DeSena; accidental death in Brooklyn, 1917

[pgerald]

I'm looking for more information on my great-great grandfather, Antonio/Antimo Desena (different records show one of those two names), who was born in Italy (approx. 1877), and settled in Brooklyn, New York sometime before 1900. I have no definitive record of him before his death in 1917. The one possible record is from the 1905 state census in Brooklyn, where an Antonio DeSena is listed as living with his wife Churina (likely a mistake by the automated transcription). I know that his wife, my great-great grandmother, was Felicia Mercadante. This might still be their record, though, if this was another name she went by, since the listed time in the U.S. matches Felicia's immigration year of 1902, when she arrived from (San) Vitaliano, in Naples. His death certificate from September of 1917 lists his cause of death as "Fracture of Skull Compression & Hemorrhage of Cord Skull by Onchets", according to the automatic transcription listed on ancestry.com. Per this same certificate, he died at Williamsburg Hospital, his occupation was as a driver, and his parents were Mario and Filomena DeSena. In 1920, his surviving family (wife and six children) were still living at 73 Taaffe Pl (Brooklyn), the same address listed on Antonio's death certificate. By 1925, they had moved deeper into a Brooklyn, to a 3-story apartment building purchased by Felicia and where several generations of family then lived. I have no birth, immigration, or marriage record for Antonio.

There are a few additional pieces of information passed down from family. First, is that Antonio was an illegitimate child, possibly adopted (processed within Italy, of course). I do know, though, that his wife was born in San Vitaliano, Naples, and that marriages between newly-arrived immigrants were often based on being from the same area - thus, he is possibly from metropolitan Naples. Second, is that he died driving, when the horse pulling the carriage (transporting ice) reared back and fell on him. This certainly aligns with the fracture and compression listed in his death certificate. I have searched local newspapers for any record of this incident, but have not found anything. I've been limited to digitized records, and haven't been able to try any Italian-language newspapers, which might have listed his death. However, I do know that horses were abundant in New York at the time, and thus accidents may have been so commonplace as to not be documented in any local papers. Third, Felicia used a settlement/payment provided by Antonio's employer to purchase the apartment building. A final piece of information is that the uncle (a judge in New York) of their daughter-in-law served as a guardian to his widow, Felicia. I don't know if that guardianship was formalized, however, and if so, if there are documents of any court proceedings.

I do realize there's a lot here, but I'd be grateful for leads or search suggestions on any aspects of this. To summarize, I'm interested in possible birth, adoption, or immigration records for him. I'm also searching for any documentation of his death (beyond the city certificate), employment, or settlement to his widow.

P.S. Following the forum's convention, I provided links only, rather than attached documents. I'm happy to attach copies of any of the records in case it is needed/useful and you cannot access them through the links.

[PippoM]

Hi,
I don't know if you already have Felicia's ship manifest:

https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903 ... 3AJFGW-P2Q

[pgerald]

Hi PippoM,

Yes, I have seen that and meant to include that link, too. But thank you for searching for it and posting it!

[Tessa78]

Can you provide the names of children?

Also...Here is a POSSIBLE arrival for Antonio in 1891.
Afragola is a comune in the Metropolitan city of Naples.

Name: Antonio Disena
Event Type: Immigration
Event Date: 03 Jun 1891
Event Place: New York, New York, New York, United States
Sex: Male
Age: 13
Birthplace: Italy
Occupation: Niece, Nephew
Ship Name: Burgundia
Birth Year (Estimated): 1878
Departure Port: Naples
Literacy: Unknown
Residence Place: Afragola
Destination Place: NEW YORK
Transit or Travel Compartment: Staying in the USA [Transit]; Steerage [Travel]
Affiliate Manifest ID: 00000319
Affiliate ARC Identifier: 1746097

EDIT TO ADD:

Death of their 2yo daughter Filomena in 1911
https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:2WN3-2KJ

birth of daughter Angiolina in 1905
https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:2WC9-Z62

T.

[pgerald]

Wow, that is an excellent find - I've never seen that before! According to the his possible 1905 census record, his age is 25 and is listed as being in the U.S. for 15 years, so if we're generous with the exact ages/durations, his arrival in 1891 at around 13 years of age makes sense. I will look into that Manifest ID/ARC Identifier to see if he arrived with family (an Uncle/Aunt, perhaps?)

As for Antonio and Felicia's children, they were Mauri (b. 1903; sometime listed as Harry), Angelina (b. 1905), Joseph (b. 1907), Alphonse (b. 1910), Filomena (b. 1912; sometimes listed as Fannie), and Mary (b. 1914). I have the family's 1920 and 1925 census, but I found those through Ancestry.com (and not family search), so I haven't linked them here.

[Tessa78]

Added above

Looks like the Filomena born in 1912 was the second Filomena.

T.

[pgerald]

Thank you T.! I had not seen either of those records (and didn't even know that their was a "first" Filomena, who sadly passed).

[Tessa78]

The 1905 NY census you found may be this couple married in 1904 in Kings Cty.
This Antonio Desena's wife's name is Chiara. The listing in the census looks to be Chiarina.
https://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse ... cessSource

****
If Felicia arrived in 1902, this maybe their marriage.
You can request a copy. It might provide more information.
Antonio DeSena in the New York, New York, U.S., Extracted Marriage Index, 1866-1937

Name: Antonio DeSena
Gender: Male
Marriage Date: 5 Oct 1902
Marriage Place: Kings, New York, USA
Certificate Number: 6854
https://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse ... cessSource

T.

[PippoM]

Same marriage, different info:

Antino De Lena
New York, New York City Marriage Records, 1829-1940


Nome:
Antino De Lena
Tipologia di evento:
Marriage
Data dell'evento:
05 Oct 1902
Luogo dell'evento:
Brooklyn, Kings, New York, United States
Luogo dell'evento (originale):
Brooklyn, Kings, New York
Sesso:
Male
Età:
26
Anno di nascita (approssimativo):
1876
Nome del padre:
Mario De Lena
Nome della madre:
Filomena N..Are
Nome del coniuge:
Felicia Mercadante
Sesso del coniuge:
Female
Età del coniuge:
22
Anno di nascita del coniuge (approssimativo):
1880
Nome del padre del coniuge:
Guiseppe Mercadante
Nome della madre del coniuge:
Maria Canavah

[pgerald]

Apologies for my very delayed response - I am a PhD student, so things get quite busy at times. Thank you Pippo and Tessa for finding these records! There was an address listed on the 1911 death certificate for their daughter that is different from where they were living when Antonio (the father) died in 1917. So, I located the pages in the 1910 and 1915 census records which correspond to that address and managed to find the family. Searching the indexed records had not worked because the surname was transcribed as Sing and Sinni for 1910 and 1915, respectively. Nonetheless, I'm sure it's my family due to the same ages/names of each person, including the children. The mistakes are quite amusing, though - my great-grandfather is Mauri but was listed as Moore in 1910, as though it were a surname!

These are the first two census records of Antonio that I have ever found, so it's very exciting. Further, both of these census records imply that Antonio arrived in 1891, which matches the immigration record that Tessa found. Of course this does not mean they are the same person, but it is a piece of evidence in favor of that. I found the passenger list of this Antonio's arrival (entry no. 50) and it does show that he arrived with an older relative, Paolo di Sena. Given that his name is written as Ant (rather than Antonio) and it doesn't list his exact relation with Paolo, I'm unsure how this record from the U.S. Italians to America index has his full given name and his occupation listed as "niece, nephew". Both records are from the same ship, same date, and list the DiSena as coming from Afragola. Perhaps those with more experience know the difference between the two databases where these records originate. I've found two Paolino DeSena birth records of of roughly the right age from Nola, Napoli (nearby to Afragola and exactly where Antonio's soon-to-be wife Felicia Mercadante is from), so I'll search more closely to see if either of the parents listed on those records also gave birth to a Mario DeSena, who might then be Antonio's father.

The other next steps for me will be to access the marriage certificate for more detailed information about their parents. For example, the marriage certificate implies his mother is Filomena N...Are, but his death certificate says Filomena Giancone. Of course one of N...are or Giancone could be a middle name rather than a surname. Hopefully these earlier records include other addresses that I can then search in the census records to find further information. For example, Antonio was in the U.S. for 11 years before Filomena arrived, but I have no record of where he lived, what he did, etc.