REMEMBERED FAMILY STORIES
On this page you will find small stories and incidents remembered by our relatives about the individuals who are honored on this site. Should you wish to add your own story or your own version of any story which you read here to this compendium, please contact me. The address can be found at the bottom of the home page. As with any family as large as ours is, there are likely to be some stories and events that are less than flattering to those involved. We will not print those stories.
Uncle Tony teaches Christine to drive as told by Christine
This event took place about 1961. My sister Franciene had her learner's permit. I was only 11 or 12 years old at the time. I was riding in a car with Uncle Tony, though I don't remember exactly where we were headed. As we drove along, Uncle Tony turned to me and said: "Franciene, would you like to drive?" I was surprised that he would mistake me for my older sister, but I didn't tell him that my name wasn't Franciene. I dreamed often of the day when I would have my own learner's permit. I knew that I would LOVE to drive! I seized the opportunity that had presented itself and told Uncle Tony, "Yes". I slid behind the wheel and began to drive. I am not sure how well I was doing when Uncle Tony shouted: "You pull this car over right now -- you are not Franciene!" So I did as my favorite uncle instructed and pulled the vehicle to the curb. Uncle Tony didn't scold me, but he got a chuckle from the experience. I tried not to smile when I told him: "It was just a minor technicality". Years later I related the story to mom and dad. Mom and dad had never heard the story; Uncle Tony never related the incident to my parents.
Aunt Mary stories about Mariano Iannarino
Mariano's produce business had been in operation during the 1936 flood. Aunt Mary remembers Mariano saying that he and Providenza had watched his apples floating down the river. Mariano had purchase the Spracalle and Garish produce business from the family of the original owner. Stephen Spracalle had died and his children were struggling, trying to maintain the business. Mariano and his brother Charles bought into the business sometime before 1930, although we do not have the actual date. The business was located in an office on the main produce building on the "strip" near Pike Street and the railyards.
I had asked Aunt Mary if our grandfather had a stall in the Northside Market House which was demolished in 1965 and she told me "no", but he had worked there doing assorted jobs. Mariano was well liked by everyone who worked there. After closing the Spracalle Wholesale Produce business in 1948, working at the Northside Market House was the only work he could find.
Mariano was the only one of his brothers to own his own home. I had found Mariano's name on a 1925 real estate plat map, but when I looked up all the addresses of the other brothers on the map, their names were not on the places where they lived. According to Aunt Mary, Mariano was more ambitious than any of his brothers, that is why he owned his own home and had moved out of "the ward", an area by the river where the rest of the family lived.
Italian men (Mariano's brothers and friends) would get together on Sundays at Mariano's home to play cards. Mariano's brothers would bring their children expecting Provvidenza to "babysit" while they were enjoying their games. Our grandmother grew tired of this and went to her sister-in-law Christina's home for the afternoon, leaving all of the children with the men.
Franciene talks about the "Franks" and the "Charles'"
I have been struck by the number of "Franks" and "Charles" in our family. I understand why there are so many Charles' -- because of the Italian family naming traditions. The naming tradition states that the first son is always named after the father's father, the second son after the mother's father, the first daughter after the father's mother and the second daughter after the mother's mother. Our grandfather Mariano and most of his siblings followed this tradition. Given that Mariano had six brothers -- Francesco, Antonino, Pietro, Saverio, Michele, Giovanni -- and one sister Rosalia, and that their father's name was Saverio -- which for some unknown reason the family translated as Charles, there is a possibility of eight different Charles in our father Frank's generation. That I can understand. But why so many Frank's?
Mariano's grandfather's name was Pietro Francesco Iannarino, father of Saverio. Providenza La Manna's great grandfather's name was Francesco La Manna. We do have a lot of Frank's in our family tree. Let's see if we can identify some of them.
Here are the Frank's I have found so far. Of course, first and foremost is my own father -- Frank, son of Mariano. Then Robert (aka Michele) has a son Frank born in 1912. Francesco (aka Frank, Mariano's older brother) has no Frank that I can find on the census documents up to 1930. John (aka Giovanni) has a son Frank born in 1923. Our uncle Tony, our dad's brother has a son Frank born, I think, in 1940, although his first name was "Mariano". Tony's son Frank has a son Frank, born around 1960 or so. And finally on Providenza's side of the family, her brother Agostino has a son Frank born around 1915 or 1916. Mariano's brother Pietro never married. His brother Antonino (Thomas) died when he was fairly young in 1918, although there is a child Frank, age 9, buried in the same grave with him. They both died during the flu epidemic. It is likely that the Frank buried with Antonino is his son though he does not appear on the census in 1910 and could have been born after the census was taken.
Here are some older Frank's whom I have found. Francesco La Manna's grandfather was, you guessed it, Francesco La Manna who died before 1837 -- exact dates unknown. Concetta Bova's great grandfather was Francesco Bova, born around 1770. Saverio Agostino Iannarino, my great grandfather -- his father was Pietro Francesco Iannarino, his grandfather was Francesco Saverio Iannarino, his great-great grandfather was Francesco Gerardi (Gelardi), on his mother's side, who died before 1826. The grandfather of my great grandmother Rosaria Longo was Francesco Balsamo. There are even some Francesca's, a feminine form of Frank -- Francesca Navarra, a great grandmother of Rosaria Longo, and Francesca Castelli, a great-great grandmother of Rosaria Longo. So far I have found at least 25 different "Frank's" in our family tree.
Rosalia Iannarino, grandpa's sister, married Francesco Matracia. Her son Joseph had a son named Frank. Then there are Francesco's in the Matracia ancestor line including Gaetano Francesco Matracia, father of Francesco Matracia. Francesco's grandfather on his mother's side is Francesco Mercurio. Francesco Matracia's great grandfather thru his mother's mother's line is Francesco Catanzaro. I don't have the census data for the rest of Rosalia's children, so I don't know of any more Frank's for her side of the family.
Here are the Charles' in our family. Mariano's oldest brother Frank (aka Francesco) had a son Charles born around 1902. Robert (aka Michele) had a son Charles born around 1906. Thomas (aka Antonino) had a son Charles born around 1909. John (aka Giovanni) had a son Charles born around 1909. Morris (aka Mariano) has a son Charles born in 1911. Peter has no children. Rosalia, wife of Frank Matrascia, sister of Mariano, has a son Charles born around 1900. Charles (aka Saverio), brother to Mariano and siblings, married Thomas' wife after Thomas died and had one son named William, as together with Thomas' wife Augustina (aka Christina also Sabatina), he raised Thomas' son Charles.
Pop quiz tomorrow! You will be tested on all of this.
Aunt Rose speaks
Rosario Longo, my grandmother was alive in 1910 because she arranged a marriage between her son Mariano and my mother. Saverio Iannarino, my grandfather, was also alive in 1910. They both were dead by 1920, I believe.
Concetta Bova, my other grandmother, came to the United States in 1911 after her daughter Providenza married my dad. Concetta lived with her son August for a time but had to eat by herself. I don't know why unless August and his family did not have enough room at the table for her. Eventually, Concetta Bova came to live with us and stayed until she died in 1929. My father Mariano gave Concetta Bova $10 per month. Concetta bought life insurance and toiletries with the money.
Our home on Sandusky Street was 40 to 60 years old when my parents bought the property. The cellar had a dirt floor though the home had gas lamps which were later taken out. There was a coal stove in the kitchen and a coal furnace which was later converted to gas. There was no hot water though there was a water tap, and we bathed in laundry tubs. My father had a new front put on the house and added indoor plumbing. The people in the "ward" -- my family's relatives -- called Providenza "uppity" because she wanted to move out of the ward. Our home on Sandusky was the first home on the street to have a telephone and then later television.
Italian Women from "The Italian American Family Album" by Dorothy and Thomas Hoobler -- thoughts by Franciene
Here is an exerpt from the above mentioned book published by Oxford University Press in 1994. The exerpt speaks of the Italian family unit and the importance of the parents.
"For -- in the United States, as it had been in Italy -- la famiglia was the strongest social unit. The father was unquestionably the head of the family, but the mother was its center. Father's duty was to provide for his wife and children, to protect and guard them, and to make decisions that affected their welfare. But within the home Mother reigned. She managed the financial affairs, governed the conduct of her children, and provided the warmth and security that gave the family its strength. The long hours she spent preparing the sumptuous meals that are an Italian tradition were a sign of her devotion -- as well as a source of pride. She deferred to her husband because conflict within the family was regarded as her disgrace. She demanded obedience from her children because when they strayed from la via vecchia (the old way), it reflected badly on the mother."
This book is recommended reading as it contains many first hand accounts of the immigrants trials and triumphs, their travels from Italy, their struggles to make a new life for themselves in their new home. I found it at Amazon.com and cry regularly when I read it, for I imagine our grandparents among the stories.
A Story of Provvidenza La Manna as told by her daughter Rose Henry.
When our Mariano and Provvidenza first set up housekeeping on their own in Pittsburgh, they lived in the area called the "Ward". This area was close to the river on the northside of Pittsburgh. Several of Mariano's brothers remained in that area for many years. Provvidenza did not want to live near the river because the area often flooded after the winter thaw and spring rains, so she and Mariano bought a home on Sandusky Street, far above the area which was prone to floods. Mariano's relatives called Provvidenza "uppity", because they thought that Provvidenza did not want to live near them. Provvidenza La Manna always dressed well, especially when she went "to town" to shop. The photos to the right and left of this paragraph are photos of Provvidenza's prize hats. The hats are made of feathers. Rose kept the hats after her mother died. They are pillbox hats, so they were purchased during the 1960's when the "pillbox" hat was in vogue.
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