48a-Muro Family Get-together, February 25, 2017 & Thoughts on Memorial Day

Introduction

Michael Muro and I have been in touch since early this year thanks to another cousin and the family history project.  After many emails, we moved on to contact by phone and text messages.  We both have very involved schedules so the logistics for the meet-up took a while to work out.

We decided to meet for lunch on Saturday, February 25th at the Fraunces Tavern, a historic landmark in Lower Manhattan.  The building dates back to the American Revolutionary War and was a meeting place for many of our Founding Fathers.  Today the Tavern offers a delicious pub-style menu along with a diverse selection of brews (beers and stouts) and coffees.  There is also a museum of American Revolutionary War artifacts on the second floor.

It had been a busy week at work and I forgot to take my 35mm camera so I could be guaranteed some clear, memorable photos.  It was then that I also recalled I now had a new Android phone by LG.  I decided to take the photos with the cell phone camera and then work them up in PaintShopPro to create something memorable.

I had not seen Michael in many years.  He attended the wake for Grandma Josie in 1995 but since I was in such shock at the loss of my beloved Gran, nothing from that time is easy to recall.  Michael had such a laugh when I told him that I can recall, as clear as if it was just a few years ago, how we sat together at Grandma Josie and Grandpa Sam’s 50th Wedding Anniversary dinner.  The guy I had been dating at the time had already left and the dinner was not through yet.  My boyfriend-at-the-time had a long drive back home and his departure was understandable.  So there was Michael and I with my Mom and Dad enjoying the atmosphere of Romano’s,  an old school Italian restaurant that was located on 13th Avenue near the corner of 70th Street.

I hope you will enjoy the story these photos tell.  That I have finally gotten around to posting them on Memorial Day Weekend seems just right.  This is more than just a weekend to kick off the start of Summer.  It is a weekend to honor the memory of all who have given themselves in service to our country.  This does not mean we have a blind patriotism nor a hateful scorn of our past.  Instead it means learning from history by taking the events as they actually happened and extracting a meaning from the positive and negative.  History teaches us much if we listen to what she tells us and do so with an open mind.

From Brooklyn, I took the R Local train to Rector Street in Manhattan.  I thought a long walk from that station down to Pearl Street, where Fraunces Tavern is located, would be good.  I worked in the Wall Street area for many years.  I wanted to revisit Trinity Church and Federal Hall before I met Michael and Peter.  As I recall the afternoon, these first two stops added to the meaning the second part of the afternoon had.  This is because as Michael, his cousin Peter and I had enjoyed our time together we celebrated our shared bonds of ancestors from Agropoli and celebrated our heritage as Americans.

48-Sabato Serrapede comes to America: First stop, Red Hook

Introduction

Gennaro and Emilia (nee Pappalardo) Serrapede’s daughter Filomena married Giuseppe D’Agosto in Agropoli during the summer of 1923.  When the New York State Census was taken in 1925 Filomena and Giuseppe were living in Brooklyn.  Their first child, a girl named Lillian, was 23 days old when the census enumerator visited in June.  Two months later, Filomena’s younger brother, Sabato Serrapede immigrated on the Conte Verde to America.  He departed from Naples on August 21, 1925 aboard the Conte Verde and arrived in New York City on August 31, 1925.

Sabato was called Sam after his arrival in America.  His entrance into the narrative of the family history marks a special point in time for us.  Sabato was Sammy’s father and EmilyAnn’s maternal Grandfather.  Finding the passenger list for the ship Sabato came over on brought all the months of research on our ancestors right into the flow of our own life stories.

Sailing from Naples

Passenger List of the Conte Verde, the ship Sabato Serrapede came to America on.

Close-up of the Passenger List.  Sabato Serrapede was passenger No. 7.

The passenger list contains some information we think is inaccurate.  Sam’s profession is entered as “sailor.”  We never heard him talk about a time in the Italian navy or working professionally aboard a ship.  One of the trades he learned in Agropoli was that of the marinaro, a fisherman.  He knew all about the care of a boat, how to assess the weather and tides, and how to fish as well as repair nets.  We think that this may have been a misunderstanding on the part of whoever added Sam’s information to the list.

For the questions concerning ability to read and write in Italy, the answers are “Yes.”  This is correct since after the Unification of Italy education for all children was mandatory up to the 4th grade.  The passenger list also states that before coming to New York Sam lived with his father Gennaro in Agropoli.
Arriving in New York

 

 Complete list of answers given by passengers to the questions asked by the Immigration Officer.  Passengers had to answer these questions before being allowed to disembark.

 
Close-up of the States Immigration Officer At Port Of Arrival page that follows the passenger list.  Sam’s answers appear on row 7.

The answers Sam provided to the Immigration Officer tell us that Sam:

• Paid for his own ticket.
• He was never in the U.S. before this trip.
• He planned to live in the U.S. permanently.
• He was going to stay with his sister Filomena Serrapede in Brooklyn.

In Italy, women do not change their surname after marriage.  This is why Filomena’s name appears as Filomena Serrapede and not Filomena D’Agosto.  Sabato answered the question the way he would have if he were still in Italy.

47a-Mother’s Day 2017

“Maternal Admiration” by William-Adolphe Bouguereau
Public domain.  Wikimedia Commons.

We remember…

The Serrapede Family
Angela Maria Borrelli
Anna Maria Conte
Filomena Ruocco
Antonia Ruocco
Nicoletta Cuoco
Teresa Marino
Giovanna Battista
Teresa Patella d’Alessandro
Emilia Pappalardo
Emily Leatrice Serrapede

We remember…

The Muro Family
Anna Maria Monzillo
Carminela Cavollo
Giuseppa Carnicelli
Clarice Serrapede
Giuseppa Ruocco
Anna Maria Baldi
Rosolia Patella
Maddalena Montone
Irene Guzzi
Maria Giovanna di Giaimo
Letizia Scotti
Josephine Muro

We remember…

The Aiello Family
Antonia Rocca
Caterina Mastroianni
Lucrezia M.F. Bartolotta
Caterina Pujia
Rosina Aiello

We remember with gratitude all our matriarchs in our family lines this Mother’s Day on May 14, 2017.
In memory of the Mothers of our family lines who were with us from our beginnings.  You not only fed and nurtured our bodies but also saw to the development of our spiritual, emotional and intellectual growth.  With your love we progressed and with your blessings we achieved.  With your advice we were guided and with your caution we were protected.  There are never enough words to express the gratitude we have so we’ll say it simply, “To all the Mamas in our family past, present and future–Thank you, thank you.  We will always love you.”

–EmilyAnn Frances May
–Sam (Sabbatino) Serrapede, Jr.

—————

Acknowledgement
Painting:  “Maternal Admiration” (1869)
Artisit:  William-Adolphe Bouguereau
Public Domain
Wikimedia Commons

47-Giuseppe D’Agosto in New York-A young man with a job and a passport

Acknowledgement

The chart of descent for the D’Agosto family, available at ImaginesMaiorum, Ancetors from Campania, was used to provide information about the date of Giuseppe D’Agosto’s marriage. We thank Anthony Vermandois for making the results of his genealogical research available at his website.

Introduction

Close-up of Giuseppe D’Agosto’s photo affixed to the application for a passport in 1923.

Giuseppe D’Agosto is related to Uncle Sammy and me by marriage. He was the husband of Filomena Serrapede D’Agosto. Filomena was the elder sister of Sabato Serrapede who was Sammy’s Dad and EmilyAnn’s maternal Grandfather. This makes Giuseppe and Filomena D’Agosto:

• Uncle Sammy’s paternal Uncle and Aunt.
• EmilyAnn’s Great Uncle and Aunt along her maternal line.

In this posting we share the discovery the 1920 Federal Census brought us once we learned who Giuseppe was working for. Of all the relatives we’ve studied so far he is the first we know of who became a civil service employee. He achieved much and went far in the 7 years after he came to the United States in 1913.

What was the DSC?

Close-up of 1920 Federal Census entry for the Gibaldi family.

46g-Aiello Family of Calabria-Connecting with the family of Rosina Aiello Marasco Muro

Acknowledgements

Uncle Sammy and I thank Amedeo Aiello for reaching out to us and his father, Antonio Aiello for sharing the results of his research on the Aiello family, as well as photos of the family and their hometown after the 1906 earthquake.

We also thank Michael Muro for his ongoing enthusiasm, support and promotion this blog behind the scenes. Michael is the Grandson of Rosina (Rose) and Nick Muro through their son Raimie (Raymond) and Frances (nee di Fiori) Muro.

A special thank you to Giuseppe Carnicelli for contributing a clear version of the Italian translation.

Introduction

Shortly after a series of postings about Rosina Aiello Marasco Muro, we received an email from her Grand Nephew, Amedeo Aiello in late February. His father, Antonio Aiello, is Rosina’s nephew. Antonio is also a family historian and found our blog while researching Martirano, the Aiello family’s ancestral hometown in Calabria. Amedeo and I exchanged emails about the research I had done on the town and gave me the reason why it is so difficult to find much about the late 19^th-early 20^th century history of Martirano. It turns out that in 1906 an earthquake destroyed what we could call the old town of Martirano. Rosina’s parents lost their home and had to build a new one away from the area where they had been living.

Learning more about the Aiello Family

Antonio sent me a photo of the area where the new house was built along with a photo of his father, Amedeo Aiello, who was Rosina’s brother. Yet another wonderful photo included in the email exchange was of Rosina. All three photos are now part of our family tree. Then there were the fruits of Antonio’s research on the Aiello family that has extended Rosina’s pedigree chart further back in time. The information also adds more depth to her family background which we had only touched upon in our research findings and our previous postings. Thanks to Antonio we can now go back in time and trace Rosina’s lineage to the late 18^th century.

Updated pedigree chart for Rosina Aiello Marasco Muro (work in progress) as of April 28, 2017.