Close Calls for Peter Manzelli (1899 - ?) and James Coffarelli (1898-1934)

Random stuff as meteorological summer begins.


 I've been unable to close any doors on those open dates in the family tree recently but I have found a little tidbit I thought you might enjoy.  From the Brooklyn Daily Star April 1925 (or maybe 1926--it's a little blurry):

 Although it appears there was another Peter Manzelli nearby in the same time period, this "bad boy" is definitely your mother's uncle Peter, since the home address listed in this article matches the longtime Manzelli homestead.  I guess smart-mouthing authority is a long standing tradition for young squirts like Peter.  I'm afraid it's quite possible this relative may have been something of a criminal mind in his young adulthood. 

Your grandfather James Coffarelli was involved in an accident with a fire truck rushing into service.  Once again, I could determine this is "your" James Coffarelli from the address given.  Brooklyn Standard Union Oct 1922:

I'm not certain what an "automobile truck" is but this matches up pretty well with James' occupation as a chauffeur.  Good to know no one was hurt.

Evelyn Manzelli Born about 1922 Queens NY

A while back, I mentioned that Aunt Mary Sapienza Coffarelli  told me that your Grand Uncle Peter Manzelli was married and had a daughter and later lived with another woman ("that Nervo girl") with whom he had no other children.  She didn't say what happened to his wife but she did say that this made your Uncle John Coffarelli the "first official gradnchild" of Joe and Jennie Manzelli. T

This haunted me for a long time.  First of all, there was the mystery of this marriage and little girl.  Then there's the intriguing sentiment that whatever happened with the marriage negated the child's status in some manner.  So I tackled the "easier" of these two:  the marriage and the little girl.

A random message that came to me through Ancestry.com (which you've all heard makes this job so EASY PEAZY) motivated me to take a few extra research steps.  I was able to obtain Peter's 1921 marriage certificate. 

Peter and Mildred appear in the 1930 census living in Queens.  I learned that Peter was a chauffeur and that Mildred's parents were Swedish.  Daughter Evelyn is 8 years old in 1930 so I believe she was born about 1922.  My Ancestry.com message mate indicated that Evelyn married then divorced Jack Carman (or Carmen) and died in 1972 which would have made her only about 50 years old.

Evelyn was about 2 years older than Uncle Johnny.  With apologies to Aunt Mary, genealogically speaking:  Evelyn is the first official grandchild of Joe and Jennie Manzelli.  Although I believe there were probably very good reasons for the social mores that dictated official status of the line of descendancy, I guess I'm glad those "rules" have relaxed a bit and we can kiss and hug all the babies equally.

There is still the mystery of their marriage and Evelyn's life, but perhaps one day we'll find some more cousins!  Also take note on the marriage certificate that their witnesses were Eugene and Amelia Russo.  Amelia was Peter's aunt (sister to Marguerite) and the Russo connection is another Ancestry.com message mate!  He provided pictures such as this one

I am sure I've posted this before, but it seemed appropriate with the upcoming wedding events!  See you all soon!