Wedding Wednesday - Colomba Rosa Famoso and Pasquale Puzzuto

Colomba Rosa Famoso and Pasquale Puzzuto Wedding

My great aunt Rose was born in Sansevero, Italy on April 11, 1898 according to her birth record. She was the daughter of Giovanni Famoso and Anna Pirolli Famoso. Rose wasn't their first born daughter but she was their first daughter to live past childhood. Rose grew up and came across the Atlantic with her mother and brothers on the Citta di Torino in 1901. She was just a little girl when she took the trip to the United States. She even had an Italian accent. She wasn't a United States citizen but she missed by just a few short years. I don't know anything about her years in Italy or even her first few years in the United States. I only know that her mother died when she was about 9 years old. That had to be difficult to deal with. She had a younger sister that must have been dependent on her for some mothering. 

The next event in Rose's life that I have learned about is her marriage to Pasquale Puzzuto. I have her marriage license from New York City that is dated July 28, 1921. It doesn't appear that she rushed into marriage because the record I have from St. Ann's Church is dated January 29, 1922. It says that her maid of honor was her sister-in-law Kate Famoso and the best man was Angelo Ippolito who was perhaps a friend or relative of the groom. According to the marriage license, Pasquale was a chauffeur, he was born in Salerno, Italy and his parents were Antonio Puzzuto and Antonette Cavallo Puzzuto. Pasquale was 30 years old and Rose was 23 years old when they got married.  That can't be right because his WWII registration says his birth date was August 16, 1890 but the marriage records say his birth date was August 16, 1889 neither dates make him 30 years old when he got married. It also looks like Rose was using the birth year of 1899 for some reason on her marriage records. Maybe it looked better to be only 23 rather than 24 years old when a girl got married at that time or maybe she thought that was her correct birth year.  I wonder if this was an arranged marriage or a love match?

Their first child was born on November 19, 1922 and his name was Anthony Puzzuto.  I assume that he was named after his paternal grandfather. Their second child Mary Ann Puzzuto was born on August 31, 1930.  

The rest of the story will be brief.  Pasquale and Rose lived in Manhattan and in the Bronx in New York. He sometimes used the name Patrick.  The 1925 New York Census shows that Rose's brother Alphonso was living with them. I recently found a directory from 1933 showing Rose as being a Shirtmaker living at 417 East 106th Street with Pasquale's family. Pasquale died in 1957. Rose died in April of 1974.  

There may have been some sort of disagreement or personality conflict between the family members which is probably why my side of the family never knew anything about Rose, her husband and her children.  

Columba Rosa Famoso Birth Record

Birth record number 373 - Translation:

Famoso Colomba Rosa

In the year 1898, today 11th of April, at time 12.30 in the afternoon, in the Town Hall

Before me Francesco Trotta, secretary deputy of the mayor with authorization

dated 22nd April 1887, duly approved, Registrar of Sansevero municipality, it appeared in my office Vincenza Melissa age 45 years old, occupation midwife, born in Lucera, domiciled in San Severo,

she declared that at time 7am of the day 9th of this month, in the house located at address

Via Carlo Alberto number-----, from Anna Pirolli, housewife, wife of Giovanni Famoso, occupation

musician, both domiciled in Sansevero, a baby girl was born, she shows her to me, and she gave

her the names of Colomba Rosa. The witnesses of this record are Cosimo Di Pierro, 48 years old, occupation shoemaker, and Giuseppe Palumbo, 58 years old, occupation servant, both resident in this municipality.

The declarant stated that she came to declare the birth of the baby because she was the one who helped the birth, and she declared the baby on behalf of the husband of the Pirolli,

because he is away from town.

Christina Prinzo Famoso - A Wonderful Mother

Christina Prinzo as a young lady around 1906

Christina and her brother Charles 1905

Christina Prinzo Famoso and her son John 1911

Christina Prinzo Famoso

On her birth certificate, her name is listed as Crestina Maria Giuseppa Luisa Prinzo.  Christina was born in Harlem, Manhattan, New York on June 16, 1892.  She was my grandmother.  I never knew her but by all accounts she was a wonderful mother and grandmother.  Sadly, she only got to know one of her grandchildren.  She died on April 24, 1943.  Her life was short and heartbreaking.  She was a beautiful young girl who met her husband to be at a funeral before she was even 16 years old. Luigi and Christina were married on April 23, 1908 when she was not quite 16 years old.  Her parents were from “the other side” but she was a ‘Merican.  Grandma Christine only went to school up to the 4^th grade.  That was probably quite a bit more schooling than either of her parents had. Francesco Prinzo and Maria Giuseppa Luisi were farmers back in Italy.  Her father Frank became a laborer to support his family in the United States.  When she met and married her husband Luigi she actually gave up her citizenship for him. For a very short period of time, that is what happened when an American woman would marry a foreign-born man. Christina must have thought he was so handsome and well-educated.  I’m sure she must have admired him, at least at first.  I don’t believe that her love could have lasted too long because he turned out to be a selfish husband.  She gave birth to ten children but only 9 survived to become adults.  That was pretty good for the times they lived in.  Her 4^th child, Joseph, died of enteritis at the age of 7 months.  

I know that Christina could sew and cook.  I also know that she worked hard and was a very good mother. She did not have much extra time to tell her children stories or play games with them.  She simply had to make sure they would survive in the world. 

According to a story my mother heard at Christina's husband Luigi's funeral, Christina had to go to her sister-in-law Loretta and beg her to get money from Luigi for food.  This story was told by Luigi's sister Loretta.

My father told me that he helped his mother wash clothes on a washboard.  I can’t even imagine how difficult and time-consuming that must have been. Especially, when you were washing clothes for 9 children and two adults!

Dad also told me that his mother always said that she could put sauce on rocks and her 9 kids would eat them!  Her boys were always hungry.

Grandma Christina fought for my father to stay in school so he could get his high school diploma because his father Luigi wanted him to quit school to get a job.

She worked in a factory making snowsuits for a few years to make money so she could support her family. 

She saved pennies in a cup for insurance for each one of her boys.  When they grew up she was able to give each of them $500 which was a whole lot of money in those days.

Her sons liked to think they protected her from their father. I asked my dad if Luigi was a violent person and he said they didn’t know because he would not have taken on any of his sons who were all bigger than him.

Christina taught my father how to sew and use a sewing machine to turn a collar.  That was a good way to save money on clothing at the time.  When your shirt collar wore out, then you could turn it and get several more years of wear out of it without looking like a hobo.

In her later years, when her kids were all grown up she would sometimes sit outside on their front stoop (porch) to watch the neighborhood kids play.  My dad says that she knew all their names and would try to make sure they did not get hurt.  I guess that proves she was a mother at heart and was taking on the village approach to raising kids.

Her death was probably not sudden or unexpected.  She had gotten hit by a trolley car and sustained injuries from that accident.  The actual cause of her death was congestive heart failure.  She was only 51 years old but looked at least a decade older than that due to her hard life.  I know she would be happy to know that all her kids got married and most of them had children of their own. 

Christina Prinzo Famoso, Luigi Famoso, Sam Famoso and Catherine Prinzo
Wedding 1908

Christina and her mother Josephine Prinzo - 1940

Christine Prinzo Famoso - 1940

Christine Famoso Prinzo 1940

Sunday's Obituary ~ Domenico Famosa

Sunday’s Obituary ~ Domenico Famosa

My great uncle Domenico was born in Marcianise in 1880. I have his birth record to prove it.  He was a musician who played the French horn in many Orchestras around the east coast.  His obituary says he came to the United States in the early 1900’s with an Italian Military Band.  I think that is a mistake.  I happen to (think I know) that he came to the United States in 1896 or thereabouts with his father Giovanni.  Now, his father may have come to the USA with an Italian Military Band which would make some sense.  Mimi may have played with an Italian Military Band but I have absolutely no proof of that.  I can prove he played with the Boston Opera Orchestra around 1912 because I have his name in a newspaper article.  It is very hard to read but it is there.  The funny thing about that article is that it is about how almost all the band members of this orchestra are “Boston men” and not foreigners.   I found Mimi and his wife in multiple directories in Boston.  The WWI draft registration I found for Mimi says he played for the Orpheum Theatre, Boston, Massachusetts and his boss was Mr. Marcus Loew himself! The original owner! How cool is that?  

I have never been able to confirm that he actually played with the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra.  I have tried contacting the Met but they have no record of him.  Apparently, there were not good records kept on the members of orchestras back at the turn of the century.  I did find proof of him playing with the National Symphony Orchestra.  His name actually appears in a book about the National Symphony.  The most interesting thing about Uncle Mimi’s musical career is that he was one of the very first "paid" orchestra members of the National Symphony Orchestra in Washington, DC. 

My father always told me that Uncle Mimi played with John Philip Sousa’s band because he had seen a photo of Mimi with Sousa many years go and they were both dressed in the band uniform.  This is another piece of family history that I can’t confirm.  I have even been in touch with the Sousa Museum to no avail.  Apparently, hundreds of people had their photos taken with Sousa.  Another strange thing is that he was supposedly a member of the U.S. Soldiers Home Band.  Well, I have read and have been told that the members of that band had to be soldiers. I know Mimi wasn’t a soldier.  The only thing I can come up with is that they let him play in the band because he was good and maybe because his brother died in WWI?  I can’t find any other connection.  I know that he did become a U.S. citizen around 1903 because I have his Naturalization papers or at least some of them. 

Clearly, Mimi had a long and illustrious musical career.  He toiled in the orchestra pit for many years.  I like to think that he enjoyed his work.  I imagine he was a wonderful French horn player but I will never be able to hear him play.  I don’t know of any recordings of him playing the French horn in existence. I'm just proud to be related to him.

On another note, my cousin reminded me of a story Uncle Mimi told her about why he wouldn't eat bananas - because when he came off the boat in Philadelphia (which is why I’m so confused about where he landed) he saw a fruit vendor. He went over to the vendor and the guy convinced him that this funny looking fruit was the latest craze. So, he bought a couple of ‘em.  He took them back to his hotel room.  When he decided to try them he thought they were too tough to eat! Apparently, the vendor forgot to tell him to peel them!

While I am on my soapbox about Mimi, I might as well add that I can’t find him or his father Giovanni on any ship’s manifest from Italy for his only and his father’s first trip to the USA. I have primarily focused on New York City (Ellis Island) and Philadelphia because those ports make the most sense but I wouldn't rule out Boston or Baltimore either.  I just don’t know if they used false names for some reason or if their names are just so screwed up on the manifest that I haven’t come up with the right “code” to find them yet.

I may be worthwhile to mention that I have spent countless hours wondering and researching where and when Mimi and his wife got married.  I currently believe that they got married around 1906 probably in Philadelphia.  I have no proof of that yet.  I hope to have something definitive soon.  I have also spent a bit of time and energy trying to find his wife’s death certificate.  The closest I have come is to have had a request form returned from Washington D.C. Department of Vital Records because I am not a direct descendant and she is not dead for 50 years yet.  Well, they sure do a great job protecting information down there in D.C.  A woman who is dead for only 47 years with no living direct descendants ~ we sure can’t let that information out.  I would like to have her death certificate only so that I could find out her parents’ names.   I am not planning on using that information for anything nefarious. 

You may wonder why Mimi used the name Famosa yet my family name is Famoso.  No one really knows for sure. Few of my relatives ever knew his wife Elizabeth personally but we did know she was a die-hard Irishwoman. The story goes that she wanted to distance herself from the Italians as much as she could; therefore, changing the “o” to an “a”. This was from a conversation with her son Charles but, of course, it is just a story that can’t be confirmed at this point.

Something that really annoys me is that he died the year I graduated from High School so I could have met him and talked with him but I did not develop an interest in family history or genealogy until recently. 

I find Mimi and his entire line of our family tree to be sad, in a way.   Mostly because he had two children who got married at some point in their lives neither of them had any kids.  They both died and their spouses are also gone.  I am feeling selfish when I say that at least if Mimi had heirs we could contact them for information.  So far, the closest I have gotten to talking to anyone who may be remotely related to Mimi is his daughter’s husband’s family.  There are still some of them left.  I have contact with one of them.  I can only assume that all of Mimi’s possessions have been thrown away or sold.  It upsets me to think that all of his records and keepsakes are probably moldering in a trash heap somewhere.  Of course, there could be some O'Donnoghues or Milazzos out there right now reading this blog post and recognizing the names.  If that happens, please leave me a note in the comments! 

At least, Uncle Mimi lived a long life.  He seemed to be happy with his work and his family.  But I find it interesting that his obituary does not even mention his wife.  I guess that is probably because she died 10 years before him but still…