Dana12049 wrote:Thank you both for responding so quickly.
When I started to search, I did notice that there was a chance that there was a misspelling in the last name. I don't know where in Sicily they were from. I am trying to find a living relative who knows but so far, no luck.
My great-gand father was Giuseppe and his 2nd wife, don't know the name of his first, was Antonette. His birth year may be abt 1885 and hers,for sure, is 1890. I don't know when they came over or if my grandfather, Frank Joseph, was born in Sicily or the US. Don't know the exact date of birth. Year is around 1905-1910. Other children are Nicholas(1909), Pauline(1915), Joseph(1917),Helen(1921)and Salvatore(1925).
Not sure but I think they settled in Chicago before going to NY. I could be wrong but NY is where all eventually ended up. In the states though, we all spell our last name with an O. (Scilabro).
Thank you so much for any help that you can give me.
Dana
Hi, Dana.
I'm not sure who you are, but it would seem I am a cousin of yours.
Your great-grandfather's name would be Michael (Michele) and he was, in fact, married to a woman whose last name was Manescalco. They were not married very long--long enough to have three sons--Frank, Vincent, and Nick. Vincent died as a baby when his night gown caught fire. Their mother died while Frank and Nick were still quite young.
Michael (born 1885) later met and married Antonette Corda (born May 1, 1888), and they had four children--Paulina, Joseph, Helen, and Salvatore. You had the four birth dates correct, except for Helen, who was born in 1923.
Michael first settled in Philadelphia, not Chicago, and did later move to New York, to a small town known as Great River, on Long Island. The first two children--Frank and Nick--were definitely born in Philadelphia. I am not sure if Paulina and Joseph were born in Philadelphia or New York. The last two children--Helen and Salvatore--were definitely born at home in the house in Great River on Long island, New York.
Michael and Antonette were my grandparents. Salvatore, the youngest, was my father. Salvatore had five children--Michael, Barbara (me), and Lisa with his first wife, Ann (who passed away in 1966) and David and Samantha with his second wife, Dolores. Michael passed away at three months old (crib death). Lisa and I live on Long Island. David and his wife and children live in Alabama. Samantha also lives in Alabama.
They are not all passed away, as Helen is still very much alive. My sister Lisa and I take her on errands every two weeks.
I do know that Grandpa Michael and Grandma Antonette both come from Burgio, Agrigento, Sicily. Grandpa came here in 1902 at the age of 17.