De Risio

A brief history and chart from the 11th century to the 20th century

The earliest recorded precursor of the surname De Risio can be found in medieval Italy, in the fortress town of Monteodorisio. The foundation of the name can be attributed to Odorisio, Count of Marsi, who is credited with having built the fortress in the 11th century, A number of extant documents and inscriptions refer to the Counts and Barons De Risio of southern Abruzzo between the 11th and 15th centuries.

In the 11th century, history records two great abbots of the Church, Oderisio I and Oderisio II, in the area of Fossacesia. Abbot Oderisio I built the Abbey of San Giovanni in Venere in 1051 and the fortress of Rocca San Giovanni in 1066.

Little is known or much remains undiscovered about the name until the 16th century when Camillo De Risio (b. 1575 in Casalbordino) moved to Scerni (Province of Chieti) in 1601. Camillo may have descended from Giovanni Antonio Riso, a Neapolitan nobleman who was appointed "Giustiziere d'Abruzzi" (Executioner of Abruzzi) by the king of Naples. The Riso family produced many well-documented warriors between the 12th and 15th centuries. Historians attribute the Riso line to Odorisius who originated in either England or Germany.

The kingdoms of Italy and Naples were possessions of the Habsburg and Bourbon dynasties from the end of the 15th century until the Risorgimento in 1861. Sometime during the 16th century reign of Charles I of Spain (later Holy Roman Emperor Charles V), Italian nobles, following the Spanish fashion, began to attach the particle <de> to names as an indicator of nobility. It was probably during this time that the letter "O" was dropped from Oderisio and the "de" was separated to form the name de Risio or De Risio. Although speculative, it is not unreasonable to reconstruct the evolution of the name as follows:

Beginning in the 17th century, there is plentiful documentary evidence of the De Risio line contained in church, municipal and provincial records. Although there are many branches, the companion chart to this synopsis will list only the primary line emanating from an unknown progenitor to Camillo through the 16th generation of De Risio males. The secondary or "Evangelista" line is included only as a reference and is not complete.

Research and/or information provided by the late Emilio De Risio, Piera Badia and Gary De Risio. 

No part may be reproduced or quoted without permission.

Maternal Family Line

Diehl >>Teel

Originating with a generation before Claus Diehl was born in 1580 in Annweiler am Trifels on the Südliche Weinstrasse in Rheinland-Pfalz Germany, my maternal family name was Diehl.  Johan Adam Diehl (b. 1690) and his eldest son Johann Daniel Diehl (b. 1713) arrived in Pennsylvania aboard the ship "Samuel" at the port of Philadelphia in late August, 1739.   The family's youngest child, Johann Adam Diehl (b. 1734) arrived sometime later, likely accompanied by other older family members.  Johann Adam fathered Adam Johann, whose name at the time of his birth in York, Pennsylvania in 1769 is recorded as the rather Anglo-sounding "Teel" rather than the original German name Diehl. All future generations to date have since been known by the name Teel.  The majority of the first generation of Teels born in America were born before or during the early years of the Revolutionary War.  The Teels eventually moved to Virginia and Tennessee, and then to Texas where my great-great grandfather Elijah Alexander Teel served as a corporal in Co. A of the 29th Texas Cavalry in the army of the Confederate States of America. My great grandfather, Lewis Alexander Teel was born in Denton, Texas in 1863. The Teels and several other families packed up their belongings into an ox-drawn wagon train of 30 wagons along with 400 head of cattle and headed west from Texas to California in 1870. The journey took nine months as the covered wagons crossed through El Paso and Tucson.  My mother's family settled in Orange County where my grandfather was born in Garden Grove in 1905.  

Research by Gary De Risio. 

No part may be reproduced or quoted without permission.

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