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William Marconi
(March 2003 -- San Francisco, CA)


From where did your family emigrate and when? Who emigrated (self, parents, grandparents) and what were their names?
My mother was born in the village of San Lorenzo, which is right next to Vignale Monferrato, in 1896. In 1914 she (Rosmina Cacciola) sailed to New York on the Ile de France.

What led them to their destination (relatives already there, hopes of a job at a mill, mine, etc. Please explain)?
Presumably, she did this because she found village life boring, although, soon after she had regrets. She was met in New York by her brother who had emigrated first to Argentina and then to New York several years previously.

Did they settle among other Piemontesi and were they members of a Piemontesi society (fraternal, mutual aid, etc.)?
Her brother arranged for her to stay with a Piemontese family on the west side of Manhattan which at that time was heavily Piemontese. There was a large colony from Fubine, a small town about five miles from Vignale. The women were an important component of the ladies garment workers and the men were mostly employed as waiters in the restaurants of New York. The Piemontese tradition was strong and until well after World War II there was an active soci club called the Young Fubinesi. Rosmina knew no English at the time friends found her a job in the laundry room of the Hotel McAlpin. She left that job and worked as a nurses aide in an Italian hospital in Manhattan.

Did your family return home to visit or to live after the initial emigration? Did they maintain contact with family back home?
In 1916 she returned to Italy for a cvisit to her family and then returned to New York. She was introduced to my father, who was from Bergamo province, by his sister who had worked with her in the hospital. They were married in 1917 and my brother was born in 1918. She visited her family again in 1925 and 1955. Eventually my mother, father and brother moved to a suburb of New York where my father worked as a carpenter and my mother as a garment worker. My father died in 1929 and my mother in 1989.

Do you identify yourself more as American, Italian or Piemontese?
I identify myself as an American, although I maintain contact with Italian relatives.

Have you visited your family's town(s) in Piemonte? What was your experience like?
I have been to Vignale four times and the experience was enjoyable. Unfortunately family members have either died off or moved away.

Have you studied your Piemontesi genealogy? Please explain why.
No.

Do you belong to the Piemontesi nel Mondo, Famija Piemonteis or any other organization?
I belong to the Piemontesi nel Mondo.

 


Il testo in italiano è in preparazione

 

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