Family of Mary Castello

[BeckyA]

I am looking for the family of Mary M Castello. Birth: 15 Jan 1869 in Toledo, Ohio
Death: Feb 1949 in Tenafly, NY, Burial: Saginaw, Michigan, USA
Father:George Castello
Mother: Mary Amelia Ingersoll
Spouse: Albert N Boles (b: 16 Oct 1868)Death: 1909 in Saginaw, Michigan, USA
Burial: Forest Lawn Cemetery, Saginaw, MI
Children:
1 Harvey Boles
Birth: 1897 in Saginaw, Michigan, USA
Death: 1897 in Saginaw, Michigan, USA

2 Marguerite Ethyl Boles
Birth: 28 Jun 1899 in Saginaw, Michigan, USA
Death: 20 Nov 1979 in Manatee County Florida
Spouses: Bruno Cohn

3.Albert C. Boles
Birth: 1905 in Saginaw, Michigan, USA
Death: 1909 in Saginaw, Michigan, USA

4 Viola Thelma Boles
Birth: 06 Nov 1906 in Saginaw, Michigan, USA
Marriage: 1927
Spouses: Enrico Sferra (b: 16 Jun 1905)

5 Mildred Boles
Birth: 1908 in Saginaw, Michigan, USA
Death: 1915 in Saginaw, Michigan, USA
Burial: Forest Lawn Cemetery Saginaw, MI

6 Judson Ogden
Birth: 1911 in Saginaw, Michigan, USA
Death: 1911 in Saginaw, Michigan, USA

Mary had 2 beautiful daughters, Marguerite and Viola. They both became dancers
in "George White’s Scandals" , a movie. Shirley says Zeigfield, and also that Viola
had a son named Genarro Sferra, killed by a Japanese Sniper in WWll, however I can’t substantiate that.

[johnnyonthespot]

It is a minor detail, but the correct spelling is Gennaro, not Genarro.

I found very few references worth noting, other than a "Geno M. Sferra" who served in the US Navy aboard the USS Sculptor in 1944 and 1945. The Sculptor was a cargo ship which operated in the western Pacific and was decommissioned soon after the end of WWII. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Sculptor_(AK-103)

[edited to add]

Geno apparently survived the war, however:

U.S. Veterans Gravesites, ca.1775-2006 about Geno Michael Sferra
Name: Geno Michael Sferra
Service Info.: COX US NAVY WORLD WAR II
Birth Date: 6 Mar 1926
Death Date: 3 Feb 2005
Cemetery: Riverside National Cemetery
Cemetery Address: 22495 Van Buren Boulevard Riverside, CA 92518
Buried At: Section 49a Site 1142

This Geno's date of birth slightly precedes Viola's marriage...

In a one-line obituary, Geno M. Sferra is said to have died in Playa Del Rey, California and to have been formerly of Warren, Ohio. There are two Sferra's in Play Del Rey today, one old enough to possibly be Geno's widow and the other possibly a son. No harm in writing a letter or making a telephone call. See http://www.whitepages.com/dir/playa-del-rey-ca/sferra

[johnnyonthespot]

It appears that Enrico and Viola were living in New Jersey in 1930:

1930 United States Federal Census about Enrico G Sferra
Name: Enrico G Sferra
Home in 1930: Tenafly, Bergen, New Jersey
View Map
Age: 24
Estimated Birth Year: abt 1906
Birthplace: New York
Relation to Head of House: Head
Spouse's Name: Viola T Sferra
Race: White
Household Members: Name Age
Enrico G Sferra 24
Viola T Sferra 23
Margherita Sferra 2
Mary M Ogden 61

No Gennaro/Geno born yet; this would seem to rule out the sailor, above.



Click once to enlarge; click again for maximum magnification.

[johnnyonthespot]

Interesting... Enrico Sferra made at least a dozen trips overseas between roughly 1928 and 1953. On one manifest, his middle name is given as Aurelio

This caught my eye also:

Texas Birth Index, 1903-1997 about Michael T Sferra
Name: Michael T Sferra
Date of Birth: 2 May 1956
Gender: Male
Birth County: Cameron
Father's name: Gennaro Enrico Sferra
Mother's name: Carolyn Marion Wilson
Roll Number: 1956_0014

[johnnyonthespot]

Aha! And here it is!

Gennaro E. Sferra obituary, New York Times, Sept 7, 1962.


free image hosting

Probably not a Japanese sniper (in 1962?), but possibly his plane went down due to some other failure?

[johnnyonthespot]

Enrico also went by the name Henry and there are many, many, more transatlantic crossings made under that name. His father's name was Gennaro, by the way.

[johnnyonthespot]

Enrico's obituary, New York Times, Nov 29, 1972


post image wordpress

Wife Evelyn might be an anglicized version of Viola or might (I don't think so) be a second wife.

[johnnyonthespot]

The Washington Theater - Washington DC
October 25 through October 30, 1925

LADY BE GOOD – musical: book by Guy Bolton and Fred Thompson; music by George Gershwin and lyrics by Ira Gershwin. Cast includes Fred and Adele Astaire, Bill Bailey, Sam Critcherson, Harry Howell, Edward Jephson, Viola Boles, Katherine Sacker, Fern Adair, Gerald Oliver Smith, Walter Catlett, Winifred Barry. Staged by Felix Edwardes.

[johnnyonthespot]

I have the feeling this is Enrico's mother:

Social Security Death Index about Maria Sferra
Name: Maria Sferra
SSN: 147-36-2415
Last Residence: 07628 Dumont, Bergen, New Jersey, United States of America
Born: 29 Sep 1884
Died: Dec 1976
State (Year) SSN issued: New Jersey (1962)

[BeckyA]

This is awesome. So much information. Thank you very much.

[BeckyA]

I found out one of the Sferra family was an importer and they had a home in Italy

[johnnyonthespot]

I found out one of the Sferra family was an importer and they had a home in Italy

Well, that would explain the dozens of trips made by Enrico/Henry.

Now that you have Gennaro Sferra's full name, rank, date and proximate cause of death, you might try contacting the United States Air Force Public Information Office to see if you can obtain further details of his service and death. The best I could come up with is this Contact Us page, try selecting "US Air Force public inquiries" from the Recipient list. http://www.af.mil/main/contactus.asp

[johnnyonthespot]

You can probably find this elsewhere at no cost, but for starters:

Sferra, Carolyn (Wilson)

77 of Stow and Wayland, formerly of Bronxville, NY died peacefully on August 25, 2008. Beloved daughter of the late Albert F. Wilson and Loret (Smith) Wilson and step-daughter of the late Grace D. Wilson. Devoted wife of the late Captain Gennaro E. Sferra. Loving mother of Kathleen Sferra and her husband James Salvie of Stow. Caring aunt to Richard Birkins of New Jersey; Wendy Birkins Farr and Cheryl Doehrr both of North Carolina and Jeffrey Birkins of Minnesota. Dear friend and companion to the late Lucius…

http://massobitstoday.blogspot.com/2008/08/massachusetts-daily-obituaries-083008.html

[johnnyonthespot]

From http://www.dealtime.com/table-linens-southwest-motif+hi-home-furnishing-type-table-linens/products?sb=1

SFERRA 90 Round Table Cloth
Classic acanthus-leaf motif in a lush tone-on-tone pattern ... Read more
Classic acanthus-leaf motif in a lush tone-on-tone pattern from Sferra Bros.Crafted in Italy of luxurious Egyptian cotton.Hemstitched for an elegant finishing touch.Choose color below.

About Sferra: The story of Sferra begins at the turn of the 19th century, when Gennaro Sferra left Italy for the United States in the hopes of finding a market among the Atlantic Coast for his intricate Venetian Lace cuffs and collars. By 1912, he and his family had opened up shop on famed Fifth Avenue in New York City. A generation later, Gennaro's two sons expanded their family's collection to include the most luxurious European linens of the day from renowned double damask from Ireland, to Ale231;on laces from France, to elaborate embroideries from Belgium and Switzerland. In 1977, the ownership of Sferra was sold by the family to Paul Hooker, under whose keen business savvy and passionate stewardship this classic brand has flourished over the years. With the aid of great advancements in design and production techniques, Sferra has secured its rightful position as a leader in the luxury linens industry. Above all, the secret to the enduring reputation of the Sferra brand is the same now as it was a century ago only the finest materials are used in any product bearing the Sferra name.

[johnnyonthespot]

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