Hi Bonnie,
I doubt of any of this will be useful, but it's worth a try.
My ggGrandmother is Anna Maria Patunosi. I have a document that clearly spells it " P a t u n o s i", however, I have never been able to find anything, anywhere, with that surname. Therefore, I wonder if it could be related to your Paonessa.
She married Gaetano (or Domenic, depending on the document) Ciambrone. They had at least 5 children and 1 of them is Maria, but not your Maria - I have her husband's and descendants' names.
You can reach me at
vincentemartinelli@charter.net