I have finally been able to confirm the Sicari-Segari connection via a Segari family member's vintage letter from her grandfather in which the name was spelled "Sicari."
When the Sicari group arrived in New Orleans, I think the name . . .mutated (for lack of a more accurate term). . . into phonetic approximations: Segari, Segree, etc. My branch-- the Segrees of the Florida Panhandle-- started off in the 1860's and 1870's being the "Segares" and the "Sigires" until they finally settled on the "Segrees." At least five other spellings appeared in official documents.
I am trying to sort all this out:
1. Who is the common ancestor-- perhaps the family patriarch-- of the Louisiana Segaris and the Florida Segrees?
2. What ship or ships did they travel on from Palermo to New Orleans ? So far, most of the online passengers lists I find are missing the 1850-1860 Palermo-to-New Orleans ships. Or is it possible they didn't come through New Orleans?
3. Where in the Sicily did they come from? It appears to be the Province of Palermo, but that's all I know. They were fisherfolk, so I suppose their town was coastal. There was a clan of Sicaris on the island of Ustica that came to New Orleans about the same the Segaris/Segrees did. But any coastal town in that province-- including the city of Palermo-- is a possibility.
Thoughts? Info?
Lea Pritchett,
granddaughter of Vera Segree