Costante Dalpiaz 1901-1978

Here you see Costante Dalpiaz's application for a Social Security number. This document is interesting for a couple of different reasons. One of the most important to me is that it contains his signature. I like to "collect" ancestral signatures and this is a dandy example.

 

He indicates he was born in Austria. I recall Uncle Lou Albertini telling us stories about how these immigrants would identify themselves as Austrian or Italian and the two sides did not always see eye to eye at the time. Costante was Austrian. We can see his employer and his home address as well as his parents' names very clearly indicated. 

 

Most interesting to me is that this application was filled out in November 1936 meaning it was among the very first! From the Social Security Administration: Since the Social Security Board did not have a network of field offices in late 1936, it contracted with the U.S. Postal Service to distribute and assign the first batch of Social Security numbers through its 45,000 local post offices around the country. Of these 45,000 post offices, 1,074 were also designated as "typing centers" where the cards themselves were prepared. The procedure for issuing the first SSNs were that the SS-4 application forms were to be distributed by the post offices to employers beginning Monday, November 16, 1936. These forms asked the employers to indicate how many employees they had at their place of business. Using the data from the SS-4 forms, the post offices then supplied an SS-5 form for each employee and these forms (on which the assignment of an SSN was based) were to be distributed by the post offices beginning Tuesday, November 24, 1936. This one is dated Nov 28 1936. Who knew Costante was on the forefront of such history?

Francis P. "Weenie" Flynn 1906-1983

I found some articles about my grandfather Francis P. "Weenie" Flynn that I don't remember.  I'm sure I must have seen these at some point since they are in my piles and piles of family history trivia, but I don't remember these and I thought others might enjoy seeing them again too.

These are contained within a folder of Hall of Fame induction programs for 1970 (Weenie's year) and 1969.  Inside the induction programs are programs for the game held that day.  On Feb 14 1970, St. Bonaventure played Providence College and it was the ECAC Game of the Week.  One of the captains of the team was senior Bob Lanier who went on to become a well respected NBA player for Detroit and Milwaukee.  I can remember my grandfather talking about how big this kid's feet were (size 22).  Until I saw these articles, I had forgotten this game and the Hall of Fame ceremonies were broadcast on network TV.  My Mom and Dad we able to attend the ceremonies.

I am pretty sure this article is from the Olean Times Herald.  It tickles me to note he's described as "not beefy enough" (an understatement) and 40 years later his great grandson is described as BEEFY and chugging around the bases to win his league championship.

 This is part of the program from that event.  The drawing is clearly my grandfather during his St. Bonaventure years. 

My favorite leatherhead!

Timothy Ryan 1839-1909

This is the story of Timothy Ryan, our great great grandfather--the Ryan who emigrated from Ireland and started the whole story in this country. I don't know enough about him yet but I recently obtained his newspaper death notice which told me he was "well known to the older school of fishermen". I love that phrase!

Gloucester records indicate Timothy arrived in Boston in 1847 at the age of 20. He stated he was born in Tipperary. He made his way to Newfoundland and married Mary Ann Squires. It must have been the call of the sea because he was apparently a fisherman most of his adult life. About 5 years after his arrival in Boston, his first child Michael was born in Newfoundland closely followed by sister Elizabeth. Two years or so later, they were in Gloucester welcoming another baby Catherine.

Eight Ryan children were born to this family:  Michael, Elizabeth, Catherine, Mary F. (who died at 2 years old), William, James, another Mary and Richard. William, our ancestor, was child number 5, born a few short months after his 2 1/2 year old sister Mary died.

By 1900 when he was probably in his early 70s he and his wife were living with their son James in Gloucester. They apparently moved to Portsmouth around this time perhaps with James' family. That has me curious--what was in New Hampshire for them?

Just a short time later, in 1903, Ann died and was brought "home" to Gloucester for burial. Timothy died suddenly while visiting his long time hometown of Gloucester in 1909.

The Gloucester Daily Times states: "He was a most industrious man, of great integrity, honorable in his dealings with all men, and gained the confidence and respect of those with whom he had business dealings."

Surviving daughters include Mrs. John Tivnan (Elizabeth); Mrs. John Dow (Catherine); Mrs. John J. Brotherton (Mary).  This newspaper notice from the Gloucester Daily Times April 7 1909 leads me to conclude that son Michael predeceased him.

Otillio Dalpiaz 1871-1928

A while back, one of the Dalpiaz long lost cousins included some intriguing information about a great granduncle Ottilio Dalpiaz being murdered in Colorado after overhearing a Mafia murder plot. What self-respecting librarian/family historian wouldn't feel a great urge to research such a story??

Otillio (first name spelling varies greatly from source to source) probably immigrated from home in the late 1880's. Sal Romano's Trento website gives great information on some emigration patterns and I'm guessing Otillio followed this pattern. In 1900 he appears to have been a coal miner in Gray Creek Colorado. If you go to the Colorado Mines link on this website, you will see some Gray Creek mining pictures I think are very interesting. I haven't found him again until he was murdered in 1928.

I imagine it was a warm morning August 20 1928 in the Grand Hotel when Ottilio was shot to death after an apparent struggle in his room in the annex at the hotel. He'd been employed as their night dishwasher but had quit his job and collected his pay very shortly before he was attacked. Witnesses heard some discussion in his room, a struggle, crashing noise and shots. Seven bullet wounds from a .38 were found in his body. SEVEN!!

Otillio was probably around 54 years old when he died. It appears he had no friends or family in the area and was described as "a quiet fellow who did not talk much" . The reports from the coroner's inquest made no mention of any Mafia involvement and the murder was apparently never solved.

For me, this is a sad story of dying alone but perhaps sharing his story bring some justice to the great injustice of an unsolved murder.

Caroline Brown Nevins 1873-1960

For some reason, Gammy Nevins has been on my mind. To the general public she was Caroline (Carrie) Brown Nevins, but to us she was Gammy.  My mother's grandmother died on New Year's Day 1960 and I have only a very few personal memories of her. Her records have been a bit elusive and I only have one census record from 1892  showing her in the same house with her father William S. Brown (Grampie Brown).  The New England Historic Genealogy Society dug that record up for me and I am very grateful to them for it.  Finally it occurred to me that perhaps they didn't spend that much time together. So, here's a story for you. Much of it is conjecture based on half-educated guessing and some of it is based in fact. Who knows??

Caroline's father was William S. Brown (Our grandmother always called him "Grampie Brown" so I do too). Grampie Brown came to the United States from England in 1845 as a very young boy. He wasn't quite 2 years old yet when his family arrived. Two of his younger siblings were born in the Albany area before the family found its way to Buffalo New York. William W. Brown (Dad) was a blacksmith. I believe he may have worked as a blacksmith along the Erie Canal from Albany to Buffalo since the trip seemed to take at least 3 years, perhaps a bit longer. The family settled in Buffalo and basically remained there.

Just about a year after Grampie Brown returned from his Civil War service, he married Mary Burrows in Buffalo. At this time, Grampie Brown may have been a teamster  but in later years he also worked at the lumber yard and as a guard at the Penitentiary.

Caroline S. Brown was born Oct 12 1873, after about 6 years of marriage. She was apparently the only child of William and Mary Brown. This was a bit unusual for the time but I suspect that her mother Mary may not have been terribly healthy. The "S" middle initial for William and for Caroline in unclear in origin. Carrie, as she was called, might have been Caroline Summer(s) Brown. It was during this time period that I believe Grampie Brown worked in the lumber yards. He was not healthy either as he suffered from catarrh (as far as I can tell, this is a very severe stuffy nose/post nasal drip condition); rheumatism and "disease of heart and digestive organs"--this information was gleaned from his Civil War pension request records.

In September of 1879, Carrie's grandfather William W. the blacksmith dies. She is about 6 years old but I imagine the families were close. Just a few months later, in April 1880, her mother dies of "dropsy" (heart failure) in her early 40s. Grampie Brown is now left a widow with a young child and his father gone.

Grampie may have had no choice but to have young Carrie live in an orphanage. The situation at the Buffalo Protestant Orphan Asylum was rather grim for the 6 year old Carrie Brown in residence in 1880. Children such as Carrie may have been placed there by family members who agreed to pay a stipend for care. There was serious overcrowding and sanitary conditions were abysmal. The playground was a small patch covered in gravel. Education was, however, provided. Some children were placed with other families.

Grampie Brown remarried in 1882 and you can see by this Family Search New York State census record that Carrie resided with her father and her stepmother in 1892.  By 1900 when she was about 27 years old, Carrie Brown was a servant in a home in Ellicottville. My mother always said Gammy Nevins "never worked a day in her life", but I think she may have worked pretty hard in the years before she met and married Henry Nevins. Henry was a lawyer in Ellicottville at this time and they married in 1901. Isn't it funny how what goes around, comes around--or father worked in Ellicottville some 70 years later?

I've been told that Gammy Nevins had an electric car, which must have been kind of unusual "back in the day". My grandmother told me that her mother would take to her bed when she didn't fee like company and that her dad would take all seven children on Sunday afternoon picnics so she could rest. Gammy only took responsibility for the children's health. Every other decision was in the "ask your father" category.

This picture may have been taken in the early 1920s--maybe about 1922, making Carrie almost 50. She looks older, don't you think? Amazing how bearing and raising seven children will age your looks.