Sabino Petruzzi in Newark?

[Macossay]

Hi. I am trying to help my mother get Italian citizenship. We need her father's birth certificate, and to search for that we need to know the town he came from. My mother was 7 years old when he died and doesn't remember him much, except that he was sometimes called Sam.

Her father, Sabino Petruzzi, was born in Italy on 28 Jul 1885. He was married on 5 July 1905 to Mary Sorde Torsiello (10 July 1887 to 25 Nov 1954), so we know he was in Newark by 1905, living on 7th Ave. We don't know if came over by himself or with his parents. On the marriage certificate Sabino is mispelled Savino, Torsiello is spelled Trusella, and Andrea is mispelled Andrew -- does this suggest they were illiterate?

He died on New Year's Day 1935, killed by a hit and run driver on the way home from visiting relatives in Orange. The father's name on the death certificate is given as Andrea, the mother's name as Filomena Verdi, both born in Italy. The informant for the death certificate was Salvatore Petruzzi, of Jackson Street in Newark. The year of birth on the death certificate was initially given as 1889, then amended to 1885, which agrees well with the age of 21 in 1905 that is listed on the marriage certificate.

So that seems like a pretty good amount of data to start with, but I am getting absolutely nowhere with the online databases. I think I'm doing it right, but I can't find any trace of a Sabino, Sabatino, Savino, or Sam Petruzzi in the census, Ellis Island records, or the Mormon stuff. Does anyone have a family tree with Petruzzis in Newark or Orange? If I could find even a brother or cousin, and we knew the hometown in Italy, that would give me a place to start looking.

Many thanks,

John

[vj]

John,
Birth year is off on this record...
Appears he stated he was naturalized.
Also, he may not have signed his card.
If you think this may be your grandfather,
it could lead us perhaps to a census.
Did your mother have brothers/sisters
born before 1930?
Thanks! Valarie

possible 1918 WW1 Draft Registration Card
Sabino Petruzzi
79 Jackson St
Newark, Essex, NJ
35 years old
born 25 Oct 1883 in Italy
Naturalized Citizen
Pointing Machine, Worthington Pump Co
wife Marrie at same address
(did not sign?)

edit: Married July 1905, age 21
If born in Oct 1883, he would have been 21...

[vj]

John,
Another possible record.
1920 - no children listed.
Handwriting is pretty difficult to read.
Opinion, the immigration dates appear
to be off, or there may have been another
trip back to Italy?
Valarie

possible 1920 census

Name: Iavino Pettrucci (Savino Petruzzi?)
Home in 1920:
8 Wood? St, rents
Newark Ward 1, Essex, New Jersey
Age: 38 years
Estimated birth year: abt 1882
Birthplace: Italy
Father's Birth Place: Italy, Mother's Birth Place: Italy
Able to read: Yes, Able to Write: Yes

Household Members:
head Iavino Pettrucci 38 (abt 1882)
- immig 1910 Na 1910
-laborer, factory
wife Maria Pettrucci 34 (abt 1886)
- immig 1895 Na 1910

Same address possibly related:
Name: Sam Pettricco
Age: 25 years Estimated birth year: abt 1895
Birthplace: Italy
Father's Birth Place: Italy, Mother's Birth Place: Italy
Year of Immigration: 1915
Able to read: Yes, Able to Write: Yes

Household Members:
head Sam Pettricco 25 (abt 1895)
- immig 1915 Na 1915
- electrician, factory
wife Lucy 25 (abt 1895)
-immig 1896 Na 1909 or 1915
son Antony 5 (abt 1915) NJ
daughter Victoria 1 2/12 (abt 1918) NJ

[vj]

possible 1905 manifest line 24
Note; name lined off - did not sail?
20 May 1905 SS Italia, Naples to NY
Maria Torsiello, 19 (abt 1885-1886)
- single
- last residence Calabri??
- going to Newark
- joining brother Michele at 139 Seventh Ave

2nd 1905 manifest line 16
(mis-linked on Ellis Island site)
29 May 1905, SS Patria 1882, Naples to NY
Maria Cursiello (Torsiello), 19
- single
- last residence Caposele
Note: may be Caposele, Avellino, Campania
- going to Newark
- joining brother Michele at 139? Seventh Ave
Note: may have been in US before
- appears that 'no' may have been written over?

[Macossay]

Wow!. I am super impressed, VJ. It will be bad news for my mother if it turns out her father was naturalized, so I'm not going to tell her at this point. Anyway, I just called her and got some additional information.

Sabino and Mary Petruzzi had three children:
Marie Carmen Petruzzi (my mother) b. 31 Aug 1927
Philamena Petruzzi b. 18 Feb 1929
George Petruzzi b. 30 Jul 1930 d. 6 July 2006.
All these were in Essex County, NJ. At the time of her father's death they lived next door to her grandparents 922 N. 9th Street, Newark, NJ, close to the N. Belleville Line. After his death they moved in with their grandparents.

My mother is quite certain that Mary Sorde Torsiello was born in America and never left the country. She had four siblings:
Nancy Torsiello Conte
Katherine Torsiello Caggiano
Nicholas Torsiello
Another brother whose name she can't remember.

Does this help?

Many thanks,

John

[vj]

Hi John!
Yes, your additional info should help.
May have your great grandparents manifest (visit?)
Appears your Salvatore was Savino's brother.
(Apparently from Salvatore's 1906 manifest, they
also had a brother Vincenzo, who went by the
first name James)
Town in Italy may be Gesualdo.
Valarie

possible 1911 manifest lines 19-20
page 2
27 Oct 1911, SS Cretic, Naples to NY
Filomena Verde, 59? (abt 1852)
Andrea Petruzzo, 60 (abt 1851)
- in Newark 1894-99?
- joining son Salvatore 88 Jackson St
- born in Gesualdo (Avellino, Campania)

[Macossay]

VJ, you are amazing!

My sister volunteered to lead the search for a birth certificate in Gesualdo, because she has a daughter who is majoring in languages and plans to study in Italy.

My mother says she now remembers an uncle named Salvatore, but I am dubious about this, because last week she didn't know who he was. I fear I may have planted the memory. She also corrected me -- the Petruzzi family lived in an area called The Ironbound -- it says Orange on the death certificate because the body was taken to a hospital there. Burial was in Rosedale Cemetary in Linden, NJ, which was a new cemetary out in the boonies, and plots were cheap then.

She will contact my aunt Philomena to see if she remembers any other relatives.

I am in a quandrary now. I don't want to put my sister through a lot of trouble if the man was naturalized. But I don't want to disappoint my mother by giving up too easily -- she got quite excited when she learned about the Italian citizenship thing. Do you think it is likely that the draft registration card is for the right guy?

Many, many thanks,

John

[vj]

Hi John,
Not sure we have the correct records.
We are still missing a few...
Perhaps we should wait to see what your aunt thinks?

Also, which grandparents?
"At the time of her father's death they lived next door to her
grandparents 922 N. 9th Street, Newark, NJ,
close to the N. Belleville Line.
After his death they moved in with their grandparents."

Thank you for the update!
Valarie

[Macossay]

Oops, sorry. They moved in with her maternal grandparents, Michael Torsiello and Carmenia Robertilo Torsiello (b. abt. 1868 d. 1941). They were both born in Italy. She thinks Reggio, Calabria but we have no evidence for this.

Why do you think Filomena and Andrea Petruzzo may have been in Newark 1894-99?

Thanks,

John

[vj]

John,
Why do you think Filomena and Andrea Petruzzo may have been in Newark 1894-99?
Check on page 2 of their manifest (link on post above)
- can you decipher it?
It appears at least one of them was in the US...
What do you think?
Valarie

[vj]

Torsiello Family

"My mother is quite certain that Mary Sorde Torsiello
was born in America and never left the country.
She had four siblings:
Nancy Torsiello Conte
Katherine Torsiello Caggiano
Nicholas Torsiello
Another brother whose name she can't remember."

possible 1900 census
Name: Michael Trusillo
Home in 1900:
14 Factory, rents
Newark Ward 15, Essex, New Jersey
Age: 40
Estimated birth year: abt 1860
Birthplace: Italy
Immigration year: 1886

Household Members:
head Michael Trusillo 40 (May 1860)
- married 15 yrs (1885)
- immig 1886, in US 14 yrs, Na
- laborer
wife Carmella 38 (Jan 1862)
- 8 children born/ 4 children living
daughter Mary 12 (Jan 1888) b in NJ
daughter Nattie 9 (Oct 1891) b in NJ
son Charles 4 (Mar 1896) b in NJ
daughter Katie 5/12 (Dec 1899) b in NJ

[vj]

Torsiello/Petruzzi Family

"Do you think it is likely that the draft registration card
is for the right guy?"
Hard to tell...Valarie

possible 1910 census
Michael Tursella
Age in 1910: 53
Estimated birth year: abt 1857
Birthplace: Italy
Home in 1910:
622? North 9th St, owns house
Newark Ward 8, Essex, New Jersey
Year of Immigration: 1884

Household Members:
head Michael Tursella 53 (1857)
- married 35 yrs (1885)
- immig 1884, Na
- laborer, sewers
wife Carmelia 52 (1858)
- 10? children born/ 5 children living
- immig 1886
daughter Cattie (Nattie?) 18 (1892)
son Charles 14 (1896)
daughter Catharine 12 (1898)
son Aeolus (Nicholas) 8 (1902)

in the same house:
Name: Samuel Pulurzo
Age in 1910: 23
Estimated birth year: abt 1887
Birthplace: Italy
Year of Immigration: 1903

Household Members:
head Samuel Pulurzo 23 (1887)
- married 6 yrs (1904)
- immig 1903, Na
- laborer, pump works
wife Mary 24 (1886)
- immig 1903
- no children

[vj]

Torsiello Family

possible 1920 census
Name: Michael Frisaello
Home in 1920:
622 North 9th Street, owns house
Newark Ward 8, Essex, New Jersey
Age: 68 years
Estimated birth year: abt 1852
Birthplace: Italy

Household Members:
head Michael Frisaello 68 (1852)
- immig 1879, Na 1883
- laborer, street
wife Carmela 58 (1862)
- immig 1886, Na
daughter Catherine 20 (1900)
son Nicholas 17 (1903)
--------------------

possible 1930 census
622 North 9th Street, Newark
head Michael Turville, 74 (abt 1856)
- owns house $6,500
- married age 24 (1880)
- immig 1884, Na
wife Carmela, 70 (abt 1860)
- married age 20
- immig 1887, Na

[Macossay]

My God, what a mess!

And to make things more difficult, Aunt Philomena says:
Salvatore and Vincenzo were brothers, but she thinks they were cousins to Sabino. They had a soda business. Mom doesn't remember a Vincenzo (or James). There were other relatives living on Downing Street in Newark.

On Aunt Philomena's birth certificate, which is in Italian, her parents are given as Maria Tursiella and Sabino Petrucci. On her baptismal certificate their names are Marie Torciello and Sabino Petruzzi.

But she had something helpful: Sabino had a sister, Mary Saldutti, who lived on Jackson Street.

[vj]

John,
You're right, it does tend to get messy at times.
Very much like laying out a jigsaw puzzle - nice when the
pieces start to come together!
Valarie