My Family Immigration Story   

​

     My great-grandfather, Giuseppe Ciliotta, was born in Northern Italy in a town called ,Valle di Cadore. The region is Udine, and the province is Belluno. Giuseppe came to the United States when he was 36 years old on a ship called the Adriatic. That ship departed from Cherbourg, France on November 3,1920, and arrived in New York City 9 days later on November 12,1920. He came ahead of his family so he could find work as a carpenter and also to find a place for them all to live. Both he and my great-grandmother wanted a life of opportunity for themselves and their children, and they believed America could offer them that. On his journey over, Giuseppe was accompanied by his cousin, Mario Ciliotta. My great-grandmother, Maria Ciliotta, was born in Romania while her Italian parents were there looking for work. Maria came to the United States to join her husband on March 6,1928, along with her 3 children, Constantina, Antonio and Angelo. Constantina was 13 years old, Antonio was 11, and Angelo was 7 years old. My nonna, Lilian, was born in New York City on December 9,1929. She was the only American-born member of the family, and throughout her entire life was extremely proud of that.

​

     The first apartment Giuseppe had was at 437 East 33rd Street, and a few years later he moved to 215 Wooster Street. He worked as a carpenter in the Carpenter's Union, and by 1927 was earning $55 per week. It wasn't until the rest of his family was about to voyage to America that he decided they would need a bigger apartment. Before the rest of the family was able to come over, my great-grandfather had to become a naturalized citizen of the United States. He began applying for the process on September 20,1926 and became a naturalized citizen on September 1,1927. After he was naturalized, he had to complete an Affidavit of Support, which proved he was a citizen of the United States and included the names of his wife and children who he would be supporting. Once they arrived, they lived in a small tenement apartment in East Harlem, New York City. Their address was, 314 East106th Street, and it's where my nonna was born with the help of a midwife. The entire family spoke Italian in their home, but my nonna always spoke English outside of their apartment. Her brothers and sister had to learn English in school by being put in classes with children much younger than them. Many people who immigrated from Valle di Cadore all lived in the building and also in the neighborhood, so they all helped each other and socialized with one another. Everyone in my nonna’s family could play instruments such as the mandolin, violin, and accordion. The neighboring families would gather in my nonna’s apartment to play music and sing all the songs they knew from the “old country.”