It is common knowledge that the Ceppo and Lombardo families are related because there are many aunts and cousins that are common to the the two families.  But investigating the Ellis Island immigration records and talking to some of the older surviving members of these families we were able to show the very complicated relationship between these families.

But where to begin?  

If you look at the chart at the bottom of this page you will see two places where the Lombardo and Ceppo families have intermarried.

1. The Rizzo Family (Francesco Rizzo) married into the Ceppo Family (Rosalia Ceppo) in the late 1890’s. 
2. They had 3 children – Maria, Anna and Grazia.
3. Rosalia Ceppo’s brother, Liugi Ceppo married Francesca Giacalone, and had 5 children – Francesco, Pietro, Nicolo, Giuseppe, and Maria.
4. Maria Rizzo, the child of Rosalia & Francesco Rizzo married into the Lombardo Family (Giuseppe Lombardo) in the next generation.
5. Their child, Vita Lombardo, later married Pietro Ceppo, the child of Liugi and Francesca Ceppo in the following generation.

Thus Vita Lombardo was married to her “1st cousin once removed” Pietro Ceppo. You can see on the chart some of the living members of that union (as of March 2020).