Maria Grazia Bernarda Paparcusi is born in Corleone at 11 AM on 13 January 1860 in Corleone and baptized the same day, the daughter of Antonino Paparcuri and Nicolina Canali.
Maria Grazia Bernarda has an older sister named Maria Grazia, born 1853. The evidence from later US Census records suggest a birth year of 1862 for our ancestor, wife of Paolo Soldano; this record for Maria Grazia Bernarda has been the closest match. I may yet find another baptismal record for Antonio and Nicolina, as families of this time commonly lose children young and then baptize subsequent children with the same names.
Maria Grazia marries Paolo Soldano (sometimes Giordano or Sordano), on 20 February 1884. When they marry, Maria Grazia's father and Paolo's mother have both passed away.
The civil marriage record for Paolo gives his last name as Giordano, and the Church record calls him Sordano. According to the civil record, Paolo Giordano, celibe (bachelor), age 34 (b. 1850), falegname (joiner/carpenter), born in and resident of Corleone, son of Emmanuele, and of the late Maria Grazia Cinquemani, marries Maria Grazia Bernarda Paparcuri, nubile (virgin), age 24 (b. 1860), casalinga (housewife), born in and resident of Corleone, daughter of the late Antonino and of Nicolina Canali, on 20 February 1884. Their Church marriage is of the same date.
Maria Grazia and Paolo have five children. In US records, as well as in great uncle Joseph's telling, she is known as Mary Soldano. They are my great-great grandparents. Cascio-10 16:07, 3 June 2023 (UTC)
Their daughter Nicolina is born on 28 November 1887 and baptized on 4 December. Her parents are recorded as Paulo Giordano and Maria Grazia Bernarda Paparcuri. Her godparents are her uncle and aunt, Friderico Paparcuri and Calogera, his unmarried sister. (Calogera's vital records have not yet been found, so she does not have a WikiTree profile.)
The 1920 Census indicates that Mary immigrates in 1905.
A 1905 Census record shows Grazia Soldano, age 34 (b. 1871), newly arrived in the country (having been here for 7/12 of a year, as have her 3 children with her: two daughters, the oldest also named Grazia, age 18 (b. 1887); and Lena, age 16 (b. 1889); and son Manuel, age 15 (b. 1890). The mother Grazia is at home, the two daughters work as operators, and Manuel is a barber.
The family is living in Assembly District: 32 Election District: 21, which contains East 106th and 107th Streets, First and Second Avenues. This particular block is charted in David Critchley's book on organized crime in America, as the home of a number of known members of the Mafia at this time.
In 1906, Salvatore Provenzano, one of Maria Grazia's nephews, joins her at 327 E. 106th St.
Grazia marries Nicolo' Cascio, also from Corleone, in New York on 24 October 1909.
In the 1910 federal census of Manhattan, taken 15 April, Maria Gracia Sordono, 48 (b. 1862), a widower, heads a household at 167 106th St with her children Nicoline, 22 (b. 1888), Manuel, 20 (b. 1890), Antonina, 17 (b. 1893), and Tony, 16 (b 1894), and her nephew Salvatore Provenzano, 20 (b. 1890). All were born in Italy. Maria Gracia has had 6 children, 5 living. Nicoline and Antonina are dressmakers in a factory. Manuel owns his own barber shop. Salvatore is a plasterer in the building industry.[1]
In the 1920 census, Mary Soldano is living with her daughter, Lena's family. Charles Di Palermo, age 34, born in Italy and his wife Lena, age 31, also born in Italy. Their children, born in New York: Lena (the same age as Biagina/Jean), age 5, Philip, age 1, Paul, age 0. Mary is age 58 (b. 1862). All of these ages match what I've found in other sources. Charles has filed his papers for citizenship.
Mary's daughter, Lucy, 27, lives nearby with her husband, Louis, 33, and their first child, Joseph, eight months. Louis works in a laundry.[2]
Maria Grazia Bernarda (Mary) Paparcuri Soldano dies at her home at 9604 Northern Blvd., Corona, Queens, on 29 January 1926, at age 65. She died from atrophic cirrhosis of the liver, of two years' duration, and a contributory cause of myocarditis (one year). She was born in Italy on 14 January 1861, and has lived in the US and NYC for 22 years. She is the daughter of Antonino Paparcuri and Nicolina Canale, both of Italy. She is buried in Calvary Cemetery in Woodside, Queens, NY.[3] She was a widow. The executor is her son, Emanuel Soldano.[4]
Birth certificate of Maria Grazia Bernarda Paparcuri, 15 January 1860 (in her 1884 marriage allegati)
Baptism of Maria Gratia Bernarda Paparcuri, 13 January 1860
Certificato di defissione, Paolo Giordano and Maria Grazia Bernarda Paparcuri, 19 February 1884
Atti di matrimonio, Record No. 21, Paolo Giordano and Maria Grazia Bernarda Paparcuri, 20 February 1884
Marriage of Paulus Sordano and Maria Gratia Bernarda Paparcuri, 20 February 1884
Baptism of Nicolina Giordano, record no. 642, 4 December 1887
Baptism of Antonino Soldano, 17 February 1894
1905 census
1920 census
Critchley, David. The Origin of Organized Crime in America: The New York City Mafia, 1891-1931. Taylor and Francis (Routledge): New York, 2009.
Personal interview with Joseph Cascio, October 2001. Conducted by Michelle Cascio.
Ragusa, James M. The Ancestors and Descendants of Vincenzo (James) Ragusa (1870-1952) and Related Sibling Families (Before 1676-Present). Unpublished review copy dated 2015 March.
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Categories: Paparcuri Name Study | Corleone, Palermo | Migrants from Sicily to New York