Epifano/Mancuso/Tardio/Del Giudice Families

[Biff83]

Hi Nuccia,

Rosaria Macchione was the mother of Giuseppina Costanzo. Giuseppina Costanzo married Frank Epifano, the son of Antonio Epifano and Serafina Mendicino circa 1925 in San Mango. Antonio Epifano is my grandfather's older brother.

For some reason when Frank, who was born in Carbondale in 1906, was two his mother returned to San Mango with him. It's unclear whether she was homesick, there was illness in the family, husband Antonio was not making enough to support them in the states or whatever. Antonio accompanied them back in 1908 but returned to Scranton shortly after. In 1927 a couple of years after Frank married Giuseppina, he came back to Scranton and worked as a miner but he did not live with his father Antonio. Antonio boarded with the Leopoldo and Josephine Ferlaino family, also of San Mango, and Frank boarded with Nicola Mendicino's family, Serafina's brother. Frank returned to Italy sometime and had two children with Giuseppina Costanzo, Serafina Palma and Antonio, born 1932 and 1933 respectively. Frank once again returned to Scranton in 1933 to work in the mines. Giuseppina Costanzo with children Antonio and Serafina emigrated to the US in 1947. The two children are listed on the manifest as US citizens as children of a War Bride but I thought they would have been considered citizens since they were born to a US citizen. Giuseppina came in under the War Brides Act of Dec 1945 which I cannot explain since her husband was never a part of the military. I've linked her manifest and would appreciate any explanation or input into the manifest markings. Lines 7, 8, 9.

Page 1
http://img293.imageshack.us/img293/7406/zgc471vh8.jpg

Page 2
http://img263.imageshack.us/img263/1041/zgc472at2.jpg

[nuccia]

Are you sure he never served in the Army? Have your tried to write away for Military records? Or write away under the FOIA to see whats in the file? You have me really curious about this..

By the way..my great grandmother was a Macchione...and one of her cousins, also a Macchione married a Bifano. She also hated the US and left pregnant with two other children to go back to Italy without her husband. She never saw him again.

Think we need to explore this further...

Still joking about being related?? LOL!

Forgot to add these links..

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_bride

http://www.geocities.com/us_warbrides/

[Biff83]

Nuccia,

I haven't written away for any military records but I believe that the War Brides Act of Dec 1945 only pertained to personnel who served in World War II. Frank Epifano was born in Sep 1906 and at the start of WWII would have been 35 years old. There is no Army enlistment record or reserve corps record for a Frank Bifano or Frank Epifano. There is a chance he might have enlisted in the Navy, Marines or Coast Guard but at 35 he wouldn't have been a prime candidate. I also believe his job as a miner would have exempted him from the draft. I really need to contact Frank's daughter Sara Epifano Notarianni to ask about this as well as what she knows about the Macchione and Bifano/Epifano connection(s).

[jcsm400]

I'm so happy.......I can finally uncross my fingers & toes!

Great news, Biff.

[Biff83]

I'm so happy.......I can finally uncross my fingers & toes!

Great news, Biff.

Saint Anthony really answered my prayers. He's not the patron saint of missing persons for nothing. Grazie mille, Saint Anthony.

[nuccia]

really need to contact Frank's daughter Sara Epifano Notarianni to ask about this as well as what she knows about the Macchione and Bifano/Epifano connection(s).

Sounds great. I can't wait to hear!

I'm stumped about the manifest. I really hope someone can offer some advice on this.

I'm so happy that you've met a cugino to help you. I think this might be the break you've been hoping for. As for his comment to you..

di poterti abbracciare da vicino...embrace you near ( welcome you with his embrace or embraces your welcome(((does that even make sense))))). One of our Italian members hopefully will confirm. For now, Antonio is helping me with Italian lessons on our "new" post. Join us..it will be fun! We can ask him..

http://italiangenealogy.tardio.com/Foru ... =6499.html

[Biff83]

Nuccia,

I'll let you know what I find out from Sara. She's about 74 now and it depends on how her day's going as to what she'll remember. She can get off topic very fast and it can be difficult moving her back in the right direction.

I've asked her a number of times to keep a little notebook and jot down whatever she and her husband John Notarianni remember--relationships, stories, remembrances, anything, and asked that she also ask her brother Antonio keep one and I'd pick them up when I'm in PA in May. As of a couple of weeks ago, neither had done so. I'll ask again; they're the only living relatives in the States with direct links to the town.

I've been trying to locate an online copy of the entire text of the War Brides Act of 28 Dec 1945 so I could read through it. There might have been some obscure paragraph in it which would have qualified Giuseppina as a War Bride. I found a link to the document in one of the links you sent but it's broken. The document was at one time on the US Citizenship and Immigration site. I'm going to access that site and see if I can find it.

Biff

BTW, I checked the distance between Malito and San Mango d'Aquino: about 10 miles as the crow flies and about 16 by the current highway system. Mountainous terrain between both towns and it would have been a bit of a trek in the 19th and early 20th centuries to travel from one town to the other but certainly not impossible.

[nuccia]

Thanks for the update Biff. I have a great aunt..daughter of my Macchione who will be 94 tomorrow (I guess today, actually 1 Apr 1915) and I know how hard it is for them to stay focused. I will try to get some info fromher when I visit tomorrow depending on who is also there.

As for Malito and San Mango..theres also San Fili, Montalto Uffugo, Belisto, Rogilano or Cosenza that they may have started out from. I found they really did spread out and married people from neighbouring towns. Need to check Ray's records...he's got a different town listed than I do..it may be yours actually. I'll let you know. Have you had the chance to look over his ancestry site? It was done in the early days and he has so much more info now.

I'll also check Cathy's records for Montalto Uffugo to see if she has anything (she sent me all her spreadsheets and has several films on permanent loan.)

We'll figure this out yet!

[Biff83]

. Have you had the chance to look over his ancestry site? It was done in the early days and he has so much more info now.

I did check his site for Bifano and Macchione surnames. Most Macchiones born Malito and all in Cosenza. Under the Bifanos, there was only one born in Italy, Frank in 1875 with place of birth shown as Calabria, no region or town.

[liviomoreno]

If you have the occasion to come to Italy I would be happy to "di poterti abbracciare da vicino."

If you have the occasion to come to Italy I would be happy to "to give you a big hug" (To embrace you)

[Biff83]

Grazie mille, Livio.

Vi auguro la buona Palma ed una santa Pasqua!

Biff

[Biff83]

Hello everyone. I'd appreciate your input and comments on the following.

I am in the process of composing a letter to my cousin acknowledging the receipt of my grandfather's birth act and his letter, and requesting his assistance in obtaining additional information on our family. I'll be enclosing copies of family photographs, my grandfather's passport and all the information I have to date on the Epifanos who came to the states. I'm also thinking about enclosing a number of blank family group record sheets and pedigree charts as well as copies of the ones I have with the data I have recorded to date. I'd appreciate everyone's opinion about enclosing these.

I'd like to post my letter on the forum after I've composed it to ensure I haven't made any egregious mistakes before sending it. Would someone be willing to check it?

I also have a question for anyone who would like to express his/her opinion. Although my cousin's personal letter included his home address, it did not include a phone number or an email address. I'd like to contact him before he receives the letter and enclosures I'll be sending, but could not find a home phone number for him on Pagine Bianche. I did find his work email address at the comune as well as the general phone number for the comune, but I'm hesitant about sending a personal email or phoning him at work. The last thing I want to do is to cause him a problem at work. Does anyone have any advice or suggestions? My gut opinion is NOT to contact him at work and take the slow route via mail.

Thanks,
Biff

[wldspirit]

I'd take the slow route.....just my opinion.......
Lee

[Biff83]

Lee, thanks for your opinion and thanks to the others who PM'd me. We're taking the slooooooow route via the mail. After a great deal of searching on the San Mango sites I have in my favorites, I found an email address to a good possible but it turned out to be a cousin with the same name. If anything, I'm beginning to learn how to read and write Italian.

Thanks to Tom Lucente, a paesano from Il Circolo Calabrese, who helped correct my pigeon Italian, a two page letter to my cousin is ready to go in the post tomorrow with a few photographs and some other information. I hope he has an email address so we can communicate via the net not via snail mail. I'd also be able to invite him to view my tree on Ancestry, and that would make things so much simpler, not to mention quicker, because the suspense is killing me.

My wife's going grocery shopping tomorrow. I'd better have her pick up a bottle or two of extra strength Just For Men black. Oy vay!

Biff

[nuccia]

My wife's going grocery shopping tomorrow. I'd better have her pick up a bottle or two of extra strength Just For Men black. Oy vay!

A new "Italian" word there, Biff???

It will be hard waiting for that letter but oh so worth it when you get the response. I'm sure he's waiting for your letter(just a hunch) so you'll probably get an answer faster then you think. And, if you provided your email, he may even try to contact you like that. Its only a couple of weeks..(a lifetime, right? )

Let us know what happens!