERRINO, PERINA (already attested in this family's Cook County records), PIRINO, PERRINA, PERINI. PERRINO is distinctly southern, concentrated in Caserta, Foggia and - relevantly - Guardia Piemontese in COSENZA, Calabria.Inherited
[LIMITATION] The distribution data is Geneanet, i.e. user-submitted trees, skewed to France and northern Italy. Its silence on Calabria is weak evidence, not proof of absence - exactly the Session 9 lesson.Hypothesis
CONFIRMED - THE ITALIAN TOWN, AT LAST: SIMBARIO, in Calabria. Born 9 JUNE 1884. Established from his WWI draft registration card (1917-18, Chicago), which records his birthplace in full as SIMBARIO, CATANZARO, CALABRIA, ITALY, and names his nearest relative as JOSEPPINA PERINO - his wife. This is the FIRST ITALIAN TOWN CONFIRMED ANYWHERE IN THIS PROJECT.Confirmed
FOUR INDEPENDENT RECORDS, FOUR SPELLINGS, ONE TOWN. The clerks could not agree on the spelling, which is itself the signature of an unfamiliar foreign place-name: SIMBARIO (WWI draft card), SIMBARIA (Cook County birth certificate, 1913), SEMBARIO (Declaration of Intention, 4 Dec 1922, certificate 25214), SIOMBARIO (naturalisation, 8 July 1925). Search all four forms plus Sinbario and Simbaro.Inherited
WHY 'CATANZARO' AND NOT 'VIBO VALENTIA': Simbario sits about 40 km south-west of Catanzaro and 20 km east of Vibo Valentia. It belonged to the PROVINCE OF CATANZARO until 1992, when the province of VIBO VALENTIA was created out of Catanzaro territory. The 1917 card is therefore correct for its date. Modern searches must look under VIBO VALENTIA.Inherited
THE CHART'S 'CALABRIA' IS VINDICATED - and made precise. It was right about the region; we now have the comune.Inherited
BIRTH YEAR CORRECTED: 9 JUNE 1884, not the chart's 1882. The date is consistent across five records - the WWI card, the 1942 draft registration, the 1922 declaration, the 1925 naturalisation and the Social Security Death Index.Inherited
NOT NATURALISED IN 1917 - his WWI card records his citizenship as ITALY. He filed a Declaration of Intention on 4 DECEMBER 1922 (Cook County, certificate 25214) and was naturalised 8 JULY 1925 at Chicago. The Illinois Northern District index also carries a 1926 entry.Inherited
[UNVERIFIED - READ FROM AN INDEX RESULTS LIST, NOT YET OPENED INDIVIDUALLY] The following still need each record opened and checked before being treated as confirmed: arrival in the USA in 1903 via PHILADELPHIA (Pennsylvania passenger list index cards); the 1910 census placing the family at ISHPEMING TOWNSHIP, MARQUETTE COUNTY, MICHIGAN with wife Josephine and children Carmella and Sabatha; the 1940 census at Chicago; a 1942 WWII draft registration at Chicago; death in MARCH 1971 at Oak Forest, Cook County (Social Security Death Index) against 30 APRIL 1971 on the Find a Grave index; and burial at SAINT MARY CATHOLIC CEMETERY AND MAUSOLEUM, EVERGREEN PARK, COOK COUNTY.Inherited
[RESOLVED — Session 69] The Cook County death record settles the date at 30 APRIL 1971 (the SSDI's "March 1971" was only a month-level estimate). The record gives: age 87, birth 9 June 1883 (a one-year discrepancy against the well-attested 1884), birthplace Italy, residence 10847 W 153rd St, Orland Park, marital status widowed, occupation Laborer, event place St Mary Catholic Church / Bremen, Cook, Illinois, burial 3 May 1971 at St Mary Cemetery, Evergreen Park (funeral home Van Henkelum; entry no. 311). Parents on the record — Anthony Perino & Carmela Russo — independently confirm PER-003 and RUS-001.Confirmed
[CONFLICT — now resolved above] His death date was formerly given as MARCH 1971 (SSDI) vs 30 APRIL 1971 (Find a Grave); the Cook County record confirms 30 April 1971.Confirmed
A STRIKING CORROBORATION OF THE MICHIGAN LEAD. Before any of this was found, the Geneanet distribution of the rare surname ANDRIACCHI showed a cluster of 4 individuals at ISHPEMING, MARQUETTE COUNTY, MICHIGAN - a place with no obvious connection to a Chicago family. The 1910 census entry appears to place Rocco's own household in exactly that township. The Simbario emigrants seem to have gone first to the Michigan iron ranges and only later to Chicago. If that holds, the Ishpeming Andriacchi cluster is this family or its close kin, and Ishpeming is a whole new place to search.Inherited
THREE MORE CHILDREN, none on the original chart: MARIA ANTONIA PERINO b. 16 FEB 1913 Chicago (certificate 18739); JOSEPHINE PERINA; and SALVATORE PERINO. A 'SABATHA PERINO' also appears in the 1910 Michigan census and may be the same child as Salvatore, or another. With Carmela (1908), Antoinette (1914), Anthony (1916) and Frances Elizabeth (1924), this family had AT LEAST SEVEN children.Inherited
LIFE STORY SOLIDIFIED (consolidation pass, from multiple consistent records, all birth 9 June 1884): ARRIVED 1903 via PHILADELPHIA (Pennsylvania passenger list index). 1910 CENSUS - ISHPEMING TOWNSHIP, MARQUETTE, MICHIGAN, with wife Josephine and children Carmella & Sabatha: CONFIRMS the family first settled in the Michigan iron range before Chicago (the Session-23 Ishpeming/Andriacchi hunch, now proven). NATURALISATION - first papers 30 July 1912, declaration of intention 4 December 1922 (cert 25214), NATURALISED 8 July 1925 at Chicago (Illinois Northern District index also carries a 1926 entry): so Rocco DID become a US citizen. WWI draft 1917-18 Chicago; 1940 census Chicago; WWII draft 1942 Chicago. DIED 30 April 1971 (Find a Grave; SSDI gives March 1971), buried SAINT MARY CATHOLIC CEMETERY AND MAUSOLEUM, EVERGREEN PARK.Inherited
CHILDREN (at least seven, from Cook County birth certs + censuses): Carmela (1908), Salvatore/Sabatha, Maria Antonia (1913), ANTOINETTE (1914 - our line), Josephine, Antonio (1916), Frances Elizabeth (1924).Inherited
[CLOSED - Session 69] Both former small gaps are now settled by the Cook County death record: OCCUPATION = Laborer, and the death date = 30 April 1971. His life is now fully documented.Confirmed
Sources & Documents (10 sources)
Rocco Perino - arrival, Michigan census, naturalisation, death (multiple records) ↗Consolidated from: Pennsylvania, Philadelphia Passenger List Index (immigration 1903); US Census 1910, Ishpeming Township, Marquette, Michigan (wife Josephine; children Carmella, Sabatha); Illinois District & Circuit Court Naturalization Records (first papers 30 Jul 1912, declaration 4 Dec 1922 cert 25214, naturalised 8 Jul 1925) and Illinois Northern District Naturalization Index (1926); US Census 1940 Chicago; WWII Draft Registration 1942 Chicago; SSDI (Mar 1971) and Find a Grave (d. 30 Apr 1971, St Mary Catholic Cemetery, Evergreen Park). All birth 9 June 1884. (FamilySearch (multiple US collections))
WWI draft registration card — Rocco Perino, 1917-18 (names SIMBARIO) ↗"United States, World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918", entry for Rocco Perino and Joseppina Perino, Chicago, Illinois. Birth 9 June 1884; BIRTHPLACE SIMBARIO, CATANZARO, CALABRIA, ITALY; citizenship Italy. NARA publication M1509. THE RECORD THAT FIRST NAMED AN ITALIAN TOWN IN THIS PROJECT.FamilySearch / NARA M1509
Cook County birth certificate — Maria Antonia Perino, 1913 (both parents from SIMBARIA) ↗"Illinois, Cook County, Birth Certificates, 1871-1953", entry for Maria Antonia Perino, born 16 February 1913, Chicago; certificate 18739. Father Rocco Perino, aged 29, birthplace SIMBARIA, ITALY. Mother Giuseppina Andreachi, aged 25, birthplace SIMBARIA, ITALY. Confirms the town for BOTH spouses and Giuseppina's c.1888 birth year.FamilySearch / Cook County
Declaration of Intention — Rocco Perino, 4 December 1922 (SEMBARIO) ↗"Illinois, District and Circuit Court Naturalization Records, 1856-1991", entry for Rocco Perino and Guseppina, 4 December 1922, Cook County, Illinois; certificate 25214. Birth 9 June 1884, birthplace SEMBARIO, Italy. A third independent spelling of the same comune.FamilySearch / US District Court, N.D. Illinois
Simbario, Vibo Valentia, Calabria — place and administrative history ↗Simbario is a comune in the Province of Vibo Valentia, Calabria, about 40 km south-west of Catanzaro and 20 km east of Vibo Valentia. The Province of Vibo Valentia was created only in 1992, from territory previously in the Province of CATANZARO - which is why records made before 1992 give the province as Catanzaro. Civil registers survive from 1809; parish registers reach back to the 1600s.Wikipedia / FamilySearch Research Wiki
Surname distribution — PERINO and PERRINO (Geneanet) ↗PERINO ranked 1,985th, distribution overwhelmingly Piedmontese (Torino, Biella, Caravino, Cirie) and French. PERRINO ranked 987th, distribution southern (Gallo Matese and Alvignano in Caserta, Foggia, and Guardia Piemontese in Cosenza, Calabria). DERIVATIVE SOURCE - user-submitted trees. (Geneanet (user-submitted trees))
Portale Antenati — Italian State Archives civil registers ↗Free national portal to digitised Italian civil registers. Name index searched for ANDRIACCHI on 22 July 2026: no results. The portal states explicitly that only part of the available registers has been indexed, so this is an INDEX GAP, not evidence of absence. Control search for 'Rossi' returned 113,824 results, confirming the search function itself works. Archives for Catanzaro, Vibo Valentia, Cosenza, Reggio, Palermo and Messina all exist on the portal.Ministero della Cultura, Direzione Generale Archivi
Cook County death record — Rocco Perino, 30 April 1971 ↗"Illinois, Cook County Deaths, 1871-1998", entry for Rocco Perino and Anthony Perino, 30 Apr 1971. Age 87; birth 9 June 1883, Italy; residence 10847 W 153rd St, Orland Park, Cook; widowed; occupation Laborer; burial 3 May 1971, St Mary Cemetery, Evergreen Park; funeral home Van Henkelum; entry 311; parents Anthony Perino & Carmela Russo. RESOLVES the death-date conflict and supplies his occupation.FamilySearch / Cook County
Perino siblings — Cook County recordsIllinois Cook County Birth Certificates (Carmela Perino, b. 7 Sep 1908, parents Giuseppina Andriacchi & Rocco Perino); Cook County Deaths (Anthony Perino, b. 13 Jun 1916, d. 12 Aug 1973); SSA NUMIDENT (Frances Elizabeth Perino, b. 25 May 1924).FamilySearch
Family knowledge — supplied by BasileOral/handed-down family information supplied by P.J.B., July 2026, and the original family chart (Family Tree.rtf / FamilyTree.html).Family