On this day 107 years ago my grandfather Edoardo arrived in America. He had traveled from Palermo to Naples to board the ship Marco Minghetti, departing on May 8, 1901. He was 14 years old and was traveling with his 12 yr old brother, Giuseppe. The brothers were going to be reunited with their widowed mother, Vincenza, and with two brothers and two sisters who had come to America the previous year. Two of Vincenza's children remained in Palermo, the oldest son Bartolomeo who was already married and with children and Rosalia, a nun. Bartolomeo came to visit his mother in Brooklyn twice and stayed for two years after which he returned to Palermo.
Originally the family settled in Brooklyn but later the siblings started to branch out to other states, mainly to New Jersey and California. My grandfather started heading south looking for warmer climate, similar to the climate of his native Sicily. Georgia and Florida did not seem to be the place for him and eventually he made it to Puerto Rico and settled on the west coast, where he found a small cluster of Italians living in the town of Aguadilla.
This photograph is the only family picture that we have of our paternal family after immigrating. Top row, left to right, Edoardo, Bartolomeo, and Ignazio. Bottom row, left to right, Graziella, Giuseppe, Vincenza, Antonino and Giuseppina.
The paternal home in Palermo, known in our family as Villa Nave, has been in the family for more than 200 years. This is the house where my grandfather was born and from where he left to come to America. The house belonged to the La Mantia, my great-grandmother's family. This picture was taken on my first trip to Palermo to meet my cousins in 1999.
My grandfather in the second story balcony (same balcony seen in the photo above) in Villa Nave in 1957.
My grandfather outside of Villa Nave with Giuseppina, the young wife of his nephew, Ignazio. Kneeling is a niece on his mother's side. I met Ignazio and Giuseppina on my first visit. Ignazio died the following year but his wife still lives in Villa Nave.
This is a letter written by my great-grandmother to her brother Giovanni in Palermo. The date is January 10, 1907.
" Dearest brother Giovanni, with this letter I inform you that we are in good health and I hope to hear the same from you and your family."
Closing paragraph of the letter: "I close sending greetings to our brothers, sister-in-law and nieces, to our brother-in-law, our sister and daughter. Hugs to your unfortunate (poor) children and accept a kiss from your sister.”
Comments (9)
Maria, I loved this blog entry. So appropriate with memorial day upon us.
I must tell you that I envy your ability to look back at such a "recent" immigrant experience in your family.
My families on both sides have been in America for so long, and we have become such "mutts", it is impossible to trace back to other countries.
Posted by Deborah | May 25, 2008 1:42 PM
Posted on May 25, 2008 13:42
Maria, I also loved this post. I think it is so cool that you were able to go back and see the building that has been in your family for so long. I hope to start researching my ancestors also. Unfortunately, I've waited too long to hear the stories directly from my parent or grandparents.
Posted by Marta | May 25, 2008 3:23 PM
Posted on May 25, 2008 15:23
Marìa, what a wonderful story! I love that you have this letter - what a gift to be able to "hear" the voice of your great-grandmother.
Posted by Anne | May 25, 2008 6:04 PM
Posted on May 25, 2008 18:04
Hi Maria, I also love this entry. What an incredible thing to know where you come from.
It's so cool to have such wonderful remembrances of your family like these photos and your great grandmother's letter. I also think it's quite special to hear the words of your great grandmother through her letter.
Thank you so much for sharing these personal family memories with us.
Posted by Kathy (Trekcapri) | May 26, 2008 8:47 AM
Posted on May 26, 2008 08:47
Deborah, I wrote this entry the first week of May without thinking that May 25 was going to fall on Memorial Day weekend. I also thought that it was very appropriate. I have great admiration for my great-grandmother for her courage in coming to America with such a large family and for my uncles who served in the military during the Korean War and my brother who served during the Vietnam War.
Marta, Seeing the paternal home and the bedrooms where the children slept was an awesome experience. Good luck on your genealogy research. It is an incredible experience to find the family roots and to discover along the way little known facts about our ancestors.
Anne, Finding the letter was such a big discovery for us. It is amazing how much we learned about Vincenza. She was a strong woman with a very loving heart.
Kathy, Knowing our paternal roots has brought so much joy to our family. It also opened a new world that we knew existed but didn't know how wonderful it was until we actually met our Italian cousins.
Posted by María I. | May 26, 2008 3:47 PM
Posted on May 26, 2008 15:47
Wonderful photos, I envy you the rich detail you've found of your family's history! I'm trying to do the same, with family roots in Ireland, and it's a bit of a slog. Thanks for sharing this.
Posted by sandrac | May 27, 2008 2:57 PM
Posted on May 27, 2008 14:57
Maria, I so enjoyed reading your family history and especially the pictures and letter. How exciting for you to have been able to visit Italy and step back into time.
I've been doing some research on my grandparents on the Ellis Island site and have found some interesting information.
My mother, who was born here, passed away in 2000. Prior to her death a cousin video taped an interview with her where she gave a detailed account of her parents coming to America and a lot of early family history. We now have the tape on a CD and I'm thrilled to have this remembrance of my mother. She had an amazing memory and I only wish mine was as good.
Posted by Carole | May 27, 2008 2:58 PM
Posted on May 27, 2008 14:58
Sandra, Good luck on researching your family roots. It has taken my family more than 20 years to learn everything we know about our paternal line. Genealogy research is slow but so rewarding.
Carole, I was so thrilled when the Ellis Island records were placed on the Web. There’s so much information on those records. And how wonderful that you have that CD of your Mom. What a treasure for future generations!
Posted by María I. | May 27, 2008 5:41 PM
Posted on May 27, 2008 17:41
Great post! I love the photos. Everyone in the family photo looks so serious and I love the names (have a few of them in my family history also). How cool to be able to visit the home of your family and to meet cousins and other relatives. The letter tells so much also. I'm so glad you shared this.
Posted by girasoli | May 30, 2008 11:34 PM
Posted on May 30, 2008 23:34