Surname Information?

Question:

Surname Information?

I'm researching my family tree and my great aunt said her mother was "Clara G. Kravaeda" from Jacksonville, Florida but the surname won't return information. She said she wasn't sure how to spell it so it's possible it's Krovada or something along those lines. She said it like "Kra-Va-Dah" and said it was Italian. Can someone please try the name and variants and tell me the origin? Thanks.

Additional Details

6 days ago
Could you please post some info on Cravatta too, please?

5 days ago
Also Clara might be listed as Clara Nichols or Nikols (Maybe another form, I'm not sure how to spell it) because she was adopted.

5 days ago
For an age range on Clara, I believe it was the 1880s or 1890s but I'm pretty sure 1880s.

5 days ago
Also I believe she was born in Florida. And I know her father or great-grandfather or something like that wasn't American because he couldn't speak English.

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker: 6 days ago
Could you please post some info on Cravatta too, please?5 days ago
Also Clara might be listed as Clara Nichols or Nikols (Maybe another form, I'm not sure how to spell it) because she was adopted.5 days ago
For an age range on Clara, I believe it was the 1880s or 1890s but I'm pretty sure 1880s.5 days ago
Also I believe she was born in Florida. And I know her father or great-grandfather or something like that wasn't American because he couldn't speak English. I've tried different variations on Kravaeda. Most of them are of polish descent and you mention Italian. With that in mind, I tried the spelling Cravatta which is italian. I searched for a Clara Cravatta and couldn't find anything quickly about her but did find this..

Cravatta is the 86,435th most popular last name (surname) in the United States; frequency is 0.000%; percentile is 90.257 [SourceCBN] If it is Italian it probably wasn't spelled that way originally. I don't think they use the letter "K" in Italian.

You might email Genevieve's Mom re Cravatta. Since she has answered, she might not see your additional inquiry. If anyone on this board can find anything, it would be her. You don't give a year range, but I found the following:

Clara Corvato
Birth: Feb 1938
Residence: Fort Lauderdale, Broward, Florida

Oregon Passenger and Crew Lists, 1888-1957
Immigration

Name: Spyridon Krevatas
Arrival Date: 9 Mar 1939
Age: 46
Birthdate: abt 1893
Gender: Male
Race/Nationality: Greek
Ship Name: Mount Othrya
Port of Departure: Rotterdam, Netherlands
Port of Arrival: Portland, Oregon
Microfilm Roll Number: M1777_21

Name: Spyridon Krevatas
Birth: abt 1893
Departure: Rotterdam, Netherlands
Arrival: 9 Mar 1939 - Portland, Oregon

Name: Concetta Cravato
Birth: abt 1895
Origin: Italy
Departure: Naples, Italy
Arrival: 17 Nov 1903 - Boston, Massachusetts

Name: Guiseppe Cravato
Birth: abt 1867
Origin: Italy
Departure: Naples, Italy
Arrival: 17 Nov 1903 - Boston, Massachusetts

Name: Salvatore Cravato
Birth: abt 1875 - Siracusa
Departure: Palermo, Italy
Arrival: 6 May 1909 - New York, New York

Name: Mario Cravato
Birth: abt 1897
Departure: Lisbon, Portugal and Fonchal and Ponta Delgada, Azores, Portugal
Arrival: 24 Jul 1941 - New York, New York

Name: Mario Cravato
Birth: abt 1901
Departure: Genva Naples Oran
Arrival: 24 Sep 1927 - New York, New York

Name: Caterina Cravato
Birth: abt 1909 - Italy
Departure: Naples, Italy
Arrival: 29 Jun 1913 - New York, New York

Name: Carla Cravato
Birth: abt 1882
Departure: Napoli
Arrival: 3 Aug 1901 - New York, New York

Name: Andrea Cravato
Birth: abt 1902
Departure: Bremen
Arrival: 10 Dec 1922 - New York, New York Looking at what you have, I would strongly suggest that you need to pick up more documentation. For instance, I am not clear if Nichols is her adoptive name or married name? Are you certain that there was actually an adoption?
Locating her death certificate would provide you with her birth information (as far as it was known by the informant). This is absolutely a critical point.. you need to know her age in 1900, and hopefully be able to find her in the census for that year, and more importantly, with WHOM WAS SHE LIVING? You also need her marriage record to see what name was used at the time.
The statement that her grandfather did not speak English is important. What I gather from this, is that she was knowledgeable about not only her parents, but the grandparents. It suggests that some of them, at least, might have lived into the 1900's, and may be findable in local records.
It may also be enormous help to find an obituary, and see if there are siblings listed. Who were they? what records are accessible for them, and do they match or conflict with what you have been told?
Assuming that Jacksonville is accurate for where she was born and/or raised (these could be two different things), you may be able to find the relatives in county records.
As we often try to explain here.. NOT all information will be online. I really believe that with documentation, some of the facts will be clearer, and can be built on.