Children of Rocco and Pasquarosa

Standing: Ottavia, Diana and Mary. Seated: Helen and Pasquarosa 

In this blog, I will eventually post the factual information I have on all the Ambruso descendants.  Today I will start with my own branch of the family, the children of Rocco Vincenzo Ambruso and Pasquarosa Corrado. 

Rocco and Pasquarosa were married in 1885 in Salandra.  They had ten children, two sons and eight daughters, all born in Salandra.  They conformed to traditional naming customs for the first few, but then began to run out of names, so according to family legend, the eighth child was named Ottavia, the ninth was Novelina, and the tenth was Diecina.  This legend is questionable since the eighth child used the name Lucia on the ship’s manifest, and the ninth child always used the name Elena (Helen).  The tenth child, however, is actually listed on the ship’s manifest in 1922 as “Decina”.  She always called herself "Diana".  She was my mother's aunt and I always called her something that slurred into "Antyna".  It seems like almost everyone in this family had multiple names. 

Their first child, Maria Giuseppa, was born in 1887.  She married Pasquale Bonelli in Salandra in 1907.  Patsy came to America first; then Mary followed with her 11 month old daughter Teresa in 1909. 

Rocco’s next child was a son.  He was named Michele after his grandfather.  They then had two daughters, Felicia and Sylvia.  These three siblings, Michele, Felicia and Silvia, came to America together in 1913.  They went directly to their sister Mary in Garfield, NJ.

Michele Antonio Ambruso was my grandfather. He was born in 1889. He married Vincenza “Jennie” Lammardo in Garfield in 1920.

Felicia Ambruso was born in 1891.  She married Lorenzo Mancini in Garfield, also in 1920.

Silvia Ambruso was born in 1893.  She married Antonio Saraco in Garfield in 1923.

In August 1921 two more of Rocco’s daughters, Giustina and Lucia (Ottavia), came to the USA.  They were traveling with another man from Salandra, Francesco Maremonti, probably a good friend or cousin.  Giustina and Lucia were heading to the Bonelli house and their siblings in Garfield.

Giustina “Justina” Ambruso was born in 1901.  She married Antonio “Tony” Graziadei in New York about 1929.

Lucia “Ottavia” Ambruso was born in 1903.  She married Nicola “Nicholas” Sassano in Garfield in 1925.

Rocco Vincenzo never came to America.  He died in Salandra in 1922.  The rest of his children left Salandra a few months later with Rocco’s widow, Pasquarosa Corrado.  Rocco’s second son, Nicola, led the group which included his three sisters: Angela, Elena and Diecina.  They were all heading to the Bonelli house in Garfield.  By the end of 1922, the entire family was in America, in Garfield, New Jersey.

Angela Ambruso was born in 1900.  She married Giovanni “John” Iula in Garfield in 1925.

Nicola “Nick” Ambruso was born in 1895.  He married Mary Valentino in New York City in 1931.

Diecina “Diana” Ambruso was born in 1908.  She married Vincent Angiulli in Queens, NY in 1944.

Elena “Helen” Ambruso was born in 1906.  She never married. 

These are the first facts for each of the children of Rocco and Pasquarosa.  Now it’s your turn.  I need you to provide me with more facts, photos and interesting family stories for each of these people.  Once I have enough facts, I will publish a separate post on the family of each of these children. 

Children of Michelarcangelo and Maria Giuseppa

Michelarcangelo Ambruso and Maria Giuseppa Iula had six children.  Information on these children was compiled by searching microfilm town records from Salandra available through the Latter Day Saints genealogy library, and through written request directly to the town clerk in Salandra.

Francesco Domenico was the first son.  He was born in Salandra in 1845; two years after MIchele and Maria were married.  As was the custom in those days, he was named after Michele’s father, who was also named Francesco Domenico.  Francesco married Giovanna Maria Garaguso in Salandra in 1870.  Francesco, later called Frank, was the first Salandra Ambruso to come to America.  He and Giovanna, later called Jeanie or Jennie, came to America and settled in Philadelphia.  Giovanna gave birth to 9 children, but only three grew to adulthood.  Descendants of Frank and Jennie still live in the Philadelphia area today.

Records show that Michele and Maria then had a son named Michele with no middle name.  Michele Ambruso was born in Salandra in 1847.  He married Antonia Maria Lauria in 1872.  Michele had three daughters and one son.  It is not clear whether Michele ever came to the United States.  It is very unusual that this second son was named after his father and not his mother's father, as would be the naming convention at the time.  Maria's father's name was Francesco Antonio.  Perhaps they were just trying to avoid confusion since they couldn't name both sons Francesco.  But why not name him Antonio?  Did it have something to do with possible bad relations with Maria's father?  We will probably never know.

We don't know if Michele's daughters came to America, but his son, also named Michele, did come to America and settled in the Hartford area.

Michelarcangelo and Maria Giuseppa then had two daughters: Angela Maria (b:1850) and Anna Maria (b:1853), named for their grandmothers, but for some reason, in reverse order of the common naming convention (?).  Angela married Donatantonio Notarfrancesco (How’s that for a name?) in Salandra in 1870, and Anna married Francesco Daria in Salandra in 1878.  We have no indications that they ever came to the United States. 

The next child was Giuseppe Maria.  He was born in 1855.  He married Maria Giuseppa DiDeo in Salandra in 1883.  He followed his older brother to Philadelphia and all of his six children and most of their children settled in the greater Philadelphia area.

Rocco Vincenzo was the youngest child of Michele and Maria.  He was born in 1858.  He married Pasquarosa Corrado in Salandra in 1885.  They had 10 children.  They settled in New Jersey and the New York City area.

Salandra, Matera, Basilicata, Italia

Italy has 20 regions.  In a governmental sense, each region is the rough equivalent of a state in the United States.  Basilicata is a region in the south central part of Italy, the instep of the “boot”, if you will.  

In arguing which is the most beautiful region, some people might say Tuscany or Emilia-Romagna.  No one would say Basilicata.  It is a semi-arid climate with some shrubs, but very few trees.   This barren landscape is dotted with sleepy hilltop towns.  It is just not very pretty. 

Basilicata is divided into two provinces, Potenza and Matera, surrounding the cities of the same names.  Basilicata has 131 local municipalities called commune in Italian.  Salandra is a commune in Matera province.  (Just to confuse things for the average genealogical researcher looking at old records, Basilicata used to be called a "province" and Matera used to be called a "district".)  150 years ago, Salandra had about 3,000 residents.  It has about the same population today. 

Here are some photos of Salandra.  They are current photos, but it doesn’t make much difference.  Things haven’t changed in centuries.  The old men with their dark pants and white shirts walking around the piazza, remind me of my grandfather. 

Italian Naming Customs

Why does it seem like half the males in the Ambruso Family, including the Hartford and Philly branches, are named Michael?  In my own branch, the rest of the people seem to be named either Rocco or Esther.  Was there a lack of naming creativity?  No, the answer is strict naming conventions or naming customs followed by Italians, and more specifically southern Italians, when naming their children. 

The formula goes as follows:

• The first son was given the first name of his paternal grandfather
• The first daughter was given the first name of her paternal grandmother
• The second son was given the name of his maternal grandfather
• The second daughter was given the name of her maternal grandmother

Any children after that were named in honor of special relatives or patron saints.  With rare exceptions, the Ambruso family followed this naming convention very strictly all during the 19^th century and well into the 20^th century. 

This custom is a boon to genealogists.  It provides clues which help in making links to past generations.  It also explains why the name Esther is so prevalent in my branch of the family.  My great grandmother's name wasPasquarosa Corrado.  She was named after her maternal grandmother.  Pasquarosa was not a common name.  The name literally means: “Easter Rose”.  It was Americanized to Esther Rose.  There was an Esther or a Rose in every family of Rocco and Pasquarosa’s children, where there was a granddaughter born.  My mother’s name was Esther Rose.

Weimer-Ambruso Tree on Ancestry

Several years ago I put up my family tree on Ancestry.com (Weimer-Ambruso Tree). It is a wonderful way to graphically see how our Ambruso Family branches out from it's common roots. It has lots of information and many of the photos I've gathered so far.  Ancestry.com allows me to share access to this tree with people who aren't Ancestry subscriber: to view, add, correct, and upload new info for FREE.  What you'll see has been a real group effort with contributions from John Casteline and many other family members both directly and through linking to each other's trees.  

My Tree is open to the whole family to help in this endeavor, or just to view. I would love it if you could fill in details of your part of the tree, correct missing or inaccurate info, add your birthday, spouse's info, spouse's siblings, parents, children, wedding dates, etc. Share whatever you’d like your great-great-great grandchildren to know about you and your part of the family. 

NOTE that all living members of the tree appear only to individuals that I grant editorial access, everyone else sees them as ''Living'' ''Surname'' - Living Weimer, Living Ambruso, etc. with all photos, dates, and personal information missing. Personal info only becomes visible after an individual passes. 

I encourage you to help out by filling in as much as you can. I've put most of my energy into getting as far back in our tree as I could, and spent very little time on the current generation. Let me know how it works for you and if you have any problems figuring out the site. 

Please email me directly and I'll send you an invitation to the "Weimer-Ambruso Tree".  Contact me at polarity@glenweimer.com

Thanks.
Glen

Rocco Vincenzo Ambruso

Rocco Vincenzo Ambruso, born in Salandra on 20 Dec 1858, was the youngest child of Michelarcangelo Ambruso and Maria Giuseppa Iula.  He married Pasquerosa Corrado in Salandra in 1885 and had 10 children.  His granddaughter, Carmela “Millie” Saraco de Osuna, tells us that Rocco was a very successful individual and that supporting all 10 children was no problem for him.  They lived in a large house with adjoining stables, horses and a wagon.  Rocco was the postmaster for the village of Salandra and with the help of his oldest son, my grandfather Michael, even delivered mail by horseback to the surrounding area.  Millie also says that besides mail delivery, Rocco used the wagon to provide regular delivery service for merchandise from Matera, the largest city and capital of the province.  

Rocco’s children started coming to America while he was still alive.  He was also planning to come to America, but unfortunately he died in 1922 before he finished settling his affairs.  All his remaining children came to America with his widow, Pasquarosa, later that year.

Garfield, NJ

The construction of the Dundee Dam on the Passaic River near Garfield, NJ in the 1860’s, provided water power to the growing number of textile factories that lined the river.  The Passaic/Garfield area became a major center for worsted and wool fabric production in the United States.  Companies such as Samuel Hird, New Jersey Worsted, Gera Mills and Forstmann Mills started in the first decade of the 20^th century.  These mills offered an abundance of work for common laborers with job titles such as mill hand, spinner, weaver, dyer, and twister.  The main industry was textiles, but there were also a few rubber mills and chemical factories. 

The plentiful job opportunities in these industrial plants drew unskilled immigrant laborers from European countries such as Hungary, Russia, Poland, Slovakia and Italy...especially Italy.  The Third Ward in Garfield, a wedge between Passaic St. and Midland Avenue, up to about Leonard St., was populated almost entirely by Italian immigrants in the early 1900’s.  Right in the middle of this wedge was Our Lady of Mount Virgin Roman Catholic Church a parish formed in 1903 to serve the growing number of Italian immigrants.  “Mount Virgin” or “de Monte Vergine” was the religious and cultural center of the Italian community in Garfield.  Nine of Rocco Vincenzo Ambruso’s ten children were married.  Five of them were married at Mt. Virgin.

In 1902, Pasquale Bonelli, a young shoemaker from Salandra, came to America.  Eventually, he went to live with his uncle Domenico in Garfield, NJ where there were lots of jobs in the booming textile factories.  He got a job as a spinner in one of the worsted mills.  He must have done well because he went back to Salandra, married Maria Giuseppa Ambruso, the oldest daughter of Rocco Ambruso, in 1907 and then came back to America in March 1909 and returned to a job in the worsted mills.  Later that year, in September 1909, Maria and their 11 month old daughter, Teresa, came to America.  Maria was the first of Rocco’s children to come to America. 

The 1910 U.S. Census shows Pasquale, Maria and little Teresa lived with his uncle Domenico on Westminster Place.  The same census shows that in 1910, Garfield was not a very big community.  There were only 10,213 residents.  Most of the houses were surrounded by empty lots, but new houses were being built rapidly.  Pasquale and Maria purchased a new house at 139 Harrison Ave., in the heart of the growing Italian neighborhood.  Patsy and Mary’s home on Harrison Ave. was to become an important part of Ambruso family history.  It became the United States destination and the original hub of activity for all the members of my grandfather’s branch of the Ambruso family in America.  We will talk more about activities at the Bonelli house on Harrison Avenue in future posts, so send me any stories or photos you might have.    

Saraco Family Photo

Here's the picture, enjoy!

In this picture: Left to right. Dante Saraco (Don), my uncle Don. Carmela Mildred Saraco (Millie) my mom. Sylvia Ambruso, my grandma. Tessie ? (our cousin), and the little girl in the front is Esther Rose Saraco, my aunt Esther. Most likely taken in their neighborhood. Maybe someone knows where this photo was taken.

Immigration

Francesco Domenico Ambruso was the oldest son of Michelarcangelo and Maria.  He was the first Salandra Ambruso to leave his roots and venture into the new experience of America.  The date and details of his arrival are not exactly clear.  In both the 1900 and 1910 Federal Censuses he says he came in 1881.  The New York Passenger Lists have a Fsc Ambruso, born in 1846, arriving in 1882; and a Fsco Ambruso, born in 1849, arriving in 1883. Either one of these could be Francesco Domenico. 

He came by ship to New York, and was processed through the Castle Garden immigration facility at the southern tip of Manhattan Island.  Castle Garden was the precursor to Ellis Island which started operation in 1892.  For some reason, Francesco settled in Philadelphia.  It was not because of any abundance of jobs in Philadelphia since his occupation as listed in the 1907 and 1908 Philadelphia City Directory was “rags”.  He probably settled in Philadelphia because there were other Italian immigrants, friends and relatives from Salandra that he knew by name, who were already there.

Francesco’s grown children Michele, Leonardo and Felicia followed him to Philadelphia in about 1885.  Then Francesco’s brother Giuseppe came in 1900, with his two sons, Michele and Eugenio.  They also went to Philadelphia. 

All the other Ambruso’s from Salandra came through Ellis Island between 1909 and 1923.  My own grandfather Michael Anthony Ambruso came with his two sisters, Felicia and Silvia in 1913.  Their voyage took 13 days.  They came on the S.S. Cleveland, a large steam ship built in 1909 specifically for immigration.  (See a photo of the ship below.)  The Cleveland held 2,841 passengers, 2,378 of which were steerage or third class.   When they got to New York, the Statue of Liberty on the right hand side of the ship must have been a wonderful sight.   But what really must have overwhelmed them was the sight on the left hand side of the ship: a city of giant buildings, some over 30 stories high.  Keep in mind that they all came from a small village.  Before this point in their lives, the tallest building they ever saw was probably less than 5 stories high in Naples, from where they departed just two weeks before.




S.S. Cleveland brought Michael, Felicia and Silvia to America in 1913

 

The Four Michaels

From my research I have found that Michelarcangelo Ambruso and Maria Giuseppa Iula were not originally from Salandra.  Actually they both grew up in the nearby village of Laurenzana where they were married in 1843.  For some reason, shortly after they were married, they moved to Salandra which is about 18 miles away.  From examining records from Salandra, I can safely say that their family was the only Ambruso family living in Salandra during the second half of the 19^th century.  All the Ambruso’s from Salandra were descendants of Michelarcangelo and Maria.

Over the course of 13 years, they had four sons and two daughters: Francesco Domenico, Michele, Angela, Anna Maria, Giuseppe Maria, and Rocco Vincenzo.  As would be expected, they followed the naming customs of the time, so the first son of each son of Michelarcangelo was named Michele.  (More on naming customs in a future post.)  These first sons were all named after their grandfather. There were four grandsons named Michele and all four of them came to America, forming four separate branches of the Ambruso family in the United States.  One branch settled in Harford, CT; one in northern NJ and New York City, and two branches settled in the Philadelphia. 

On this blog we will talk about all four of these family lines and invite stories and comments from members of all four clans.

There were many other people with the Ambruso surname who also came to America.  Nearly all were from other nearby villages in Basilicata.  Most were from Laurenzana, but a few Ambruso’s also came from villages such as Grassano, Ferrandino, Stigliano, and San Mauro Forte.  On this blog we will only cover the history of the Ambruso families from Salandra, the descendants of Michelarcangelo and Maria Giuseppa. 

J.M.C.

Instructions for Following, Commenting and Posting

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This blog is set up as a “Team Blog”. You are encouraged to add your own posts to this blog.  However, in order to do so, there are two steps:  First, you must have a Google account.  Second, you must contact me at JMCast@rcn.com with the e-mail address you want to use, and I will set you up as an “Author”.  You can then create and edit your own posts at any time.

I sincerely hope you will all become members of this blog and comment on the posts.  Let’s make it an active site that will be both interesting and enjoyable.

Please contact me directly if you have any problems Following, Commenting or Posting. 

Introduction

This is a history of one family from the small village of Salandra in south central Italy.  The patriarch of that family in Salandra was a man named Michele, or more exactly, Michelarchangelo Ambruso.  His wife was Maria Giuseppa Iula.  Some of their children and most of their grandchildren emigrated to the United States to find jobs and a better life in America.  Today, their descendants number in the hundreds.

Today, these descendants of Michelarcangelo and Maria Giuseppa are spread all over the United States and even other countries such as England and Venezuela.  They are a proud and successful family, true to their Italian roots.

I have been researching this Ambruso family for many years now and I was seriously considering writing a family history.  I began gathering information and stories from several family members and then I realized that it would be better, and easier, if I could let the family members write the history themselves.  Thus, this blog was born.

I will post genealogical information that I have accumulated.  I am encouraging you, the family members, to also add posts with stories, anecdotes and interesting facts about the Ambruso family.  Your posts can even include photos or videos, but in order to post anything you first have to do two things: 1) set up a Google account and 2) contact me at jmcast@rcn.com so I can set you up as a contributor.  I’ll explain this in more detail in the next post.

I also encourage you to add comments on any and all of the posts.  Adding these comments will become an on-going dialog and our means of communicating with each other about the family. 

As a start, please sign up as a follower of this blog so we can learn about each other.  Just click on the blue tab on the right side that says: "Join this site", and follow the instructions. Ask other family members to join in and register as followers as well.  Together, we can create a valuable resource for generations to come.

One more thing.  This is a work in progress.  I welcome any suggestions or criticisms regarding this blog, its format and its purpose.  If you have any ideas that would make it better, please let me know.