Thursday, December 2, 2010

Photo Number 387

Today and for the next few days I will feature some interesting photographs that Pam bought in an Antique Shop in Lee, Massachusetts this is a region known as the Berkshires.  Pam has a blog called Artwork and Reflective Writing.  She wrote to me : Wouldn’t it be nice if someone recognized an ancestor?
Hilda Gloria and Albert Pam one   This photo is marked Hilda Gloria and Albert.  It was taken by M. Camarri Photo at 692 Filbert Street S.F. Cal.
Hilda Gloria and Albert Pam two This is written in a foreign language. Agli yir(?) con Alfetto(?)   Hilda Gloria Albert.
Albert is the star of this photo..perhaps some kind of grade school graduation? The children seem to be dressed up ..but the older girl/woman is dressed very casually..she has shoes and socks on instead of nylons.  Is this a photo from the 1940’s?

Pam also has a question that maybe you can help answer.  She has a lengthy beautifully hand quill penned letter that possibly was written by the wife of the man who developed the Otis Elevator.  She wrote her cousin in Massachusetts while accompanying her husband in Germany. The letter was written in 1884.  Does anyone know how she would go about getting in touch with someone at the Smithsonian?

Thanks for stopping by, do come again:)

Update from Ainsworthiana: That inscription might possibly be "Agli Gii con Affetto" -- "To the Gio family (the Gios) with affection."


Update From Star and anonymous : Or possibly To the Aunts and Uncles with love/affection.

Maybelline:  The Church has been at that address since 1925.


Update: From Abra: 
Oh, boy, I think I have a hit on who these children are, but rather than spoil the fun, I am going to make you all wait for names! I believe Hilda and Albert have passed away, while Gloria may or may not be still alive, as I have had difficulty tracking her. If my information is correct, Hilda was born 4 Oct 1921, Albert was born March 1925, and Gloria was born April 1, 1928.

If my information is correct, I would date the photo circa 1935. I am taking a stab in the dark, but I would then think the occasion was Albert's Confirmation/1st Communion (I believe they often received both sacraments together back then). Hilda has probably hit her growth spurt, and Albert not yet, thus the difference in size.



All the contact information has been sent to Pam..because this photo belongs to her! :) 


Update: This photo went Full Circle 19 on January 27, 2011. 


Here is the background on the search that Abra did to find this family! 


Ooh, I am so happy this photo has been reconnected with family. Although I have been given the credit, and while it may appear I solved this on my own, this is really not the case. A great deal of the credit goes to those responses about the Italian wording that led me to search where I did. Had I not had that information, I wouldn't have had some of the 'terms' I tried in the search engines to find these three children. So, it is important when you have a clue or inkling about a photo, no matter how small it may appear, you put it in the comments, because it really helps piece the puzzle together!! It takes all of us!

Now that the suspense has been lifted, here are the rest of the details. I extracted much of the identifying information of the living, without removing the pieces about the photo subjects.

When I found the match to this photo, every part of the puzzle appeared to fit. I first found the family in the 1930 census (as I was about to call it quits—they were on the very last page I was going through--I felt as though I hit the jackpot). I built on the information with other records once I had a last name. Here goes:

The 1930 census lists Joseph Pepi, an Italian immigrant(arriving 1913), living in a rented home ($20 month), age 38, unable to read, write, or speak English. He works as a fur dresser at a tannery. He was married at age 27 to Annie, another Italian immigrant who arrived in 1920; in 1930 she is 32 (married at 22), so I assume she married almost immediately after arrival--perhaps it was an arranged marriage. She can't read or write, but does speak English. Hilda(age 8) and Albert(age5) are both in school and can read and write. Gloria is 23 months old.

Using a combination of California birth, marriage, and death records, as well as military records, I have determined that Joseph was born Jan or June 2 1892. His full name was Guiseppe, his mother's maiden name was Barsi. He died August 21, 1963. His wife's full name was Nella S. Ramoni (not sure why it is Annie in the census, unless perhaps it is Annella). Her mother's maiden name was Magnani, she was born April 11, 1898, and died March 21st, 1963. It is quite plausible Guiseppe/Joseph had at least one more brother in California, as Fortunato Pepi was born in 1884 and his mother's maiden name was also Barsi.

Joseph Pepi registered for the WWI draft while still single. He was tall and medium build. brown eyes, black hair. He was employed by (?) Schroeder, as a fur dresser. He was born in Pia Gai Luuca Italy.

Hilda Francesca was born 10/4/1921 and died 8/9/1984 in San Francisco. She was married to Russell William Spadoni (born 8/21/1920, died 3/23/1969). They had at least one daughter who had 2 children(although I believe the response to the photo indicates there was more than one child).

Albert L. Pepi was born March 17 (?) 1925. He enlisted in the army during WWII (June 12, 1943). He married Lorraine Lepiane, born in 1926. They had at least two children, & several grandchildren. Albert L. Pepi died in 1993 in Gardenville, Nevada. It is possible his wife is still alive.

I didn’t search on Gloria, because at that time, I had enough information for contacts. Perhaps Hilda's family can fill us in on Gloria a little more! As always, this is just a small snapshot of this family and I am sure there are many more descendants then I have found.

~Abra

24 comments:

  1. Another interesting picture.

    Hope you have a nice day Connie.

    ReplyDelete
  2. The "Agli yir(?) con Alfetto" is italian for "yours with affection".

    To reach the Smithonian - you can go to their website and find contact numbers and email (webforms).

    American History

    http://americanhistory.si.edu/about/dept-detail.cfm?deptkey=15

    I don't know which department - Work and Industry?

    http://americanhistory.si.edu/about/dept-detail.cfm?deptkey=39

    I suspect if you use the link below, your query will get forwarded to the appropriate place (eventually):

    http://americanhistory.si.edu/about/contactfaq.cfm

    ReplyDelete
  3. That inscription might possibly be "Agli Gii con Affetto" -- "To the Gio family (the Gios) with affection."

    ReplyDelete
  4. I am intrigued. Every day, I can't wait to see what interesting photo will be featured.
    Naturally, I won't know anyone, as I am from SA, but the posts still makes for a very entertaining read.
    Thanks for the lovely blog!

    ReplyDelete
  5. According to wikipedia Elisha Otis died in 1861. He had 2 sons who worked with him. Maybe the letter was written by his daughter-in-law.

    ReplyDelete
  6. I agree with Ainsworthiana - their translation is more accurate.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Thanks Ainsworthiana! ..is it Italian? :)

    ReplyDelete
  8. My immediate thought was the girl on the right was the governess for the two children.

    ReplyDelete
  9. I thought the same, Nancy, until I looked closely at their smiles...they all seem to have the same mouth, and fairly similar noses. She seems too young to be the mother, but maybe an aunt, doubling as a nanny, or just an older sister.

    I would date this picture around the 20s or early thirties, due to info I found on the photographer. Marcello Camarri was a photographer in San Francisco in the 1900 census and according to his WWI draft card. I couldn't find him in the later censuses (but will continue trying later), however, he stated he worked for the WPA on a WWII registration. He died in 1972 according to the California death index and social security death index. He came from Italy (not sure of yr at this time), but his birthday was Feb 11, 1887-1889, depending which document you look at. He had, for sure, one son, Enrico.

    Also, as to the dating, I do have pics of my grandmother wearing similar styles in the early 20s, and pictures of my mom dressed similar to the little girl in the mid 30s. ~Abra

    ReplyDelete
  10. The location of the photographer is the corner of Filbert and Powell, and now is the Saints Peter & Paul School, right next to a church. The area of San Francisco where it is located is saturated with Italian landmarks and businesses and is right across the street from Washington Square park. The area is called North Beach on a map, but it's well known for enclosing Little Italy.

    Norkio

    ReplyDelete
  11. ..."it was in 1852 that the landmark event in elevator history occurred: the invention of the world's first safety elevator by Elisha Graves Otis. The first passenger elevator was installed by Otis in New York in 1857. After Otis' death in 1861, his sons, Charles R. Otis (1835-1927) and Norton E. Otis (1840-1905), built on his heritage, creating Otis Brothers & Co. in 1867."

    I beleive Charles' wife was Caroline F. I ran out of lunch hour before finding Norton's wife's name. - Hopefully from that you can tell who signed the letter.

    ReplyDelete
  12. It seems the school (St Peter & Paul) has been there since 1925.

    ReplyDelete
  13. the inscription is italian and says (agli) to the (zii) aunts (con affetto) with affection/love

    ReplyDelete
  14. "zii" is plural masculine for "uncles," but one male in a group, no matter how large, of women would turn "zie" ("aunts") into the, in this context, potentially semi-generic "zii" ("uncles...and maybe aunts"); the receiver of the photo would have understood, knowing of the other aunts-uncles in the household, to which the card was addressed.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Oh, boy, I think I have a hit on who these children are, but rather than spoil the fun, I am going to make you all wait for names! I believe Hilda and Albert have passed away, while Gloria may or may not be still alive, as I have had difficulty tracking her. If my information is correct, Hilda was born 4 Oct 1921, Albert was born March 1925, and Gloria was born April 1, 1928.

    If my information is correct, I would date the photo circa 1935. I am taking a stab in the dark, but I would then think the occasion was Albert's Confirmation/1st Communion (I believe they often received both sacraments together back then). Hilda has probably hit her growth spurt, and Albert not yet, thus the difference in size.

    I will be typing up my notes and sending Connie a contact number. :-) ~Abra

    ReplyDelete
  16. I have forwarded the info to Pam..after all it is her photo! We will have to be patient and see what happens. :)

    ReplyDelete
  17. omg this is my mom aunt and uncle aka mom zia and zio!

    ReplyDelete
  18. Anonymous..Contact me by email if you think these are your relatives:)

    ReplyDelete
  19. Ooh, I am so happy this photo has been reconnected with family. Although I have been given the credit, and while it may appear I solved this on my own, this is really not the case. A great deal of the credit goes to those responses about the Italian wording that led me to search where I did. Had I not had that information, I wouldn't have had some of the 'terms' I tried in the search engines to find these three children. So, it is important when you have a clue or inkling about a photo, no matter how small it may appear, you put it in the comments, because it really helps piece the puzzle together!! It takes all of us!

    Now that the suspense has been lifted, here are the rest of the details. I extracted much of the identifying information of the living, without removing the pieces about the photo subjects.

    When I found the match to this photo, every part of the puzzle appeared to fit. I first found the family in the 1930 census (as I was about to call it quits—they were on the very last page I was going through--I felt as though I hit the jackpot). I built on the information with other records once I had a last name. Here goes:

    The 1930 census lists Joseph Pepi, an Italian immigrant(arriving 1913), living in a rented home ($20 month), age 38, unable to read, write, or speak English. He works as a fur dresser at a tannery. He was married at age 27 to Annie, another Italian immigrant who arrived in 1920; in 1930 she is 32 (married at 22), so I assume she married almost immediately after arrival--perhaps it was an arranged marriage. She can't read or write, but does speak English. Hilda(age 8) and Albert(age5) are both in school and can read and write. Gloria is 23 months old.

    Using a combination of California birth, marriage, and death records, as well as military records, I have determined that Joseph was born Jan or June 2 1892. His full name was Guiseppe, his mother's maiden name was Barsi. He died August 21, 1963. His wife's full name was Nella S. Ramoni (not sure why it is Annie in the census, unless perhaps it is Annella). Her mother's maiden name was Magnani, she was born April 11, 1898, and died March 21st, 1963. It is quite plausible Guiseppe/Joseph had at least one more brother in California, as Fortunato Pepi was born in 1884 and his mother's maiden name was also Barsi.

    Joseph Pepi registered for the WWI draft while still single. He was tall and medium build. brown eyes, black hair. He was employed by (?) Schroeder, as a fur dresser. He was born in Pia Gai Luuca Italy.

    Hilda Francesca was born 10/4/1921 and died 8/9/1984 in San Francisco. She was married to Russell William Spadoni (born 8/21/1920, died 3/23/1969). They had at least one daughter who had 2 children(although I believe the response to the photo indicates there was more than one child).

    Albert L. Pepi was born March 17 (?) 1925. He enlisted in the army during WWII (June 12, 1943). He married Lorraine Lepiane, born in 1926. They had at least two children, & several grandchildren. Albert L. Pepi died in 1993 in Gardenville, Nevada. It is possible his wife is still alive.

    I didn’t search on Gloria, because at that time, I had enough information for contacts. Perhaps Hilda's family can fill us in on Gloria a little more! As always, this is just a small snapshot of this family and I am sure there are many more descendants then I have found.

    ~Abra

    ReplyDelete
  20. Thanks for all the added info Abra..I will bring it forward in the post. Interesting that these childrens parents died exactly five months apart:) Connie

    ReplyDelete

Hi, Thanks for the comments, your input on these old photos is appreciated! English only please! All comments will be moderated! Connie