My Ventura Family
VENTURA is my wife Sylvia's paternal line from the Palermo area of Sicily in Italy. Her grandparents, Giovanni (John) VENTURA and Giovanna (Jenni) MUSSO departed from Palermo for New York City in 1904 and 1905 respectively. Giovanni was reportedly born in Caccamo, Palermo, Sicily, and his parents were Rosario VENTURA and Maria Rosa SCIMECA. Giovanna was reportedly born in Resultana, Palermo, Sicily and her parents were Bartolomea (Benjamin) MUSSO and Antonina MARRONE. It appears that Sylvia's Great Uncle Vencinzo VENTURA was first to leave Sicily followed by his brother Giovanni (Sylvia's grandfather). Their given names were Americanized; Vencinzo became Vincent (but sometimes Jimmie) and Giovanni became John. Like many Italian families, the children were named for parents and grandparents, so cousins regularly had similar names. The children's names were also Americanized, resulting in a very confusing family to research.
At this time, it is not known if grandparents Rosario and Maria Rosa Musa Ventura or Bartolomea Musso ever emigrated from Sicily to the US, but apparently, Antonina Marrone Musso did. Research is still underway and we are looking to confirm and document the information we have.
It appears that Vincent Ventura's family remained in the New York City, but John and Jennie Ventura moved their family to Cincinnati, Ohio about 1913. His youngest brother Peter also moved to Cincinnati.
John and Jennie Ventura's son Benjamin Joseph had only one child, a son he named Benjamin Franklin Ventura. Ben F. married Jackie Zoz and going back to the Italian tradition, they had twelve children, my wife Sylvia being the oldest. Many of their twelve moved to Orlando Florida in the early 1970s. Ben and Jackie soon followed.
Above is a photo of many of their taken Christmas Eve 2015, just a few years before they both passed. Ben and Jackie are in the front center.
See historical photos of the Ventura and Zoz families.
Descendancy Chart for Guiseppe Ventura
Very interesting short history of conditions during their immigration
Return to Families page.
