A New Coffarelli Discovery

It has long bedeviled me that I had been unable to locate any record of your great grandfather John Coffarelli's death.  It seemed ridiculous that it was so hard to find.  The cenus records indicated he'd likely died between 1920-1925, several years after his wife Rosa died in 1908.  I had a fairly narrow time frame, a very likely location but, still, I'd been unable to track this down and close that door for him.

Until I found this in the Freeport Society News:

This was published in the Freeport Daily Review Feb 20 1922.  Although James is listed as the father's name, I believe it's likely this was actually your great grandfather John.  In 1922, Phillip did have two brothers Joseph and James; but he also had 5 surviving sisters Margaret, Elizabeth, Theresa (the nun), Lena and Louise.  I'm not sure why this says three sisters unless it has something to do with where they lived.  I am unaware of any other Phillip Coffarellis who may have lived in the area at this time so I feel fairly certain this is my "proof" for John Coffarelli's death.  I'll be following up for further clarification but I felt confident enough to put his death date in the official copy of the family tree.

There are so many unknowns regarding these Coffarellis.  I don't know where in Italy they came from.  It seems John must have had siblings but I haven't found anything about them so far.  We know John's father Nicholas came to the United States very late in life to live with John.  I don't know why he would do that unless his options in Italy were limited.  I keep wanted to spin a tale, but I don't have enough thread!

I recently joined the Italian Genealogical Group (yes, they let me in) who recently sponsored a program on the Italian immigrant experience.  What follows are excerpts from that presentation as I think many must apply to ancestors like John and Rosa Coffarelli.

The immigrants made their way (on foot) to the port of embarkation, spent 2 to 3 weeks at sea, ate inferior food on board ship, got seasick and were quartered in the bowels of the ship (steerage) , only to face the uncertainty of Ellis Island, all for $35 the price of a steamship ticket.".......

......an immigrant woman was not allowed off Ellis Island if she came to American by herself.  Her father, her husband, her brother, or her uncle had to take her home.  Many couples got married on Ellis Island so the bride could enter American escorted by her new groom."  (I believe John and Rosa were married in Italy prior to emigration but John came first and Rose came later with baby Margaret.)

The presentation continues discussing the cultural and geographic challenges that faced these immigrants.  I had not given such things much thought but for any immigrants that might come from small villages in Italy, the hustle and bustle of Astoria Queens must have been quite a change.  The weather likely was also quite an adjustment as much of Italy is closer to the equator than Queens!  It's a good exercise to give consideration to the challenges faced by our ancestors as they often mirror some of our own.