52 Ancestors Week 43: Urban

 From Amy Johnson Crow: Week 43:

The theme for Week 43 is “Urban.” What ancestors lived in town? Any memorable trips to the big city? How about an ancestor named Urban? This is their week.

It's thirty-six miles to Boston....

    While the cities of Haverhill and Newburyport have been discussed at great length in this blog, it's important to remember that while those Massachusetts cities are cities in every sense of the word they pale in comparison with the state's capitol, Boston. Boston is only a half hour drive from those cities and it's rightfully considered to be the center of New England. It's the largest state capitol in the region after all! Where else could you go watch a Red Sox, Celtics, or Bruins game, take a tour of a museum and have fine dining all in the same day? Sure you could go all the way to New York City. The problem is that the Big Apple is four hours away. If you lived in Haverhill and Newburyport, why go all the way there when you have the big city closer to home? 

    Boston, like its rival New York City, has always been a cosmopolitan place. People from every nation made their homes there and as a result ethnic neighborhoods formed throughout the city.

    For example, the North End is famous for its Italian neighborhoods and fine Italian dining. Italians arriving in Massachusetts often settled there or went to one of the many outlying suburbs. That's exactly what my great-grandfather Giuseppe Carrabs did in September 1908.

    Curiously, Giuseppe arrived without his wife Clementina. She was mentioned on the manifest as living in Gesualdo at the time. Why did he go to Boston without her? Well, if you look at the second page of the manifest, the reason becomes very clear.

        Giuseppe went to Boston to visit his brother-in-law Pasquale Forgione who was living in Newburyport in 1908.  For my great-grandfather it was likely easier and not to mention cheaper to take the boat from Naples to Boston rather than go to New York and take a train to Newburyport. For him, Boston was a stepping stone on his travels. Of course many of his fellow passengers on the boat may have stayed in the city.

    It's interesting to note that Pasquale didn't stay in Newburyport too long. He and his family moved to Haverhill once Giuseppe returned to America in the 1910s with his own family.  Pasquale married his wife Giuseppina Pastore in Boston in 1913. I guess they realized that the Queen Slipper City would be a better place to live than Newburyport. 

    The North End historically has been a hub of activity for Italian immigrants and because it was so close to cities like Haverhill and Newburyport many Italians visited the area. With so many Italians around, it quickly became a place many Italian immigrants felt was their home away from home much like Little Italy in New York City. An immigrant in Haverhill could visit, grab some goodies and have something from Italy at home whenever they were homesick. People often say NYC's Little Italy is important. However, you can't deny that the North End is just as iconic.

    Fine Italian dining aside, Boston is home to many museums and the largest aquarium in New England. There is a lot of history to be had in Beantown along with everything else. It was one of the most important cities in the American Revolution after all.

    Ever since I was little, my family and I would make trips to Boston whether it was for a field trip to the Museum of Science and the New England Aquarium or to simply attend a Celtics game at the Garden. I should note that the stadium the Celtics and Bruins played in changed names three times since I was a kid. At least Fenway Park is still Fenway Park!

    Of course if you're a genealogist, you may want to check out the American Ancestors building on Newbury St.  I may be a little biased since a few cousins work there as well as a friend of mine! They do great work there! Check them out!

    Getting into Boston these days is considerably easier than back when my great-grandparents were around. Today, we would drive to a train station and simply take subway train into the city. Though, if you were ambitious you could always drive into Beantown. Just remember you can't pahk the cah in Hahvahd yahd. You take the "T"! At least there are shuttles that take you to and from the city in virtually every Massachusetts town and in towns in southern New Hampshire.

    In the end, Boston is just as important to me as Haverhill and Newburyport. There's just as much history and fun things to do there than there is in the cities my ancestors came from. The only difference is that Beantown is larger and while there are a lot of people there you can still easily get to the city from the various surrounding communities.

    People from those cities frequently went to the big city for travel, to take in the sights and for the Italians it was a place to feel at home even though home was thousands of miles away.

    Perhaps this is the real reason why Boston and New York have their storied rivalry. Both places have been considered cosmopolitan areas and both have a lot to offer people living in and outside the city.

    
    This week's blog certainly gushed over Beantown didn't it? I can't help it! I've been going to Boston ever since I was a kid. I first went there in grammar school and I've been going there for fun and other activities ever since. Boston really is the capitol of all six New England states and again it holds a special place in my heart because of all the trips to Boston I've heard about or personally experienced. I couldn't just pick one this week because they were all great. Boston is a city that's larger than life. If you have the means, I suggest you check the city out.

See you next time!

This blog has been paid for by the Great Boston Travel Agency. Our motto is you "Can get theyah from heyah faster than a dropped "r".".