52 Ancestors Week 10: Siblings

 From Amy Johnson Crow: Week 10:

The theme for Week 10 is “Siblings.” We shouldn’t forget about the people in our family trees who we don’t descend from: the siblings of our ancestors. Who is a sibling whose story needs to be told?

Look at these two troublemakers....

    Your siblings, along with your cousins, are usually your first friends. If you're lucky enough to have an older brother or sister, they can help you make sense of the craziness that happens in your family on a day-to-day basis. They can offer advice and they can play along with whatever trick you're going to pull on your parents. Not that I ever did anything like that! ;)

    Take one look at my family tree and you'll see large families and many siblings that ended up having a whole ocean separating them. A few siblings were strong enough to weather any storm that came their way. Concetta Coppola, daughter of Paolo Coppola and Rosa Suverato and the sister of my 2nd great-grandmother, Caterina was one such woman.

When I think of Italian grandmas...

      Like Caterina, Concetta was born in the Calabrian town of San Pietro a Maida. She was a good twelve years younger than her sister and it makes me wonder just how many children were born to Paolo and Rosa between 1870 and 1882. I ask because their brother Paolo was born in 1886 and I only know of three children born to Paolo and Rosa. There had to have been more!

   Concetta married Vincenzo Papatola in the May of 1907 and after the birth of their son Francesco  in 1908 they left San Pietro for Haverhill, Massachusetts. My guess is that her cousin Giovanni must have told her about the job opportunities in America at the time and that must have encouraged the Papatolas to cross the Atlantic.

    I can only imagine what leaving Italy must have felt like for her as she left the only home she had ever known. But, with a new town to live in came new opportunities. After they arrived, the family began to grow and I have to assume that she kept in touch with her family back in Italy. More on that in a bit.

   Not long after arriving in America, the Papatolas welcomed five more children into their lives. Angelina was born in 1911.  Rose in 1913. Paul in 1916. James in 1918. And Concetta in 1921. Unfortunately, Concetta did not live that long and one could say it was a sad omen of things to come. But, you will see that Concetta was a strong woman and nothing could beat her resolve!

La famiglia di Papatola.

    My grandfather Marco and his sister Nicolina arrived in Haverhill in late 1929 with their mother and had many great memories of the woman they fondly referred to as "Aunt Zia". I have a feeling she took care of the two kids while their parents were out or she helped Maria from time to time as she was their great-aunt. Marco eventually had a close relationship with her daughters Angelina and Rose that lasted well into their adult years.

    I really think Concetta was a caring type. After all, she and her husband took in her brother Paolo and his children after his first wife passed away in 1918. He and his kids were seen living with her family in the 1920 US census in Haverhill. She had a big heart. What else can you say? Siblings watch out for each other when life throws a few curveballs at you.

    And unfortunately life threw a major curveball at Concetta during the 1930s that not even Babe Ruth could hit. Her husband Vincenzo passed away in early 1933 and by the end of the decade her oldest son Francesco was sent back to San Pietro leaving behind a wife and two daughters. To this day no one is quite sure about what he did. Not even his children in San Pietro knew! At this point it's all speculation.

    At least it wasn't all doom and gloom for Concetta. She stayed in touch with the family back in Italy through letters, phone calls and even the odd boat trip. Through those letters and more, my 2nd great-grandmother told her grandchildren about her brother Paolo, the detective and  sister Concetta. I'm sure Francesco even backed up some of the stories about his mother and I'm fairly certain he kept in contact with her and his siblings, too. Just because there's an ocean between you it doesn't mean you're "gone forever". You all know how much I despise that trope.

Concetta and Angelina

       Concetta remained a strong woman up until she passed away in 1967. I remember my cousin Karen telling me about the last time she saw her great-grandmother. Karen was fourteen at the time and Concetta told her that she reminded her a lot of herself at the same age. Very strong and very willful. She told her those qualities would take her far in life. I think it resonated with Karen because she remembered those words all those years later.

    Concetta had a profound impact on the lives of many people in Haverhill. I just feel bad that she never got to know the children Francesco had with his second wife, Angela. I'm sure they'd have loved to know their grandmother and they're all still living in the San Pietro area.

    Once I came into contact with them, I was sure to tell them everything I knew and sent pictures along in case they didn't have any. I'm sure that helped and they did keep in touch with the children Francesco had in America. Oh and it should be noted that one of Francesco's children in Italy was named after his mother.

    As you can see siblings make an indelible mark on a family. Somehow Concetta remained strong after losing her husband, a child and remained strong when her oldest son was sent back to Italy. Her reputation preceded her as she was a very amiable woman. She took in her brother when he was going through a rough time. She was so well loved that her sister back home sang her praises. I think that's a good legacy to have to be honest. You want to leave this world knowing that you put a lot of good into it by helping people in need and I think that's what she did. 

    I probably only scratched the surface of how great Concetta was. After all she had a whopping thirty grandchildren and I'm sure each of them had  (or have) their own stories about their grandma. I swear when I think of Italian grandmothers I think of two people. My own grandma Ollie, of course. And "Aunt Zia".

See ya next time!