Michael Lessie the Barber

I recently obtained this death certificate for Michael Lessie, your grandmother Mary's cousin.  Michael's mother Antoinette and Mary's mother Catherine were sister.It isn't a surprise that they were very close since each only had the other from their homeland.  The Lessie family helped Catherine leave Ohio, escape her husband Jake and start a life in New York.  I believe that even before Catherine and her children made their trek to Long Island, your grandmother Mary was also helped by her Lessie cousins to sneak away and to meet Costante and then take the train to Long Island City where there were Messa family members.  I recall a story told that this escape was just ahead of the bootlegging authorities.

But Catherine was excaping for a different reason.  According to Rose Jozwicki's journal, it was Pete Lessie that came from New York and knocked on the Messa family's door in Ohio urging them to leave immediately.  This was late in 1926 and by Rose's account, life improved greatly upon joining family in New York.

So the Messa and Lessie families were pretty well settled into this new life by the time the 1930 census was taken.  Michael was the oldest of the five children remaining at home with their parents Louis and Antoinette.  Michael practiced as a barber, apparently a common occupation for your Italian immigrants. 

Michael died in a particularly difficult time for the family.  As Rose put it: " In a period of eight months three in the family were gone."  Her Uncle Louie ( I believe this is Louis Lessie) had died in Feb 1935, followed by her Aunt Lessie (Antoinette--Louis's wife) in May 1935 and then Michael Oct 1935.  The family unit was completely broken up by the time of the 1940 census.

It is interesting to note that this certificate was signed by a surgeon who apparently had not previously treated him.  It states Michael's last illness was congestive heart failure and rheumatic heart disease.  This certificate also notes that an autopsy was performed concluding the cause of death was the same.  I don't know why an autopsy was performed but perhaps it was standard procedure if a death resulted from surgery.  Michael was a young man but perhaps not very robust if he was suffering from heart disease.  His brother Thomas is listed as the nearest kin.

These are names we have heard from Aunt Josie and Aunt Rose so often that they seem living persons to me.  You all have a long history of maintaining those cousin bonds and you are very lucky to follow in your family's footsteps!