My Grandfather's Story
Giuseppe Napolitano Born November 1, 1892, Montalto Uffugo
My grandfather Giuseppe Napolitano immigrated to the United States as an orphan at the age of 17. Although it was assummed that his first born children were named after his parents, no one knew for sure. In fact, little was known about the life of my Grandfather and his family in Italy. Giuseppe died in 1949. His eldest child was 29 and his youngest was 10. There was not enough time to ask him. My Grandfather only had 4 cousins in Chicago from Italy and noone was really sure how they were related. Cousins, Giuseppe and Fiore Napolitano were brothers, older than my grandfather and both arrived in Chicago before him. Another Cousin Rocco Napolitano was around the same age as my Grandfather. Maria Concetta Garrafa Napolitano arrived in Chicago to join her husband Giuseppe (the cousin) with their 2 children. Maria Concetta was also a cousin of my Grandfather. From the age of 17 until the day he died, this was his only family he saw from Italy. In sharp contrast, my Grandmother, Caterina Maiuolo who emmigrated from Cortale in Catanzaro Province had lots of uncles, aunts, cousins and other extended family in Chicago. My father grew up thinking most of the neighborhood were "his cousins". Many were.
Everyone alway wondered about family left behind. But ever since I was a little girl I wondered how were "cousin Joe & Maria Concetta" related. My parents used to take me for visits with them and their children but no one really knew how they were related. I never understood how they could not know. I also wondered how Rocco was related, how my Grandfather's parents died so young and who his brothers, sisters, aunts uncles and cousins were. I also wondered why they took such a long difficult journey into the unknown away from friends, family and all they knew. So many questions. And so began my search into the Napolitano family of Montalto Uffugo. Through my research I have answered most of the questions and discovered so much more than I expected. I now have very close to 2,000 birth, death and marriage records from Montalto Uffugo. What started out as finding a few relatives turned into mapping the genealogy of a good portion of the comune. I will share the fruits of my discoveries here.
What we knew:
My grandfather emmigrated to the United States at the age of 17 and was orphaned sometime prior to that. Upon his father's death he inherited their farm but was too young to live there alone. He was taken in by an Aunt & Uncle (the parents of Maria Concetta Garrafa who also immigrated to Chicago) after the death of his mother. He had a brother that immigrated to Argentina and a sister stayed on the farm when he left Montalto Uffugo. His father was probably named Enrico (the name he gave his first born son) and his mother was probably named Angelina or Angela (the name he gave his first born daughter). Family legend states that his third born child was named after a deceased brother - Rudolfo which caused quite an uproar with his mother-in-law. According to Italian traditions he should have been named Giuseppe after her husband!
Note: I have not found any family member named Rudolfo in my research.
We knew they owned a large farm and they made wine and sold it.
What I discovered:
Giuseppe Napolitano was born on November 1, 1892. From his birth records I discovered that his father was Domenico Enrico Napolitano who was the son of Filippo and they were both millers and property owners. All records after my granfather's birth refer to him as Enrico so that must be what everyone called him. His mother was Angelina Napolitano and she was 21 years old at the time of his birth. All records after my grandfather's birth refer to her as Angela. Enrico died in April, 1895 at the age of 26. Two weeks prior to his death, his baby daughter Maria Agnesa died. She was 3 months old. Poor Angela had lost her baby girl and her husband within 2 weeks!
Giuseppe did not emmigrate at the age of 17. He was working in Paola as a mule driver in 1912 when he took, and successfully passed his Italian Army physical.
The Children Of Enrico Napolitano & Angela Napolitano
Giuseppe Born 1891, Died 1891
Giuseppe Born November, 1892, Died 1949
Maria Agnesa, Born January, 1895 Died April, 1895
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The Family Of Giuseppe Napolitano
