Orphan visa

Over 25 million Italians have emigrated between 1861 and 1960 with a migration boom between 1871 and 1915 when over 13,5 million emigrants left the country for European and overseas destinations.
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Anna7841
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Orphan visa

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I had heard stories for years that my grandfather came over on an orphan visa. The only name I can find in ship lists is a 15 year old boy. I don't see anyone else on the manifest that seems to be obviously related to him. The date of birth, port of departure fits and the name is very close. Has anyone ever heard of a minor coming over on an orphan visa, would a minor be allowed to come over by themself? He arrived in 1889 according to the name I found.--ann
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Re: Orphan visa

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Normally an unaccompanied child (?) would be chaperoned by an adult passenger but then again perhaps a 15 year old boy was not considered a child by the Ship line he was sailing on. Can you please furnish us with the name of the boy and the ship and date of arrival? Perhaps the ellisisland.org website? =Peter=
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Re: Orphan visa

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Giralomo (or Giralomio) Dodatto, age 15 , arriving on SS Brittannia 10/24/1889

I have seen the first name spelled Girolomo, Gilormo, Girolorino on the marriage record and listings of it.

I have seen the last name spelled D'oddato on the marriage record, Doddato on the listing of it, and the family spelled it Daddoto when listing his brother as a survivor in the obituary.

By that time, he had long since changed his name to George D. Rivers. On the censuses (3) he had a birthdate listed of 1874 or 1875, approximate.

On the three censuses , he listed his birthplace as NY. But, on the marriage information, his birthplace is listed as Italy.

He was married to Gaetana (Ida) Galla (Gallo),birthdate around 1884, who does list her birthplace as Italy in the census, but I can find no record of a ship she was on.--Ann
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Tessa78
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Re: Orphan visa

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Welcome to the forum, Ann :-)

Is this the marriage info you refer to?

Groom's Name: Girolorino D'Oddato
Groom's Birth Date:
Groom's Birthplace:
Groom's Age:
Bride's Name: Gaetana Galla
Bride's Birth Date:
Bride's Birthplace:
Bride's Age:
Marriage Date: 07 Dec 1899
Marriage Place: Manhattan, New York, New York
Groom's Father's Name: Felice
Groom's Mother's Name: Palolina Scotillo
Bride's Father's Name: Vito Galla
Bride's Mother's Name: Rosa Laurina
Groom's Race:
Groom's Marital Status:
Groom's Previous Wife's Name:
Bride's Race:
Bride's Marital Status:
Bride's Previous Husband's Name:
Indexing Project (Batch) Number: M00588-6
System Origin: New_York-ODM
Source Film Number: 1613063
Reference Number:
Collection: New York Marriages, 1686-1980

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Re: Orphan visa

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He arrived in the USA listed as a Laborer so that he was considered an adult and need no chaperone. He is listed in the www.castlegarden.org website under the Dodatto, Girolamo name. He arrived on October 24, 1889.

His correct name is that listed in the GIROLAMO DODATTO passenger list since he paid for his own passage tolthe USA. =Peter=
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Re: Orphan visa

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Re: Orphan visa

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Tess it doesn't provide any additional information beyond that of Castle Garden manifest. =Peter=
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Re: Orphan visa

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I agree :-)

I just put it out there for viewing (and I didn't realize you had already posted it :-) )

Sorry for the redundancy :-( You're just too quick for me...

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Re: Orphan visa

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Thank you for the reply.
Yes, those are the documents I saw, where does it list him as a laborer? I had a hard time understanding the little bit of writing on the manifest other than the name, although some of those seemed difficult to figure out,too! And what shows that he paid for his own passage? I still have found no record of a naturalization, and he says on all three censuses that I found that he was born in NY. I did find a draft registration card for WWI for him (Rochester NY, under George D Rivers). Would they have required proof of citizenship of that? My mother met him once and says he had absolutely no trace of an Italian accent.--Ann
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Re: Orphan visa

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The more the merrier Tessa. =Peter=
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Re: Orphan visa

Post by PeterTimber »

Anna when you go to www.castlegarden.org and put in Dodatto and nothing else and the only listing comes up is for Girolamo Dodatto. Click on DODATTO and the laborer business and other information comes up on the screen. As I said he paid for his own passage so they treated him as an adult. =Peter=
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Re: Orphan visa

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Glad to hear that, Peter! :-D

Ann,

Did the obituary list the surviving brother as living in Italy?

T.
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Re: Orphan visa

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Yes, thank you, I did see that . I am confused , wonder if he was born here or there. Can't really find any evidence of his parents OR hers here. My mother says that her parents said he was Napolitano. To complicate matters, I am trying to look for records in Brooklyn, which I guess was Manhattan at that time. That is where I found the marriage record and found out the parents names.From what I understand, I may have to look through a lot of court records (if that is even possible) to find a naturalization record. The names of both sets of parents also correspond with naming traditions for southern Italian families. So, I think that info is correct. I remember an elderly aunt of mine saying once that her grandmother's name was Lorena. And I see that one parent was Rosa Laurina, so , again, that seems like it fits. Very interesting how the pieces seem to come together. Hopefully, will be able to find more info in the future. I traced them to Honeoye Falls NY shortly after they got married, so will be looking at the library, historical society, and church there when I can drive over. Also found reference to him in an online diary on the history of a nursery he worked at. Thank you both for looking at the documents and giving me some more info.--Ann
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Re: Orphan visa

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The surviving brother was listed as Anthony Daddato in Brooklyn. My mom does remember receiving a Christmas card from them shortly after they were married, and it was from Brooklyn. She says my aunt was also visited several times by Anthony's daughter (her cousin), Sophie Daddoto. It was a huge taboo in my Dad's family to even mention the original name. They used to snarl that "It was always Rivers!". Yeah, right, it was always Rivers with them being so obviously Italian. My mom and I figured, hey, you gotta do what you gotta do. We think he changed the name to make it easier to get employment. And did he ever need employment! He went on to have 13 children.--Ann
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Re: Orphan visa

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There is a Social Securiy Death Index for George Rivers who died in 1959, is that your relative?

If he had a SS #, you can request a copy of his application (for a fee) under the FOIA. That will list his place of birth and parents' names.

http://www.socialsecurity.gov/admin/tem ... t/main.jsp

T.
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