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My husband's great grandfather is from Salerno, Italy. His American name was Joe Mollica (o). I'm not sure if that was his given name upon birth. He was born in 1882, and I have been told that his father's name was also Joe. He married a Lena Russell in southern Illinois and had several children with her.
I am interested in tracing the family tree, but am stopped at him, because of my lack of information. I do know that there are no Ellis Island records because he (I was told) stowed away on the ship.
I really have no idea how to proceed. Any ideas? And thank you!
Go to www.ellisisland.org seeking Giuseppe=Joseph Mollica for his entry into the USA. There are 48 Giuseppe Mollica listed from Italy and by seeing the list and checking theships manifest you may be able to find out who he is among the 48. I suspect he came in legally.
In Italy birthsmarriage and death records are mostly in the town of origin and when you say Salerno do you mean the city of Salerno or one of the towns or villages in the province of Salerno since many people say the provincial capital rather than their town so that people know where they came from in Italy
Next thing to do is go to www.ssdi.rootsweb.ancestry.com and see if you can find Giuseppe Mollica or Joseph Mollica by his birthdate or birth year in Illinois and let us know how you make out. =Peter=
I did a quick check and found the closest one is Giuseppe Mollica,born October 3,1881 and died in NYC in March, 1964. His social security # may be 101-05-5961. Go to the end of the line where you find him on the SSDI website I gave you above and youcan get a copy of his original SS-5 application with a form letter. it may cost you about $25.00 but it will have his full date of birth, his parents names and where he was born iof he put in the town and not just Italy which some people did inthose days.=Peter=
I'm not sure if it's city or Province... and I know that he died in Illinois. I believe it was in the 50's. Thanks for the links! I'll start combing through and see what I can find out!
Name: Giuseppe Mollica
Age: 63
Birth Date: abt 1882
Issue Date: 6 Sep 1945
State: New York
Locality, Court: Eastern District of New York, District Court
Title: Index to Naturalization Petitions of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York, 1865-1957
Description: Mintz, Abe to Moquist, Olof
Series: M1164
Name: Giuseppe Mollica
Age: 63
Birth Date: abt 1882
Issue Date: 6 Sep 1945
State: New York
Locality, Court: Eastern District of New York, District Court
Title: Index to Naturalization Petitions of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York, 1865-1957
Description: Mintz, Abe to Moquist, Olof
Series: M1164
Nope, that's definitely not him. I'm not sure when he got to the States, but I know he was married with children in the 1920 census in Saline County, IL. Thank you for looking though!
Joe Mollico died in Harrisburg, IL January 1956. He and wife Lena are in the 1920 & 1930 Saline County Census records. They are found in the 1910 Williamson County Census living in the same neighborhood as her ? Father Jake Russell? From the census records Joe is listed as arriving in U.S. in 1896 and/or 1902. He and Lena were married about 1908 when she was 14. It appears as though they had two children by the 1910 census, though one is listed as deceased at that time and the 1920 census doesn't show the other child.
Hope it helps...
I've made several cousin connections using ancestry.com. With many of them we will simply exchange an email here and there on ancestry.com and compare some notes. I find that most people go to ancestry.com mainly to have a DNA test, an aren't that interested in building a family tree, making connect...
