The Zuvela Surname

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Dalmatia (the dark purple) within todays modern Croatia The island of Korcula is marked red.

The Zuvela surname has strong roots originating from the western end of the island of Korcula in Croatia. Its original spelling was Xuvella. Another variation on the surname is Zuvella. In the Croatian language the Z in Zuvela is actually Ž. The ž is pronounced as J in French (zh).

The Zuvela’s arrived on the west end of Korčula [1] in the early 1600’s and settled in a small field called Rasohatica (previously know as: Rasohatija). There are still small remnants of stone huts there to this day. First time the surname Xuvella was mentioned was in Blato (previously know as: Blatta) in a document dated 2nd of February 1642.[2] At the time, Korčula was part of the Republic of Venice within the Venetian Dalmatia province.[3] From where the original Xuvellas migrated is still a mystery to this editor. The Republic of Venice did accept refugees and migrants within her boundaries during her long history. They came from all parts of Europe. Many of them were from Spain [4][5] as well as Christians from the Ottoman Empire which ruled the Balkans for centuries.[6]

Rasohatica-One of the first stone Zuvela (Xuvella) houses on the island (1600s)


The Zuvelas abandoned Rasohatica and moved to the village of Blato. From there members of the Zuvela family moved to (and helped to establish) the town of Vela Luka (previously know as: Vallegrande). In more modern times they have migrated to Australia as well as the United States and other parts of the world.

The information concerning the early Zuvelas of Korčula is taken from a local 19th century historian from Blato called Nikola Ostojic (below):

 
“ 		 

36. Xuvella. Of these people I don’t have any history except for their primitive residence that was in Rasohatica from where they moved to Blato (Velikom Ucijaku). Afterwards from the 1700s they built large houses and floors/attics/lofts which now remain largely empty because of their move to Vela Luka [7]
 

„
 

He wrote a book about the town of Vela Luka in 1853. The book was published in 1953. It was originally written in Italian with a Venetian dialect. Italian was the official language of the Dalmatian province[8] at the time and had been so for centuries.

In the 1860s Croatian which was sometimes referred to as Illirski in the 19th century [9] was introduced by the Austrian authorities as a second standardised language within the Kingdom of Dalmatia. It then slowly replaced Italian altogether.Thus the name Xuvella became Žuvela. From the late 19th century onwards the Dalmatian Italian culture has all but disappeared from the region. The last Italian language government school was abolished in Korčula (previously know as: Curzola) on the 13th of September 1876.[10][11]

  • Beginnings of Formal Education - Vela Luka states:
 
“ 		 

Italian language was not only the official language in all public Dalmatian establishments, but also was the spoken language in a significant number of white-collar, civil service and merchant families in the cities and major markets within towns [12]
 

„
 

Historically the mother tongue of the majority of the population of the island of Korčula (in particularly the west end) is old Croatian.[13] The Korčula dialect [14] of local Croatian language acquired many influences over the centuries, such as the now extinct Latin Romance language Dalmatian,[15] Venetian and others.

Note: According to www.familysearch.org a one Mike Zuvella was born on 14th March 1884 in the city of San Francisco-California, USA (died Oct 1970). [16]

Vela Luka Primary School - Osnovna Škola "Vela Luka" info

Below is information taken from the Vela Luka Primary School records. It mentions one Xuvella Giacobbo di Francesco:

  • School year 1862./63.; III. r. (grade) Xuvella Giacobbo di Francesco [17]

Images

Detail of Nikola Ostojic's writing (p29).
Vela Luka (Croatia) on the island of Korčula. Nikola Ostojic referred to as Vallegrande.


A Zuvela Trullo. According to the locals (Vela Luka) the Zuvelas built Trulli. Locally they are referred to as a Vrtuljak.














New York Passenger Arrival Lists (Ellis Island), 1892-1924

A Korcula postcard from 1902 in Italian. The last Italian language government school was abolished in Korcula on the 13th of September 1876.

In 1907 a young 18 year old Peter Zuvela arrived in New York. On the "List or Manifest of alien Passengers for the U.S Immigration Officer at port of arrival" his name is registered as Peter Ante Zuvela. Later for some reason it was change to Peter Zuvola. In the actual Immigration Manifest there is mention of another Zuvela, both were registered as Non Immigration Aliens.

Below info taken from familysearch.org.[18]

  • Given name: Peter A...
  • Surname: Zuvola
  • Last place of residence: Vela Luka
  • Date of arrival: 08 Mar 1907
  • Age at arrival: 18y
  • Ethnicity: Austrian, Dalmatian
  • Port of departure: Trieste
  • Port of arrival: New York
  • Gender: Male
  • Marital status: S
  • US citizen:
  • Ship of travel: Pannonia

New York Passenger Arrival Lists (Ellis Island)

A Vela Luka-Vallegrande postcard from the early 1900s written in Croatian and Italian. Photo taken by E. Furlani

List from Korcula:

The speling is per the New York Passenger Arrival Lists of Ellis Island.

1. Doda Marino Zuvela - Curzola 1901

2. Kokot Vinc. Zuvela - Corzola 1901

3. Iroce Nicolo Zuvela - Vallegrande 1902

4. Petrun Antonio Zuvela - Vallegrande 1902

5. Antonio Zuvela - Vollegrande 1903

6. Geovanni Zuvela - Triest 1903

7. Luigia Zuvela - Velaluha, Austria 1904

8. Doda Zuvela - Velaluha, Austria 1904

9. Vincenzo Zuvela - Vallegrande 1904

10. Piotr Zuvela-Kroz..., Austria 1905

11. Giorgis Zuvela - Cuyola 1906

12. Marin Zuvela - Veloluka 1906

13. Petar Zuvela - Veloluka 1906

14. Ivan Zuvela - Blatto, Dalmatia 1910

15. Tote Zuvela - Blato, Austria 1910

16. Marko Zuvela - Blatto, Dalmatia 1910

17. Jerko Zuvela - Velaluka 1912

18. Yela Zuvela - Vallegrande, Austria 1914

19. Petar Zuvela - Raguse, Herzegov (USA) 1920 [1]

Additional:

THE OLD XUVELLAs

Based on the records which are avaible to me, I have come to this conclusion written below. My research is largely based on the writings of Zvonko Maricich and Nikola Ostojic plus three Family Trees of the Zuvelas that were kindly given to me.

CONCLUSION

The Xuvellas arrived on the island of Korčula in the 1630s, then part of the Republic of Venice. Most likely refugees, they settled in the west end of Korčula (back then referred to as Curzola [19]). They set up residency in a small field called Rasohatica (then called Rasohatija), they had two sons who where Antonio Xuvella and Cosma Xuvella. Antonio marred FRANCISCA (Frana) and they had two sons. The two sons were Matteo Xuvella born 1670 (modern Croatian: Matija) and Marino born 1675 (modern Croatian: Marin). Cosma Xuvella had a son called Giovanni Xuvella, year mentioned 1672 (modern Croatian: Kuzma and Giovanni is Ivan in Croatian).

One has to ask, is it possible that the Zuvela families are all descended from the individuals mention above? It’s most likely true.

The early Zuvelas were no time wasters. A Mr Antonio Xuvella in the 1640s was an owner of no less than 211 sheep. The Xuvellas moved to the near by village of Blato (then called Blatta) and bought houses and properties there.

For many centuries Romance Latin language called Dalmatian and the old Croatian Chakavian language were the norm on the island. With time these languages started to overlap. By the time Zuvelas arrived on the island the majority of the population of the island of Korčula (in particularly the west end) spoke old Croatian with a heavy mix of the Romance Dalmatian language, and with influences of Venetian. So with time verbally Antonio would become Ante. Written language was a different story, Latin and Venetian were the standard written language back then so Antonio still existed in written form. It is quite possible that both verbally Antonio and Ante were used at first with Antonio slowly disappearing from local language. In 1797 the island of Korčula was no longer part of the Republic of Venice. The last Italian language government school was abolished in the town of Korčula on the 13th of September 1876.

Currently my thoughts on the actual word Xuvella as a surname might have been created (or reinterpret) with the Zuvelas arrival on the island in the early 1600s, which signalled a new fresh start for the family.

See also

Notes and References

  1. ^ In Croatian the c in Korcula is pronounced ch and is written "č".
  2. ^ Vela Luka od 1490 do 1834 by Zvonko Maričić (p168)
  3. ^ John Everett-Healu. "Dalmatia." Concise Dictionary of World Place-Names. Oxford University Press. 2005. Encyclopedia.com
  4. ^ Dalmatia and Montenegro: With a Journey to Mostar in Herzegovina -Volume 1 by John Gardner Wilkinson (p116).
  5. ^ There is a theory that the Xuvellas were Spanish-Jews who were expelled in 1493 from Spain. From there they moved to northern Italy and then to the Republic of Venice. Referenced from www.webanswers.com. Jew in old Venetian is abreo, xudio and sabadai. Xuàne in Venetian is John and Jovàni (j is spoken as in French Jardin). The Latin Iudaeus means Judaean, "from the land of Judaea".
  6. ^ The Land of 1000 Islands by Igor Rudan Copyright © 2006 by the Croatian Medical Journal. All rights reserved.
    • "However, the clashes between the Ottoman Empire and Venetian Republic produced extensive migrations from the mainland areas, especially from today's Bosnia and Herzegovina, to the eastern parts of the islands of Brac, Hvar, Korcula, and Pag."
  7. ^ Vela Luka-Historijsko Topografski Prikaz by Nikola Ostojić
  8. ^ Osnovna Škola "Vela Luka" Vela Luka Zbornik-150 Godina Školstva u Velaoj Luci (p12)
  9. ^ Illyricum was a province of the Roman Empire. It was named after one of the indigenous peoples in that region.
  10. ^ The Italians of Dalmatia by Luciano Monzali (p83)
  11. ^ Editor's Note: In the neighbouring Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia (within the Austro-Hungarian) a Croatian nationalistic movement was established and alongside that, within the Balkan region a Pan-Slavic movement was growing (the beginnings of the ill fated Yugoslavia). These political on goings started to be felt in the Kingdom of Dalmatia. The Austrians in the 1860s started to introduce (a process of Croatisation) within the Kingdom of Dalmatia a standardised Croatian language sometimes referred to as Illirski. It then replaced Italian altogether. In effect the government undertook culture genocide. For centuries the Italian language was the official language of the Dalmatian establishment. It was also the spoken language in white-collar, civil service and merchant families. For a few years Italian schools were still being run privately in the Kingdom of Dalmatia, i.e the city of Zadar and Split (Lega Nazionale at Spalato).
  12. ^ The Early Beginnings of Formal Education - Vela Luka (beginnings of literacy and Lower Primary School 1857 – 1870) (p.12 written in Croatian, Vela Luka Zbornik-150 Godina Školstva u Velaoj Luci)
  13. ^ Editors note: Recent DNA studies have stated that more than three quarters of today's Croatian men are the descendants of Europeans who inhabited Europe 13 000-20 000 years ago. The term Slav was first used by the Byzantines (i.e. Procopius-Byzantine scholar, Jordanes- 6th century Roman bureaucrat) and was recorded in the 6th century (cia. 550) in Greek (Σκλαβῖνοι-Sklabenoi). Later in Latin it was written Sclaveni. Slavic tribes invaded the region of Roman Dalmatia in the early Middle Ages. Prior to the arrival of the Slavs, Roman Dalmatia was mainly inhabited by a Roman Latin-Illyrian population. The first primary source (factual-that its authenticity isn't disputed) to mention the Croatian-Hrvat identity in the Balkans was Duke Branimir (Latin: "Branimiro comite dux cruatorum cogitavit" c. 880 AD). Branimir was a Slav from Dalmatia.
  14. ^ The local dialect is sometimes referred to as Naski or more correctly Naški. The š is pronounced sh.
    • Sir John Gardner Wilkinson (an 19 century English historian. October 5, 1797 – October 29, 1875) was an English traveller, writer and pioneer Egyptologist of the 19th century. He is often referred to as "the Father of British Egyptology".
    • He referred to the Dalmatian Slavic dialect as Illirskee. Cited from Dalmatia and Montenegro: With a Journey to Mostar in Herzegovina by Sir John Gardner Wilkinson. (p33)
  15. ^ Collegium Antropologicum, Volumes 15-16 by Croatian Anthropological Society-1991. (p311)
  16. ^ www.familysearch.org: Mike Zuvella
  17. ^ Osnovna Škola "Vela Luka" Vela Luka Zbornik-150 Godina Školstva u Velaoj Luci (p50)
    • The Early Beginnings of Formal Education - Vela Luka (beginnings of literacy and Lower Primary School 1857 – 1870):
    "The article analyses the preparations for the foundation of the first regular primary school in Vela Luka based on numerous archival materials and bibliography. The school was founded as Scuola Elementare Minore in 1857. The introductory part examines a general context, i.e. development of Vela Luka as a town and a parish until the-mid 19th century. The article also gives a brief outline of formal education of girls."
  18. ^ www.familysearch.org: Peter A... Zuvola
  19. ^ Sir John Gardner Wilkinson in his book 'Dalmatia and Montenegro' (his travels during 1844 - published in 1848) writes: "The Isle of Curzola is called in Illyric Korçula ..... " Dalmatia and Montenegro: With a Journey to Mostar in Herzegovina by Sir John Gardner Wilkinson. (p256)

Gallery-Zuvela Crosses & FX signature

From left to right. (click to enlarge)

  • Zuvela cross near Rasohatica (next to Krusevo). Built in 1818.
  • Zuvela cross (Brbe) at Vincidur. Built in 1761.
  • FX signature from 1837. X is for Xuvella.
  • Zuvela Cross near Rasohatica.jpg
  • Zuvela Cross.jpg
  • FX Signature 1837.jpg

External links

The Chapel of Saint Cosmas (Kuzma) and Saint Damian on the island of Korcula. The foundations are from the 6th century AD (Roman), whilst the rest of the Chapel was rebuilt in the 11 century. The Chapel is near by Blato and Rasohatica. Photo by Peter Zuvela



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