He was born Tommaso Calcagno in Randazzo, Provincia di Catania, Sicilia.
Parents:
*Vincenzo Calcagno of Randazzo, Sicily
*Francesca (?) of Randazzo, Sicily
Tommaso had several older half brothers from his father's first wife and a full sister from his father and mother. Very little was spoken about any of them. And my mother Nunziata never met any of them.
We know very little about Tommaso's family. His one sister who lived in Randazzo had very little to do with her brother's family. And Randazzo is not very far from Bronte. My mother Nunziata (Nancy) never even met her. I don't even know her name. I was told that she never married and had no children.
Tommaso grew up in Randazzo. Randazzo is a small town of about 15,000 people.
He was trained in the shoe making trade and was an expert in making custom shoes and shoe repairs.
As a young man he moved to the near by town of Bronte and around the year 1900 married Maria Gullo of Bronte.
And as was the Italian Custom their children were named after their grandparents and relatives.
Their children listed:
*Francesca, married name Zerbo
*Vincenza, married name Laurie
*Gaspare, died as a young child
*Elisabetta, married name Gangi
*Giuseppe, (Peppino)
*Serafino
*Agatina, never married, died in her 20's
*Nunziata, married name Orecchia
*Serafino(Ensulo)
He worked as a shoemaker and for the city of Bronte, lighting the gas lit street lamp posts.
During the 1900-1920s there was a mass migration of Sicilians going to the USA to find work and a better place to live. Tommaso's wife Maria's immidiate family all left Sicily and settled in NY. Maria wanted to go with them but Tommaso would not leave Sicily. This was also the era of many famous ship wrecks like the Titanic. Tommaso was concerned with the saftey of ship travel and would say "I eat the fish, they are not going to eat me".
This was hard for Maria because unlike her husband's family the Gullo family was very close and they always wanted to be near each other.
In 1908 a devastating earthquake hit the Eastern Sicilian city of Messina, destroying the city and killing over 30% of the people who lived there. Tommaso and a group of volunteers from Bronte went to Messina and helped pull people out of the rubble.
During WWI Tommaso was too old to serve in the Italian Army and was not drafted. And he had a large family.
Tommaso and his wife Maria were lucky to have survived the Spanish Influenza Pandemic of 1917-18. One out of every 4 adults caught it and many died in Europe and the USA. Tommaso drank plenty of wine, saying that it would ward off the virus.
Tommaso and Maria raised their family and lived in Bronte till Maria's death in 1944
He then moved to Taranto, Italy and lived with his son Serafino(Ensulo) till his death in 1950.
PHOTOS: To the right I have loaded some photos, if you click on each photo you will see a caption that describes it.
Riposa in Pace, Caro Nonno
From Your Gandson, Joe O.
Parents:
*Vincenzo Calcagno of Randazzo, Sicily
*Francesca (?) of Randazzo, Sicily
Tommaso had several older half brothers from his father's first wife and a full sister from his father and mother. Very little was spoken about any of them. And my mother Nunziata never met any of them.
We know very little about Tommaso's family. His one sister who lived in Randazzo had very little to do with her brother's family. And Randazzo is not very far from Bronte. My mother Nunziata (Nancy) never even met her. I don't even know her name. I was told that she never married and had no children.
Tommaso grew up in Randazzo. Randazzo is a small town of about 15,000 people.
He was trained in the shoe making trade and was an expert in making custom shoes and shoe repairs.
As a young man he moved to the near by town of Bronte and around the year 1900 married Maria Gullo of Bronte.
And as was the Italian Custom their children were named after their grandparents and relatives.
Their children listed:
*Francesca, married name Zerbo
*Vincenza, married name Laurie
*Gaspare, died as a young child
*Elisabetta, married name Gangi
*Giuseppe, (Peppino)
*Serafino
*Agatina, never married, died in her 20's
*Nunziata, married name Orecchia
*Serafino(Ensulo)
He worked as a shoemaker and for the city of Bronte, lighting the gas lit street lamp posts.
During the 1900-1920s there was a mass migration of Sicilians going to the USA to find work and a better place to live. Tommaso's wife Maria's immidiate family all left Sicily and settled in NY. Maria wanted to go with them but Tommaso would not leave Sicily. This was also the era of many famous ship wrecks like the Titanic. Tommaso was concerned with the saftey of ship travel and would say "I eat the fish, they are not going to eat me".
This was hard for Maria because unlike her husband's family the Gullo family was very close and they always wanted to be near each other.
In 1908 a devastating earthquake hit the Eastern Sicilian city of Messina, destroying the city and killing over 30% of the people who lived there. Tommaso and a group of volunteers from Bronte went to Messina and helped pull people out of the rubble.
During WWI Tommaso was too old to serve in the Italian Army and was not drafted. And he had a large family.
Tommaso and his wife Maria were lucky to have survived the Spanish Influenza Pandemic of 1917-18. One out of every 4 adults caught it and many died in Europe and the USA. Tommaso drank plenty of wine, saying that it would ward off the virus.
Tommaso and Maria raised their family and lived in Bronte till Maria's death in 1944
He then moved to Taranto, Italy and lived with his son Serafino(Ensulo) till his death in 1950.
PHOTOS: To the right I have loaded some photos, if you click on each photo you will see a caption that describes it.
Riposa in Pace, Caro Nonno
From Your Gandson, Joe O.
He was born Tommaso Calcagno in Randazzo, Provincia di Catania, Sicilia.
Parents:
*Vincenzo Calcagno of Randazzo, Sicily
*Francesca (?) of Randazzo, Sicily
Tommaso had several older half brothers from his father's first wife and a full sister from his father and mother. Very little was spoken about any of them. And my mother Nunziata never met any of them.
We know very little about Tommaso's family. His one sister who lived in Randazzo had very little to do with her brother's family. And Randazzo is not very far from Bronte. My mother Nunziata (Nancy) never even met her. I don't even know her name. I was told that she never married and had no children.
Tommaso grew up in Randazzo. Randazzo is a small town of about 15,000 people.
He was trained in the shoe making trade and was an expert in making custom shoes and shoe repairs.
As a young man he moved to the near by town of Bronte and around the year 1900 married Maria Gullo of Bronte.
And as was the Italian Custom their children were named after their grandparents and relatives.
Their children listed:
*Francesca, married name Zerbo
*Vincenza, married name Laurie
*Gaspare, died as a young child
*Elisabetta, married name Gangi
*Giuseppe, (Peppino)
*Serafino
*Agatina, never married, died in her 20's
*Nunziata, married name Orecchia
*Serafino(Ensulo)
He worked as a shoemaker and for the city of Bronte, lighting the gas lit street lamp posts.
During the 1900-1920s there was a mass migration of Sicilians going to the USA to find work and a better place to live. Tommaso's wife Maria's immidiate family all left Sicily and settled in NY. Maria wanted to go with them but Tommaso would not leave Sicily. This was also the era of many famous ship wrecks like the Titanic. Tommaso was concerned with the saftey of ship travel and would say "I eat the fish, they are not going to eat me".
This was hard for Maria because unlike her husband's family the Gullo family was very close and they always wanted to be near each other.
In 1908 a devastating earthquake hit the Eastern Sicilian city of Messina, destroying the city and killing over 30% of the people who lived there. Tommaso and a group of volunteers from Bronte went to Messina and helped pull people out of the rubble.
During WWI Tommaso was too old to serve in the Italian Army and was not drafted. And he had a large family.
Tommaso and his wife Maria were lucky to have survived the Spanish Influenza Pandemic of 1917-18. One out of every 4 adults caught it and many died in Europe and the USA. Tommaso drank plenty of wine, saying that it would ward off the virus.
Tommaso and Maria raised their family and lived in Bronte till Maria's death in 1944
He then moved to Taranto, Italy and lived with his son Serafino(Ensulo) till his death in 1950.
PHOTOS: To the right I have loaded some photos, if you click on each photo you will see a caption that describes it.
Riposa in Pace, Caro Nonno
From Your Gandson, Joe O.
Parents:
*Vincenzo Calcagno of Randazzo, Sicily
*Francesca (?) of Randazzo, Sicily
Tommaso had several older half brothers from his father's first wife and a full sister from his father and mother. Very little was spoken about any of them. And my mother Nunziata never met any of them.
We know very little about Tommaso's family. His one sister who lived in Randazzo had very little to do with her brother's family. And Randazzo is not very far from Bronte. My mother Nunziata (Nancy) never even met her. I don't even know her name. I was told that she never married and had no children.
Tommaso grew up in Randazzo. Randazzo is a small town of about 15,000 people.
He was trained in the shoe making trade and was an expert in making custom shoes and shoe repairs.
As a young man he moved to the near by town of Bronte and around the year 1900 married Maria Gullo of Bronte.
And as was the Italian Custom their children were named after their grandparents and relatives.
Their children listed:
*Francesca, married name Zerbo
*Vincenza, married name Laurie
*Gaspare, died as a young child
*Elisabetta, married name Gangi
*Giuseppe, (Peppino)
*Serafino
*Agatina, never married, died in her 20's
*Nunziata, married name Orecchia
*Serafino(Ensulo)
He worked as a shoemaker and for the city of Bronte, lighting the gas lit street lamp posts.
During the 1900-1920s there was a mass migration of Sicilians going to the USA to find work and a better place to live. Tommaso's wife Maria's immidiate family all left Sicily and settled in NY. Maria wanted to go with them but Tommaso would not leave Sicily. This was also the era of many famous ship wrecks like the Titanic. Tommaso was concerned with the saftey of ship travel and would say "I eat the fish, they are not going to eat me".
This was hard for Maria because unlike her husband's family the Gullo family was very close and they always wanted to be near each other.
In 1908 a devastating earthquake hit the Eastern Sicilian city of Messina, destroying the city and killing over 30% of the people who lived there. Tommaso and a group of volunteers from Bronte went to Messina and helped pull people out of the rubble.
During WWI Tommaso was too old to serve in the Italian Army and was not drafted. And he had a large family.
Tommaso and his wife Maria were lucky to have survived the Spanish Influenza Pandemic of 1917-18. One out of every 4 adults caught it and many died in Europe and the USA. Tommaso drank plenty of wine, saying that it would ward off the virus.
Tommaso and Maria raised their family and lived in Bronte till Maria's death in 1944
He then moved to Taranto, Italy and lived with his son Serafino(Ensulo) till his death in 1950.
PHOTOS: To the right I have loaded some photos, if you click on each photo you will see a caption that describes it.
Riposa in Pace, Caro Nonno
From Your Gandson, Joe O.
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