Maria's parents were Luigi and Carmina (Balzarano) both from Saint Agata de' Goti. Her known siblings are a brother, Guiseppe and a sister, MaGrania (or MaGrazia?).
The family emigrated in three separate waves.
It appears the son, Guiseppe traveled to America first. At this time, I have been unable to find his ship manifest. However, I determined his initial immigration based on the manifest from Luigi and MaGrania's manifest.
Listed on line 15 and 16: father and daughter left Italy via the port in Naples, on October 19, 1907 aboard the S.S. Liguria (picture below), and arrived at Ellis Island on November 3, 1907.
Luigi was 60 years old and his daughter is listed as 23 years old and single. The pair traveled with $12.50. Luigi's closest relative in Italy is his wife, Carmina. Their final destination is Brooklyn, and the pair is sponsored by Luigi's son, Guiseppe, who is listed as residing at 2342 Pacific Street in Brooklyn.
Below is a close up of the listed relative they are traveling to live with:
One year later, aboard the S.S. Venetia, on November 19, 1908 Maria Paciello and her mother Carmina (maiden name listed on the document as Balzarano) set sail for America, to join the rest of the family. They arrived at Ellis Island on December 2, 1908. Carmina is listed as 61 years old, while Maria was 19 and single at the time of her voyage. They are listed on line 12 and 13.
Page two of the document indicates the women are traveling to Luigi Paciello, who is listed as Carmina's husband and Maria's father.
Through marriage records it is known Maria Paciello married Frank Englese on November 2, 1913 in Brooklyn. Marriage certificate # 11763.
Together they had 5 children:
Anthony (June 22, 1917 - February 8, 1999)
Luigi (June 17, 1919 - October 10, 1926)
Grace (February 6, 1921 - September 3, 1992)
Joseph (March 16, 1923 - June 13, 2009)
Frank (January 23, 1926 - June 13, 1981)
On September 12, 1918 her husband, Frank enlisted in the military, though we have no record that he served during WWI. There address on this document is listed as 2230 Pacific Street in Brooklyn. Maria is listed on this document.
On November 11, 1920 her husband Frank petitioned for citizenship. By law, as his wife this also made Maria a naturalized citizen. Below are the accompanying documents.
A mixture of family stories and documents reveals a series of tragedies that struck the family starting in 1926. This was the year their second oldest child, Luigi died tragically, family stories reveal he was burned due to a gas lamp. Luigi's death certificate confirms this cause of death:
In 1930 tragedy struck again. From a death certificate I was able to learn that Maria became ill and received medical attention in their home (now listed as 130 Louisiana Avenue, Brooklyn) starting on January 15, 1930. She died 21 days later on February 6, 1930, while at home. Her cause of death is listed as Capillary Bronchitis. She was interred on February 10th at St John's Cemetery in Brooklyn.
At this time, no other information is known about her parents or siblings. Though the search continues!
I feel compelled to bring to light the incredible, albeit short, life Maria (my great grandmother) lived. Her voyage to America must have been quite the tale. Traveling with her 61 year mother, in stearage, without any other family members would have been an incredible feat. This voyage was long and dangerous for even the healthiest travelers. And let's take note, they left Italy in November and arrived in NY in December. This voyage was not only long, but cold. Once safely in NY harbor, the danger was not over. Immigrants had to be physically capable and show that they were eager and able to work in America; otherwise, they risked being sent back to Italy. Maria and her mother made the voyage and (I presume her mother) gained access to America where they were finally able to rejoin their family after being separated for so long. I can confirm Maria's existance in America after her voyage, though at this time I can not find any additional records for her parents or brother. The search continues!
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