52 Ancestors Week 47: Good Deeds

From Amy Johnson Crow:  Week 47's theme is "Good Deeds." Do you know about an ancestor's good deeds? Maybe someone did a good deed for you that led to a family history discovery? Deeds could also refer to land records. So many possibilities this week!

Like those superheroes? Check 'em out at http://starbolts.blogspot.com

  As the old saying goes, "A good deed is its own reward". That's true. But, I'm a bigger fan of "with great power there must also come great responsibility". Thanks, Stan Lee! It's a true statement that isn't confined to the pages of Marvel comics and in general it's a good philosophy to have. What Stan meant when he wrote those immortal words into the pages of Amazing Fantasy #15 was that if a person has the ability to do great things, they have a moral obligation to do them without the need for personal gain, fame or even thanks. Who said comics can't teach you something?

From "Italians in Haverhill"

    Let's turn to a real world application of this philosophy shall we? Meet my third great-uncle, Giovanni Coppola. Born in San Pietro a Maida, Italy in 1875, Giovanni or John was among the first on my Italian side to arrive in Haverhill, Massachusetts in the early 1900s. Once he settled in town, he became a grocer and believe it or not his store still stands today!

    You might be thinking "Okay. He was a grocer. What did he do that can be considered a "good deed"?" Well, aside from feeding people in his neighborhood, he paid the way for many of his relatives to come to America. Without him, their lives would have been dramatically different because life in southern Italy at the time was no picnic since there was poverty and the government instituted policies that favored the northern part of the country than the rest. It's one of the primary reasons why so many Italians left Italy in the first place.

    According to the book "Italians in Haverhill", he came to America in 1905 and worked in shoe shops before opening his grocery store on High Street in 1915. Once he did so, he sent for his wife Natalina , his daughter Angelina and several other members of the family. He wasn't done, though. Southern Italy suffered a tremendous loss of life during the Messina earthquake that claimed many lives on December 28th, 1908 including one of his children.

    At that point, Giovanni sent for more members of his family in San Pietro including his sister, Concetta, a brother named Paolo and he even paid the way for two of his first cousins Rosamaria and Marianna Stella to come to America. Once I found all this information out, I wondered why he did this. Loneliness in America? He was one of the first in the family to arrive in Haverhill. Or was there a more altruistic reason why he brought so many people to Haverhill. It had to have cost him a TON of money! Perhaps his family chipped in?

Also from "Italians in Haverhill".

    It's hard to say. Shortly after Concetta arrived, her nephew Vincenzo came to America for the first time. And the rest, as they say, is history. 

    It's clear to me that Giovanni paved the way for all of these people to come to America. Many of them most likely came on his dime or chipped in. It's hard to say. My family isn't really sure. What we are sure of is that we probably owe him a debt of gratitude. Without him, things would have been incredibly different and I more than likely wouldn't be here typing this blog. 

    This wasn't an isolated incident of course. Immigrants from every corner of the globe had a similar strategy. You go to America. Make money. Send that money to family back home. Sometimes the first person would ask "Hey. Would you like to stay in America and raise a family?" Chances are they'd say yes because "La Miseria" was in high gear in Italy at the time and many elected to stay in America.

    "With great power, there must come great responsibility" applies in this instance because Giovanni saw an opportunity for his family to have a better life in America than the one they could have had in Italy. He was making a name for himself in the so-called "land of opportunity". His family members should have the same fate. If he was living his best life as a grocer in Haverhill, other people should have the same opportunity rather than live in abject poverty. He likely had a moral obligation to help everyone.

    Who's to say if he really did or didn't? This is just conjecture. The point is that he did a good thing by inviting family to America. He essentially saved their lives if you think about it. He started the Coppola family's adventure in America by paving the way for their arrival. I do wonder a few things, though. Why did Vincenzo's parents, Marco and Caterina stay in Italy? Those are questions I should probably ask my family. I guess someone had to stay behind.

    I have other examples of good deeds scattered around the tree. Some, I've even found in newspapers. I might talk about them in further detail. I just felt that talking about how my relative helped to bring so many of his family members from Italy to Haverhill was in effect its own good deed. It's no easy task paying for just your trip to America. But, almost a dozen? That's pretty amazing to me! I wish I knew the exact details because it's really exciting to think about. This could make for a good movie! So, go check out your tree and see what good deeds are out there.

Editor's note: In April of 2023, I found that Giovanni Coppola was not the brother of Paolo, Caterina and Concetta Coppola. He is likely a first cousin of the three. Look for details in a future blog post.

Images of Google Earth are property of Google Earth.