DiFresco

[adifresco]

I'm looking for further information about my great-grandfather John (Giovanni) DiFresco, born 28 Sep 1896 in Chieti, Abruzzo, Italy and immigrated to New York around 1912. I just recently got a subscription to ancestry.com and was able to find out his exact birthdate and city from a WW2 Draft Registration card. Up until this point, all the DiFrescos I had come across came from the Palermo area, so now I'm trying to find a record of a DiFresco immigrating from Chieti, but I've come to a dead end.

I'm also looking for info about his wife, my great-grandmother Sabina Perazzo, born 11 Jun 1905.

edit- Here is one record I have found on the Ellis Island Passenger Lists, but I'm not sure if its the same person. http://ellisisland.org/search/shipManif ... 0371%2ETIF

[Esperanza]

Hi!

I can't view the manifest you linked earlier...

Can you provide data instead... how is he listed on the Ellis records...?
---------------------------------

Found a manifest of a Salina... but it does look like Sabina to me... travels with sister Teresa... and mother Giovanna Bianco

Birth year is off by a couple...

First Name: Salina
Last Name: Perazzo
Ethnicity: Italian
Last Place of Residence: Sanza, Italy
Date of Arrival: Aug 06, 1913
Age at Arrival: 10y Gender: F Marital Status: S
Ship of Travel: Stampalia
Port of Departure: Napoli
Manifest Line Number: 0023

Sabina Manifest page 1

Page 2

[adifresco]

First Name: Giovini
Last Name: Di Fresco
Ethinicity: Italian
Last Place of Residence: Palermo, Sicily
Date of Arrival: Nov 21, 1913
Age at Arrival: 18y Gender: M Marital Status: S
Ship of Travel: Ancona
Port of Departure: Palermo
Manifest Line Number: 0002

This link might work: http://ellisisland.org/search/shipManif ... 0799060238

It also lists his brother, Giuseppe, on the next line. The birth year seems to line up but I can't find any other way to confirm that this is my great-grandfather. From what I found before, his birth city was Chieti which is pretty far from Palermo. How else can I confirm that this is the same person?

[Biff83]

There is no linked image on the Ellis Island site. However, I located the Ship Manifest on Ancestry.com; it shows Giovanni's last residence and birth place as Palermo, not Chieti.

Found a possible match on Ancestry.com
New York Petition for Naturalization record
Date: 27 Feb 1933
Name: Giovanni Di Fresco
Age: 37
Address: 408 Audubon Ave, NYC

[nuccia]

There is no linked image on the Ellis Island site. However, I located the Ship Manifest on Ancestry.com; it shows Giovanni's last residence and birth place as Palermo, not Chieti.

I was able to view the ellis island link without any problem.

As for proof of birth, you could try and send for his birth certificate from the comune you think he was born in and see if you get a reply. Enclose an International Reply coupon and some photo ID.

Here's a form letter you can use..

http://www.circolocalabrese.org/resourc ... /index.asp

or even this to customize it.

http://www.anzwers.org/free/italiangen/ ... #relatives

[Biff83]

Possible ship manifest on Ancestry.com
Date: 26 April 1912
Vessel: Prinzess Irene
Line 24: Giovanni Fresco, age 18, last residence and birth place Chieti

I'm not sure how to link the image. Perhaps someone else can do so.

[nuccia]

I can link the image for you.

New York Passenger Lists, 1820-1957
about Giovanni Fresco
Name: Giovanni Fresco
Estimated birth year: abt 1894
Age: 18
Gender: Male
Port of Departure: Naples, Italy
Ethnicity/Race/Nationality: Italian (South) (Italian)
Ship Name: Prinzess Irene
Search Ship Database: Search the Prinzess Irene in the 'Passenger Ships and Images' database
Port of Arrival: New York, New York
Nativity: Chicti
Line: 24
Microfilm Serial: T715
Microfilm Roll: T715_1847
Birth Location: Chicti
Birth Location Other: frisa

Giovanni Manifest Page 1

Page 2

[adifresco]

Well, I'm going by the 1942 WWII Draft Registration Card because its the only record that lists his wife Sabina along with his exact birthdate. It says this:

Name: John Difresco
Birth Date: 28 Sep 1896
Residence: New York City
Birth: Chieti, Italy
Race: White
Roll: WW2_2283601
http://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse. ... recoff=1+2

According to the birthday, he would have only been 15 years old on 26 April 1912, not 18 like the ship's manifest says. Should I assume that the ship's manifest has the wrong age since its the only one that lists his birthplace as Chieti?

[nuccia]

It isn't uncommon for ship manifests to be off a bit so don't be too concerned about that. Many Italians lied about their ages when coming to America (several just really didn't know, or care when they were born).

As for whether of not the manifest above is the person you're looking for.. does the rest of the info add up? Is the fathers name correct? Look for other ways to determine whether or not its him. We also need to place him on a census record and trace his steps to determine validity.

[jcsm400]

Possible 1920 census?

1920 United States Federal Census

Name: John Defarezo
[John Defarizo]
Home in 1920: Richmond Assembly District 1, Richmond, New York
Age: 26 years
Estimated birth year: abt 1894
Birthplace: Italy
Relation to Head of House: Nephew
Father's Birth Place: Italy
Mother's Birth Place: Italy
Marital Status: Single
Race: White
Sex: Male
Year of Immigration: 1912
Able to read: Yes
Able to Write: Yes
Image: 1062
Neighbors: View others on page
Household Members: Name Age
Salvestra Defarezo 38
Mary Defarezo 39
John Defarezo 26
Ilo Defarezo 13
Camilea Defarezo 12
Joseph Defarezo 10
Jerry Defarezo 8
Berirny Defarezo 5
Salvestro Defarezo 3

Will link if needed. Just let me know.

jcsm

[jcsm400]

If he became a naturalized citizen, his naturalization record will verify or disprove the above manifest.

When & where did John & Sabina marry?

Names & birth years for their children?

Where & when did he die?

jcsm

[jcsm400]

And to keep things interesting.......

1910 United States Federal Census
about Sabina Perazzo
Name: Sabina Perazzo
Age in 1910: 6
Estimated birth year: abt 1904
Birthplace: Italy
Relation to Head of House: Granddaughter
Father's Birth Place: Italy
Mother's Birth Place: Italy
Home in 1910: Brooklyn Ward 18, Kings, New York
Marital Status: Single
Race: White
Gender: Female
Year of Immigration: 1907
Neighbors: View others on page
Household Members: Name Age
Frank Perazzo 63
Tessie Perazzo 56
Jennie Perazzo 40
Frank Perazzo 10
Tessie Perazzo 8
Sabina Perazzo 6


jcsm

[Biff83]

WWII Draft Reg Card shows 1942 address as:
2523 Amsterdam Ave, NYC

NY Petition for Naturalization shows address in Feb 1933 as:
408 Audubon Ave, NYC

Did a check of both addresses on Mapquest and both are in the Washington Heights section in northern Manhattan. 408 Audubon is one block northwest of 2523 Amsterdam with both addresses between W 185th and W 186th Streets.

It might be worth a shot at determining the 1930 enumeration district for 408 Audubon and then checking each page for the district to see if there are any possible matches. In doing a quick lookup, I came up with ED 31-1115 or ED 31-1116 on Steve Morse's site. Can anyone verify the ED?

[jcsm400]

Possible naturalization information

Southern District Court of NY Naturalization Records Index
1907 - 1959 (includes Manhattan)

Difresco Giovanni 37 Petition #193668 Date:02/27/1933
Year of Birth:1896

Printable form to request the naturalization>
http://www.italiangen.org/Southern.stm


Possible 1930 census

1930 United States Federal Census
about John A Fresco
Name: John A Fresco
Home in 1930: Bronx, Bronx, New York
Age: 33
Estimated birth year: abt 1897
Birthplace: Italy
Relation to Head of House: Head
Spouse's name: Salina
Race: White
Occupation:

Education:

Military Service:

Rent/home value:

Age at first marriage:

Parents' birthplace: View image
Neighbors: View others on page
Household Members: Name Age
John A Fresco 33
Salina Fresco 24 (Sabina)
John A Fresco 9/12

jcsm

[adifresco]

Jcsm, I believe the 1910 Census information for Sabina is correct, as well as the naturalization information for Giovanni. What additional information can I find out by requesting the naturalization record?

Should I send a request for a birth certificate to the commune of Frisa since thats what the manifest lists?

Other Information:
Giovanni's death info:
Name: Difresco John
Age: 52 y
Death Date: Oct 12 1948
Certificate #: 10158
County: Bronx
http://www.italiangen.org/NYCDeathresul ... &B1=Submit

I don't know the exact date Giovanni and Sabina were married, but I know it was in New York sometime before their first son was born in 1929.

Names and birth/death dates of children:
John J DiFresco (my grandfather)
Born: 07 Jul 1929
Died: 08 Feb 1998

James DiFresco
Born: 20 Mar 1932
Died: 15 Aug 1990

Carolyn Teresa DiFresco (married surname: Serbia)
Born: 01 Apr 1936
Still Living