A long line could stand for many different things. In the context of genealogy, an example might be an ancestor with many direct descendants or maybe a branch of the family tree that stayed in the same location for several generations. It could also mean that there was a long line at Ellis Island for admittance. My Great Uncle Leonardo Poppa fulfills examples of at least two of these scenarios...probably all three.
Leonardo was born on May 11, 1884, in Orsara di Puglia, Foggia, Italy, to Fedele and Elisabetta Poppa nee Branca. He would marry Teresa Rizzolli in 1903 in Orsara at the age of nineteen.
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| Leonardo & Teresa Poppa nee Rizzolli |
During the course of their 24 years of marriage, Leonardo and Teresa would have eight children:
Many Italian immigrants found their way to Pennsylvania in the hopes of finding work on the railroad. Leonardo by trade was a stone mason, and like his father and brother, Isidoro before him... set sail for America on May 11, 1909 on the SS Sant' Anna lured by the need for employment and the want of a better life for himself and his family. Leonardo arrived at the Port of New York on May 27, 1909, leaving behind his wife (pregnant with their 3rd child) and 2 small children back home in Orsara. According to the ship manifest, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania was to be his final destination.
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| SS Sant' Anna |
On April 10, 1912, Teresa and by now...her 3 daughters, Elisabetta (age 8), Michelina (age 5) and 2 year old, Florence said goodbye to Orsara and boarded the SS Sant' Anna for the United States to join her husband. They would arrive on April 26, 1912 and according to the ship's passenger list, the nearest relative left in the country from whence they came was Teresa's mother, Maria Rizzolli. Upon their arrival in the U.S., Teresa and her daughters would go on to their final destination of New Rochelle, New York. The ship manifest offers no clue as to why they were going there... who they were meeting... or where they would be staying upon arrival, but in my research...I discovered that Isidoro, his wife and 2 children were also in New Rochelle. Sadly, Isidoro's daughter Elizabeth was born and passed away in New Rochelle, New York around that time.
Leonardo and his family moved once more in 1913. Between that time... and the end of 1914, the family increased in size by 2 sons, Daniel and Lawrence and would permanently settle in Bridgeport, Connecticut. Three more children were to follow between 1919 and 1928... Grace, Nardo and Fred. All 5 were born in Bridgeport.
Leonardo's daughter, Elisabetta would marry Frank Sciarappa in 1919 and give birth to 5 children, Michelina would marry Carissimo Candela about 1924 and give birth to 4 children. Florence would marry Anthony Carbone about 1931 and give birth to 1 son. Daniel would marry Candida Antonelli in 1935 and they would have 1 daughter. Lawrence would marry Florence Kiley in 1934 and they would have 6 children. Grace would marry Peter Darbisi about 1942 and would give birth to 3 children. Nardo would marry Margaret Dinella in 1949. There were no children and regrettably, Nardo would predecease his father in 1953 at the age of 32. Fred married Frances Mikulka and they would go on to have 12 children during the course of their marriage.
Leonardo died in 1956 at the age of 72, His wife Teresa, would follow 9 years later in 1965. They spent the majority of their married lives living in Bridgeport, Connecticut and with the exception of the first 12 years...lived in the same house on Ives Court, which would become the family homestead for the Connecticut branch of the Poppa family for four generations. The house, once lived in and owned by my great grandfather, Fedele would be passed down to Leonardo and then eventually... to his son, Fred. Leonardo's greatest legacy however, lives on in the long line of 32 grandchildren and numerous great grandchildren.
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| The Ives Court house |
Great post!
ReplyDeleteWonderful story! Love that you have pictures of so many of them.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much!
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