Acri is a little town located in the
province of Cosenza in Southern Italy. Here in this town, Peter Belsito, the son
of the late Francesco and Fusaro Marta Belsito was born in February 1853.
Carmella Caravetta, daughter of the late Peter Angelo and Santa Adimari
Caravetta was also born in Acri on the 9th day of April 1863.
Peter and Carmella were wed in Acri
on September 17, “1883?”. On September 15, 1885, their first child, of
twelve children, Frank was born. Eleven were born in Italy and one in the United
States. The children are as follows: Frank born September 15, 1885, Pasqualine
born December 14, 1886, Joseph born March 9, 1888, James born October 17, 1890,
Sam born July 14, 1892, Dominic born September 29, 1894, Sandorf born November
1, 1895, Antoinette born January 15, 1898, Arthur born July 1, 1901, Rose born
October 2, 1902, Mary born June 6, 1904. The child born in the United States was
born in 1908 and died before the age of one.
Peter first landed in this country on
June 23, 1898. He sailed on a new vessel, the Romanic, from Naples,
Italy. He settled in Worcester, Mass. and worked as a laborer for almost two
years. He returned to Italy in July of 1900. Upon his return to Acri, the last
three children in Italy were born. They were Arthur, Rose and Mary. Peter stayed
in Italy until 1905 and then with his two sons, Frank and Joseph, came back to
the states on the vessel Romanic and landed in Boston on July 4, 1905,
and settled in Worcester, Mass.
Carmella, being in Italy with the
other nine children and unable to provide for them, split the family up and some
went to live with friends who could provide. They worked as laborers for richer
people who provided them with food for their labor. Carmella, who had influence
with people of education, decided to seek out a way to come to the States. With
influence and determination, she arrived in New York on March 7, 1907 at 3 A.M.
after a rough and dirty trip, tagged as #237. She was then put on a train and
sent to Union Station, Worcester, Mass. Upon her arrival in Worcester by train,
the train master escorted tag #237 of the train to a bench where she sat all
alone, lost. As only God would have it, a man came along and recognized her and
asked her if she was not Peter’s wife. Naturally she said yes. This man then
took her to where Peter was working When she walked up in back of Peter and he
turned around and saw her, well you’re right, he almost dropped dead. Happy
Days!
Several
months after Carmella’s arrival, James and Sam arrived in the states. Things
being what they were, and not too much money being around, it was two years,
1909, before Dominic, Sandorf, Arthur, Rose and Mary came to the States. This
group arrived together. In 1910, good fortune came again and Antoinette arrived
in the States. In 1911, the oldest daughter Pasqualine arrived. Married to
Salvatore Autieri, she returned to Italy in 1914, leaving here in the States,
one daughter Rose who resides in Worcester, Mass. Rose has two children.
Pasqualine and her husband Salvatore and their eight other children and their
families, live in Italy.
At this time,
there are 278 living descendants. The following pages of the family tree were
made so that everyone can clearly see ea.ch individual family, it's size and
it's relationship.
It was an honor and a
privilege to have worked with the following people, in order that my wife and I
might have the opportunity to complete this Great Family Tree:
Uncles
and Aunts
Sam, Sandy, Arthur, Mary.
Cousins
Peter Belsito, Angelo Belsito, Jim Groccia, Charles
Belsito, Howard Berressi, Frank & Butch Buffone, Albert Belsito, Leonard
Gabriel, and Arthur Belsito Jr.
Brother
Peter Belsito
