Hell's Kitchen-NYC

Over 25 million Italians have emigrated between 1861 and 1960 with a migration boom between 1871 and 1915 when over 13,5 million emigrants left the country for European and overseas destinations.
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gentilejoy@yahoo.com
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Hell's Kitchen-NYC

Post by gentilejoy@yahoo.com »

My maternal great-grandparents first settled in New York's Hell's Kitchen section of Manhattan circa late 1890s. Just how influential was this part of Manhattan for Italian immigrants? Also, from which part of Italy did these Italian immigrants of Hell's Kitchen emigrate? Most of us know of the Little Italys of NYC like that of the Lower East-Side or up in East Harlem, but I don't believe much is known about the Italian immigrants in Hell's Kitchen, which during the turn of century was a predominantly Irish section.
lisadechiara1229
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Re: Hell's Kitchen-NYC

Post by lisadechiara1229 »

I see that your post is from 2012, but I'm new to the sight and I'm trying to find the same information.
My father's family first settled in Hell's Kitchen NYC, something I have only become aware of today! They eventually moved to East Harlem NY, then to Newark NJ and settling long term in Morristown NJ.
They are from Baronissi, Salerno, Campania. Yes, all of those names together define a single place in Italy, something that I had a difficult time grasping at first.
So this is like throwing a wrench in the works. I had no idea that they lived in Hells Kitchen and like you most of what I find is that it was predominately Irish. So how did the Italian's fit in? If I can find anything definitive on this, I'll post on this forum.
Be well, stay safe.
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joetucciarone
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Re: Hell's Kitchen-NYC

Post by joetucciarone »

I’ve looked at several dozen newspaper articles about Hell’s Kitchen, all published between 1879 and 1920. Most are about criminal incidents among its Irish denizens but, curiously, none mention Italians. Maybe the Italian residents of that neighborhood were few in number or peaceful? Here’s the earliest (Nov. 10, 1879) article I found about Hell’s Kitchen:

https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn ... nge&page=1

This 1883 article credits a policeman with the naming of Hell’s Kitchen:

https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn ... nge&page=2

This article describes the location of Hell’s Kitchen:

https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn ... nge&page=1

The author of this piece was amazed by the lack of policemen patrolling Hell’s Kitchen:

https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn ... nge&page=1

Here’s a folksy story of some Irish roughs in Hell’s Kitchen:

https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn ... nge&page=1

This 1920 nostalgic article said Hell’s Kitchen’s dangerous era was now a memory:

https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn ... nge&page=1
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