Number Three
3 Scammell Street
When my grandfather's house was put on the market by my cousin, I put in an offer to purchase it. Actually, it was my third offer that was accepted. This home has been in our family since its beginning and it didn't seem right that it should leave the family now.
My grandparents, Joseph and Grace, left Naples, Italy on the Nord America. They arrived at Ellis Island on September 26, 1906, with a young daughter, Antoinette. Unfortunately, they lost their infant son during the passage...how sad and difficult it must have been for them to have suffered such a loss. They had less than $50 to begin a new life in a new country. (On the manifest, my grandpa listed his "calling or occupation" as "peasant.")
Their sponsors lived in Scranton, Pennsylvania, so that would have been their first destination. At some point after their arrival, they lived in Cortland, then moved to Utica, New York, which is where my father was born on May 21, 1911. It is my understanding that my grandfather owned a bar in Utica, but after it had been vandalized a couple of times, he closed it and moved his family back to Cortland. By then, there were three children...Antoinette, Elizabeth and my dad, Leonard Joseph. My Aunt Josephine was born in 1914.
I'm assuming that Wickwire's was the incentive for moving back to Cortland. Many Italian (and Irish, I presume) immigrants found employment at this factory that manufactured wire, and my grandfather went there to work. It is my understanding that they lived on Pine Street for a time, the street that runs parallel to Scammell, but in August 1915, the family moved to their new home at 3 Scammell Street.
My dad and his three sisters grew up in this house. My grandpa would have had a wonderful garden, since they owned the lot next to the house, as well. My Aunt Liz married Joe Tinella and they had two daughters, my cousins Grace and Anna (Nan). Aunt Antoinette married Andrew Prezioso and they had a son, my cousin Joe. My Aunt Jo married Joe Natale and they were the parents of a son, my cousin, Marino.
My grandmother passed away in 1939, the year before I was born. I've always regretted not knowing her...I know I would have loved her. Nan used to talk about her a lot...she had a special bond with our grandmother that I've always envied.
On September 3, 1939, my parents were married at St. Anthony's Church in Cortland. It was a typical Italian wedding, from what I can see...several attendants including two flower girls, Annie Contento and Mary Rongo. (It seems Mary was camera shy so she is only in one of the snapshots that I found.)
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