I am a 2nd generation Italian-American and have just begun to search my family's roots. My grandmother came to the US in or around 1896 and my grandfather came in or around 1900. I have not found them on ship manifests via Ellis Island. I know there were several other ports of entry, including Canada. Right now, I'm trying to find out their birth places. Not an easy task!

I am very happy to have stumbled upon this website. I have learned quite a lot from reading the posts and it's good to know there is expert help available when the time comes for me to search records in Italy.

Kindest regards,
Patricia

Welcome Patricia! It's always great to have new members.

If you would like to post your family names maybe we can help you located the ship manifests you're looking for?

Hello!

Thank you so much for inquiring. I am happy to post the names of my paternal grandparents, the object of my search:

Nicholas (a.k.a. Nick) Vario, born in or around 1882, emigrated in or around 1900.

Rosa Sirianni, born in or around 1886, may have emigrated in or around 1896. Her mother's name is Rachel.


Both of them ended up in Buffalo, New York in the early 1900s.

I would be eternally grateful for any information you might find.

Kindest regards,
Patricia

Hi Patricia..

Could this be them?


1930 United States Federal Census
about Nicholas Vario
Name: Nicholas Vario
Home in 1930: Buffalo, Erie, New York
View Map
Age: 48
Estimated Birth Year: abt 1882
Birthplace: Italy
Relation to Head of House: Head
Spouse's Name: Rosa
Race: White
Occupation:

Education:

Military service:

Rent/home value: Own Value: 5, 500

Age at first marriage: 24

Parents' birthplace:

View image
Neighbors: View others on page
Household Members:
Name Age
Nicholas Vario 48
Rosa Vario 44
Joseph Vario 25
Adeline Vario 17
Dominick Vario 13

The original census is also available - if you haven't seen it we can try and post it here for you.

I did a bit of searching on this with the information you provided and found the family tree with the two censuses attached [1920 & 1930], as well as, the WWI Draft Card attached to Nicolas...

..."assuming" that the WWI Draft Card attached to the family tree is the correct one for your grandfather and going by the information contained within it...

I found the 1910 Census where it shows Nicholas living with a brother, Pasquale, and a few other boarders.


1910 United States Federal Census

Name: Nick Vario
Age in 1910: 35
Estimated Birth Year: abt 1875
Birthplace: Italy
Relation to Head of House: Brother
Father's Birth Place: Italy
Mother's Birth Place: Italy
Home in 1910: Mercur, Tooele, Utah
Marital Status: Married
Race: White
Gender: Male
Year of Immigration: 1901

Household Members:

Pasquale Vario 24
Nick Vario 35
Frank Campisano 21
Frank Rulle 23
Thomas Davis 23



Then, I set out to find ship manifests for either Nicholas or Pasquale... I found one that might be on the right track [Note: according to the 1910 Census, Nicholas was already married]


Ellis Island website
First Name: Nicola
Last Name: Varia [This is perhaps what the original surname was]
Ethnicity: Italian
Last Place of Residence: Cortale
Date of Arrival: Mar 15, 1902
Age at Arrival: 31y
Gender: M
Marital Status: M
Ship of Travel: Citta di Torino
Port of Departure: Napoli
Relative he is going to join in the USA: brother Pasquale
Manifest Line Number: 0015



I searched for Pasquale's WWI Draft Card...I couldn't find one using "Vario", so I searched using "Varia and found it:


World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918

Name: Pasquale Varia
County: Tooele
State: Utah
Birthplace: Italy
Birth Date: 18 May 1889
Race: Caucasian (White)
FHL Roll Number: 1984055



According to their WWI Draft Registration Cards: Ophir, Tooele - Utah is the same place of residence for both Nicholas and Pasquale.

In Pasquale's card it shows his birth place as: Cortale, Catanzaro - Italy, which is the same town listed in the manifest info I found





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Liz

Hi,

Thank you so much for the feedback. Tomorrow, I'm traveling from Michigan to Buffalo, New York to meet with my sisters and a cousin. I hope, together, we will be able to put some pieces of the puzzle together.

I joined Ancestry.com and have looked at the census records. The records from 1920 and 1930 are, indeed, my grandfather. These records show the names of the whole family (including my father, Dominic). In these records, Nicholas' birth date is either 1881 or 1882.

There is a disparity in the date of birth from earlier records. I hope I can eventually get a death certificate (he died in Buffalo, NY in the early 1950s).

Wis me luck! Thanks, again, for your interest, help, and support!

Patricia

Nice Job Liz. Patricia good luck and let us know what you and your sisters come up with.