Finding Mary
11/23/14
For the longest time, the only thing I knew about my second great grandmother on my father's side was this:
Not much to go on. For the longest time, she was a complete mystery. I had gone to Benld City Cemetery looking for Barra relations, which is where several of them are buried, including my grandmother's half sister Rena (whom I also know next to nothing about, including her given name.) Mary is buried right next to Rena. So on to Ancestry I went, knowing only her dates and the fact that at some point she ended up in Benld.
I still do not know her proper birth date, simply that she was born in 1857, as the headstone states. Once I had asked her granddaughter, my grandmother Mary ("Nona") where her family was from and she told be Asiago Italy on her mother's side and Brossasco Italy on her father's. In most of my research this has turned out to be true, so I have placed Mary's birthplace as Asiago.
I know for a fact that Mary had at least two children, my grandmother Angelina, and her brother Pietro. Using this information, I searched for them on passenger lists from Italy to America and census lists. Pietro "Pete" Nardin has listed two different dates on census, in 1930 he listed his arrival as 1919, aged 31. He says he is married to Santina (Rolando) Nardin (whome he married in Jan 17, 1920), that his mother and father were both born in Italy, and he has three children, Lawrence, 9, Dante, 8, and Mary, 5. The census goes on to elaborate that they do not live on a farm, he married at 31 and is now 42, he did not attend school but is able to read and write, and he is employed as a coal miner. It also lists him as a veteran, and in the War field it says WW, which I take to be World War I. Poor Pete wasn't here long before signing up to fight for his new country. He lived at 835 East Mill street in Staunton. This does not make sense though, as WWI was from 1914-1918, so he could not have emigrated after then.
His 1920 census makes more sense to me, listed him as coming to the US in 1911 at age 23. His home on Mill street is mortgaged, and he is not yet married to Santina. He lists his immigration status as naturalized in 1919. It shows that he's employed by a coal mine. I was told that he lived in Spokane, Washington until moving to Staunton in 1914 to work in the mines, but I have no solid record of that. His WWI draft card lists him as a declarent (instead of naturalized) and that he works for the Staunton & Mount Olive Coal co. He is single with brown eyes and black hair.
His WWII draft registration card shows him much the same: still living in the same house, and still working for the Staunton & Mt Olive Coal co.
This is relevant simply because that is how I know I have the correct Mary Nardin's travel record, which I will get to in a moment. This past year at our Heigert family reunion (2014, Heigert is my grandfather's surname, who married Nona) my uncle Alan told me that Mary's surname was Strazzabosco. This shocked me in a way, I've met the Strazzabosco's. Nona worked for them in Chicago when she was young, as a babysitter or housecare of some kind. She used to take me to Chicago to see uncle Alan once a year, and I distinctly remember going to meet (I believe the man was called Nin) the Strazzabosco's. I had no idea at the time that I may have been meeting family.
I now know that Italian women kept their surnames. So that sent me on a different search, and I found what I now believe to be the correct manifest. She is listed as Anna Maria Strazzabosco, born abt. 1857 (a match!) aged 63. She left the port of Le Havre aboard the ship 'France' and arrived in New York, NY. She is listed as a widow, who cannot read or write English. She states she is traveling to her son's home at 835 East Mill, Staunton.
(On a side note: SS France was a French ocean liner which sailed for the Compagnie Générale Transatlantique, colloquially known as CGT or the "French Line". She was later christened Versailles of the Atlantic, a reference to her décor which reflected the famous palace outside Paris. Ordered in 1908, she was introduced into the Transatlantic route in April 1912, just a week after the sinking of RMS Titanic, and was the only French liner among the famous "four stackers". France quickly became one of the most popular ships in the Atlantic. Serving as a hospital ship during World War I, France would have a career spanning two decades. Her overall success encouraged CGT to create even larger liners in the future.)
Since nothing is ever good enough, I joined italiangenealogy.com looking for more information. This was where I learned about the women keeping their surnames. This is what a woman there had to say about my inquiry:
"Could the trip in October 1920, be a return from Italy after the death of her husband?
Looks like this possibly may be his death record in Illinois from April of that year (1920)
This record gives his first name (Giovachino) and the names of his parents (probably Luigi Nardini, and Gesualda Nizzi)"
She goes on to list:
Deaths and Stillbirths Index, 1916-1947 about Giovachino Nardini
Name: Giovachino Nardini
Birth Date: 4 Jun 1856
Birth Place: Italy
Death Date: 20 Apr 1920
Death Place: Chicago, Cook, Illinois
Burial Date: 24 Apr 1920
Cemetery Name: Mt. Carmel
Death Age: 63
Occupation: Coal Passer C.C. Hosp.
Race: White
Marital Status: M
Gender: Male
Street address: 1455 W. Grand Ave.
Residence: Chicago, Illinois
Father Name: Louis Nardini
Father Birth Place: Italy
Mother Name: Gasualda Nizzi
Mother Birth Place: Italy
Spouse Name: Maria Nardini
FHL Film Number: 1852874
Now, unfortunately I cannot confirm this information right now, because my subscription to Ancestry has lapsed for the time being. BUT, all the information fits. He passed away April 1920, and she arrived Oct 4, 1920. Whether or not she had been in the US beforehand is still in question, but there is a possible 1910 census for Giovachino in Cook co. (which again, I cannot access at the moment.)
So, have I found my 2nd great grandfather? I guess I will just have to wait and see (the anticipation is killing me!!) A little tidbit of info: My Nona I have been mentioning was born Oct 8, 1920. Just four days after Mary's return. :)
11/24/14
Since I just can't leave well enough alone, I am back on the hunt of great great grandmother Mary Strazzabosco Nardin and her elusive husband.
I went back to the 1930 census. In the previous post I copied the census of her son, Pietro Nardini, because she'd listed that she was heading there in 1920 on her ship manifest. Pete's census record does mention a Mary Nardin, but it's not his mother, it's his daughter, listed as age 5. Mary Strazzabosco has her own census record, but what is weird is it isn't listed with or below his.
So here's where I get confused; although it's easy to read a census.
Mary's census record reads like this:
it is the 15th US census, taken April 5th 1930.
House number: 835 A, East Mill st, Staunton IL
the number listed for Mary is 140W
(I don't know what this means, every one else has a whole number without a letter with it, and only in this census is the house number listed as a duplex, on Pete's it is not listed as such. In fact, the neighbor, Joe Basso, at 902 East Mill is listed as son, not head, and the family he is with on Pete's census is not here. Joe had been listed as person number 140, but the number was scratched out. ??)
Relation: Head
Home Owned or Rented: Ukn.
Value of Home: Ukn.
Age: 73 (again, not necessarily relating to Mary, but Joe Basso is listed as age 5 here. But it listed him as head of household? Who are these census takers?)
Marital Condition: Widowed
She did not attend school, and can not read or write English.
Year of Immigration: Ukn. (how would she not know?)
She also states she cannot speak English.
Occupation is None.
Contradictory, Pietro's Census says:
15th US Census, taken April 4th 1930.
House number: 835 East Mill (not A or B)
The number listed for Pete's family is 139. Likewise, his neighbors are Joe Basso above him, 135, house 728. Catteins Basso, below Joe, number 136, house number 834, then Pete. Below Pete is John Goeke, number 839, house number 138, Charles Jeanes, number 139 house number 850, then Marion Basso, number 140, house number 902.
So obviously the census taker stopped there and came back the next day. But why start at Marion Basso's son, and why go from house number 902 then back to Mary Nardini at 835?
Mary did not live long enough to show on the 1935 census, so there's not much else they can tell me.
So let's get down to business. My goal at the moment is to correctly identify her husband, which I have been unable to do thus far. When searching Giovachino Nardin on Ancestry, I get three hits: two death indexes, and a naturalization index. None of which I can view without subscription, but one does list a Maria Nardin as his wife, and Louis Nardin as his father, which Gio being born in Italy and naturalized Oct 22 1894. I obtained the naturalization card copy from Italiangenealogy.com, which listed him as living at 591 Fulton St, Cook co IL. The witness was Angelo Leonard, who lived at the same address. Unfortunately, it gives me nothing else.
I was lucky enough to also get the Death index from ItalianGenealogy.
Illinois, Deaths and Stillbirths Index, 1916-1947 about Giovachino Nardini
Name: Giovachino Nardini
Birth Date: 4 Jun 1856
Birth Place: Italy
Death Date: 20 Apr 1920
Death Place: Chicago, Cook, Illinois
Burial Date: 24 Apr 1920
Cemetery Name: Mt. Carmel
Death Age: 63
Occupation: Coal Passer C.C. Hosp.
Race: White
Marital Status: M
Gender: Male
Street address: 1455 W. Grand Ave.
Residence: Chicago, Illinois
Father Name: Louis Nardini
Father Birth Place: Italy
Mother Name: Gasualda Nizzi
Mother Birth Place: Italy
Spouse Name: Maria Nardini
FHL Film Number: 1852874
She gave me a possible 1910 census, but the only info I can see without subscription (as it is a link to Ancestry) was what she gave me: that he was a lodger (with Angelo?) aged 54, going by George, and was a laborer in a Hospital, which goes right along with his aforementioned occupation above.
So I get brave, and type in what I know into my tree. This can all be undone later if the information cannot be verified, which is one of the reasons I'm now keeping this blog, so I can easily retrace my steps. Giovachino immediately brings up hints, one of which is a listing for 8 member trees. These are typically not helpful, but you never know. His father brings up none, but Gazuelda beings up two linked trees. Something to look into later.
On to Google. When I search his name I am impossibly let down. It is not him. His wife's name, while Maria, is not Strazzabosco, it's Ori. And their children are not Angelina and Pietro, they are Ersilia, Rosina, Luigo, and Dominic. What a let down.
So I will return to my search for Mary. She has to be somehow related. Nin and Jovenina Strazzabosco live in Chicago with three children, Donald, Lino, and Sergio, and from what I understand my Nona, Mary Barra, worked for them when she was younger.....so let's see where that might lead. Time so send a few emails. :)
I was told there are Stazzabosco's here. My Nona is the one kneeling with the children. Her Mother Angelina is standing directly behind her. Nona's fraternal twin is the first girl in the back from the right.
12/1/14
I am at it again, but really have struck gold. Thanks again to the amazing people at italiangenealogy.com. They found Pietro's Italian Registry Record, stating that:
Cognome Nardin Surname: Nardin
Nome Pietro Modesto Name: Pietro Modesto
Soprannome Nickname: none
Padre Giovanni Father: Giovanni
Madre Strazzabosco Anna Maria Mother: Anna Maria Strazzabosco
Comune nascita Asiago Place of Birth: Asiago
Data di nascita 26/agosto/1888 Date of Birth: 26 Aug 1888
Professione falegname Profession: Carpenter
Comune residenza Asiago Residence: Asiago
Comune di iscrizione leva Asiago Registration Town: Asiago
Leva esito rivedibile
Note Leva abile
Note Fonte ASVI
Leva Estrazione 1888
Riferimento L0079///75438
So there it is! We compared this record with Pietro's WWI Draft Registration, which gives the exact same information, but of course it does not list parents, so we had to go by dates. But it's a match! So a mystery has been solved. Mary Nardin's husband, father of Angelina and Pietro, was Giovanni Nardin. :) Now I just need to find out more about him.
For the longest time, the only thing I knew about my second great grandmother on my father's side was this:
Not much to go on. For the longest time, she was a complete mystery. I had gone to Benld City Cemetery looking for Barra relations, which is where several of them are buried, including my grandmother's half sister Rena (whom I also know next to nothing about, including her given name.) Mary is buried right next to Rena. So on to Ancestry I went, knowing only her dates and the fact that at some point she ended up in Benld.
I still do not know her proper birth date, simply that she was born in 1857, as the headstone states. Once I had asked her granddaughter, my grandmother Mary ("Nona") where her family was from and she told be Asiago Italy on her mother's side and Brossasco Italy on her father's. In most of my research this has turned out to be true, so I have placed Mary's birthplace as Asiago.
I know for a fact that Mary had at least two children, my grandmother Angelina, and her brother Pietro. Using this information, I searched for them on passenger lists from Italy to America and census lists. Pietro "Pete" Nardin has listed two different dates on census, in 1930 he listed his arrival as 1919, aged 31. He says he is married to Santina (Rolando) Nardin (whome he married in Jan 17, 1920), that his mother and father were both born in Italy, and he has three children, Lawrence, 9, Dante, 8, and Mary, 5. The census goes on to elaborate that they do not live on a farm, he married at 31 and is now 42, he did not attend school but is able to read and write, and he is employed as a coal miner. It also lists him as a veteran, and in the War field it says WW, which I take to be World War I. Poor Pete wasn't here long before signing up to fight for his new country. He lived at 835 East Mill street in Staunton. This does not make sense though, as WWI was from 1914-1918, so he could not have emigrated after then.
His 1920 census makes more sense to me, listed him as coming to the US in 1911 at age 23. His home on Mill street is mortgaged, and he is not yet married to Santina. He lists his immigration status as naturalized in 1919. It shows that he's employed by a coal mine. I was told that he lived in Spokane, Washington until moving to Staunton in 1914 to work in the mines, but I have no solid record of that. His WWI draft card lists him as a declarent (instead of naturalized) and that he works for the Staunton & Mount Olive Coal co. He is single with brown eyes and black hair.
His WWII draft registration card shows him much the same: still living in the same house, and still working for the Staunton & Mt Olive Coal co.
This is relevant simply because that is how I know I have the correct Mary Nardin's travel record, which I will get to in a moment. This past year at our Heigert family reunion (2014, Heigert is my grandfather's surname, who married Nona) my uncle Alan told me that Mary's surname was Strazzabosco. This shocked me in a way, I've met the Strazzabosco's. Nona worked for them in Chicago when she was young, as a babysitter or housecare of some kind. She used to take me to Chicago to see uncle Alan once a year, and I distinctly remember going to meet (I believe the man was called Nin) the Strazzabosco's. I had no idea at the time that I may have been meeting family.
I now know that Italian women kept their surnames. So that sent me on a different search, and I found what I now believe to be the correct manifest. She is listed as Anna Maria Strazzabosco, born abt. 1857 (a match!) aged 63. She left the port of Le Havre aboard the ship 'France' and arrived in New York, NY. She is listed as a widow, who cannot read or write English. She states she is traveling to her son's home at 835 East Mill, Staunton.
(On a side note: SS France was a French ocean liner which sailed for the Compagnie Générale Transatlantique, colloquially known as CGT or the "French Line". She was later christened Versailles of the Atlantic, a reference to her décor which reflected the famous palace outside Paris. Ordered in 1908, she was introduced into the Transatlantic route in April 1912, just a week after the sinking of RMS Titanic, and was the only French liner among the famous "four stackers". France quickly became one of the most popular ships in the Atlantic. Serving as a hospital ship during World War I, France would have a career spanning two decades. Her overall success encouraged CGT to create even larger liners in the future.)
Since nothing is ever good enough, I joined italiangenealogy.com looking for more information. This was where I learned about the women keeping their surnames. This is what a woman there had to say about my inquiry:
"Could the trip in October 1920, be a return from Italy after the death of her husband?
Looks like this possibly may be his death record in Illinois from April of that year (1920)
This record gives his first name (Giovachino) and the names of his parents (probably Luigi Nardini, and Gesualda Nizzi)"
She goes on to list:
Deaths and Stillbirths Index, 1916-1947 about Giovachino Nardini
Name: Giovachino Nardini
Birth Date: 4 Jun 1856
Birth Place: Italy
Death Date: 20 Apr 1920
Death Place: Chicago, Cook, Illinois
Burial Date: 24 Apr 1920
Cemetery Name: Mt. Carmel
Death Age: 63
Occupation: Coal Passer C.C. Hosp.
Race: White
Marital Status: M
Gender: Male
Street address: 1455 W. Grand Ave.
Residence: Chicago, Illinois
Father Name: Louis Nardini
Father Birth Place: Italy
Mother Name: Gasualda Nizzi
Mother Birth Place: Italy
Spouse Name: Maria Nardini
FHL Film Number: 1852874
Now, unfortunately I cannot confirm this information right now, because my subscription to Ancestry has lapsed for the time being. BUT, all the information fits. He passed away April 1920, and she arrived Oct 4, 1920. Whether or not she had been in the US beforehand is still in question, but there is a possible 1910 census for Giovachino in Cook co. (which again, I cannot access at the moment.)
So, have I found my 2nd great grandfather? I guess I will just have to wait and see (the anticipation is killing me!!) A little tidbit of info: My Nona I have been mentioning was born Oct 8, 1920. Just four days after Mary's return. :)
11/24/14
Since I just can't leave well enough alone, I am back on the hunt of great great grandmother Mary Strazzabosco Nardin and her elusive husband.
I went back to the 1930 census. In the previous post I copied the census of her son, Pietro Nardini, because she'd listed that she was heading there in 1920 on her ship manifest. Pete's census record does mention a Mary Nardin, but it's not his mother, it's his daughter, listed as age 5. Mary Strazzabosco has her own census record, but what is weird is it isn't listed with or below his.
So here's where I get confused; although it's easy to read a census.
Mary's census record reads like this:
it is the 15th US census, taken April 5th 1930.
House number: 835 A, East Mill st, Staunton IL
the number listed for Mary is 140W
(I don't know what this means, every one else has a whole number without a letter with it, and only in this census is the house number listed as a duplex, on Pete's it is not listed as such. In fact, the neighbor, Joe Basso, at 902 East Mill is listed as son, not head, and the family he is with on Pete's census is not here. Joe had been listed as person number 140, but the number was scratched out. ??)
Relation: Head
Home Owned or Rented: Ukn.
Value of Home: Ukn.
Age: 73 (again, not necessarily relating to Mary, but Joe Basso is listed as age 5 here. But it listed him as head of household? Who are these census takers?)
Marital Condition: Widowed
She did not attend school, and can not read or write English.
Year of Immigration: Ukn. (how would she not know?)
She also states she cannot speak English.
Occupation is None.
Contradictory, Pietro's Census says:
15th US Census, taken April 4th 1930.
House number: 835 East Mill (not A or B)
The number listed for Pete's family is 139. Likewise, his neighbors are Joe Basso above him, 135, house 728. Catteins Basso, below Joe, number 136, house number 834, then Pete. Below Pete is John Goeke, number 839, house number 138, Charles Jeanes, number 139 house number 850, then Marion Basso, number 140, house number 902.
So obviously the census taker stopped there and came back the next day. But why start at Marion Basso's son, and why go from house number 902 then back to Mary Nardini at 835?
Mary did not live long enough to show on the 1935 census, so there's not much else they can tell me.
So let's get down to business. My goal at the moment is to correctly identify her husband, which I have been unable to do thus far. When searching Giovachino Nardin on Ancestry, I get three hits: two death indexes, and a naturalization index. None of which I can view without subscription, but one does list a Maria Nardin as his wife, and Louis Nardin as his father, which Gio being born in Italy and naturalized Oct 22 1894. I obtained the naturalization card copy from Italiangenealogy.com, which listed him as living at 591 Fulton St, Cook co IL. The witness was Angelo Leonard, who lived at the same address. Unfortunately, it gives me nothing else.
I was lucky enough to also get the Death index from ItalianGenealogy.
Illinois, Deaths and Stillbirths Index, 1916-1947 about Giovachino Nardini
Name: Giovachino Nardini
Birth Date: 4 Jun 1856
Birth Place: Italy
Death Date: 20 Apr 1920
Death Place: Chicago, Cook, Illinois
Burial Date: 24 Apr 1920
Cemetery Name: Mt. Carmel
Death Age: 63
Occupation: Coal Passer C.C. Hosp.
Race: White
Marital Status: M
Gender: Male
Street address: 1455 W. Grand Ave.
Residence: Chicago, Illinois
Father Name: Louis Nardini
Father Birth Place: Italy
Mother Name: Gasualda Nizzi
Mother Birth Place: Italy
Spouse Name: Maria Nardini
FHL Film Number: 1852874
She gave me a possible 1910 census, but the only info I can see without subscription (as it is a link to Ancestry) was what she gave me: that he was a lodger (with Angelo?) aged 54, going by George, and was a laborer in a Hospital, which goes right along with his aforementioned occupation above.
So I get brave, and type in what I know into my tree. This can all be undone later if the information cannot be verified, which is one of the reasons I'm now keeping this blog, so I can easily retrace my steps. Giovachino immediately brings up hints, one of which is a listing for 8 member trees. These are typically not helpful, but you never know. His father brings up none, but Gazuelda beings up two linked trees. Something to look into later.
On to Google. When I search his name I am impossibly let down. It is not him. His wife's name, while Maria, is not Strazzabosco, it's Ori. And their children are not Angelina and Pietro, they are Ersilia, Rosina, Luigo, and Dominic. What a let down.
So I will return to my search for Mary. She has to be somehow related. Nin and Jovenina Strazzabosco live in Chicago with three children, Donald, Lino, and Sergio, and from what I understand my Nona, Mary Barra, worked for them when she was younger.....so let's see where that might lead. Time so send a few emails. :)
I was told there are Stazzabosco's here. My Nona is the one kneeling with the children. Her Mother Angelina is standing directly behind her. Nona's fraternal twin is the first girl in the back from the right.
12/1/14
I am at it again, but really have struck gold. Thanks again to the amazing people at italiangenealogy.com. They found Pietro's Italian Registry Record, stating that:
Cognome Nardin Surname: Nardin
Nome Pietro Modesto Name: Pietro Modesto
Soprannome Nickname: none
Padre Giovanni Father: Giovanni
Madre Strazzabosco Anna Maria Mother: Anna Maria Strazzabosco
Comune nascita Asiago Place of Birth: Asiago
Data di nascita 26/agosto/1888 Date of Birth: 26 Aug 1888
Professione falegname Profession: Carpenter
Comune residenza Asiago Residence: Asiago
Comune di iscrizione leva Asiago Registration Town: Asiago
Leva esito rivedibile
Note Leva abile
Note Fonte ASVI
Leva Estrazione 1888
Riferimento L0079///75438
So there it is! We compared this record with Pietro's WWI Draft Registration, which gives the exact same information, but of course it does not list parents, so we had to go by dates. But it's a match! So a mystery has been solved. Mary Nardin's husband, father of Angelina and Pietro, was Giovanni Nardin. :) Now I just need to find out more about him.
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