The first time I visited my grandfather's hometown in Italy, I couldn't imagine why he left. Rolling hills surround his beautiful little town, and everyone knows one another. My great grandmother's town is so clean and pretty it practically shines.
How could they leave the serene Italian countryside for bustling American cities? To figure out why my people became immigrants, I had to find out what was happening at home when they left.
People have always left their homelands for the same basic reasons:
- To escape persecution, religious or otherwise.
- To escape extreme poverty, hunger, or famine.
- To escape the brutalization of war and armed aggression.
- To escape disease and a high death rate.
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| Which ancestor led the way for your family to follow to a better life? |
In my family's case, their rural Southern Italian towns were, and still are, left behind. In the early 1900s, local transportation was difficult. This made it hard for people to get the food and other goods they needed. They had to raise their own crops and livestock. There was little to no industrialization in the south, which meant there were no jobs. Everyone was a farmer or practiced a trade. The vast majority of people were illiterate with no access to higher education.
That's why Southern Italians traveled to America in droves. They came to work on the railroads, in the steel mills, in the coal mines, and in the factories. They were hard, dangerous jobs, but at last they could earn money to help support their families.
Using Ship Manifests to Find Your Chain of Immigrants
Who paved the way for your earliest immigrant ancestors? Very early ship manifests won't offer you much information. But if you have anyone who left their home country in the 1890s or later, you're in luck. Your relative's ship manifest should tell you who they're coming to join in the new country. You may even see a street address.
Here's what I've put together by studying ship manifests.
anchor: a person or thing that can be relied on for support, stability, or security
My Iamarino Anchor. My great grandfather, Francesco Iamarino, traveled to New York City a handful of times. He earned money and went back home to Italy. The first ship manifest I find for him is from 1903. He is coming to join his brother Giuseppe Iamarino on Morris Avenue in the Bronx, New York. Also on board with Francesco are Giuseppe's wife and two children.
On a 1909 ship manifest, Francesco is sailing to Boston, but he isn't alone. He's with his brother Teofilo, brother-in-law Innocenzo Pilla, and cousins Giorgio and Antonio Paolucci. All five men were heading to the Bronx to join Giuseppe Iamarino.
In 1920, my grandfather Pietro Iamarino (Francesco's son) had no opportunities at home. His only choice there was to work the land and hope to get by. Instead, Pietro joined his uncle Antonio Pilla in a Boston suburb where he worked for a baker. Then he went to Pennsylvania to join some men from his hometown and work at a steel mill. Then on to Ohio to work in another steel mill and live with a cousin who would become his father-in-law. (Pasquale Iamarino, my great grandfather.) Finally, he took his family to the Bronx to join his uncle Giuseppe Iamarino. That's the same Giuseppe his father had joined at least three times. Pietro worked as a stone setter for a jeweler, finally achieving security for his family.
I've never found a ship manifest for my 2nd great uncle Giuseppe Iamarino. The 1905 New York State Census says he arrived in 1900, but I don't know who was here for him. Giuseppe became an anchor to help his family find a better life in America. My father was about 3 years old when his family moved from Ohio to the Bronx. He says his family lived with Giuseppe until they could get their own apartment nearby.
My Caruso Anchor. My great granduncle Giuseppe Caruso boarded a ship in 1900. He and his brother-in-law set out to join their shared brother-in-law Michele in Elmira, New York. Michele arrived in America in 1894. His ship manifest offers no extra details. That's why I'm so lucky my ancestors arrived as late as they did.
Giuseppe Caruso sent for his wife in 1901, his brother Nicola in 1902, his brothers Filippo and Luigi in 1903, and his sister Maria Rosa (my great grandmother) in 1906. Each person listed Giuseppe as the person they were coming to join.
Four months after Maria Rosa arrived, she married Giuseppe's friend, Pasquale Iamarino (my great grandfather). Part of Giuseppe's work in paving the way for his family was finding a husband for his sister.
Who paved the way for your immigrant ancestors? Did they find a better life? Do you think you could have been born if they hadn't left?
Good Morning DiAnn: Thank you for a most informative post on uncovering an anchor ancestor. I see that Bronx, New York was a place that allowed many of our ancestors to realize their dreams for a better life in America. I have fond memories of growing up there with a very large extended family all living within a mile of each other with the anchor ancestors right there in the mix.
ReplyDeleteAh, yes. When I first started doing genealogy, one of the first things I did was go through census records. I was amazed at how many of my relatives were within a couple of blocks of each other. My great granduncle Giuseppe Iamarino lived within a block of where my dad and his family wound up. My mother was a block away, too. I think this explains why they loved growing up there so much.
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