Cristina Polletta Investigation - 1 May 2026

Scope

Focused review of Cristina/Christina Polletta, wife of Domenico Ricciardi and mother of Mary Ricciardi Iacofano.

No 01_people/ records were updated. The current canonical person remains person-cristina-polletta-1891 with medium confidence, because the strongest Cristina-specific birth, parent, marriage, and naturalization facts are still in proposed sources.

Working Identity

Cristina Polletta is very likely the same woman recorded under these forms:

  • Cristina in Domenico Richardi's accepted 1920 declaration.
  • Polletta, Cristina in the proposed 1921 S.S. Regina d'Italia manifest.
  • Christania Ricciardo in the proposed 1930 census household.
  • Pauletta (Christina) in Mary Ricciardi's accepted 1941 marriage record.
  • Christina (nee Polletta) Ricciardi in Mary's accepted 2018 obituary.
  • Ricciardi, Cristina, alias Polletta, in the proposed Fold3/NARA naturalization metadata.
  • POLLETTA, CRISTINA and CRISTINA RICCIARDI in the proposed FamilySearch image-backed naturalization-file sources.

The identity link is strong because the records repeatedly connect the same cluster: Domenico/Dominic/Domenick Ricciardi, Cristina/Christina/Christania, Mary/Maria, Nick/Nicola, Angie/Angelina, Cleveland, and San Giuliano/S. Giuliano or Italy.

Evidence By Source

Accepted Records

  • private record records Domenico's wife as Cristina, born in Italy and residing in Italy in
    1. It does not state her maiden surname.
  • private record records Mary Ricciardi's parents as Dominic Ricciardi and Pauletta (Christina).
  • source-obituary-mary-iacofano-2018 records Mary's parents as Domenic Ricciardi and Christina (nee Polletta) Ricciardi.

These accepted records support Cristina as Mary's mother and support Polletta or Pauletta as the maternal surname/name form, but none gives Cristina's parents, exact birth date, or Italian marriage.

Proposed Records

  • private record records Polletta, Cristina, age 30, married, housewife, last residence and birthplace S. Giuliano, Campobasso, destination Cleveland, and joining husband Ricciardi Domenico at what appears to be 2021 Murray Hill Road, Cleveland, Ohio.
  • Visual recheck of the 1921 manifest during this pass supports the existing source transcription. The nearest-relative line appears to name her mother as Maria Carlegna, though Cardegna or another close reading remains possible from the image. Do not create a parent lead from this alone.
  • private record records Christania Ricciardo, age 39, wife of Domenick Ricciardo, born Italy, age at first marriage 23, with children Mary, Nick, and Angie born in Ohio.
  • private record records wife Cristina, born January 1891 in Italy and living in Cleveland. It also names children Maria, Nicola, and Angelina, but its child birthplace lines conflict with the 1930 census and Mary's accepted 1941/2018 records.
  • source-fold3-index-for-cristina-ricciardi-naturalization-file-1942-1944 is metadata only, but it reports a three-image NARA/Fold3 naturalization file for Ricciardi, Cristina, birth country Italy, alias Polletta, with a 1943 petition and 1944 oath.
  • private record records POLLETTA, CRISTINA, certificate of arrival no. 7-192175, arrival at New York on 19 December 1921 aboard the S.S. Regina d'Italia, and certificate issue date 10 July 1942.
  • private record records CRISTINA RICCIARDI, born 10 February 1891 in S. Giuliano del Sannio, Campobasso, Italy; residence at 2021 Random Rd., Cleveland; marriage to Domenico on 20 April 1913 at S. Giuliano del Sannio; children Maria, Nicola, and Angelina; and arrival under a Polletta/Pollette name form on 19 December 1921.
  • private record records the witness affidavits of Anna De Tomaso and Carolina Salvatore on 15 December 1943, Cristina's oath in open court on 27 April 1944, and certificate no. 6366098.

Current Best Read

Cristina was probably born on 10 February 1891 in San Giuliano del Sannio, Campobasso, Italy. This is still proposed because the exact date comes from a self-reported naturalization petition rather than her Italian birth record, but it matches the manifest's S. Giuliano, Campobasso locality and Domenico's strongest Italian-locality lane.

The 1930 census age-at-first-marriage fields imply a marriage around 1914: Domenick age 38, first married at 22; Christania age 39, first married at 23. Cristina's 1943 naturalization petition gives a more specific marriage date of 20 April 1913 at S. Giuliano del Sannio. That makes San Giuliano del Sannio marriage records around 1913 the best Italian target for confirming Cristina's surname, parents, and exact birth details.

Cristina's possible mother is a promising but unproved clue. The 1921 manifest appears to name nearest relative mother Maria Carlegna; because the surname is not crystal clear and the source itself remains proposed, this should stay as a transcription note until a San Giuliano birth or marriage record corroborates it.

Open Questions

  • Is Cristina's surname written Polletta, Pauletta, Polletti, or another local spelling in her own Italian birth or marriage record?
  • Was Cristina born in San Giuliano del Sannio around January 1891?
  • Who were Cristina's parents? Is the manifest's apparent mother Maria Carlegna accurate, or is the surname a different reading such as Cardegna?
  • Can the 20 April 1913 Domenico Ricciardi/Cristina Polletta marriage in San Giuliano del Sannio be confirmed in the Italian civil register?
  • Can Cristina's 10 February 1891 birth date and parents be confirmed in the Italian civil register?

Recommended Next Steps

  1. Review and, if appropriate, accept private record. It is the strongest current document for Cristina's maiden-name form, birthplace, and 1921 migration.
  2. Review and, if appropriate, accept the three proposed Cristina naturalization file sources ingested from FamilySearch images 810-812 of image group 007779259.
  3. In signed-in FamilySearch, Antenati, FamilySearch Center, or Archivio di Stato di Campobasso access, browse San Giuliano del Sannio marriage indexes and records around 1913 for Domenico Ricciardi and Cristina Polletta/Pauletta.
  4. If the marriage is not found there, browse San Giuliano del Sannio births around January 1891 for Cristina Polletta/Pauletta and then nearby Campobasso comuni only after the San Giuliano search is negative.

Repo Notes

  • No canonical person update was made because the key Cristina-specific sources remain proposed.
  • No parent lead was created for Maria Carlegna/Cardegna because the manifest reading is not yet corroborated by an Italian civil record.
  • Existing human-input items still cover restricted/manual Italian civil-register work. The former Cristina naturalization-image blocker was updated to keep only the unresolved Domenico file-retrieval work open.