"A family tree can wither if nobody tends its roots."

Jan31st2015

When Liboria Met Carmino

by  Phyllis Zeck

Giuseppe Donato (click to enlarge)

Giuseppe Donato (click to enlarge)

In 2013 I wrote a blog post about Catie’s ancestors which you can read here. Catie’s 4th great grandfather Vincenzo and my great grandfather Pietro Del Principe were brothers.  

Giuseppe Donato (Daniel) (born 1863) and Marie Concette D’Addezio (born 1865) are Catie’s 3rd great grandparents. In the 1920 census Donato’s address was 39 Euston St in Clearfield Pennsylvania.  In 1924 Donato died in Pennsylvania and is buried in St Catherine’s Cemetery.  Donato died at the age of 60 of tuberculosis, he was a coal minor. Concette died in Buffalo, NY.  Click here to read Concetta’s death certificate 03 Jun 1933.    Donato and Concetta had 5 children: Liboria (Laura), Nocola Vincenzo (James), Leonardo, Angelo, and Vittorio.  

Liboria (Laura) Del Principe

Liboria (Laura) Del Principe

Liboria (Laura) Del Principe and Carmino Mucci are Catie’s 2nd great grandparents.  When Liboria met Carmino she had no idea of the tough road that was ahead for her. Liboria is one of our strongest female Del Principe ancestors!  She was born in Italy in 1889 and died in Buffalo, NY in 1968. Click here to see Liboria and Carmino’s marriage license.  She was pregnant with her 8th child when her husband Carmino was killed in a mining accident on 23 Nov 1917.  He was killed by rock fall when he was only 34 years old.  Liboria named their last child Carmine after his father.  Click here to read an Obituary for Carmine Mucci. Catie and I both ponder over how Laura supported all those children. Carmino worked for the Cascade Mine and Coke Works in Sykesville, PA which is 275 miles west of Manhattan.  The mine closed in 1939 and Catie has shared the following article about the closure Coal Mine Closure 02 Jan 1939.  Below are some photos of the abandoned mine, click to enlarge.

Eriton Mine 1920's Pennslyvania

Eriton Mine 1920’s Pennsylvania

Liboria married Phillip Ventura and had two more children; Olga and Angeline (born in 1925).  In the 1930 census we found her in Buffalo, NY living with her mother and her brothers James, Leonard, and Angelo.  She was a widow for the second time.  Tragedy struck again on 10 Aug 1932 when Liboria’s first child died at the age of 23 after a brief illness. Obituary for Pasquale (Patsy) Mucci.  

 

Cascade Mine & Coke Works

Cascade Mine & Coke Works

Cascade Mine & Coke Works

Cascade Mine & Coke Works

It just so happens that I am in the middle of reading John Grisham’s newest novel called Gray Mountain.  If you want to read more about what life is like for the coal miner’s family you should read the book.  It’s an engrossing story of life in a small town in the heart of Appalachia (in Virginia) and the horrors of strip mining and black lung disease.  Thank you Catie for sharing your documents, stories, and photos!

 
 

Feb25th2013

Giuseppe Donato Del Principe’s Descendants

by  Phyllis Zeck

My great grandfather Pietro and Vincenzo Del Principe were brothers.  Vincenzo had at least two sons who immigrated to the United States.  Giuseppe Donato and Leonardo.  I wrote a blog post last August about a letter that Leonardo mailed to the Del Principe  brothers upon hearing of grandpa’s brother Antonio’s death.  I have since become acquainted with a descendant of Giuseppe Donato (Daniel).  Her name is Catherin Shafer and she is Giuseppe Donato’s great great great granddaughter.  Catherin is my 3rd cousin, three times removed.  Click here to see a relationship chart between myself and Catherin’s grandmother (Patricia Mary Mucci). 

Giuseppe Donato was born 01 Apr 1863 in Pescasseroli, Italy.  He arrived in the United States aboard the ship Hindoustan on 14 Nov 1891.  He applied to become a US citizen on 11 Aug 1902 at the age of 36.  In the 1910 census he was living in Clearfield county in Pennsylvania and his occupation was a coal minor.  Daniel died on 22 Feb 1924 at the age of 60.  The cause of death was Tuberculosis of the lungs.  He is buried at St Catherine Cemetery in Sandy, Pennsylvania.  Click here to see his death certificate.  

Liboria Laura Del principe Mucci

Liboria Laura Del Principe Mucci with Patricia who is the bride.

Giuseppe married Marie Concetta DiAddezio and they had the following children: Nocola Vincenzo Loreto (James), Liboria (Laura), Vittorio (Victor), Leonardo (he died in 1929) and Angelo.  

Liboria is Catherin’s great great  grandmother.  She is pictured in the photo on the left and is in the dark dress.  Liboria married Carmino Mucci.  They had the following children: Nicholas, Michael, Carmen E., Pasquale, Anna Marie, Adeleo Edward (Skip), William, and Ethel.  

Carmino Mucci was also a coal miner.  He died on 23 Nov 1917 at the age of 34.  His widow Liboria was left to raise their 8 children.  Carmino was killed in a coal mining accident at the Cascade Mine and Coke Works in Sykesville, Pennsylvania.  Click here to see his death certificate.  The cause of death is hard to read but it looks like he died from “shock following ?? blow chest with internal injuries.  Accidental ?? ?? of coal”.  I can’t even imagine the conditions an employee endures working at coal mines, especially at the turn of the century.

Cascase Mine

From “The Old Miner” web sites, Raymond A. Washlaski, Editor

Click on this link to see a map of the area, some historic photographs of the mine and details of the history of the mine.  Click on this link and scroll to the “M’s” for a memorial to Carmino Mucci.  Liboria would eventually move with her children, her mother Marie Concetta DiAddezio and her 3 brothers James, Leonard, and Angelo to Buffalo, New York.  She married Phillip Ventura and had two more children Angeline and Olga. 

Adeleo and Patricia Mucci

Adeleo and daughter Patricia Mucci

Liboria’s son Adeleo Edward (Skip) Mucci married Gladys Louise Scheu.  They had three children, Ronald, Barbara and Patricia Mary.  Patricia is Catherin’s grandmother. The photo on the left is of Catherin’s great grandfather Adeleo Edward (Skip) Mucci with his daughter and bride Patricia.

Thank you Catherin for sharing this valuable family history, documents, and photos.   We had many family members who worked in the coal mines, a hard and dangerous way to make a living.  I am in awe when I learn about our ancestors who lost their lives at such young ages.  Their struggles helped to make life easier for future generations.  They are our guiding stars!