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DeJaco Family History
The DEJACO family ancestral homeland is the Land Tyrol, an Alpine region today partitioned between Austria and Italy. After World War I, Austria retained the northern and eastern parts of Tyrol, but Italy claimed the South Tirol (Südtirol) area. Tyrol is a stunningly beautiful place of folklore and legend, with spectacular Dolomite peaks and mountain landscapes dotted with picturesque rural villages and dominated by ruins of ancient fortresses and castles. Many towns have as their hub a small Catholic church built in Medieval times or earlier. South Tyrol, or Südtirol, has about the same land area (2,860 sq. mi.) as the eight county Ohio-Kentucky-Indiana (O-K-I) Region, but has only about a quarter of its population density. A large number of DEJACO family members still live in South Tyrol. With tourism becoming a major industry, the Tyrolean people are necessarily multilingual speaking German, Italian, and now even English. For some the ancient dialect known as Ladinish is their mother tongue. Südtirol has long been the vacation destination for Europeans and is noted for its skiing and other winter sports.
The DEJACO family is part of a Rhaeto-Roman linguistic minority group commonly known as Ladins. The Rhaeto-Romanics are the descendants of the original Rhaeti tribe inhabitants of the southern Alpine regions of Europe. Their ancestors are known to have survived in those remote mountain areas since the Bronze Age (1100 B.C.). The Ladinish language stems from the mix of Roman Latin with the ancient Rhaetian dialect, and it survives today. It is spoken in the Dolomite valleys of Grödner, Gader, and Badia in Südtirol; in the province of Bolzano/Bozen; in several parishes of Trentino and Belluno; and in certain Grisons of Switzerland.
In old Tyrolean Catholic Church records, the name of the DEJACO family has been written in various ways over time. It was sometimes written as Da Jaco, De Jaco, DeJako, and even DeJacco. The literal meaning is simply "from Jaco" and is identified as the son or daughter of an ancestral father whose name is "Jacob". In Ladinish, men with the name "Jacob" are called "Jaco". At times the name was written all together as Dejaco or DeJaco. After the First World War during Fascism, the Italian government appointed the mayors and local officials in South Tyrol. They didn't understand either the German culture or the Ladinish culture. In an attempt to Italianize all the population, the German and Ladinish names were either changed, translated into Italian, or written using an Italian spelling. So it is that DEJACO was written DEIACO because in Italian the "J" is not commonly used, and is very rarely used in Christian or family names. So, in fact, DA JACO, DE JACO, DEJACO, DEJAKO, DEJACCO, and DEIACO are all the same.
Tyroleans were no strangers to conflict and often found it necessary to take up arms when called upon for national or religious causes. The DEJACO Family of Tyrol, Austria, coat-of-arms description is as follows - ARMS: Gules, an eagle displayed argent; CREST: A star of four points argent, the upper point ensigned with a torteau, surmounted of another like star bendways, at the end of each point a torteau; MANTLING: Argent and gules. It dates to around the year 1458, and coincides with the Christian crusade called by Pope Pius II against the Turkish threat of Sultan Mehmet II. The Rietstap Armorial General identified two other coats of arms. The DALMATIE coat of arms, with ARGENT THREE CYPRUS TREES ERADICATED, in FESS, VERT and a CYPRUS TREE crest, has origins with the JAHO family in the territories along the northeastern coast of the Adriatic, and dates back to the 1500s. The NEUFSCHATEL coat of arms, with GULES on a COUPEAU in BASE ARGENT, A LION RAMPANT between in CHIEF TWO MULLETS OR and a OSTRICH PROPER crest, has origins with the JACHO family of Switzerland.
Every life is in itself a treasure - something special. Often lives are treasured because they are blessed in long living years; others because of the accomplishments achieved within a life span. A few will dedicate their entire life to God; others will struggle against adversity just so their families can survive. At times life is taken back early, even in infancy, and these lives are precious too. Perhaps the most cherished lives are those snuffed out prematurely, due to accident, disease, child-bearing, or the violence of war. Some fulfill their dreams and perfect their God-given talents; yet others are not so blessed. There are those beloved for their gracious, caring, and loving nature; others are remembered for a more stern, perhaps inflexible demeanor. There are those who will provide for us insight into their own life story; others will prefer that their story is lost forever with the passing of time. Regardless, every life is a treasure. This history is an inventory of our family's treasures.
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| Norbert F. & Sally A.
(Beiting) DeJaco
134 Burdsall Avenue Fort Mitchell, KY. 41017 |
Created 11 Nov 2009 with RootsMagic Genealogy Software