Acknowledgement
The research Anthony Vermandois has done into the families of Agropoli forms the basis of our exploration into the Serrapede and Muro families in Agropoli. Anthony shares his findings at his website, Imagines Maiorum-Ancestors from Campania.
The family of Gennaro and Rosa Serrapede in New York
This posting concludes our brief review of the family of Gennaro and Rosa Serrapede in New York. We definitely want to know more and will continue our search.
Gennaro and Rosa were:
Sammy’s Great Aunt and Uncle. Their children are his First Cousins 2x removed.
EmilyAnn’s Great-Great Aunt and Uncle. Their children are her First Cousins 3x removed.
Transatlantic Commuting
1903 passenger list from the Citta di Napoli.
In 1903 Gennaro made another Trans-Atlantic commute on the Citta di Napoli sailing from Naples to New York.
Close-up of entry for Gennaro Serrapede showing his name and age.
He was now 62 and his profession is listed as “porter”. I felt a connection to him at this point. He was getting older yet he made the long trip in 1903 and according to the passenger list he had been in New York in 1902. It must have been very difficult for him to make these frequent trips with Rosa being in a condition the 1897 Passenger List of the Scotia described as in “senility”.
Continuation of entry for Gennaro Serrapede showing travel from Agropoli to New York.
Gennaro arrived on May 20, 1903 with $56 in cash in his pocket. He had paid for his own ticket. He gave his son Sabato, living at 88 Mulberry Street, as his host. Living with Sabato was Ignazio Scotti.
This part of the entry shows Gennaro’s destination as 88 Mulberry Street where his son Sabato Serrapede was living.
Once again we see how close the Scotti family was to the Serrapede family. They were also close to the Muro family from which Josie Muro Serrapede was descended. She was Sammy’s mother and EmilyAnn’s maternal Grandmother.
Carmela and Carmine in New York City
Carmela Serrapede was the daughter of Gennaro and Rosa Serrapede. She married Carmine Scotti in Agropoli in 1889.
Anthony’s research found that Carmela Serrapede Scotti and her husband Carmine Scotti appear in the 1915 NYS Census. They were living in New York City at 75 Baxter Street.
There is also a ship’s passenger list for a trip on the Giuseppe Verdi with a date of January 2, 1918.
Using this information as the basis for searches at Ancestry and FamilySearch.org I have tried many times to locate these records. So far nothing has returned. We think there are transcription errors in the entry of the family name to Ancestry and FamilySearch’s databases. We will continue to search for Carmine and Carmela.
Where did they all go after this?
In the case of Gennaro we think there’s a good possibility that he came not to stay but simply to work and then bring his money back to Italy. Gennaro belonged to the class of immigrants known as “Birds of Passage”. This term was used for Italians who came to work in the United States often in factories, mines, roadway construction or on the piers. They’d take all their money back to Italy and keep returning to work in the U.S. until they’d reached a better quality of life in Italy.
Gennaro’s nephew, also named Gennaro Serrapede, also was a Bird of Passage. He was our direct line ancestor whom we will cover in depth in the series of postings which follow this one.
The Search is On
Recent research results on March 31, 2015 brought back the following documentation:
1. 1911 and 1912 New York City Directory
SCOTTI
Carmine, shoes
404 East 59th Street
We are not sure if this was a residence or a shoe store. The absence of the wife’s name appearing in parenthesis can indicate that this was a store. When the listing is residential the husband and wife would appear as follows:
Scotti, Carmine (Carmela)
This Carmine Scotti might or might not be the husband of Carmela Serrapede Scotti. In Anthony’s research results, Carmela’s husband’s profession is “Vetturino” which translates as “coachman or driver”.
2. NYC Municipal Archives
Death certificate for a Carmela Scotti
Aged 65
Passed away on January 14, 1933
Anthony’s research has a year of birth for our Carmela as circa 1865. The woman for this death certificate would have been born in 1867.
These differences crop up often but that has not stopped me from saving these finds to my Shoebox at Ancestry. It may take months to come up with more clues but the Carmela Serrapede file will be kept open.
For Sabato Serrapede I’ve located what might be a match from a ship’s Passenger list. The Sabato listed was born in 1868, the same year as our Sabato. He sailed on the Britannia and arrived in New York City on October 17, 1888. This ship also made a stop at Marseilles France before coming to New York. The surname is entered as SERRABETE. No corrections have been submitted yet pending further search results.
This kind of search is like a detective story and little clues like this need to be retained and compared against subsequent finds. When pieced together more clues may reveal the lives of these relatives who surprised us by their appearance and now have us hoping this isn’t the end of their story in America.
Whenever I start searching for them I think, “Sabato Serrapede born 1868, Carmela and Carmine Scotti of Baxter Street, and Gennaro where did you go? Come forth so that the rest of your life we will know.”
If and when the pieces come together we will post the latest updates in the search for Gennaro, Sabato, Carmela and Carmine in New York.
Other Resources
Translation for “Vetturino”
Collins Dictionary
http://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/italian-english/vetturino
Through The Byzantine Gate 