Marriages & Families - Nick and Mary Ambruso

Nicola (Nick) Ambruso was born in Salandra in 1895.  He came to America with his widowed mother and two younger sisters in 1922.  He first lived in Garfield, NJ and was employed as a textile worker in Paterson, NJ.  In about 1929, he bought a house near the elevated train route in Jackson Heights, Queens, NY.  According to the 1930 US Census, he was living at this house with his mother, Pasquarosa (Rose), and his sisters Helen and Tina.  His sister Silvia and her husband Anthony and daughter Carmela (Millie) were also living with him.  In March of 1931, Nick married Mary Valentino in Manhattan.  Mary was born in Laurenzana in 1900 and came to the USA with her mother in 1904.  She was the oldest of six children.  Her father Rocco was in New York since 1902 establishing his business.  He was a hair dresser. 

Shortly after Nick and Mary got married, they moved to a large house with four separate apartments in Astoria, Queens, NY.  They had two children: a daughter, Esther, born in 1932, and a son Rocco born in 1934.  According to the 1940 US Census, the house was pretty crowded.  The Ambruso’s lived in one apartment and the other three were rented out to tenants.   Living in the large Ambruso apartment were Nick and Mary, the two children, Esther and Rocco, grandmother Pasquarosa, Helen and Diana.  A lot of Ambruso’s.  As odd as it may sound, records show that in 1942 Nick was still working in the silk mill in Paterson, NJ and commuting daily.  His daughter Esther said he had some sort of car pool arrangement.

Garfield, NJ may have been the center of activity for this branch of the Ambruso family for the first few decades of the 1900’s; but Astoria quickly took over as the family center, even after the matriarch, Pasquarosa, passed away in 1948.  There were always Ambruso’s living at or visiting at Uncle Nick’s.  What memories do you have of Uncle Nick’s house in Astoria?  Write a comment below.

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.