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THE CARRIO AND RELATED FAMILIES
According to the 1870 census of Hancock County Mississippi, Joseph “Pepe” Carrio was born in Ireland in the year 1826. He is listed as age 55 (born 1825) in the 1880 census of Waveland, MS. Then in the 1900 census of Waveland, he is listed as born in “Feb. 1826”. Mrs. Annie Carrio Bontemps, who was one of Joe “Pepe’s oldest living granddaughters, (93 years old at the time of our interview in 1975 and of excellent mind) supplied much of the following information or verified other information. Aunt Annie, as she was called, lived in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi. She well remembered her grandfather for he died several years after her marriage in 1903. She also identified the photos that we have of Joe “Pepe” Carrio, Joe’s daughter, Virginia Carrio, and Virginia’s husband, Lucien Bourgeois.
Aunt Annie, as well as other older family members told the following story about Joe’s entry into the United States. Joe “Pepe” Carrio, himself, told much of this information, to Aunt Annie. He said that he was bom somewhere in Ireland and was only a child, approximately nine months old, when he and his parents left Ireland for the United States. His true family name was supposed to be “Murphy”. Unfortunately, while on the ship coming over, both of his parents were swept overboard and drowned. The ship eventually came to Hancock County, Mississippi, around a community near the mouth of Mulatto Bayou, which runs off the Pearl River in Southern Mississippi. We suspect the accuracy of this information because of the small size of Mulatto Bayou, it would be impossible for a “ship” of any size to navigate that small waterway. We know that the Carrio family did live on or near Mulatto Bayou from land records. We feel the source of this information simply “assumed” that is where Joseph Carrio was dropped off. A family, of Spanish origin, in that area adopted this Murphy child and named him Joseph “Pepe” Carrio. The second marriage record at Our Lady of the Gulf Catholic Church for Joe “Pepe” indicates that these people were “Francis Carrio and Suzie LeBlanc”. Joseph “Pepe’s” parents had at least two other children that will be listed later in this report.
While several of his living descendants insisted he was bom in Ireland, there is some evidence to dispute this information. In the 1900 census of Waveland, MS, Joseph Carrio himself states that he was bom in “Miss.” and his father was bom in “Louisiana” while his mother was bom in “Canada”. The 1910 Waveland census of his daughter, Virginia (Carrio) Bourgeois, says she and her father were bom in “Miss.” In the 1900 census, Virginia Bourgeois states that her father was bom in “Miss.” and her mother was bom in “Ireland.” In the 1880 census, Virginia states that she and both parents were bom in “Miss.”
In the 1880 census of Hancock County, “Joe Carreo” states that he and his wife (Mary) were bom in “Miss.”, as well as both of their parents. In the 1880 census of Mobile AL, his daughter, Mary A. (Carrio) Rolls states that she and her father were bom in “Miss.”, while her mother was bom in Ireland. Also in the 1880 census of Bay St. Louis, his daughter, Margaret (Carrio) Turcotte states that she and her father were bom in “Miss.”, and her mother was bom in Ireland.
In the 1900 and 1910 censuses of Hancock County, Seymour, a son of Joe “Pepe” Carrio states that his father was bom in “Louisiana”. Then on Seymour’s death certificate in 1933, his family states that Seymour Carrio’s father was bom in “Spain”.
The only evidence that Joe “Pepe” was bom in Ireland is found in the 1870 census of Pearlington, MS, House #498-638, where “Joseph Carris and Anna Carris” are listed as born in “Ireland”, and their children are also listed as bom in “Ireland” which we know is incorrect.
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Carrio Joseph Pepe Carrio Family of Hancock Co - Descendants and Related Lines (02)
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