Who Are You Joining?

[darkerhorse]

A 1913 ship manifest describes the person who you are joining as "broth".

This immigrant didn't have a brother with that name but did have two cousins, with that name, who preceded him to that location.

Is that a common error, recording cousin as brother?

Is it likely an honest mistake, or would an immigrant feel more secure claiming to join a brother rather than a cousin?

I assume the information was recorded in the place of departure (Italy) rather than in the place of arrival (U.S.).

[PippoM]

I have another guess: in Neapolitan (and I don't know in other southern dialects) a close cousin is said a "fratello cugino". So, maybe the immigrant said such words, and who reported his declaration transcribed "brother".

[darkerhorse]

Thanks, Pippo.

The immigrant was actually from Sicily, near Siracusa. He was just sailing from Naples.

The two candidates with that name who preceded him were both senior, paternal 1st cousins, six and nine years older. He socialized with both in the U.S. In fact, one was especially prominent, and was called the "president" of the family in America.

Do Sicilians also have the concept of cousin-brother?

[darkerhorse]

Just to check, I read this as "broth Salvatore, 132 (or B3) Union St."

Joining.jpg (11.74 KiB) Viewed 4449 times

[darkerhorse]

frati-cuscinu?

Regarding the address, there was no 132 or B2 address on that street but there was a 32, so maybe the "1" is a stray mark.

[darkerhorse]

Does anyone read the address as anything but 132 Union St.?

There was a 32 Union St. but no 132 or B2.

Could the 1 be a stray mark?

Is the street name not Union?

[joetucciarone]

The "1" looks deliberate and not like a story marking would. Is the destination city listed with the street address?

[darkerhorse]

Thanks for replying. I appreciate it.

Yes, the city is listed. I cropped it out. The surname is not listed for the contact, Salvatore.

I think I checked the street listing for that town at that time, and I couldn't find any other candidates for street name, but I can look again. As I said, I've never found an address of 132 Union St. in that town. The numbers don't seem to go up that high on that street, ever.

Circumstantial evidence points to 32 Union Street.

The description "brother" for Salvatore the contact is wrong. This immigrant had no brothers. But he did have two 1st cousins named Salvatore who preceded him to the destination. One of them was about his age.

On this Salvatore's manifest he's listed adjacent to a woman with her children from the same town in Sicily, going to join her husband Giovanni Russo in the same town in the U.S.

In the year of arrival, there's a Salvatore Russo living at 32 Union St. I don't know his connection, if any, to Giovanni Russo. Since Russo is not a known relative's name, I suspect cousin Salvatore was residing with his "friend" Salvatore Russo, and is the Salvatore being joined by the immigrant.

Of course, I know Russo is a very common name, so it might just be coincidence.

[darkerhorse]

My purpose is to identify the person (Salvatore) being joined.

Is it one of the two 1st cousins named Salvatore or is it the apparently unrelated Salvatore Russo, or someone else?

Others have suggested that "brother" could be "cousin-brother". I doubt "brother" would be used intentionally for a "friend" or "townsman". I suspect it's just a recording error, perhaps a language problem, or deliberate attempt to make the contact seem like a closer relative than he really was for some reason.