Bernarda Armato (1898 - bef. 1912)

Born 9 Oct 1898 in Corleone, Palermo, Sicily, Italy

Ancestors

Died before 1912 before age 13 in Corleone, Palermo, Sicily, Italy

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Biography

Bernarda Armato is born on 9 October 1898 in Corleone and baptized on the 14th. She is the daughter of Giuseppe Armato and Bernarda Natoli. Her godparents are Domenico Moscato and Caterina Lo Curto, father and niece/granddaughter.^[1]

Her father emigrates in December. Bernarda and her mother join him the following year.

On the manifest of the Hesperia, arriving 1 September 1899 in the port of New York:

Bernarda Natoli, 22 (b. 1877), and Bernarda Armato, nine months (b. Dec/Jan 1898/9), also from Corleone. Bernarda Natoli is named as Bernard on this manifest, and listed as a male, but her profession is housewife, and she’s meeting her husband, Giuseppe Armato at 337 First St. and 106th.

Simone Gagliano appears in line 108/16 on this page of the manifest. He is 16 years old (b. 1883), single, a laborer from Corleone. Simone is meeting his brother, but it doesn’t say who that is. All three are going to NYC.^[2]

Bernarda's father is a member of Giuseppe Morello's counterfeiting gang, active in New York from 1907 until their arrests in 1909. He works closely with the Vasi brothers. Armato is tried and found guilty of having and passing counterfeit bills.

He makes return trips from Sicily to New York and claims that his wife lives in Corleone.

In 1924, Bernarda's parents emigrate from Corleone to the United States. They have a daughter named Bernarda who is twelve years old. This indicates that the older girl by the same name has probably died, and another child was born and given the same name.

Sources

1. ↑ Baptism of Bernarda Armato. (1898, October 14). Record no. 379. "Italia, Palermo, Diocesi di Monreale, Registri Parrocchiali, 1531-1998," images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:S3HT-6L2S-5NF?cc=2046915&wc=MG34-ZNP%3A351041801%2C351041802%2C351299201 : 20 May 2014), Corleone > San Martino > Battesimi 1895-1899 > image 260 of 309; Archivio di Arcidiocesi di Palermo (Palermo ArchDiocese Archives, Palermo).
2. ↑ "New York Passenger Arrival Lists (Ellis Island), 1892-1924," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-C9TH-LH2W?cc=1368704&wc=4X1L-QKS%3A1600462497 : 26 January 2018), Roll 80, vol 136, 1 Sep 1899 > image 54 of 356; citing NARA microfilm publication T715 and M237 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.).