Some random internet wandering today uncovered 2 new uncles on the Messa side of the family. I should have known better than to assume Catherine Contento Messa's parents had more than two daughters! (Anna Contento Lessie being the other).
Kate Messa is your great grandmother, who ended up in Queens after leaving Ohio. Her husband, Jake was left behind and later died a tragic death as a result of an accident supposedly the night before he was to leave to come to New York. It appears she largely raised her five children by herself, but with tremendous support from her sister Anna Lessie.
Catherine/Kate and Anna's parents are Pietro Contento and Maria Cisternino Contento of Bari Italy. This is likely where the name Peter came from in both the Messa and Lessie families. Thanks to FamilySearch.org, today I found that there are at least two other brothers: Giuseppe and Tommaso.
Giuseppe (Joseph) apparently sailed to America in 1906 and stated he was a barber. So many barbers!
He's near the bottom of this image (from Ancestry.com). The clincher was that he stated we was heading to his brother in law's Luigi Lisi in Lafferty Ohio. I am reasonably certain this Giuseppe Contento is brother to Kate and Anna. I do find it a little odd that he was never mentioned by Aunt Josie or Aunt Rose so far as I remember. So far, I have been unable to be certain where he went from there, but perhaps it is not a coincidence that there's a Joe Contento who settled right here in Broome County NY! Wouldn't that be something?
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