Giuseppe Maria Ambruso + Maria Giuseppa Di Dio

The third son of Michelarcangelo Ambruso and Maria Giuseppa Iula was born on 8 Dec 1855 in Salandra.  He was named Giuseppe Maria Ambruso.   In 1883 he married Maria Giuseppa DiDio, who was born in Salandra in 1867.  If you look closely at the Salandra Marriage Record shown above (click on it to see it larger), you will notice that he was 27  years old (di anni ventisette), and she was 16 (di anni sedici) when they married.  Sixteen seems young for a woman to marry, but at that time in southern Italy, it was not uncommon for brides get married at that age.

Their first son, Michele Giuseppe, was born in Salandra in February of 1891.  Following naming conventions, he was named after his grandfather.  Their second son, Eugenio was born in November of 1892.  By naming customs, this son should have been named Vito (Davito) after his mother’s father, but for some reason he was not.

They then had two daughters, Maria, born about 1895 and Adelina, born about 1897.  Their third son, Francesco, was born in April of 1900. 

As stated in the previous post, Giuseppe and his two oldest sons came to America in October of 1900, six months after Francesco was born.  His wife, Maria and the rest of the family all came to America in May of 1901.  They all settled in Philadelphia, on South Mildred Street, the street where Giuseppe’s brother, Frank, and nephews Michael and Leonardo, already lived. 

In 1904 they had their first child born in the USA, a daughter they named Assunta.  Then in February of 1907 their fourth son was born.  They named him Vito. 

I cannot find Giuseppe and Maria with their family of eight children anywhere in Philadelphia in the 1910 U.S. Census, even using possible misspellings and alternate spellings of the name “Ambruso”.  A thorough search of each address on South Mildred Street shows that they were definitely not living there, or anywhere in the immediate area, in 1910.

Neither can I find Giuseppe (or Joseph) in the yearly Philadelphia City Directories, or any other Philadelphia data base.  So we don’t have a good idea of where they lived or what Giuseppe did for a living until 1920. In the 1920 U.S. Census we find the family living at 2014 South Tenth Street.  The last name is misspelled as “Ambrusia”.  It lists Joseph’s occupation as “laborer”. 

Also, on the passenger manifest for his nephew, Michele, who came back to the USA in 1923, it says he was going to his uncle Giuseppe at that South 10^th Street Philadelphia address.   Other than that, the only thing we have is the grave stone for Giuseppe and Maria in Holy Cross Cemetery, which says that they both died in 1932. 

That grave stone also has two other interesting facts:  First, their daughter Assunta died before her parents.  She died at the young age of 26.  Next, besides Assunta, Maria and Giuseppe, the grave stone also lists Anthony Lauria Jr. Maria and Giuseppe's daughter Maria married Anthony Lauria.  They had a son named Anthony Jr. who sadly died at the young age of nine.  He was laid to rest with his grandparents.

Angelina's Grave - Connecting the Families

Angelina Iula (1899-1934)
Holy Cross Cemetery, Yeadon, PA

All the wonderful photos of Francesco Ambruso’s family that I have been posting were provided by his great grandson Michael, who today just happens to be living only blocks away from the old family homestead on South Mildred Street in Philadelphia.  He also sent me a number of photos of family graves stones which gave important dates and clarified family relationships.  The photos were all taken in Holy Cross Cemetery in Yeadon, PA, just west of the Philadelphia city line, where most of Francesco’s family were buried.  The photo to the right was included with the others.  Michael’s note said it was some Ambruso relative, but he wasn’t sure who it was.  When I saw the name and dates, I immediately knew who it was.  It was Angelina, my grandfather’s sister!  She was married to John Iula and lived in Camden, NJ.  But why was she buried in a cemetery in the western outskirts of Philadelphia, so far away from Camden? 

Michael told me what he knew.  It seems that Angelina’s husband couldn’t afford a burial plot, so Leonardo “John” Ambruso, gave him his own burial plot to bury Angelina, who was his first cousin, and then later bought a new plot for himself.  He also provided the grave stone.  That all made sense.  It was 1934, in the middle of the Great Depression.  Angelina died young and unexpectedly.  They probably did not have a burial plot or the money to pay for one.  Leonardo was probably doing OK financially.  His act of kindness showed how closely the two branches of the family were connected at that time.  It also explains why my grandfather would have traveled by train from northern New Jersey to Philadelphia to attend Leonardo’s funeral.