Giuseppe's Family Photo

We will end our overview of the Ambruso ancestors of Philadelphia with this wonderful photo of Giuseppe Ambruso and his family (ca. 1911).  The photo was provided by Rob Bradley, a family genealogist and husband of Vito's granddaughter.  In the back row are the two oldest sons, Michael (b. 1891) and Eugenio (b. 1892).  I'm not sure which one is which.  Across the front, from left to right are: Mary (b. 1895), Assunta (b. 1904), mother Maria, little Vito (b. 1907), father Giuseppe, Frank C. (b.1900), and Adeline (b. 1897).  Certainly a grand family.  These people lived their lives as proud Americans with strong Italian roots and traditions.  Giuseppe and Maria dreamed of a better life in America for their family.  Today, their grand children and great grandchildren are living out their dreams and keeping the traditions alive.  Evviva per le famiglie!

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.

The Other Ambruso Family in Philadelphia

For the last month I have been posting articles about the family of Francesco Domenico “Frank” Ambruso.  It’s time to move on to the other branch of the Ambruso family that also settled in Philadelphia. 

 

Between 1845 and 1858, Michelarcangelo Ambruso and Maria Giuseppa Iula had four sons and two daughters, all born in Salandra, Italy.  Two of those six children came to America and settled in Philadelphia.  As we learned previously, Francesco was the first son to emigrate.   He came over in about 1881.  By 1900 he was fully settled in Philadelphia.  His three children were grown and newly married, and he even had a grandson born in the USA.  By that time he was already a naturalized US citizen and was going by the name “Frank”. 

 

In that same year, Frank’s younger brother Giuseppe decided to follow his older brother and venture into the New World.  Frank may have sent him a letter urging his brother to join him in Philadelphia.  Giuseppe arrived at Ellis Island on October 17^th 1900, on the S.S. Alsatia, with his sons Michele (age 9) and Eugenio (age 7).  On the ship’s passenger manifest it says that he was headed to his brother Francesco’s house at 714 South Mildred Street in Philadelphia.  

 

Ship's Passenger Manifest  from the S.S. California showing Maria Giuseppa Di Dio Ambruso
arriving with her three children at Ellis Island on May 22, 1901

Seven months later, in May of 1901, Giuseppe’s wife Maria arrived at Ellis Island on the S.S. California, with three children:  Maria (age 6), Adelina (age 4) and Francesco (11 months).  There were a few other people from Salandra making the voyage with them and listed on same page of the ship’s manifest.  I’m sure they helped this young mother with her three small children traveling without her husband.  The next line below them on the manifest was Nicola Puzitiello, a 31 year old married man from Salandra who was going to his relative at (would you believe) 810 Bainbridge Street in Philadelphia, just around the corner from South Mildred Street.  He probably accompanied Maria and the children on their train journey from New York City to Philadelphia.

If you look at the far right side of the manifest shown above, you will notice that Maria listed that she and the children were going to her husband at 723 South Mildred Street.  So it seems that in just a few months, her husband, Giuseppe, already had a home ready for the family, just up the street from his brother Frank.  Giuseppe and Maria eventually had three more children who were born in Philadelphia, making eight children in all.  Most of the descendants of these children stayed in the Philadelphia area, southern New Jersey and northern Delaware.  There are probably over fifty direct descendants of Giuseppe and Maria alive today.