Marriages & Families - Anthony and Sylvia Saraco



Silvia (Sylvia) Ambruso married Antonio (Anthony) Saraco at Our Lady of Mount Virgin Church in Garfield, NJ in November, 1923.  The church record mentions that they were also married in a civil ceremony about a month earlier.  Sylvia was born in Salandra in 1893.  She arrived in America in 1913 with her older brother and sister, Michael and Felicia.  Anthony was born in 1891 or 1893 in Catanzaro, Calabria, Italy.

They lived on Farnham Avenue in Garfield, just behind Felicia and Lawrence.  Their first child, Carmela (Millie) was born in Garfield in 1925.  A few years later, when Sylvia’s brother Nick bought a house in Jackson Heights, Queens, New York, the family moved there.  They were living there in 1930 according to the census records.  Anthony worked in a doll making factory in New York.  It was probably the Horsman Doll Company.  In 1933 Horsman was acquired by Regal Doll Company of Trenton, NJ and some of the manufacturing operation was moved to Trenton.  The family moved to Trenton when Anthony started working for Regal Doll.  Anthony is listed as a doll maker in the 1931 Trenton City Directory and living at 147 Cummings Ave.  It would seem that Anthony moved to Trenton by himself, at first, until he found a house and brought the family there.   In the 1933 Directory he is listed as living on Adeline Avenue, where the family finally settled.  Dante, their next child, was born in Trenton in August of 1933.  Then Esther Rose was born in 1936.

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. 

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