Serradifalco

We’re cousins!

Palmeri Comments Off

Jan 212017

When I first started researching the Italian side of my family tree, once I had discovered the actual name of my great-grandfather’s hometown of Serradifalco from the botched version my father had told me, a quick google search of “Serradifalco genealogy” turned up the excellent web site on the Coniglio family: http://www.conigliofamily.com

The site is maintained by Angelo Coniglio. His parents, Gaetano Coniglio and Rosa Alessi immigrated to Buffalo from Serradifalco a little over 100 years ago, around the same time as my great-grandparents Angelo Palmeri and Maria Giambrone immigrated to Buffalo.

His web site is filled with wonderful information on Serradifalco, including a partial translation (here) of a history of the town, the original Italian of which I’ve included in pdf form on my site, as well as lots of stories and essays related to his family in particular and to the Sicilian-American experience in general.

At the time when I was starting on my genealogical research, I knew no Italian – I am only now at an intermediate stage – and his excellent translations of various Italian vital records he has posted on his site (for example, here) were simply indispensable to me in trying to read the records I found searching through microfilm.

At some point, Ange emailed me after having found my own web site – this one here – and we corresponded occasionally on Serradifalco, genealogy, and dual citizenship. Ange graciously sent me some records of my family members that he found during his searches.

Given that Serradifalco was a small town and that his parents and my great-grandparents immigrated around the same time to Buffalo, it was likely that they knew each other, but could they have also been related? Were Ange and I cousins? No, at least based on the records either of us had found.

Then sometime last fall, Ange emailed that his DNA and my DNA on AncestryDNA had a small positive match. We could be distantly related.

Just recently, he found a death record with the name Butera. My fourth great-grandmother was Diega Butera – I had it misspelled as “Batera” on my family tree, having mis-read the difficult-to-read script in the records. It turns our that Diega’s sister, Maria Butera, is Angelo Coniglio’s second great-grandmother.

That makes us fourth cousins twice removed; in other words, Ange is fourth cousins with my grandfather, Joseph A. Palmeri (1911-1967). My great-grandfather Angelo Palmeri and his father Gaetano Coniglio, who both emigrated from Serradifalco, were third cousins, so even if they knew each other, they may or may not have known that they were related to one another. I’ve only discovered my own third cousins over the past several years.

Here is the death certificate for Diega Butera, born in 1777:

Since I’m now part of Ange’s family tree, that also means that I get to go back two more generations (our common ancestors) because of his research.

Diega Butera’s parents (my fifth great-grandparents) were Antonino Butera (who died sometime between the marriage of his daughter Maria in 1787 and the death of his wife Onofria in 1817) and Onofria Porto (Patracino) (born abt 1752, died 9 Mar 1817 in Serradifalco).

Antonino Butera’s parents (my six great-grandparents) were Pietro Butera (who died before 1759) and Leonarda (who died after 1759).

Onofria Porto’s parents (my six great-grandparents) were Angelo Porto (who died before 1759) and Carmine (who died after 1759).

Only a few other branches of my family tree goes back this far in time – two on my mother’s side in Scotland and France, and one on my maternal grandmother’s side from Montemaggiore Belsito Sicily.

Palmeri No Responses »

Oct 112013

Serradifalco (Serradifarcu)
Giuseppe Testa

I was able to obtain a copy of a book on the history of Serradifalco, the home town in Sicily of my great-grandparents, and now the home town of me and my boys. The book is currently out of print and I could not obtain it from any booksellers in the US or Italy. I even asked people in Serradifalco if they could locate a copy, and they could not. If someone else from Serradifalco would like a copy, click here for the PDF files.

There is also a partial translation available from Angelo Coniglio's web site: http://www.conigliofamily.com/SerradifalcoGiuseppeTesta.htm

Our Italian birth certificates, marriage certificate, and AIRE arrived today

Palmeri No Responses »

Sep 172012

Two letters arrived from Serradifalco, Sicily today. One had birth certificates for me and my two sons and the marriage certificate for me and my wife. The other had AIRE documents for me and my two sons; the AIRE is the registry for Italian citizens living abroad. It's now officially official. We are Italian citizens.

my Italian birth certificate (redacted of course)

our marriage certificate (redacted)

my AIRE registration as an Italian citizen living abroad

Visiting Serradifalco

Palmeri 1 Response »

Jun 152012

Yesterday, my family visited my great-grandfather's home comune – and now our home comune – of Serradifalco, Sicily.

I had sent a letter to the municipal office – the same office I wrote to ask for birth certificates – telling them that we would be visiting and included a copy of our recognition letter from the Detroit consulate.

We walked into the "municipio" and I asked "parla Inglese" to which, not surprisingly, the answer was "no". So I said "mi chiamo" and told them my name. Well, the person obviously recognized it immediately – "oh, oh, oh" – and then there was a whole team of people happily greeting us. My Italian is very limited but I could catch a bit here and there. They had received my letter. And apparently, the fairly extensive paperwork from the Detroit consulate had only just arrived so the chief clerk had not yet reviewed it. As she was looking it over (and it was quite a lot), she was asking me if my father or grandfather was registered in the A.I.R.E. and I told them no and tried to say that my father and grandfather did not ever know that they were Italian citizens. The office was aware "conoscere" of the concept of "jure sanguinis" but it seemed like they had not had anyone get recognized that way in Serradifalco. They said it would probably be about a month before they would mail me a copy of our birth certificates and marriage certificate.

While we were there they gave me copies of my great-grandfather and great-grandmother's birth certificate – I had them already of course and did not ask for them but they kindly gave them to me anyway. I did ask if they had my great-grandfather's home address. They pulled the old book out and I got to see his actual birth record from 1886 – I had seem it on microfilm but it was cool seeing it in person.

I had told them that I had no cousins in Serradifalco. My great-grandfather and all of his brother's had emigrated to America (well, one stayed back, but he apparently had no children). Well, when they deciphered the address they told me that there was another "Palmeri" living in that same home now. Perhaps my great-grandfather and his brothers – or their parents – had given the house to a cousin since no one was living in Serradifalco anymore to take it?

While they could not get in touch with the people who were living there, they did find their son (?) who happened to live right next to the municipal building. Not only did these distant cousins (?) give us an amazing lunch of antipasto, pasta, and rabbit, but we met other cousins (?), saw the home my great-grandfather was born in, and we got to see the main church and some of the town.

It seemed like my cousins (?) were intrigued to find out if we really were cousins. They said that no one from the Palmeri family who emigrated to America ever kept in touch with Palmeris still in Serradifalco. That probably means trying to find out if we share a great-great-great-grandparent who was born around 1800. Or perhaps a great-great-great-great-grandparent who was born in the 1700s. Maybe. There are lots of Palmeris around Serradifalco. But the fact that one was living in my great-grandfather's home was intriguing.

Serradifalco, Sicily

the book that contains my great-grandfather's birth record in Serradifalco

Today we leave for Italy

Palmeri No Responses »

Jun 052012

Our family leaves on our trip to Italy this afternoon. I am attending a conference in Sardinia for six days, then we visit Sicily for eight days, and then Rome for five days. While in Sicily, we will be visiting the home commune of the Palmeri side of the family, Serradifalco, and the MIllonzi side, Montemaggiore Belsito. We hope to pick up copies of our birth certificates and marriage certificate in Serradifalco. If we can, then we can get passports and start the jure matrimoni process for my wife.

“Positivo-Negativo” letter received from Serradifalco

Palmeri No Responses »

Feb 182012

Because my great-grandfather's last name was misspelled "Palmieri" rather than "Palmeri" on his early documents from the US, I wrote the commune of his birth, Serradifalco, to ask them to confirm that no one named "Angelo Palmieri" was born in Serradifalco on his birth date. I sent this letter last month and just got a reply today, with that confirmation.

A poor translation of their return letter says something like this:

Twenty-seven days in that month of January of 1886 and born in Serradifalco Mr. Angelo Palmeri, just recorded document in the records of this district of the State Civil No. 30 Part 11 Series 11;
That in the register of births of that year 1886 is not to be born other person bearing the name Angelo Palmieri was born in Serradifalco on 27/01/1886.

marriage record for my great-great-grandparents in Serradifalco, Sicily

Giambrone No Responses »

Jan 262012

I found the marriage record for my great-great-grandparents, Giuseppe Giambrone and Giuseppa Amico, from Serradifalco, Sicily.

They were married 10 May 1885. It gives my great-great-grandfather as 24 years old (born abt 1861) and my great-great-grandmother as 20 years old (born abt 1865). It identifies their parents, my great-great-great-grandparents, who were until now unknown, as Vincenzo Giambrone and Francesca Ianello for Giuseppe, and Paolino Amico and Maria Catalano for Giuseppa.

sending a letter to Serradifalco to confirm that no one named Angelo “Palmieri” was born

Palmeri No Responses »

Jan 012012

Maybe this isn't needed. But I am sending a letter to Serradifalco confirming that no one named Angelo "Palmieri" was born on the same day that my great-grandfather, Angelo Palmeri, was born. Several US records list his name as "Palmieri" rather than "Palmeri", so I am covering my bases here.

1 gennaio 2011

Comune di Serradifalco
Ufficio dello stato Civile / Anagrafe
93010 Serradifalco (CL)

Gentili Signori,

Scusi. Non parlo bene l’italiano.

Mi chiamo Thomas Palmeri, vivo in United State ma ho origini italiane e sto cercando di ottenere la cittadinanza italiana.

Lei mi ha mandato il certificato di nascita mio bisnonno, Angelo Palmeri (nato il 27 gennaio 1886). Grazie mille.

Purtroppo, alcuni record negli Stati Uniti hanno Palmieri invece di Palmeri. Il nome corretto è Palmeri. Ma i miei bisnonni erano incapaci di leggere o scrivere quando sono venuti negli Stati Uniti. Qualcuno ha scritto Palmieri per errore.

Per la mia domanda di cittadinanza, ho bisogno di una lettera affermando che nessuno di nome Angelo Palmieri (al posto di Angelo Palmeri) è nato a Serradifalco il 27 gennaio 1886.

Vi chiedo quindi gentilmente di inviare al seguente indirizzo la documentazione che confermi che nessun Angelo Palmieri è nato a Serradifalco il 27 gennaio 1886:

Thomas Palmeri
<address>
<address>

I migliori saluti e grazie per la gentile assistenza.

Thomas Palmeri

great-grandparents birth certificates arrive from Serradifalco

Giambrone, Palmeri 2 Responses »

Jan 012012

My great-grandparents birth certificates finally arrive from Serradifalco, Sicily. It took three letters along with a $50 order to myitalianfamily that still hasn't come. But at least they're here.

the letter I wrote to get a birth certificate

birth certificate for my great-grandmother, Maria Giambrone

birth certificate for my great-grandfather, Angelo Palmeri

No marriage certificate in NY State for my great-grandparents

Giambrone, Palmeri No Responses »

Nov 202011

The mystery of where and when my great-grandparents were married continues.

Today I received a "NO RECORD CERTIFICATION" from the NY State Department of Health. No record of marriage was found for the period 1 Jan 1910 (before my great-grandmother immigrated) and 31 Dec 1911 (after my grandfather was born).

Next to do is see if I can search Buffalo records.

Next after that is to get a search and certification from Serradifalco (even though she lists herself as single on the immigration manifest).

Update 4 Dec 2011

I learned that before around 1915, an official marriage certificate was not required. So it's quite possible that my great-grandparents were married in the church without ever having obtained a marriage certificate. I have mailed Holy Angels and Holy Cross Roman Catholic Churches on the West Side of Buffalo to see if they could possibly search their church records for me.

Update 10 Dec 2011

One of the churches also suggested that I contact St. Joseph's and St. Anthony's in Buffalo. Both were founded in the 1800s. Particularly, St. Anthony's was the church for many Italian immigrants.

Update 14 Dec 2011

It turns out that my great-grandparents were married in Yatesboro, Pennsylvania.

NO RECORD CERTIFICATION
for Angelo Palmeri and Maria Giambrone marriage

Birth records for my great-grandparents in Serradifalco

Giambrone, Palmeri No Responses »

Oct 272011

This evening, I searched microfilm of birth records (Atti di Nascita) from Serradifalco and found my great-grandparents, Angelo Palmeri and Maria Giambrone.

Not only is this an interesting tidbit, but I needed to make sure that these records could be found in order to apply for dual citizenship. This at least proves that these records existed when the LDS church microfilmed the Serradifalco records.

Angelo Palmeri, born 27 Jan 1886 in Serradifalco, Sicily

Maria Giambrone, born 12 Apr 1890 in Serradifalco, Sicily

The Palmeri brothers were coal miners in Pennsylvania

Palmeri No Responses »

Oct 262011

As I noted in a recent post, it looks like my great-grandfather, Angelo Palmeri, came to the US through Ellis Island in 1909 with his sister-in-law, Giuseppa (Baglio) Palmeri, and his nephew, Giuseppe Palmeri. The manifest says that all three were going to join Pietro Palmeri in Yatesboro, Pennsylvania. I originally thought that was simply an error, or that it could be the wrong Palmeri family entirely. But then I found census records for Pietro and Salvatore Palmeri in Buffalo that note that some of their children were born in Pennsylvania as well as Italy and Buffalo.

I've now confirmed from marriage records from Serradifalco that this was indeed my great-grandfather, Angelo, traveling with his brother Pietro's wife, Giuseppa (Baglio) Palmeri.

A new search on familysearch.org turned up Palmeris in Pennsylvania in the 1910 census in Cowanshannock, Armstrong, Pennsylvania, right outside of Yatesboro.

Salvatore Palmeri and his family, Pietro Palmeri and his family, and Angelo Palmeri living outside of Yatesboro, Pennsylvania, according to the 1910 census

That's coal country and Salvatore, Pietro, and Angelo all list themselves as coal miners. Serradifalco was a major sulfur mining area in Sicily for many many years. Indeed, some of the oldest mines in Sicily are near Serradifalco. As such, many immigrants from Serradifalco came to work in the mining industry in the US. It appears that three of the Palmeri brothers did for a time. Angelo went to Buffalo the next year to marry Maria Giambrone in 1910. It seems that Pietro and Salvatore went to Buffalo a few years later, probably around 1913 or 1914 based on when various children were born in Pennsylvania or New York.

I found some things online that indicated that Yatesboro had coal mines in the early 1900s that were run by the Cowanshannock Coal Company. I found this web site on the early history of Yatesboro at http://www.saintmaryyatesboro.org/history.html:

Until the turn of the Nineteenth Century, Cowenshannock Township was sparsely populated rolling farmland with no Catholic church. However, the discovery of abundant coal seams in the hills surrounding Rural Valley heralded the opening of coal mines and an exciting new era of change began in the valley.

In March, 1899, Lucious Waterman Robinson, president of the Commonwealth Coal and Coke Company, a subsidiary of the Rochester and Pittsburgh Coal and Iron Company, purchased 1000 acres of farmland from millionaire capitalist Adrian Iselan. Robinson’s intention was to open a coal mine, to erect mine buildings and build a company town for his employees. He named the town Yatesboro after Arthur G. Yates, president of the Buffalo, Rochester and Pittsburgh Railroad (BR&P).

The rich veins of coal turned out to be very productive and, by 1901, Commonwealth Coal employed 400 men in the Yatesboro mines. By 1913, the number of miners soared to 1075 men who mined more than 825,000 tons of coal yearly. In the early years of production, nearly all of the coal from the Yatesboro mines was sold to George Eastman (the famous camera magnate) who used it to heat his Eastman Kodak laboratories in Rochester, New York. Mr. Eastman and Mr. Robinson were quite good friends and next door neighbors in Rochester.

With the opening of the mines, immigrants from Europe began to flood into the area to seek their fortune. Many Italians, Scotch, Swedes, and middle Europeans such as Poles and Czechoslovakians left their homelands to seek the riches promised in America. Not sure what they would find in this new land, many left their families behind in Europe. (The coal company especially encouraged married men to work in the mines as they represented a more stable workforce.) Coming by train straight from New York to Yatesboro, most of the immigrants boarded in the company-owned Valley Hotel until the company built the planned two hundred and fifty single and double houses that would allowed the miners to send for their families.

Eventually, Commonwealth Coal and Coke was operating five mines in Yatesboro and the company town grew to include a company-owned store (The Valley Supply), a fine hotel, a pool hall as well as a school (grades 1 – 10) and churches.

Many of the European immigrants brought with them their strong Catholic faith and traditions which were a central part of their lives in their homelands. With no church within walking distance, Roman and Greek Catholics began to congregate at Peter Mann’s Hall where the Lutherans also held their Sunday services. (Peter Mann’s Hall was a social hall and pool room located on the site of the present day William Penn club on Main Street, Rural Valley). It was at Peter Mann’s Hall, on August 15, 1901, the Feast of the Assumption, that Father John DeVille, a priest from Saint Anthony’s Church in Walston, Jefferson County (Diocese of Erie) gathered the Catholics together to celebrate their first Mass.

Yatesboro, Pennsylvania, northeast of Pittsburgh

I’ve finally found the immigration record for my great grandfather, Angelo Palmeri

Giambrone, Palmeri No Responses »

Oct 232011

From various census records, and because my grandfather was born in the US in 1911, I knew that my great-grandfather came to the US sometime between 1904 and 1910. The 1920 census said 1907 or so, the 1930 census said something like 1904, but it was hard to read. I had no luck at all finding his immigration record on ancestry.com. I was reading a genealogy book and was reminded about ellisisland.org.

I suppose I always figured that it was just the free version of what I was already paying for with my occasional ancestry.com subscriptions. I should have realized that these are independently transcribed and indexed, so it was quite possible to find something on one and not on the other. Sure enough, with a search I found my great-grandfather, Angelo Palmeri.

Angelo Palmeri
arrived on 1 May 1909
departed out of Palermo
traveled on the "Italia" (see below)

"Italia" : Built by D. and W. Henderson and Co Ltd, Glasgow, Scotland, 1903. 4,806 gross tons; 400 (bp) feet long; 49 feet wide. Steam triple expansion engine, single screw. Service speed 14 knots. 1,420 passengers (20 first class, 1,400 third class).One funnel and two masts. Steel hull with two decks. Built for Anchor Line, British flag, in 1903 and named Italia. Mediterranean-New York to 1922 service. Later Glasgow-New York service. Scrapped in 1923.

Interestingly, it lists him as "single" in 1909. That means that he came the US in May 1909, married my great-grandmother Maria Giambrone when she came in June 1910, and my grandfather Joseph Palmeri was born in October 1910.

Angelo was traveling with his sister-in-law, Pietro Palmeri's wife, Giuseppa (Baglio) Palmeri, and his nephew, Pietro's son, Giuseppe Palmeri. The manifest says Angelo was joining his brother Pietro too. Until this past summer, I never knew that my great-grandfather had a brother Pietro, so if I found this before, I would have just rejected it out of hand.

The manifest goes say that they are going to "Yatesboro, PA". Originally I just chalked that up to the immigration officer continuing ditto marks from the people above them. Those listed above him were also from Serradifalco, so he probably assumed they were all going to the same place.

But now I'm a bit uncertain. On the 1920 and 1930 Census, when I found both Pietro and Salvatore and their families, it notes some of their children having been born in Pennsylvania. It could well be that those two brothers spent some time in Pennsylvania (possibly Yatesboro), had some children born there, and later moved to Buffalo.

Serradifalco was a sulfer mining community, and a number of immigrants from there went to work in mines in Pennsylvania. I found some things online that indicated that Yatesboro had coal mines in the early 1900s that were run by the Cowanshannock Coal Company.

So, it looks like my great-grandfather first went to Yatesboro, Pennsylvania, where his brothers Pietro and Salvatore were, possibly working in the coal mines, before heading to Buffalo to join his brother Calogero.

manifest for Angelo Palmeri

My great-grandmother, Maria Giambrone, arrived 24 June 1910. She was going to stay with her sister, Barbara Giambrone, and her brother-in-law, Calogero Palmeri, at 174 Terrace St. in Buffalo.

manifest for Maria Giambrone

Also on ellisisland.org, I found that brothers Pietro and Salvatore Palmeri arrived 30 June 1907. They were going to join brother Calogero who was living at 174 Terrace St. in Buffalo. The manifest also lists father Giuseppe in Serradifalco. They arrive on the "Perugia". It may well be that after joining their brother they went to work in the coal mines for several years in Yateboro, Pennsylvania.

"Perugia" : Built by D. and W. Henderson and Co Ltd, Glasgow, Scotland, 1901. 4,438 gross tons; 375 (bp) feet long; 47 feet wide. Steam triple expansion engine, single screw. Service speed 13 knots. 1,170 passengers (20 first class, 1,150 third class).One funnel and two masts. Steel hull with two decks. Built for Anchor Line, British flag, in 1901 and named Perugia. Mediterranean-New York service. Torpedoed and sunk by a German submarine off Italy on 3 December 1916.

manifest for Pietro and Salvatore Palmeri

I also found Maria's father, my great-great-grandfather, Giuseppe Giambrone, and her mother, my great-great-grandmother, Giuseppa Amico Giambrone. They arrived Jun 13, 1913, out of Palermo, on the "Principe di Piemonte". They were going to daughter Grazia (Grace) Giambrone at 68 Efner St., Buffalo, NY. He was listed as a laborer. They were also traveling with two of their daughters, Concetta and Paulina, and their son, Vincenzo.

"Principe di Piemonte" : Built by Sir James Laing & Sons Limited, Sunderland, England, 1889. 6,560 gross tons; 430 (bp) feet long; 52 feet wide. Steam triple expansion engines, twin screw. Service speed 14 knots. 1,960 passengers (60 second class, 1,900 third class).Two funnels and two masts. Built for Lloyd Sabaudo, Italian flag, in 1889 and named Principe di Piemonte. Italy-New York service. Sold to Uranium Steamship Company, in 1914 and renamed Principello. Rotterdam-New York service. Sold to Cunard Line, British flag, in 1916 and renamed Folia. Only one trip Avonmouth to New York service. Torpedoed and sunk by a German submarine off the Irish coast. on February 11, 1917.

manifest for Giuseppe, Giuseppa, Vincenzo, Concetta, and Paulina Giambrone

My great-great-grandfather, Giuseppe Giambrone

Giambrone, Palmeri No Responses »

Oct 152011

One of the first suggestions you get when you start doing genealogy is to talk to your relatives. Well, sometimes it takes a little work to figure out who your relatives are.

Last spring, I used a brute force approach, sending letters to about a dozen Palmeris listed in the Buffalo phone book. I included a bit of the Palmeri family tree, asking if any of them were related to Charles and Barbara Palmeri, brother and sister to my great-grandparents. One of the letters apparently went to the son of a second cousin of my father. He passed it on to his father who gave me a call. We met over the summer and he gave me a lot of information on the Palmeri family that I talk about in another post.

He also gave me some contacts on the Giambrone side. I talked to one Giambrone cousin who put me in touch with another Giambrone cousin.

From her, I learned that my great-great-grandfather, Giuseppe Giambrone, and my great-great-grandmother, Giuseppa (Josephine) (Amico) Giambrone, both came to the United States. He died around 1941. She died before him and is buried in Mount Calvery Cemetery in Buffalo. Now I know where to turn to get their death records, which should be filled with information. I'm also sending a letter to the cemetery asking them for whatever information they have on file. She also sent me a detailed genealogy of the Giambrone cousins.

In addition to the useful written information, I got a photograph of my great-great-grandfather!

Giuseppe Giambrone, probably abt 1920

And a photo of my great-grandfather, Angelo Palmeri, my grandfather, Joseph Palmeri, and my great-grandmother, Maria (Giambrone) Palmeri.

Angelo, Joseph, and Maria Palmeri abt 1918

Story of Charles and Barbara (Giambrone) Palmeri

Giambrone, Palmeri No Responses »

Jul 202011

After I learned that my great-grandfather, Angelo Palmeri, had a brother, Charles, and that Charles and Angelo had married sisters, Maria and Barbara, I set about trying to find more information.

Palmeri is not a very common name outside of Buffalo, NY. I think my wife and I are the only Palmeris in Nashville. I figure that at least some of the Palmeris living in Buffalo are related. So I send out about a dozen letters to various Palmeris listed in the phone book. A few weeks later, I get a call from someone who turns out to be my dad's second cousin. He knows my dad, not just as family, but because they both worked for the Buffalo Board of Education. His son, who is probably about my age, received one of my random letters and gave it to him.

Chuck was a treasure of information about the Palmeri family. I learned that Angelo and Charles had two brothers, Samuel and Peter, who also came to Buffalo, and that they may have left a sister, Maria, in Serradifalco. I also learn that Maria and Barbara Giambrone – I finally know their last name for sure – had three sisters and a brother who came to Buffalo and a sister who stayed in Sicily. I also learn that my great-great-grandparents, Giuseppe and Giuseppa Giambrone, parents to the Giambrone clan, also came to Buffalo. I recently learned that they are buried in Mount Calvary Cemetery in Buffalo.

They shared information about the Palmeri family. They knew by grandfather and grandmother well. They shared information about Serradifalco, including a video that showed the homes my great-grandparents had been born in and that showed a street named after the family in Serradifalco, Via Palmeri.

But maybe the coolest thing they shared was a story of my great-great-aunt and uncle, Charles and Barbara (Giambrone) Palmeri.

You can click here for the full story: Story of Charles and Barbara (Giambrone) Palmeri

There is a lot of really interesting information in their about life as a young immigrant family.

Every summer, the Palmeris and Giambrones would go to the Eden Valley to pick peas and beans. All of the adults and children would work and they would sleep in a barn. They were paid 1 cent a per pound for peas and 2 cents per pound for beans. As the boys got older, they would graduate from picking to hoeing and running machinery.

Apparently, my grandfather, Joseph Palmeri, used to go down every summer until he got married. My father remembers going down there occasionally as a child. But according to my dad, his mother had no interest in being anywhere near farm work.

Barbara and Maria (Giambrone) Palmeri

My great-grandfather, Angelo Palmeri

Palmeri No Responses »

Jul 012006

Following tradition, my father was named after his grandfather, Angelo Palmeri. When he was a child, my father changed his named from Angelo Joseph Palmeri to Joseph Angelo Palmeri.

So I knew my great-grandfather’s name, but little else.

All that my father knew was that the Palmeri family came from a small town in Sicily where most of the men were sulfur miners. He thought the name was something like “saltadifarco”. Needless to say, a Google search on that name brought up nothing. But with a little more searching on Google maps and Wikipedia, I reasoned out that they probably came from Serradifalco, a small town in the providence of Caltanissetta in Sicily, where sulfur mining and farming were the most prevalent occupations. I wasn’t certain. But it seemed a good bet.