52 Ancestors Week 7: Landed

 From Amy Johnson Crow: The Week 7 theme is "Landed." There are many meanings of landed: to have arrived at a destination, to have been delivered, to own real property, to be part of the "landed gentry." So many ways you can go with this week's theme!

The white zone is for the loading and unloading of passengers.

    When I saw this week's prompt, I knew I had to be a wee bit original. Amy is right. The word "landed" could have several meanings. You could have an ancestor who was a member of the landed gentry and that could be your link to the signers of the Magna Carta in 1215. You could have farmers who worked the land they owned to grow crops. That's all awesome and everything. But, what if they were traveling on the boats and on the planes? What if they had a dream to take them there?  A dream they wanted to share? What if they were coming to America....today! If that Neil Diamond song is in your head, I am not sorry. It's a good song!

La famiglia di Ferraiolo

    This week I thought I'd try something special. My grandfather Marco was about four or five years old when he arrived in New York in 1929. Can you imagine what the trip was like? Well, wonder no more because today I'm going to present the trip to New York and ultimately Haverhill from his point of view. What was it like before he landed in America and immediately afterward? First....we must set the scene.

    Marco Ferraiolo was born on March 17th, 1925 in the Calabrian town of San Pietro a Maida to Vincenzo Ferraiolo and Maria Tedesco. His older sister, Nicolina, was born two years earlier in 1923. Vincenzo was known to have traveled back and forth from his native Italy to the distant American city of Haverhill several times prior to Marco's birth. Italians at the time who went back and forth across the pond like this were considered to be "birds of passage". That was someone who went to America for a few years and then back to Italy. Some families even sent money back to family in Italy! The first time Vincenzo arrived in America was in the early 1910s when he went to visit his aunt, Concetta Coppola in Haverhill.

    In 1919, Vincenzo returned to San Pietro a Maida to get married as that was another custom among Italian immigrants at the time. If someone wanted a significant other from the mother country, they went back to the country. It happened more times than you might think! Vincenzo and Maria were married on January 15th, 1921. Both children were born within four years and Vincenzo eventually made his way back to America in 1926 by himself.

    The year is now 1929 and Vincenzo had made plans to bring his family to America. Italian immigrants at the time were known to send for their families once money for their passage was secured. Can you imagine how five year old Marco must have felt at the time?

Marco Ferraiolo and
Caterina Coppola

    The first thing he felt was probably sadness because he was leaving his grandparents, Marco Ferraiolo, Caterina Coppola, Antonio Tedesco and Maria Domenica Gullo behind in Italy. Before Maria left for the port of Naples, hugs were definitely given and tears were shed. Promises to stay in touch were even made. Those promises, by the way, were definitely kept as my great-aunt and grandfather returned to San Pietro many times during their lives!

    Caterina would of course return the favor and tell her grandchildren about their cousins in America since her brothers and sister were already there. The same was likely true for Domenica. Nonnas do that. They tell stories and I bet anything those two were definitely no exception! Still, tears were shed and I can picture Marco hugging his namesake. It wasn't goodbye. It was more "See you soon and don't forget to write." I'm not saying it wasn't emotional or anything because it surely was. I mean they were traveling across the pond in a crowded ship!  Who knows when the next time they'd visit would be? Hey. Air travel might be a common practice the next time they decide to go to Italy. You never know!

  

      After saying their goodbyes, the three left San Pietro a Maida for the Campanian port of Naples.  Despite it being fall for the northern hemisphere, it was likely very hot in the city. I can picture my grandfather and great-aunt trying to keep cool while their mother added their names to the ship manifest. I kind of wonder if they even saw the legendary Mount Vesuvius looming over city like a volcanic god. It's kind of hard to miss the giant volcano!

    I'm not sure what else Maria could have done before boarding their ship, the Roma. Perhaps she took the time to write one last letter to family San Pietro a Maida? It'd be so cool if a family member today had a letter like that. I would LOVE to read it. I'd have to ask my cousins if one exists still. You never know. It is possible! 

Huh. Not a single last name changed. AMAZING!

 

   The ship set sail from Naples on Wednesday October 30th, 1929 and wouldn't arrive in New York until the following Wednesday. With passports in hand, the three were ready to meet up with Vincenzo and start a new life in America. I have no doubt that Vincenzo might have written to his wife and the kids saying he'd meet them at the port of New York.  I also have no doubt that the ship was probably very crowded and very noisy. What did Maria do to keep her kids occupied for a week? It was fall so the weather was going to get chilly ;especially on the open ocean!

This was the coolest pic of Gibraltar I could find!

    Ipads weren't invented yet. Nintendo was still making Hanafuda cards at the time. The kids likely made do with what they had available and played with the other children on the ship. Maybe they played shuffleboard? Hard to say. I can just imagine the Roma leaving the warm Mediterranean and people seeing the massive rocks of Gibraltar on the way out toward the open ocean where the weather changed dramatically! 

    For many on the Roma, the rock formation on the Spanish coast would be the last sign of the life they left behind. Many people on the ship wouldn't be seeing Europe ever again. It was a bittersweet moment because there would be open ocean for miles and miles.  Of course they might have seen whales, dolphins, seals and the manatees ancient mariners mistook for mermaids.

    Days past and the passengers were likely getting weary of being on the ship for days. The food was okay. The ship was likely tossed around as weather would have made some serious waves. Did people get seasick? Oh, there's no doubt in my mind. If you're sailing the North Atlantic on a steamer, you're going to get seasick. The sound of children playing on the decks of the Roma was likely getting to be a bit much and the kids were getting bored. Let's face it even one hundred years ago it was hard to keep kids entertained! The captain informed the passengers that they would be arriving in New York soon. Quickly, Maria probably gathered the children and hurried above deck. It was then she, Marco and Nicolina saw a gigantic statue with this important message written on the base:

"Give me your tired, your poor,

Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,

The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.

Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,

I lift my lamp beside the golden door"

One day I'll be walking through Manhattan
driven by the Ghostbusters!

    The Statue of Liberty, a symbol of hope for all immigrants, refugees and huddled masses yearning to breathe free was just on the horizon as the Roma made her way into New York Harbor. The breathtaking sight likely inspired everyone aboard the ship. Young Marco was probably amazed by how large it was. He had no idea that his journey was just beginning.

    The Roma docked at Ellis island and soon the immigrants were all rushed to the gates to be checked out by medical personnel. Officials on the island who could speak Italian likely greeted young Maria and her children. She explained that the three were meeting their husband and that they would be heading to Haverhill, their final destination. After being cleared to enter America, the family went looking for Vincenzo. After all he DID say he'd meet them there. Yikes. Can you imagine if he was LATE?! That ride home would be AWKWARD!

    

    Thankfully, Vincenzo reunited with Maria and the kids and hugs were definitely had. Where they met is hard to say. Did they meet up at Ellis Island? At the docks of New York? Everyone has been a bit fuzzy on the details. I need to give my great-aunt a break here she was seven at the time. I'm sure she was just really excited to be back on dry land! They all were! They were likely cold and tired from their ordeal at Ellis Island and wanted to go on the next leg of their adventure.

Arriving just in time for his 
first communion! They grow up so fast.

        Vincenzo and his family likely took the train from New York to Boston and a train from Boston to Haverhill. Along the way the kids saw the sights as they looked out the window in awe at their new home. They rode past many small towns and eventually they arrived at the home of Vincenzo's uncle, Giovanni Coppola on 12 Bedford Street in Haverhill.

    As I've said before, Giovanni was instrumental in bringing many Italians from San Pietro to Haverhill. I kind of wonder if he helped Vincenzo foot the bill on his family's passage to America. Maybe he did. Maybe Vincenzo himself paid for their way to America. The details are sadly lost to time.

    Haverhill was definitely a different sight for young Marco and Nicolina when compared to the hustle and bustle of 1920s New York and Boston and even the small village of San Pietro! There weren't as many tall building around and it was less noisy when compared to the Big Apple and Beantown. The two kids were finally around family once again and it felt like they were home even though their grandparents were thousands of miles away.

    The family landed on America soil on November 8th, 1929 and when they arrived the Ferraiolo kids were likely suffering from a bit of a culture shock. It's a change to go from a rural town where everyone knew your name to a city like Haverhill. Thankfully they had family there to help them adjust to the way of life in America. Marco and Nicolina had their great-aunt and uncles and numerous cousins and because of this they probably adjusted quickly. Despite their hardships traveling from Europe to America, they were finally home at a new and a shining place. 

I'm milking that song for all it's worth! See ya next time!

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.