Antonio Pepitone

Born August 8, 1882 in Marsala, Sicily.  

At this time, I have not been able to find the ship manifest for Antonio Pepitone.

His story in America starts with his Naturalization documents.  These two document lists a plethora of data about Antonio and his family.  His birth date is only known because of these documents.

The Declaration of Intention dated April 14, 1915 listed Antonio as 32 years old, his occupation is "Peddler" and he resided at 91 Snediker (?) Avenue in Brooklyn. His ship to America is listed as "Leiqueta". To date, I have not been able to find this ship or his specific immigration ship manifest. 

September 1918 Anthony Pepitone completed a draft card (which all men of a certain age were required to do).

At the time he lived at 2027 Pitkin Avenue in Brooklyn. His occupation was listed as "Pipe Maker" and he was living with his wife, Maria. It seems to me that the individual who completed this document wrote in the "Antonio Pipitone" on the signature line, and my great-great grandfather placed an "X" there. 

On April 5, 1922 his Petition for Naturalization was formalized.

On this document, his address is listed as 2027 Pitkin Avenue in Brooklyn.  According to this document he left Italy via Naples on March 16, 1903 aboard the ship "Liqueta", and arrived in New York on April 4, 1903.  He lists his wife as Maria who was born on September 1, 1889 in Italy (no further location of her birth is provided). 

This document lists his children as follows:

Lena born April 14, 1906  (who would marry Rocco Castellano)

Annie born December 15, 1908

Anthony born August 10, 1911

Antonnetta born September 4, 1912

Joseph born March 2, 1916

Jennie born March 4, 1921

All children were stated to have been born in Brooklyn, NY. 

The first census I have found is from the 1925 New York State census. 
The Pepitone family is living at 2017 Pitkin Avenue in Brooklyn.
Tony is listed as working at a Ice Cream Company.
My great-grandmother, Lena is 16 years old. This document is the first piece of hard evidence that she was born in the US. Which has been something I was told by the family, but could never confirm with documents. 


The 1930 census is the next line of documentation for the family.  Note the incorrect spelling of their last name (Pepipitone)!

Antonio and his wife, "Mary" are listed as the owners of the house at 2017 Pitkin Avenue in Brooklyn.  Antonio's occupation is listed as "Laborer".  The children residing in the home are listed as follows:

Anthony   son,  age 17

Jeannette  daughter, age 16

Joseph      son,  age 14

Nettie       son,  age 9

Samuel     son,  age 7

Bella        daughter,  age 4 and 11 months

Josie         daughter, age 3 and 10 months

* Note that this house was rented to Rocco and Lena (Pepitone) Castellano, who at the time had 2 children: Mary age 3 and 6 months and Lillian age 9 months. Due to the incorrect spelling of the family name, the only reason why I was able to track down this census record for the Pepitone's is because Rocco and Lena lived there. As I was reviewing the document I (fortunately) noticed that my great, great grand-parents owned and resided at the house. Notice they paid $6,000 for the home and Rocco and Lena paid $20.00 per month for rent. 

At this point, the paper trail is diminished.  There are family stories of how Antonio Pepitone died, but I can find no death certificate in NYC to confirm or deny any of it. 

The only piece of the puzzle I do have is the location of his burial, which was revealed in a deed found among the paperwork of Rocco Castellano (Antonio's son-in-law).

From Rocco's personal papers - a deed was found for the purchase of a cemetery plot at St. John's Cemetery. As discussed on the page for Nicolo Castellano, this plot was purchased after the untimely death of Nicolo in 1924.

This plot is listed as No 110, Section 6, Range E.

Page two of the deed listed those buried at the location:

Burial Date Name                    Age    Grave #

12-21-1924 Nicolo Castellano Age 28 grave 1

4-21-1931 Antonio Pipitone Age 46 grave 4

6-13-1933 Giovanni Pipitone Age 2 grave 4 

According to the deed, Antonio died at age 46 - his 1930 census document lists him as age 47, I think this is close enough (for government work).  This date also roughly matches with the year of his birth (1882).

However, the cause of his death is unknown, other than family oral stories. 

Another mystery presents itself with this document: Who this child "Giovanni Pipitone"?  There is no child on the 1930 Pepitone family census with the name Giovanni.  Further, I can not find a death certificate for this family member either.  This remains a mystery - one that may not be solved.