Torricella Peligna:Florindo Fanella, Frank Porreco, b 1899

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Torricella Peligna:Florindo Fanella, Frank Porreco, b 1899

Post by cathsutton »

I hope someone can help me find my grandfather's relatives from Torricella Peligna. Grandfather was born 1899. His name was Florindo Fanella (Porreco?) and later became Frank Porreco at Ellis Island in 1913 when he came at age 14 to work on the New York Subway as a water boy. His mother was Francesca and I think her last name was Porreco. Grandfather had a sister and brother - his sister was Maria Stella and brother was John Fontochi -- or Fantchiona. I don't understand why all the stories of them seemed to be with them having different last names. Just as his name was Florindo Fanella. He told us that Bishop Antonio Tilo
helped with his adoption, to Maria Domenica, and he mentioned "casa di risparmia" and "Villa San Vicenza"
He married Assunta Bucci, his childhood sweetheart. from the same town. His mother was a cook in the palace of Duke Don Antonio of Tilo, and unmarried, but I cannot find any reference to this person or place in 1899. Can anyone help?
Thanks,
C Porreco
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Re: Torricella Peligna:Florindo Fanella, Frank Porreco, b 18

Post by PeterTimber »

Perhaps you may wish to read the Italian genealogy on line which will orient you in what to look or ask for about your family genelaogy. Go to http://www.angelfire.com/ok3/pearlsofwi ... earch.html
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~Peter~
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Re: Torricella Peligna:Florindo Fanella, Frank Porreco, b 18

Post by vj »

Hello!
To make sure we’re helping you find information/relatives for the right person, do either of these records belong to your Frank Porreco?
Thank you

From: http://history.denverlibrary.org/resear ... nal.html#P
Colorado Obituary Project
Pueblo Star Journal

Porreco Frank 'Florindo' (died) 13 Sep 1973

and/or

1917 WWI Draft Registration Card
Pueblo, CO
Florindo Porreco
18 Jun 1889
Casoli (Chieti) Abruzzo
(from ancestry. com)
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Re: Torricella Peligna:Florindo Fanella, Frank Porreco, b 18

Post by suanj »

Hi vj,
very good point...!
I believe that some infos abt Florindo are incorrect...
I believe that your WWI draft registration card is right...
I found this record, matching enough for birthyear...

New York Passenger Lists, 1820-1957
about Florindo Fanella
Name: Florindo Fanella
Arrival Date: 17 Feb 1912
Estimated Birth Year: abt 1890
Age: 22
Gender: Male
Port of Departure: Naples, Italy
Ethnicity/Race­/Nationality: Italian (South) (Italian)
Ship Name: Hamburg
Search Ship Database: View the Hamburg in the 'Passenger Ships and Images' database
Port of Arrival: New York, New York
Nativity: Italy
Line: 30
Microfilm Serial: T715
Microfilm Roll: T715_1807
Birth Location: Italy
Birth Location Other: guardiagrele
Page Number: 60

this Florindo Fanella born in Guardiagrele ( near Casoli) left the stepfather Domenico Fanella in Guardiagrele; I believe that all siblings had different surnames, because Francesca Porreca ( right spell) was unmarried....
what you think abt that???
Hugs,
suanj
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Re: Torricella Peligna:Florindo Fanella, Frank Porreco, b 18

Post by vj »

Hello suanj :D !
What a wonderful manifest find!
I agree (if the birth year is 1889, not 1899) the manifest with the stepfather (stepmother maybe??) Domenico in Guardiagrele really matches the information that the poster has.
The manifest date is the same and so is the location in Italy.

WOW!

Valarie
---

edit: added

suanj’s manifest find
1912 manifest
page 2
Line 30
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Re: Torricella Peligna:Florindo Fanella, Frank Porreco, b 18

Post by pink67 »

Hi all, have you noticed that in the 1912 arrival manifest he declared he was in the U.S. before, from 1905 to 1909?

So, this should be his 1920 census in Pueblo :D

1920 United States Federal Census
about Frank Porraco
Name: Frank Porraco
Home in 1920: Pueblo, Pueblo, Colorado
Age: 30 years
Estimated Birth Year: abt 1890
Birthplace: Italy
Relation to Head of House: Head
Spouse's Name: Susie
Father's Birth Place: Italy
Mother's Birth Place: Italy
Marital Status: Married
Race: White
Sex: Male
Home owned: Own
Year of Immigration: 1905
Able to read: Yes
Able to Write: Yes
Image: 1017
Neighbors: View others on page
Household Members: Name Age
Frank Porraco 30
Susie Porraco 23 oright spell on the manifest Lucie
Julius Porraco 1 7/12

Year of immigration 1905 :!:

[img=http://img16.imageshack.us/img16/508/po ... sus.th.jpg]

Laura
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Re: Torricella Peligna:Florindo Fanella, Frank Porreco, b 18

Post by vj »

Hello Laura :D !
That census really helps!
I guess Susie is Assunta
So if he was in the US in 1905 he would have been about 15 - that's the information the poster has.
Another WOW!
Valarie
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Re: Torricella Peligna:Florindo Fanella, Frank Porreco, b 18

Post by pink67 »

cathsutton wrote:helped with his adoption, to Maria Domenica, and he mentioned "casa di risparmia" and "Villa San Vicenza"
Villa San Vincenzo is an hamlet of the town of Guardiagrele :!:

http://italia.indettaglio.it/eng/abruzz ... cenzo.html

Laura :D
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Re: Torricella Peligna:Florindo Fanella, Frank Porreco, b 18

Post by vj »

pink67 wrote:
cathsutton wrote:helped with his adoption, to Maria Domenica, and he mentioned "casa di risparmia" and "Villa San Vicenza"
Villa San Vincenzo is an hamlet of the town of Guardiagrele :!:

http://italia.indettaglio.it/eng/abruzz ... cenzo.html

Laura :D
Laura
That really helps a lot :D
So would this be the correct address to write away for Florindo’s birth record?

Comune di Guardiagrele
Piazza San Francesco 12
66016 Guardiagrele CH
ITALY

(from: http://www.nonsolocap.it/abruzzo/45-guardiagrele/)

Interactive form letter:
http://www.circolocalabrese.org/resourc ... civile.asp


Name: Florindo Fanella(?), born about 18 Jun 1889
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Re: Torricella Peligna:Florindo Fanella, Frank Porreco, b 18

Post by cathsutton »

Thank you all so much. I cannot believe your replies so quickly when I have wondered about this for so long. Yes, this is correct. My grandfather said he first came to the US when he was about 14, and he said his name was given at Ellis Island as Porreco and that it had something to do with his sponsor. So I don't know if that was his mother's maiden name, or what. His mother's name was Francesca and she was a cook/ servant "in the palace". He spoke of that, said he lived there awhile and there were lots of children of servants and I understood that they were probably half brothers and sisters. I remember Grandfather talking about his childhood a lot, and he never said his mother's full name. I only remember him talking about his father, "the Duke" and his half brother "Innocengo" who was probably about his age because he said they would play together until the Duke's "real son" would tell him to get out. He was always very ashamed about his birth out of wedlock, and he cried about it even in his 80s, he still cried. I never understood about the name Fanella - whose name this was. His mother's? He always said his father was the Duke of Tilo. Was there such a person? I have looked and looked and cannot find anything.
The dates you have for the trips to the US when he was just a boy, aged 14, so 1905 would be correct. He spoke of this a lot, he consistently said he came at age 14 and worked as a water boy in the tunnels when the NY subway was being built. I remember growing up, I would ask him what that meant ,and he said he ran up and down the line with water and he was just a boy. I don't know who he lived with or where in NY but he saved his money to go back and get Assunta and bring her to the US. They moved to Pueblo, Colorado and that address you have is right, their first address I think. My father took me there in Pueblo, we saw it a few years ago. Assunta died in her early 30s. I would love to know if we have any relatives in Italy. Maybe he had some half brothers and sisters whose families are searching for relatives? My father is the only one left of the five sons, he's Rocco, born 1920. He would love to know any information about his father, and I would too. THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!!!!!!! I cannot believe all this help.
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Re: Torricella Peligna:Florindo Fanella, Frank Porreco, b 18

Post by cathsutton »

You are right about my grandfather's birthdate. I just spoke to my father and he said Grandfather was born in 1889. I had the wrong date and you still were able to find all this information. Thank you so much.
These documents are a wonderful gift!

So do the records show that Grandfather's mother was Porreca and not Porreco?

And where do you suggest we look for any information about the existence of a man named Duke Don Antonio of Tilo?

CPorreco
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Re: Torricella Peligna:Florindo Fanella, Frank Porreco, b 18

Post by pink67 »

Hi CPorreco and thank you for this update....
Wow, what a story! It's fantastic that your father is here... I can understand his happiness seeing all this dates...
You told us that assunta died soon, so I believe this should be the 1930 census for her children in the Sacred Heart Orphanage in Pueblo:

1930 United States Federal Census
about Julius Porecco
Name: Julius Porecco
Home in 1930: Pueblo, Pueblo, Colorado
Age: 11
Estimated Birth Year: abt 1919
Birthplace: Colorado
Race: White
Occupation:

Education:

Military service:

Rent/home value:

Age at first marriage:

Parents' birthplace: View Image
Neighbors: View others on page

Julius Porecco 11
Ernest Porecco 9
James Borecco 6
Thomas Borecco 5

[img=http://img16.imageshack.us/img16/3746/p ... 930.th.jpg]

at the moment of his arrival (the second) in 1912 he was single... on the 1920 census manifest Assunta stated she did emigrate to the U.S. on 1899 when she was (more or less) 2 years old... :? so possible she was with her parents....
If we'll be able to find her arrival maybe we should revel other "clues"

Ohowever, I found a reference of a Tilli Innocenzo (of the late Liborio) a lawyer in a 1906 photo (Casoli) on this site :

http://www.casoli.org/

click on the section: Casoli nel cassetto Pag. 10

Laura


edit to add:

here is a photo of the Tilli Palace in Casoli: :!:

http://cstc-idc.egov.regione.abruzzo.it ... &locale=it

http://www.catalogodoma.com/12319.html
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Re: Torricella Peligna:Florindo Fanella, Frank Porreco, b 18

Post by pink67 »

Cporreco,

I believe this should be Assunta 's 1910 census in Pueblo, living with her parent Giulio :!: and Filomena:

1910 United States Federal Census
about Julio Bucci
Name: Julio Bucci
Age in 1910: 38
Estimated Birth Year: abt 1872
Birthplace: Italy
Relation to Head of House: Head
Father's Birth Place: Italy
Mother's Birth Place: Italy
Spouse's Name: Filomena
Home in 1910: Precinct 2, Pueblo, Colorado
Marital Status: Married
Race: White
Gender: Male
Year of Immigration: 1888
Neighbors: View others on page
Household Members: Name Age
Julio Bucci 38 head, born in T
Filomena Bucci 39 wife, born in IT
Asunta Bucci 14 daughter, born in IT
Rocco Ciccotelli 21 boarder
Angelontonco Satlese 50 boarder
Jabano Oigesuallo 48 boarder

[img=http://img8.imageshack.us/img8/4161/buc ... sus.th.jpg]

Laura :D
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Re: Torricella Peligna:Florindo Fanella, Frank Porreco, b 18

Post by BillieDeKid »

Fantastic teamwork!!! What a wonderful story.
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Re: Torricella Peligna:Florindo Fanella, Frank Porreco, b 18

Post by pink67 »

:!: You're right Elizabeth, it's a very fascinating story :D

Could you help finding Giulio Bucci 1898? arrival?
I'm sure he travelled with his wife Filomena and little daughter Assunta... I can't find it!

Laura :D
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