It isn't easy to imagine how my life might have turned out had my great-grandparents not decided to immigrate to the United States. I know why they did it, but sometimes I wonder if they regretted the decision? Leaving behind family, friends, and the only homes they had ever known must have been difficult.
As in most immigrant stories, the men emigrated first. Hopes were high that they might earn enough money to secure their family's future in the old country or establish a new life in America.
Three weeks at sea, what an arduous journey to undertake. Not an easy trek, especially for women. It couldn't have been easy to travel alone with young children to meet their husbands in a strange land with no one to lean on. Or imagine the young girl traveling to a foreign country to meet her future husband. A man that was selected for her by her parents and whom she had probably never laid eyes on before. Hoping that this person she was about to spend her life with was well-suited or kind, at the very least.
From August 1, 1855, through April 18, 1890, immigrants arriving in the state of New York came through Castle Garden. America's first official immigrant examining and processing center, Castle Garden welcomed approximately 8 million immigrants — most from Germany, Ireland, England, Scotland, Sweden, Italy, Russia, and Denmark.
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| Castle Garden Immigration Center - about 1888 |
Castle Garden welcomed its last immigrant on April 18, 1890. After the closing of Castle Garden, immigrants were processed at an old barge office in Manhattan until the opening of the Ellis Island Immigration Center on January 1.1892. [i]
My maternal great-grandmother, Carmella DeLio, and her 8-year-old son Angelo, my future grandfather, set sail on the SS Bolivia from Naples, Italy, in December 1887. They arrived in New York through Castle Garden on Jan. 4, 1888. They would join my great-grandfather, Raffaele, and eventually settle in Chicago, Illinois.
According to family lore, a young girl was also on the boat. Her name was Saveria Debiase. She was approximately 14 years old and was on her way to meet and marry her future husband, Michele Lufrano[1]. Carmella would take young Saveria under her wing during this long ocean crossing. The two became fast friends. A pact between them developed, determining that once Saveria and Michele married and started their family, their first daughter would be promised to marry Carmella's son, Angelo.
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| Chicago Street Scene 1888-1890 |
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| Downtown Chicago - 1890 |
Whether Saveria and Carmella met on the boat or through other means, an agreement was struck. Two years after that meeting, on Mar. 5, 1890, Saveria gave birth to her first child, a daughter named Maria or Mary, as she would be known. On Jan. 15, 1905, 14-year-old Mary and 24-year-old Angelo wed in Chicago, Illinois.
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| Bowler Avenue - 2017 |
My favorite memories growing up were of my parents, aunts,
and uncles discussing the old days on DeKalb Street. They spoke about them
with such relish that I felt like I was there. What great fun and adventures
they shared. If ever there was a time to need a video camera or tape recorder,
it was then. Oh, to be a fly on the wall!
[1] Most
documentation lists Michele Lufrano as Michael Lufrano. However, a
baptismal registry for one of Michael and Saveria's children refers to
him as Guiseppe Lufrano. This information has yet to be verified.
[i] Powell, Kimberly. "Castle Garden: America's
First Official Immigration Center." ThoughtCo, Feb. 11, 2020,
thoughtco.com/castle-garden-americas-official-immigration-center-1422288.
Where did you find the picture of Castle Garden? Thanks!
ReplyDeleteI knew that Castle Garden in NYC was the precursor to Ellis Island and so, I googled it.
DeleteYes I often wish I could be a fly on the wall in my ancestor's homes just to get a hint for all my brickwalls :) Great post. I hadn't heard of Castle Garden only Ellis Island so thanks for helping me learn something today.
ReplyDeleteThank you and you're welcome, Alex!
DeleteHow lucky for Mary and Angelo their marriage was a happy one. Certainly fulfilled when it came to offspring! Arranged marriages don't always work out that way.
ReplyDeleteYes, I know. Since my mother was one of the six kids, it was lucky for me, too or I wouldn't be here today!
DeleteHow wonderful to have the stories passed down.
ReplyDeleteI couldn't agree more!
DeleteI enjoyed very much the story of your immigrant ancestors. Two points struck me, as the sister of my great grandmother travelled with 6 young children and two pieces of baggage from England to New York entering through Castle Gardens in 1887. Her husband had gone ahead a year earlier.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much, Sue. Yes, I think it was common practice for the men to go first to secure a home and income and then they would bring over family.
DeleteTHose are great memories that your family has shared and you are continuing to pass them down to next generations. I didn't know about site for immigrants before Ellis Island. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteYou're welcome, Barbara. I'm just glad that I paid attention when the stories were being told!
DeleteIt certainly took a lot of individual courage to emigrate from a place you intimately knew to a foreign land with different language, culture, etc. But as you illustrate so well with your family story, most immigrants were not alone and benefited from joining a community of extended countrymen. And now, though the nationality have changed, it's a story that's still being told today.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Mike! Yes, I definitely agree.
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