Paganini - Tracing My Great-Grandfather in Italy

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mikepaganini
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Paganini - Tracing My Great-Grandfather in Italy

Post by mikepaganini »

My great-grandfather, John Paganini (later known as Juan, but I assume he was originally "Giovanni"), arrived in New York aboard the S.S. Lahn on March 4, 1903. He set sail from Genoa, Italy on February 19, 1903. Based on this and other records, his birthplace is Genoa and his birth year is 1862 or 1863.

I'd like to trace his roots in Italy, but I don't have any more information or know where to look. I think I've found all related records on Ancestry.com. Does anyone have any thoughts on how I can continue my search for Italian records? At this point, I assume that I'd need to find passenger info for this ship in Italy or Genoa birth records. Any advice would be appreciated. Links to related images are below.

Thanks!

Mike Paganini

http://www.paganinimusic.com/John_Pagan ... n_1903.jpg

http://www.paganinimusic.com/Juan_Pagan ... d_1920.jpg
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Tessa78
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Re: Paganini - Tracing My Great-Grandfather in Italy

Post by Tessa78 »

mikepaganini wrote:My great-grandfather, John Paganini (later known as Juan, but I assume he was originally "Giovanni"), arrived in New York aboard the S.S. Lahn on March 4, 1903. He set sail from Genoa, Italy on February 19, 1903. Based on this and other records, his birthplace is Genoa and his birth year is 1862 or 1863.

I'd like to trace his roots in Italy, but I don't have any more information or know where to look. I think I've found all related records on Ancestry.com. Does anyone have any thoughts on how I can continue my search for Italian records? At this point, I assume that I'd need to find passenger info for this ship in Italy or Genoa birth records. Any advice would be appreciated. Links to related images are below.

Thanks!

Mike Paganini

http://www.paganinimusic.com/John_Pagan ... n_1903.jpg

http://www.paganinimusic.com/Juan_Pagan ... d_1920.jpg

Hello Mike! :-)

On the manifest you posted, John indicates that he has been in the US before this 1903 sailing (column 15) and his destination is Nogales, Arizona. Maybe an earlier manifest (but not too early) will provide some other clues.
ALSO, the border crossing image has a Declaration of Intention # on the reverse side, and indicates filed in El Paso, Texas. May want to try to get that record for more information. :-)

For reference... is this your John Paganini?
Death in El Paso, Texas (same place as border crossing info) in 1925...
Born in Genoa, Italy
Wife's name is Guadalupe...
Age is given as 78, but no birthdate is given so it may have been a "guess" on the part of the person providing the information :?

Name: John Paganini
Death Date: 12 Jan 1925
Death Place: El Paso, El Paso, Texas
Gender: Male
Race: Italian
Death Age: 78 years
Estimated Birth Date: 1847
Birth Date:
Birthplace: Genoa, Italy
Marital Status: Married
Spouse's Name:
Father's Name: Paganini
Father's Birthplace: Italy
Mother's Name:
Mother's Birthplace:
Occupation: Merchant
Place of Residence:
Cemetery:
Burial Place: Concordia Cath.
Burial Date: 12 Jan 1925
Additional Relatives:
Film Number: 2113744
Digital Film Number: 4165529
Image Number: 418
Reference Number: Item 2 cn 1530

Image

T.
mikepaganini
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Re: Paganini - Tracing My Great-Grandfather in Italy

Post by mikepaganini »

Hi T,

Thanks very much for the info! This manifest is the only one I can find for a "John" Paganini. Being from Genoa, I'm assuming his given name is actually "Giovanni". While there are many Giovanni Paganini's listed in earlier manifests, I don't recall ever finding any clues that convinced me that one of them is the John I'm looking for -- the Nogales, AZ destination in this manifest was extremely valuable in that regard. That said, I'll give those records another look.

Yes, the death record you cited is my John Paganini. I have his death certificate from El Paso, TX. However, I don't believe the year of birth given here since it's second-hand info. I'm more inclined to believe the border crossing card, since the info was given by John himself and his age on the card seems to better match other records I've seen.

Thank you for pointing out the Declaration of Intention number! To be honest, I just glanced at that writing and assumed it was some non-critical notes. I'm going to pursue that lead and look for that document.

Thanks again!

Mike
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Tessa78
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Re: Paganini - Tracing My Great-Grandfather in Italy

Post by Tessa78 »

mikepaganini wrote:Hi T,

Thanks very much for the info! This manifest is the only one I can find for a "John" Paganini. Being from Genoa, I'm assuming his given name is actually "Giovanni". While there are many Giovanni Paganini's listed in earlier manifests, I don't recall ever finding any clues that convinced me that one of them is the John I'm looking for -- the Nogales, AZ destination in this manifest was extremely valuable in that regard. That said, I'll give those records another look.

Yes, the death record you cited is my John Paganini. I have his death certificate from El Paso, TX. However, I don't believe the year of birth given here since it's second-hand info. I'm more inclined to believe the border crossing card, since the info was given by John himself and his age on the card seems to better match other records I've seen.

Thank you for pointing out the Declaration of Intention number! To be honest, I just glanced at that writing and assumed it was some non-critical notes. I'm going to pursue that lead and look for that document.

Thanks again!

Mike
Hi Mike :-D

Hope you have success with the Declaration of Intention!

As for the earlier manifests...unfortunately, they provide very little information :-(

However, I did find one that MAY be a possibilty.
Giovanni Paganini arriving NY, April 25, 1892 on the SS LaTouraine (departing Havre)
Age is 26 (close!) AND he lists his occupation as a merchant.
Oddity...he lists his nationality as Swiss, and his destination as San Francisco :?

Worth a look?
Passenger 415
Image

T.


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mikepaganini
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Re: Paganini - Tracing My Great-Grandfather in Italy

Post by mikepaganini »

Hi T,

We're contacting Immigration and Naturalization in El Paso. Hopefully we'll get some info there.

You're not kidding. I took a look at some earlier manifests and there's not much there.

Thanks for the lead on that Giovanni Paganini arrival in 1892. Unfortunately, I can't be sure if this is John/Juan. After John's 1903 arrival, he went to Nogales, AZ, married Guadelupe Pacheco from Mexico, and had 4 kids -- 1 boy in Mexico, 2 girls in Arizona and 1 girl in El Paso. The boy was my grandfather. Eventually, the family ended up in El Paso. As a merchant, I've found phone book records that indicate John had grocery stores in Arizona and El Paso. I also have plenty of census and border crossing info after 1900. However, I'm not aware of any earlier ties to San Francisco.

Thanks again for your interest! The search continues...

Mike
mikepaganini
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Re: Paganini - Tracing My Great-Grandfather in Italy

Post by mikepaganini »

The Declaration of Intention was a good hit! We got various new information, most important of which is his birthday. The "Juan" Paganini I'm looking for was born February 18, 1862 in Genoa. No more details on the location, but I finally have a full birth date with which to continue my search.

Thanks again for the great catch, T.

Mike
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Tessa78
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Re: Paganini - Tracing My Great-Grandfather in Italy

Post by Tessa78 »

Great news, Mike! :-)

Glad to be of help...

T.
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