The story

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On November 2, 1904 GUIDO CONTI (14 y.o.), his brother RAFFAELE CONTI (23 y.o.) and his cousin FELICE MORELLI (33 y.o.) disembarked from the ship "ROMA", sailed from Naples, at Ellis Island : they came from Spoltore, a small town in Abruzzo, Italy, where they were born and lived.

Felice in 1901 - May, "HESPERIA" ship - and Raffaele in 1902 -February, "FURST BISMARCK" ship - had already entered the United States and in 1904 , probably , when Raffaele returned to his Country, Guido decided to follow him when he went again to the States.

 


Guido and Raffaele settled and found work in Brooklyn. On 1905 Raffaele met an Italian woman, MARIA ZUFFA FORNIONI. As reported in some documents I found, I assume she was originally from Ozzano (Bologna - Italy): certainly she had emigrated years before from Italy to Argentina, she get married with an italian man, Olindo Fornioni, and she had two daughters from him, ITALA LEONOR (1895) and OLINDA (1898), both born in Buenos Aires. I don't know if she was widowed, or divorced and there are no records in Ellis Island's archives prior to his meeting with Raffaele: she was probably entering overland the United States or disembarking at another place.

Despite the age difference (Mary was born in 1875, Raffaele 1881), they fell in love and Raffaele wrote the news to his family. As far as I know the patriarch did not accept the situation, for that time considered scandalous, and ordered Raffaele to leave the woman.
Raffaele tried several times to explain his reasons to his family, but his father's answer was the order to Raffaele and Guido to return immediately home. While Guido , still a minor, reluctantly obeyed the imposition of the parent, Raffaele did not and he married Maria on 1905: in this way he accepted his final separation from family.

My grandfather, Guido, never returned to United States: he fought valiantly in World War I, earning degrees and a Honor Cross. Later he married a venetian girl, Livia (Elena) Rossi, had 6 children (my mother fifth of those) and settled in Padua , Northern Italy, where he worked for National Railway until retirement. He died in 1974.

Raffaele, who married Mary, moved to Manhattan (263, Pearl Street) between 1906 and 1910, had three children from her (MAFALDA -1906-, born in Italy, ITALO -1907- e FRANK, -1909-, born in New York) , wich grew with the previous two daughters of her. He worked as carpenter and timberman. From 1920's census records we notice that Raffaele and his wife were naturalized on 1917 and they had anglicized their name: they had become RALPH and MARY Conti. He adopted the two daughters of her, now called STELLA ( Itala so changed her name) and Olinda Conti: they live all together in the Bronx where Ralph bought a house situated at 1074 Virginia Avenue.
In 1930 the two older girls were no longer present with the family: Italo died in the Bronx on August 7th, 1929, aged 21, then the family was composed by Ralph, Mary, Frank and Mafalda and all together still lived in Virginia Avenue.
At the census of 1940, it appears that none of the youngs were still in the family: Ralph and Mary remained the only who still lived in Virginia Avenue. Mafalda stayed in the family certainly at least until 1934: she was recorded on the list of passengers of a cruise ship returning to NYC from Bermuda on June 22 of that year, and, on this occasion, the address is still declared as Virginia Avenue.

After Pearl Harbour attack, Ralph was registrated as Raffaele Conti on a World War II Draft Registration Card, in 1942: he was employed at Washburn Wire Co. (NYC - 116th st. on the East River) and this is the latest certified information I have of him.

If death record that I have viewed belong to him, Frank Conti passed in Bronx County, aged 67, on January 1 1977.

This the recorded history: the subsequent life of the daughters is extremely difficult to reconstruct because, once married, they lost their original family name.
Frank Conti is the only lifeline but, unfortunately, it is a rather common name: in the U.S. there are many others Frank Conti born on 1909-1910 and the
1950's Census will be published starting from 2022.

So you could be the one who will write the rest of this story...

 

TODAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2015, WHAT SEEMED IMPOSSIBLE IS REAL !

FRANK CONTI'S grandchildren contacted us through the site contact form: after more than 100 years, italian and american Conti still together, and it's great !