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Bruno Comes to America
by Jennifer Rowell
from interviews from Bruno & Jennie





Bruno Barone was born on June 8, 1895 to Rocco Barone and Angiolina Barone in Palmi, Reggio Calabria, Italy. Bruno was born during the great wave of southern Italian emigration to North America (1880-1924). He was the second of nine children.

Located at the “toe of the boot”, Palmi was a city of about 14,000 people during Bruno’s childhood. The house that Bruno grew up in was small, like a shed. The children slept in the upstairs loft, while Angiolina had a general store in one part of the main floor of the house. Bruno’s mother sold baccala, wine, olive oil, figioli, chici, lentils,and pasta. There were two bedrooms and a small kitchen downstairs opposite the store. In the back of the house was a stable for the family donkey. The house was made of wood. Rocco worked in the mountainous fields of Palmi called the campagnia.

Typically children went to school to the third grade. Bruno’s parents wanted their children to learn more, but there wasn’t a lot of opportunity for better jobs or a better life in Palmi during the early years of the twentieth century. Bruno probably attended school long enough to learn how to read and write, then spent his middle childhood years helping his father farm in the campagnia.

Bruno was a playful, gentle, hardworking boy who entered the Italian Army at the age of 15. He served for a year and then reentered the service for another five years. During this time Rocco and Angiolina were informed that Bruno had died three different times! Then one day Bruno mysteriously reappeared! He never elaborated about his time in the military service. Years later his family discovered that he had saved his platoon from the enemy during World War I and was awarded several medals for bravery!



Angiolina watched her son return to the campagnia after the war with a heavy heart. She didn’t want him to waste his life working hard with little or no possibility for economic and social growth. One day she showed him a picture of a beautiful, young American girl-Vincenza “Jennie” Pugliese. She said, “You are going to have to marry this one!” Bruno looked at the picture and said, “Ma! I could never marry her! She is fancy! She has a hat on!” Bruno refused to leave his family for America. Instead he stayed in Palmi for a few more years to help contribute income to his parents’ household. Angiolina kept writing to Jennie’s family and never forgot her dream of a better life for Bruno.

Finally, in October of 1922, Bruno decided it was time to file his papers at the immigration station. He asked a clerk at the immigration station, “How long will I be on the waiting list.” The clerk replied, “Someone backed out today! Pack your bags!” Bruno frantically called his family from the train station. They packed wine, chichi, cheese, and extra supplies into bags and rushed to the train. They arrived just as the train was leaving. Bruno’s parents and siblings stuffed his bags through the window of the moving train. Bruno never saw his parents again. Two years after he left Palmi, Rocco died. Angiolina died eleven years after Rocco.

Once in Naples, Bruno began the rigorous preparation for sailing to America. He was probably given an antiseptic bath and quarantined for 5 days to insure that he didn’t have any communicable diseases before he boarded the S.S. Taormina. He was probably given a short haircut while he was detained in Naples. The health officials inspected him and probably gave him vaccinations. After all of the exams were completed, he was ushered to the boarding dock and provided additional information for the Taromina’s ship manifest.

Bruno left Naples on November 12, 1922. He probably wandered freely along the steerage deck listening to singing, mandolin playing, or storytelling, watching card games or dancing. The New York Times noted that the North Atlantic was experience gales, winds, and now flurries during this time. He may have spent a large part of the trip locked in the steerage compartment of the Taromina. Bruno arrived in New York Harbor on November 24, 1922. He spent the about five hours of the next day being processed through Ellis Island. After passing the inspection at Ellis Island, a Good Samaritan asked Bruno where we was traveling. Bruno pulled out a scrap of paper from his jacket, which read, Francesco Pugliese, Rockland Lake, Congers NY. The Good Samaritan showed Bruno which train to take and soon he was enroute to the next chapter in his life. He would finally meet the fancy young woman who had captivated his mother’s attention. He was on his way to reunite with the Pugliese clan that had left Palmi thirteen years earlier. He was on his way to Jennie and a new life

Francesco Pugliese
by Jennifer Rowell

Francesco was born June 16th 1867 in Palmi, Reggio Calabria in southern Italy. Francesco was the first of our family to come to America. He arrived on the S.S. Citta Di Napioli on Dec. 5th 1906. Prior to coming to America, Francesco's early years were set against a backdrop of civil unrest. Poverty, prejudice, disease, and political chaos defined this era in southern Italian history. As Francesco grew, nearly a third of Italy's citizens would immigrate to America.

In coming to America, he left behind his wife, Rosa Tedesco and 2 daughters, Francesca (b.7/4/04) and Vincenza (b.1/29/06). We know little about Francesco's personal life in Italy during these years. According to his sons, Charlie and Tally, Francesco never talked much about his 39 years of life before coming to America. We do know that he met and married Rosa Tedesco around 1900.

After arriving in America, the S.S. Citti de Napioli's manifest states that a cousin, Antonio Giordano, who lived at 1577 Thompson Street in Greenwich Village, NYC sponsored Francesco. Charlie & Tally both agreed that they never met Antonio Giordano and that he might have been a labor broker or padrone. A padrone was an individual who paid for an immigrants' passage and arranged for his employment in America in exchange for a percentage of his earnings.

2 years passed before the next significant event in Francesco's life is documented. On Dec. 28th, 1908, Palmi was hit by a tsunami caused by a large earthquake that killed nearly 8,000 of the 14,000 residents. It took nearly 6 months before Francesco could arrange for passage of his wife and 2 daughters from the devastation of Palmi to America. They arrived in May of 1909.


Francesco and Rosa had a total of eight children. Four of their children would die in infancy. Their eldest daughter Francesca (b.7/4/04-d.5/5/14) would die in childhood of influenza. The Pugliese twins, Carmelea (b.2/18/10-d. Oct. 10,1910)and Maria (b.2/18/10- d. 10/10/1910) died within two months of each other. Francesco and Rosa would suffer the loss of two more infants: Angiolina (b.2/3/15-d.12/15/15); and Antonio (b.6/8/16-d.8/20/16). This left Vincenza who survived the earthquake of 1908, and Charlie and Tally both of whom are destined to make their mark as successful businessmen in Nyack, NY.

No one is quite sure whom Francesco worked for during his early years in America. He may have worked for general contractors in NYC or in Nyack. Eventually he became an employee of J. DuPratt White, Esq. Mr White was a Wall Street attorney who built an estate in Nyack, NY. Francesco became a gardener for Mr White between 1910 and 1920.
Eventually Mr White moved Francesco's work from the Nyack estate to his Rockland Lake farm. Francesco's job was to grow crops that would be donated to Nyack Hospital. The Rockland Lake homestead would be the Pugliese home for another 10 years,until 1930 when Frank retired from Mr White's employ and the farm was torn down to make way for the Rockland State Park.

From the 1930's-1957 Francesco "Frank" Pugliese lived in Nyack with his wife, three children, and ten grandchildren. His son, Conchetto "Charlie" would marry Rose Bocchino and his son Natalino "Tally" would marry Santa "Sally" Zuccala. They Pugliese brothers would start a successful company called Nyack Plumbing and Heating. Francesco's only surviving daughter Vincenza "Jennie" would marry another citizen of Palmi, Reggio Calabria; Bruno Barone.

Francesco "Frank" Pugliese died October 12th 1957 at the age of 90 in Nyack. He is buried at Oak Hill in Nyack, NY.

coming up: Bruno Barone comes to America.

In 2006 it'll be 100 years since Francesco and Rosa Pugliese left Italy to come to America. With great sacrifice and courage, they took a chance that we're all glad they did. We are hoping to bring back together as much of our family and friends next summer and we're sure you'll agree it's long overdue. Feel free to comment on those that you recognize in these photos.

Let's start with a REUNION!

Do you know me?

coming soon,
Pugliese/Barone Family Reunion
Summer of 2006; New York

...don't miss the boat!