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General => Armed Forces => World War Two => Topic started by: cimbrio on Sunday 04 January 09 19:16 GMT (UK)
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I'm looking for any information about my biological grandfather.
He was an American soldier (of Italian emigrant parents) born in New York City in 1916. He enlisted in the US Army in May 1942; he was a Radio Technicial 5 (Sgt) at the 110th General Hospital at Ullenwood Park, near Cheltenham Spa (Gloucestershire, England). He returned to America in July 1945 on the Queen Mary and was officially discharged in October of the same year.
He never married, nor did he ever meet my father (his son), as he left before my grandmother gave birth. He never wrote, and we only recently found out that he passed away in 1981. He is buried in Calverton National Cemetery, Long Island, USA.
Any help, info or photos would be immensely appreciated.
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Do you know his parents' names and have you looked at US Census records?
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Well we do know his parents names and even date and place of birth, and EVEN when they emigrated. His father was Giacomo Ameglio, born in Mombaruzzo, province of Asti, on December 21st 1886; he emigrated to the US in 1910 for the first time, but for unknown reasons must have gone back to Italy several times because he is included in passenger lists in 1915 and 1924.
His first wife (my great-grandmother) was Giovanna Carolina Amerio, born on October 20th 1895 in Nizza Monferrato, also in the province of Asti (Italy). She emigrated in 1912. They must have married around 1915. Their son was born in 1916.
Another piece of mystery is that we know Giacomo remarried in 1926; his son, my grandfather, was sent to be brought up in Italy at an early age, and went back aged 12 in 1928, shortly after his father remarried. Neither he nor his father appear in the 1920 census. We think Giovanna may have died on the Spanish flu around 1918 and that's why the child was sent to Italy, till his father remarried. However we have not found her death record nor detah date; she does not appear to have died in Italy, and we have not found Giacomo's death date either; however, he was still alive at the outbreak of WW2.
If you can shed any light on any of this I'd be most grateful.
Kind regards.
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Possibly Peter's mother:
Giovannina Ameglio died 12 Feb.1920 (age 24) in Manhattan, N.Y
Parents' marriage:
Giacomo Ameglio married 16 Sept.1915 Manhattan to Giovanna Americo.
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Neither he nor his father appear in the 1920 census.
Right - Ameglio might have been misspelled.
Social Security Death Index:
SSN: 098-26-6713 Peter Ameglio, born 29 Jun 1916, died Jan 1981 at Monticello, Sullivan, New York.
SSN: 082-05-8170 Antoinetta Ameglio, born 1 Mar 1895, died Aug 1973 at New York, New York, New York
SSN: 157-24-5652 Dominic Ameglio, born 14 Aug 1933, died Aug 1974 at Dunellen, Middlesex, New Jersey
There is an Ameglio family in Brooklyn in the 1910 Census. Perhaps Giacomo was related to that family who was already there.
My source is Ancestry which allows me to post online content of "...unique data elements that are part of a unique family history or genealogy."
The 1920 US Census was started on Janaury 1, 1920, so Giovanna should be there, but apparently is not.
I do not see a Giacomo * married to a Giovanna * at all.
There's nary an Ameglio in the 1930 US Census. Jeez - now you see them, now you don't.
Here is a link to cemeteries in Sullivan county. Oh - buried in Long Island - never mind...
http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~nysulliv/cemetery.htm
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WOW
That does seem to be his mother, Giovannina [sic] Ameglio; it would fit since she'd been born in 1895 and was not yet 25. An the marriage just HAS to be that one. But still no news as to when Giacomo (who called himself Jack, by the way) died. We know Giacomo married secondly (I'm not sure if in Italy or New York) on June 30th 1926 a Francesca Antonia castino (b.1895, d. 1973).
I've seen that Dominic Ameglio on some lists but I have no idea if he was born during the second marriage or he belongs to another family altogether.
The problem is that my dad never met him, and my gran remembered some foggy details about him (she was sure he didn't have siblings, but she may have been wrong or misinformed).
If you find anything else whatsoever please tell me, and if there is any way of getting hold of the document which confirms the information you just gave me, please send it on. By the way, where did you get the information from?
Best regards
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1930 US Census, New York City,
Amaglio (transcribed that way and possibly enumerated that way; if after better magification it looks like Ameglio, I'll submit a correction. If it is accepted members will find it with a search using Ameglio.)
anyway...
Amaglio, Jack age 44 from Italy, Kitchen help in a restaurant, emigrated 1910. (First) married at 24 (or it could be 29 =~ 1915-1886).
Antoinnette, 34, from Italy, dressmaker in a factory, emigrated 1928. Married at age 31.
Peter, 14, born in New York.
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Possibly Peter's mother:
Giovannina Ameglio died 12 Feb.1920 (age 24) in Manhattan, N.Y
Parents' marriage:
Giacomo Ameglio married 16 Sept.1915 Manhattan to Giovanna Americo.
Cimbrio- sorry I had to post and run earlier. The about 2 entries from New York (Manhattan marriage and death records) indexed on Italian Genealogy website:
www.italiangen.org
click on link for 'databases vital records' on left side of page and follow the links (also explaines about ordering certificates there)
Don't understand this:
Here is a link to cemeteries in Sullivan county. Oh - buried in Long Island - never mind...
http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~nysulliv/cemetery.htm
Geof- could you please explain what cemetery the information relates to Ameglios as there are dozens of possible links on the pages.
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Peter's last residence was in Sullivan County according to SSN records. Then I realized that he was buried in Long Island.
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My grandfather, Peter Ameglio, is apparently buried in Calverton National Cemetery, Long Island. He died in a nursing home in Monticello; he was single. He was discharged from military service on October 30th 1945. He left for America on the Queen Mary and never came back to Europe as far as we know. We don't know if he had other relatives, but this is unlikely (at least close relatives).
I have an idea Giovanna Amerio (his mother) travelled with a cousin (I think the surname was Quaglia) when she emigrated to America. However I don't know the exact relationship because Giovanna was the daughter of Pietro Amerio and Amalia Terzano (we know she had a twin sister and an older sister born in 1891, who died in Italy).
Do you know if there is any way of finding a picture of these people? We have never seen a photo of my grandfather, and anything would do, really, even a small identitiy card photo would do...
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Finding photos is going to be very difficult. Sounds as though possibly there aren't any living relatives but have you thought of trying to trace the family in Italy?
When Peter's parents came to America there probably wasn't much money for 'extras' like getting photographs taken but when/if they did (wedding?, new baby? etc.) they it's quite likely a copy would have been sent to family back in Italy.
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Actually my father and I went back to Italy in 2007 and as chance would have it the neighbour of the hotel was a distant cousin (through Giacomo's mother); however they had never heard of any relatives in America (but he is as old as my father; perhaps the older generation, if they lived, would have known something).
A big mystery is where and when Giacomo died. We couldn't find either he or his parents buried in Italy (although Giacomo's mother died there in 1945, but no trace of her burial plot; we found one of her sisters but...). So there's lots of question marks but I don't think Giacomo died in Italy since his son and wife were in America.
Many thanks to you both for all your help :)
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When's the last time you've found a record of Peter's father being alive- might be able to at least find a date and place of death for you.
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The last thing I've found on him is in 1942 when Giacomo "Jack" Ameglio registers for military service in the U.S.; his wife, Antoinette, is given as living at 412 W39th St, Manhattan.
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I sent you some info last night via pm.
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Thank you Geoff. I have to ring my dad to see if he knows already what you sent (he lives in Spain; I live in Bulgaria). Thanks so much for taking the time and effort. I'll post back when he's told me.
:)
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You're welcome. The address on the 1930 census record is the same as Giacomo's WWII registration card and is the same as the business address. 12 years of living at the the same address isn't bad.
Either Giacomo got sloppy on the card, or they lived above or in the restaurant and perhaps owned it.
I sent a correction to Ancestry. It's more of an alternate name than a correction since it could have gone either way. My comment was, "Refer to WWII Registration cards for Giacomo (Jack) Ameglio, Peter's father."
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When Giacomo first went to New York in 1910 on the Duca di Genova he is listed as a farm labourer; when he traveled again from Italy to NYC on the SS Duilio he gives his profession as cook. His son Peter was listed on several documents as a butcher... No idea if they had a family business. Peter died almost 30 years ago, there MUST be people around there who knew him... I'm going to ask a friend of a friend in NYC to take a photo of the address.
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I just wanted to submit a little correction about a post I wrote previously: my great-grandmother came from San Marzano Oliveto (Asti, Piedmont), not Niza Monferrato. My mistake. We know she had a twin sister and an older sister, and the name Amerio seems to be quite common there.
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If you put this
412 W 39th St, New York, New York, New York 10018
into the maps address page at Google you'll see a street view. (and I pmd you once more with some info)
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Thanks; amazing being able to see the street just like that.
I saw your PM; but if it says that Peter Ameglio lived there in 1995-96, it is certainly not my grandfather, since he died in january 1981 (and single).
I've found on ellisisland.com some Amerios who came from San Marzano Oliveto, and a few of them went to stay with a cousin called Leonardo Terzano; what's interesting is that my great-grandmother's mother was called Amalia Amerio (née Terzano); however, I have not seen the original document so maybe her name was Angela (on ellisisland there are a few Amerios, issue of Pietro and Angela), and "Amalia"'s husband was certainly Pietro...
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Who knows why Peter was up in Monticello. It has only about 6500 people. There is a nearby local newspaper http://www.riverreporter.com/issues/redesign/contact.html
Why not email them and see if they have archives back to1981?
I also pmd an Ancestry member who does lookups in Sullivan County.
Hey - did you post on 24 Sep 2003 at Ancestry "Peter Amelio; 1915 NY, WW2 soldier, any info?"
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Hi Geoff, sorry for my lateness. Yes, I posted that, or my dad. I once found a message from someone looking for my grandpa but we have no idea who he was, and the e-mail he gave was no longer available :S
We've asked for Giovanna's marriage and death certificate, but no news yet. Have you found anything new which might be of interest?
Thanks a lot for your help :)
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I did get a reply from a researcher who is not active anymore but thought this case intriguing enough to take up. I gave this person this thread link, so we'll see what happens.
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Hi Geoff and all, and happy new year :)
Just came up with this thread again; did you ever hear from anyone about my great-grandfather Giacomo? We have not learnt anything :(
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Happy New Year to you too. Alas, no, I have not heard from this person.
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Hi all!
Just to re-vive this thread, I was wondering if it's possible to check if a Dominic Ameglio (born XXXX in NYC) was my grandfather's half-brother...
Thanks!
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Rootschat isn't a forum for tracing living people and many recent U.S. records aren't available online due to the same sort of privacy concerns. If he is dead you might find him listed in Social Security Death Index (although not everyone will be listed) but that will only list dates of birth and death (www.familysearch.org). To find a possible relationship you could order a copy of his birth certificate (if state restrictions there will allow that).
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I didn't mean to violate any rules of this forum.
Yes, he is deceased according to FamilySearch.
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Hello all!
We were just having a new look at records online and found on vitalrec.com that there is an entry for a DIVORCE which matches Peter Ameglio (my grandfather) in New York (he died in Sullivan county, if that's any help).
We were under the impression he died single, but could he have been married? Also it's quite puzzling this Dominic Ameglio (b.1933, died 1974 in new Jersey). I would like to find out whether he was my grandfather's half-brother. My grandfather's mother died in 1920; her widower Giacomo (Jack) Ameglio remarried in the 1920's and died on an unknown date after 1945. He may well have fathered a child in 1933 by his second wife. Can anyone provide me with any more information about the marriage-divorce or the child from the second marriage please?
Thank you! :)
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I checked every link at http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~nysulliv/cemetery.htm and I did not find any Ameglio.
You'll find something on Dominic at http://www.archives.com. There's a 7 day free trial. Not sure how good it is.
You said in reply #2 on page 1 that his son, my grandfather, was sent to be brought up in Italy at an early age, and went back aged 12 in 1928
, but Pietro Ameglio returned from Genoa on the SS Roma on Oct 23rd 1928. He appeared to be alone. Birth certifictate No. 31317, by the way.
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Hello Geoff (and Merry X-mas!); it seems the divorce took place in Florida, so quite unlikely that it was my grandfather who got divorced. Regardless, he seems to have led such a lonely life after returning to the States after WW2. He never married as far as we know (my dad has ordered the death certificate, which might tell us more); his dad died on an unknown date, perhaps in Italy, since we can't find his death in the US records. His stepmother Francesca died in 1973, so only 13 years before he died himself. I'm going to check out about Dominic Ameglio.
I have a question about Pietro/Peter. We have never seen a photo of him; we've seen a description of him (apparently, according to my late gran, I look like him), but nothing more. I wonder how one could find a photo of him? I'm thinking a passport or social security data, or any other records. There are no references to him online as far as I know... I wish I knew more.
Thanks and Happy holidays :)