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Note: Notes for Pietro Munisteri then Marchese: Even though his last name for the first 36 or so years of his life was Munisteri, for the purpose of people being able to find him on this website, his name is being entered in this chart as Pietro Marchese.
Pietro was born September 15, 1861, in Montallegro, Agrigento, Sicily, Italy, to Domenica Munisteri.
The information given for the creation of Pietro's birth certificate was stated by a midwife. Usually the husband stated the details, but sometimes it was a midwife. The midwife stated that Pietro's mother was Domenica Munisteri, and that Pietro's father was "ignoto", which means unknown. The reason she stated "ignoto" is not known, since Domenica Munisteri was supposedly still married to Salvadore Campisi (unless they had separated or gotten divorced). So Pietro should have been given the last name of Campisi. Since the midwife reported that Pietro's father's name was unknown, then the person who created Pietro's birth certificate wrote that Pietro's last name was the same as his mother's last name; Munisteri. Her last name had never been Campisi, because Italian brides of the day did not change their last name to their husband's last name.
But why was Pietro given his mother's last name, instead of Salvadore's last name; Campisi? And why wasn't the baby given the first name of Salvadore's father, Francesco, as was the Italian custom for naming the firstborn son?
Maybe Domenica wasn't happy with the man - Salvadore Campisi - who, for whatever unknown reasons, had married the 13-year-old Domenica Munisteri when he was a grown man, 11 and a half years older than the young teen. Maybe she left Salvadore's home during the marriage, and found a boyfriend, Ferdinando Marchese, and had one son - Pietro - with him in 1861, and a second child - Giuseppe Marchese - in 1864, before Domenica and Ferdinando later married in 1865.
But what seems the most likely explanation is that Salvadore Campisi was infertile. Birth records from Montallegro show no children born to either Salvadore Campisi or Domenica Munisteri from before the couple was married in 1854, until Domenica gave birth to Pietro Munisteri - the apparent son of Ferdinando Marchese - in 1861. So Salvadore almost certainly was infertile, Domenica wanted children, and tried to get pregnant for five or six years, then finally decided to try elsewhere.
It seems most likely that Domenica's first baby Pietro had been fathered during an affair with her future second husband Ferdinando Marchese in December of 1860. The fact that the baby was named Pietro (which followed the Italian custom of naming the firstborn son after his father's father) when Ferdinando's father was Pietro Marchese, seems to indicate that Ferdinando was the biological father of Pietro Munisteri then Marchese. But for the birth certificate information, Domenica might have been afraid to tell the midwife to state that Domenica's husband Salvadore was not the infant's father, because she was apparently still married to him.
A photo of Pietro Munisteri's birth and baptismal record: <a href="https://goo.gl/photos/L7c8kANrduBD5ayz9">Photo</a>
Pietro's mother Domenica Munisteri married Ferdinando Marchese on April 24, 1865, in Montallegro.
At the time of his 1891 marriage to Vincenza Marsala in Comitini, Pietro's last name was still Munisteri, as was his mother's. His age was stated to be 30, which was correct. His birthplace was stated to be Montallegro, which also was correct. His occupation was a sulphur miner.
For his marriage documents, Pietro stated that he didn't know his biological father's name. So in the space on the form after "figlio di", which means "son of", the official wrote "Ignoto", which means Unknown.
A photo of the marriage record for Pietro Munisteri and Vincenza Marsala: <a href="https://goo.gl/photos/KfsQAzqBUCJqCttY6">Photo</a>
On August 12, 1892, in Comitini, Pietro Munisteri and his wife Vincenza Marsala had a son named Ferdinando Munisteri. At that time Pietro stated that his age was 30, and his occupation was a sulphur miner. Pietro stated that Vincenza's age was 21. In accordance with the usual naming practices in Italy, the first born son was named after his father's father, Ferdinando.
On December 6, 1896, in Comitini, Pietro Munisteri and Vincenza Marsala had a daughter named Domenica Munisteri. At that time Pietro stated that his age was 33 (but 35 was correct.) His occupation was a sulphur miner. Pietro stated that Vincenza's age was 24. In accordance with the usual naming practices in Italy, the firstborn daughter was named after her father's mother, Domenica.
At some point within the next 18 months, the family moved from Comitini to Casteltermini. At about the same time (1897 or 1898) for some unknown reason, Pietro changed his last name from Munisteri to Marchese. A possible reason was so that he would then have the same last name as his siblings. Likely, his biological father was Ferdinando Marchese, so Pietro should have been given the last name of Marchese at birth, anyway.
Both of Pietro's children at that time, Ferdinando Munisteri and Domenica Munisteri, were still alive at the time of the move from Comitini to Casteltermini, since they had not been listed in the death records in Comitini through 1898. No marriage, death, or immigration records have been found for Ferdinando or Domenica (Munisteri or Marchese) so it isn't known what happened to them. It isn't known that when Pietro changed his last name from Munisteri to Marchese, if he also had his two childrens' last names likewise changed.
On June 2, 1898, in Casteltermini, the man renamed Pietro Marchese and his wife Vincenza Marsala had a son named Giuseppe Marchese. In accordance with the usual naming practices in Italy, the second born son was named after his mother's father, Giuseppe.
This time, unusually for any mother, it was Vincenza who stated the information to the official for the baby's Acts of Birth record. Apparently Pietro was ill, out of town, or out of the country.
Pietro and Vincenza's son Giuseppe Marchese immigrated to the U.S. in 1913, although it isn't known if he ever returned to Sicily before returning to the U.S. again. In the United States he was sometimes known by the English version of his name; Joseph. He married a woman named Frances Giliberto in Clevelend, Ohio on October 6, 1923. He was listed as Giuseppe Marchese in a 1925 Cleveland city directory as a grocer who worked and lived in the same building, at 3511 Orange Avenue. Joseph Marchese was shot in his abdomen and was killed in Cleveland on April 20, 1926, just three blocks up the street from where he lived.
On June 27, 1900, in Casteltermini, Pietro Marchese and Vincenza Marsala had a son named Antonino Marchese. At that time Pietro stated that his age was 40 (38 was correct) and his occupation was a sulphur miner. Antonino died at the age of two years and three and a half months on October 12, 1902, in Casteltermini.
On September 7, 1903, in Casteltermini, Pietro Marchese and Vincenza Marsala had a son named Vincenzo Marchese. At that time Pietro again stated that his age was 40 (he was 12 days short of his 42nd birthday) and his occupation was a sulphur miner. Back then, people didn't always know exactly how old they were. More about Vincenzo is in this chart.
On August 21, 1906, in Casteltermini, Pietro's name was recorded as Pietro "Monastero" when his wife Vincenza Marsala had a daughter Maria "Monastero". In accordance with the usual naming practices in Italy, the second born daughter was named after her mother's mother, Maria.
For a second birth in the family, it was again the mother, Vincenza, who showed the newborn and stated family and birth information to the town official. Vincenza stated she was 33, but she was probably 35. Maria died at the age of 13 days, on September fourth. It isn't known why the baby's father's last name was written as "Monastero". Maybe Munisteri was misunderstood by the person who wrote it down. Pietro was still a sulphur miner.
On June 10, 1910, in Casteltermini, Pietro's name was recorded as Pietro Munisteri when his wife Vincenza Marsala had a second daughter named Maria; Maria Munisteri (or likely actually Marchese). Since the previous daughter named Maria had died, and it was expected that a family's second daughter was to be named after her mother's mother, Pietro and Vincenza again chose the name Maria for this baby girl.
On the baby's birth certificate, Pietro's age was recorded as 48, which was accurate. He was still a sulphur miner. Pietro's last name being written as his former last name of Munisteri was probably a mistake, since he stated his last name as Marchese when he travelled to the United States. On the other hand, his written Record of Death shows his last name as Munisteri. But his wife's Record of Death shows Pietro's last name as Marchese.
No marriage, death, or immigration records have been found for that Maria born in 1910, so it is unknown what happened to her.
On June 6, 1916, Pietro temporarily left his home, wife, and children in Casteltermini. He boarded the ship <i>S.S. Dante Alighieri</i> in Palermo, Sicily, Italy, and arrived in the Port of New York on June twenty first. His stated age was 53. His stated occupation was a laborer. He could not read or write. His last residence was in Casteltermini, which was also his stated place of birth. (But he was actually born in Montallegro.) His height was recorded as 5' 4". But for some unknown reason, Pietro and 17 of the other 29 passengers on those two pages of the ship's manifest were not admitted into the United States. So they were shipped back to Italy. But seven weeks later, Pietro tried to enter the United States again.
A photo containing part of the manifest pages shows that Pietro's name, as well as the names of other passengers were neatly crossed off. Pietro's name is on line 12: <a href="https://goo.gl/photos/uKJLQbtzB8kcbJEw7">Photo</a>
On July 26, 1916, Pietro again temporarily left his home, his wife Vincenza, and at least one child, Vincenzo, in Casteltermini, Sicily, Italy. He again boarded the very same ship, the <i>S.S. Dante Alighieri</i> in Palermo. The ship arrived in New York city on August ninth. His stated destination was Thomas, West Virginia, where he was going to meet his son Giuseppe. Pietro was a laborer. "Laborer" probably meant a laborer in the mining industry, which is what he did in Sicily. His height was recorded as 5' 4".
Pietro stated a different place of birth than he had seven weeks previously; Montallegro, Sicily. His last residence was stated as Casteltermini. His wife's name was stated to be Vincenza Marsala. All of that stated information was accurate. But his stated age of 53 was a year less than his actual age.
Pietro stated that he could not read or write. The manifest also shows that Pietro stated that he had previously arrived in the United States in 1911. He stated that his destination that time had been Coketon, West Virginia, which is right next to Thomas, West Virginia. That time, he had stayed in the United States until 1914. On the July of 1916 visit, Pietro stayed in the U.S. for less than four or five years before going back to Sicily, then returning again to the port of New York city in 1921.
A photo of part of one manifest page shows Pietro's information on line seven: <a href="https://goo.gl/photos/tUUURDfcPYyc14Hd6">Photo</a>
In late April of 1921, Pietro and his son Vincenzo left their home in Casteltermini, Sicily. They boarded the <i>S.S. Duca Degli Abruzzi</i> in the Port of Naples, on April twenth eighth. The ship arrived in the Port of New York on May twelfth. Pietro and Vincenzo went to the residence of Pietro's son Giuseppe Marchese in Bayonne, New Jersey. Pietro's wife Vincenza did not travel with Pietro and Vincenzo, because Pietro was just escorting his teenaged son to the U.S., then he soon returned to Casteltermini.
Pietro's height was written as two inches more than in 1916; 5' 6". Vincenzo's height was written as 5' 4". Pietro's place of birth was stated accurately as Montallegro. Vincenzo's place of birth was stated as Casteltermini. Their ages were stated as 60 and 17. But Pietro was actually a few months short of 60 years old. Their occupations were stated to be laborers. The name of Pietro's wife was stated as Vincenza Marsala.
Pietro's and Vincenzo's stated destination was 296 6th Ave., Bayonne, New Jersey, which was the residence of Vincenzo's older brother Giuseppe (Joseph, in the U.S. He had immigrated on October 22, 1913, at the age of sixteen.)
A photo containing parts of two manifest pages shows Vincenzo and Pietro as passenger numbers 18 and 19: <a href="https://goo.gl/photos/4upuWP3GhYwr5Aq39">Photo</a>
A photo of Pietro's 1942 death record, although it shows his last name as Munisteri, which he had stopped using decades previously. But maybe he changed it back: <a href="https://goo.gl/photos/k7av2tCaoKm5ANfv5">Photo</a>
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