[TI] Corso name in Termini

[Fr. Anthony Delisi]

There are five names in the Baptismal rocords of 1542-48 with the name
Corso.

PAX. fr. Anthony Delisi

-----Original Message-----
From: terminiimerese-bounces at comunesofitaly.org
[mailto:terminiimerese-bounces at comunesofitaly.org] On Behalf Of Thomas
Corso, PhD
Sent: Thursday, August 27, 2009 4:03 PM
To: terminiimerese at comunesofitaly.org
Subject: Re: [TI] Corso name in Termini

Dear TI group, I have an academic challenge for you all.

I would really like to have the more critical members of our group
securitize my logic and let me know what parts of my logic and
assumptions you disagree with or if you can suggest more accurate
estimates.  

I apologize for the scientist part of me, but Last night I did an
internet search of all the Corso records in the Termini database between
1820 and 1910.  There are now over 4000 records.  (Although I did this
for Corso's, I am extending the logic for any family from Termini).
 
So to estimate how many different Corso families there were in Termini
during this time, I limited the search to how many male Corso's got
married in this time span and there were 168.  (Please don't ask me how
long it took me to counts these, my wife thought I was nuts.)

Since this number spans about 3 generations and a large number of these
families left Termini and moved to Palermo, northern Italy, the U.S. and
other places after 1850 (at least part of my Corso line moved to Palermo
in 1850), I then looked only at about one generation of names (30
years), limiting it to between 1820 and 1850.  The number of male Corso
marriages was 41 in this 30 year span, so this is my estimate of how
many Corso Families there were in Termini in the mid 1800's.  
 
I noticed that on average, each family produced about 8-12 kids, but due
to cholera only about 4 of them ever lived long enough to marry and thus
there were only about 2 males that lived long enough to carry the family
name forward per generation.  I would then estimate (going at about 30
years per generation) that there would have been about 80 Corso families
by 1880 and 160 by 1910.  Add these together and we have 280 total
(during this 3 generation period).  I only found 168, the difference
implying that about 112 families left Termini during this time.
 
Going the other direction, my estimate is that these 40 families in the
mid 1800's are actually the extension of about 20 families living in
Termini around 1820.  If my logic is correct, then there would be about
10 Corso families in the late 1700's and about 5 in the mid 1700's.  

I am only guessing, but I put forth the hypothesis that there was a
single Corso family in Termini around 1600.  This would make all Termini
Corso's no father apart than maybe 12th to 15th Cousins.  I also have
reason to believe, based on what I have read that family names did not
become common until around 1500-1600.

I just went out on a limb here and I think I hear the branch cracking.
I am not a historian and I am very much outside my field of expertise,
but let me know your thoughts about my logic here.  I am hoping someone
out there that actually does know what they are talking about could shed
light on my ideas and set me straight.

Tom  

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