Hello, I wondered which way is best to start searching in Italy. It's taken years to finally get some clues as to where they came from.
The name is Devote most probably Devoto, my grandmother always said Genoa, but is not on any paperwork until the 1911 census where in Manchester a family of Devotes she said they used to visit had put "County of Genoa" on the census. They must have been related as my lot lived in Pembroke.
More clues come with the arrival of people with similar derivations of the name, some from Chiavari not far from Genoa, but still in the province of Genoa (Genova).
It happens that nearby is a place called Campodonico, which is the name of a family that first appear on the censuses in Pembroke in 1861 lodging with the Devotes so am getting excited at finally locating where they were from.
Trouble is dates.
My Jacob Devote was here for the 1841 census and his first child was born in April 1841. He was born C1821/1820.
Many Thanks
Steven