In the spring of 1903, my great-grandfather Guiseppe Maria left his home in Bucita, Italy. He found his way to Naples, where he boarded a boat to cross the Atlantic and start a new life. He left behind his wife Angela who was pregnant with their second child and their daughter Mary. His son Salvatore would be born the following Christmas and he wouldn’t meet his dad for another two years. Guiseppe had likely never been away from Calabria in his life and in fact, after leaving that May – he would never go back.
He is my LIBRA — my Last Italian-Born Registered Ancestor.
He is the person I use to base my Italian citizenship claim. I start my journey to finding out about him as the first step of what will be many.
Despite the hardship he faced as he came to the US, in the end the most important thing for me to know is when he became an American citizen. I know he arrived at Ellis Island May 22 that same year. He was 22 years old. I know his wife and two children didn’t arrive in Newport until January 24, 1906. They were separated for 2 years and 8 months, while Guiseppe worked in the US, saved his money then finally was able to send for them.