Ella Carmen "Carmella" Capone was born on February 23, 1916 in Syracuse, Onondaga, New York. She was the daughter of Gaetano "Guy" Capone, an immigrant from Milazzo, Sicily, and his second wife Giovannina "Jennie" De Niro, an immigrant from Ferrazzano, Italy. She had eight siblings and half siblings: Josephine (1900), Mary (1902), and Carmella (1905), Louis (1907), Anthony Anderson (1910), James Carmen "Vincent" (1911), Leon Adriana (1913), and John Joseph (1910).

Ella's father was a shoemaker with Nettleton Shoe Company in Syracuse. The family lived in several different places around the Italian north side neighborhoods of Syracuse before finally settling at 731 East Laurel Street, a home that would remain in the family for many decades. 

The main language spoken at home was Italian, but Ella and her siblings were able to speak, read and write English. After graduating from Central High School and then the Powelson Institute, Ella worked as a stenographer and insurance writer for the Syracuse Real Estate Company. Ella's father, Gaetano, died in 1939 when Ella was 23 years old.

Ella married Gerald John Mingolelli on Saturday, October 19, 1940 at 10 o'clock in the morning. There were married at First Ward Presbyterian Church in Syracuse by Rev. Walter Vail Watson. Gerald worked as a manager at the Deviance Cleaning Company. Ella and Gerald took a trip to Washington D.C. for their honeymoon and then took up residence in Ella's mother's home.

Ella and Gerald had three sons: Ralph Albert (1942), Gerald John (1944-2020), and Brian David (1949). [Note: Ella had two additional children born in 1947, see below for more information].

By 1950, Ella and Gerald were living with their children at 908 Carbon Street, where they would remain for the rest of their lives. Gerald was working as a tailor while Ella was keeping the home. Soon after, Ella enrolled at Syracuse University, receiving her bachelor's degree in 1955 and her master's degree in 1971. She became a teacher and taught at Charles Andrews, Prescott, and Franklin schools in the Syracuse area for over 25 years. She was also a member of the Greater Syracuse Labor Council, the Business and Professional Women's Association, the Women's Republican Club, and the Lincoln Republican Club Auxiliary.

Ella died on February 17, 1989 at St. Joseph's Hospital in Syracuse at the age of 72 years old. Funeral services were held at Pirro and Sons Funeral Home on Turtle Street in Syracuse and at Our Lady of Pompeii Church. She was buried at Woodlawn Cemetery. 

In 2023, it was discovered via Ancestry DNA that Ella had two additional children, a twin daughter and son, with Robert Wilford Bellinger. The twins were born in Syracuse on November 28, 1947. The first name of the twin boy is still unknown, but the twin girl was named Sharon Lee Bellinger. There are many uncertainties about the relationship between Robert and Ella that we will probably never know, but we do know that both Robert and Ella were married to other people at the time the twins were conceived. After the twins were born, Ella took a trip out to California, where Robert was stationed in the Navy with his wife and child, to try to convince him to come back to be with her and the twins. He refused, which lead to Ella putting the twins up for adoption after her return. Three months after they were born, the twins were given to DCFS in Syracuse and adopted to separate families. Sharon Lee Bellinger's name was changed to Gloria Alberta Rushey after she was adopted by Ken Rushey and his wife Treva (Ricketts). As of this present time, no further information has been found out about Gloria's adopted twin brother, but the search continues.

Ella's daughter Gloria grew up, got married, and became a mother, grandmother and great-grandmother. She was 75 years old when her granddaughter-in-law, Ashley Riley, used Ancestry DNA to find her biological family and discovered that Robert was her biological father and Ella Capone was her biological mother. Gloria has since reconnected with several biological family members and still lives in Syracuse, hoping to connect with more over the coming years.

Biography by Ashley Riley (great-granddaughter-in-law)