Marriages & Families – Michael Ambruso and Angela Onorati

Original 1911 marriage document from Salandra for
Michele Ambruso and Angela Onorati

Michele Ambruso (b. 1890), the first son of Michele Ambruso (b. 1847) married Angela Maria Onorati in Salandra in June of 1911 (see marriage document above).  As stated in the previous post, Michele (Michael) made several trips to the United States and back to Italy before finally settling with his family in Hartford, CT. 

Michael and Angela had their first child, a son, they named Antonio.  He was born in Salandra in March 1914.  His father, Michael was in America at the time.  In 1915, Michael returned to Salandra to serve in the Italian Army during World War 1.  According to his daughter, Mary, he was captured and held as a prisoner of war for eight months.  After the war, he stayed in Salandra for a few years.  In November of 1920, their second son Giuseppe Vincenzo is born.  He is named after Angela’s father, his grandfather. 

The Salandra birth records show that Michael and Angela then had two daughters, Assunta , born in August 1923, and Michelina, born in September 1925.  Both of these girls died at a young age.  Neither was alive in 1930. 

Michael and Angela's names on the Ellis Island plaque.

Michael eventually settled in Hartford, Connecticut where Angela’s brother, Angelo had been living with his family since before 1909.  According to the Hartford City Directory, in 1929 Michael was living in Hartford and working as a plasterer.  Also in 1929, Michael was naturalized and became a U.S. citizen.  In early May of 1930, his wife Angela left her parents in Salandra and traveled with her two young sons to the ship leaving Naples for New York.  On May 12^th 1930, she arrived at Ellis Island with her two sons, Antonio and Giuseppe.  The manifest states that they were going to her husband Michael at 113 New Britain Avenue in Hartford.  Interesting note: On the manifest, sixteen year old Antonio has his occupation listed as “barber”.  

 

Michael and Angela had two more children while living in Hartford.  Maria (Mary) was born in 1931, and Rocco Giuseppe was born in August 1936.  All four of their children married and settled in the Hartford area.  Michael and Angela had eleven grand children, and their many descendants now spread throughout Connecticut and New England.