Surname: DeFuso, Dafuso, D'Affuso

[Gears1674]

I'm trying to find information on my great grandparents. I have information back to the 1920 US Census. At that time, my great grandfather's name was listed at Dominic Dafuso. I also know that Italian was his mother tongue and that he immigrated here in 1904. However, that's where my information stops. I don't know if he came from Italy, Sicily etc. Also, I suspect that this name has been Americanized as my last name is DeFuso. I found a Domenico D'Affuso who was naturalized in 1904, in NYC. I have no way of being confident in knowing that these are the same person.

Can anyone reading this offer advice on how to resolve this? How can I confirm that these two names belong to the same person or not?

Thanks for your time.

Dan

[maestra36]

Hello and welcome to this forum-
a few questions-

Could you tell us exactly where your great grandparents were living on the 1920 census? did you get the 1904 immigration date for your great grandfather from that census? what was your great grandmother's name?

Also, if he only immigrated in 1904, he would not have been naturalized in the same year.

[maestra36]

how old was he on the 1920 census?

[maestra36]

were they living in Pennsylvania?

[maestra36]

I see on familysearchlabs.org a Dominic Dafuso living in Luzerne Pa. His estimated year of birth 1883. His wife, Mary, children Joseph, Michael, Isabell, James and Mary. Is this the family to which you are referring?

[Gears1674]

Hi.

Thanks for the response.

To answer your questions:
They were living in Hazleton, Luzerne County, Pennsylvania.
I did get the 1904 immigration date from that census. The naturalization date is shown as 1919.
He was 37 years old on that census.
His wife is listed at Mary.

Thanks again.

Dan

[Gears1674]

Yes, that is the family I am looking for.

[maestra36]

I don't have a subscription to ancestry.com and can't view the original census. Were all of the children born in the U.S. or were some born in Italy?

[maestra36]

I see them on the 1910 census.

Dominick Dafus
Spouse: Dominica
Birth: abt 1883 - location
Arrival: year
Residence: 1910 - city, Luzerne, Pennsylvania

Her first name is given as Domenica, Joseph was 6, and Michael was 9 months.

This census gives 1905 as his year of immigration and 1909 as hers and the son Joseph.

ED 35, sheet 8 A

[maestra36]

If you can't access this census yourself, perhaps someone on this forum could upload it for you.

[maestra36]

I don't see a street name on this census.

[maestra36]

Also he appears in the Pennslyvania 1910 Miracode Index, census and voter list-his name is spelled on ancestry.com as Dominick Dafus. I don't have access to this miracode index.

[Gears1674]

If someone could upload the 1910 census, that would be fantastic. I don't have an Ancestry subscription any longer as well. It seems as if this census and the Miracode file could be very helpful

[maestra36]

the miracode index may just be a list of names

[Gears1674]

Also, I was rereading my initial post. The Domenico D'Affuso I mentioned immigrated in 1904. Given that and the fact that the 1920 census shows my great grandfather's immigration date as 1904, I thought maybe the two were connected. If the 1910 census shows something different (1905 as an immigration date) then I'm not so sure they are connected.