The Story of Angela Falconeri
Angela Falconeri was born on October 12, 1876, in the small Sicilian town of Acate (then called Biscari). She came from a family with deep roots in Sicily, though their lives were marked by the same hardships that touched many families of that time.
Angela's Ancestors
Angela's grandfather, Carmelo Falconeri, was born in the late 1700s. He married Anna Nicosia around 1819, and together they had three children. Tragically, Anna died in August 1830, leaving Carmelo a widower with young children. Just three months later, Carmelo married fifteen-year-old Salvatrice Miceli. Though their age difference was large, this was not unusual in Sicily at that time. Together, Carmelo and Salvatrice had nine children, building a large family despite the difficult times.
Their son Salvatore, born in 1833, grew up and married Francesca Puglisi in 1861. Salvatore and Francesca became Angela's parents, and Angela was their fifth child out of six. She grew up in a household where family was everything, and children were both a blessing and a source of worry in an age when many did not survive to adulthood.
Angela's Life and Marriage
On November 12, 1896, twenty-year-old Angela married Biagio Vampatella. Biagio worked for the Italian railroad, and his job was to keep the tracks clear for the trains. This work took them to different locations across Sicily as they followed where the railroad needed him. Between 1897 and 1913, Angela gave birth to eight children: Filippo, Salvatore, Giovanina, Angelina, Maria, Giuseppe, Giovanni, and Mario.
But Angela's life as a mother was filled with heartbreak. She lost two of her young sons, Salvatore and Giuseppe, while they were still small children. These losses must have weighed heavily on her heart.
Separation and Loss
In April 1913, Biagio made the difficult decision that many Italian men were making at that time—he would go to America to find better opportunities. He took their oldest son, sixteen-year-old Filippo (who would become Philip in America), and left for New York. Angela stayed behind in Sicily with their other children, and she was pregnant at the time. In October 1913, she gave birth to twin boys, Giovanni and Mario.
Angela never saw the shores of America. While Biagio and Philip were working odd jobs in New York, trying to build a new life, Angela faced another devastating loss back in Sicily. The twins, Giovanni and Mario, died when they were about two years old.
We don't know exactly when Angela passed away, but it was sometime before 1920. Philip never saw his mother again after he left Sicily in April 1913.
After Angela
Biagio returned to Sicily, and we don't know if he was able to be with Angela before she passed away. He stayed in Sicily until 1920, when he brought his three daughters—Giovannina, Angelina, and Maria—to America. He settled in New York, where he lived until his death in 1939.
All of Angela and Biagio's children who survived—Philip, Giovannina, Angelina, and Maria—built their lives in America and started families of their own.
Angela's Legacy
Angela Falconeri lived through times that we can barely imagine today. She moved from town to town as her husband's work demanded. She buried children. She said goodbye to her husband and oldest son, not knowing when she would see them again. She cared for the twins, Giovanni and Mario, and endured their deaths when they were just two years old.
Though we know few details about Angela's personality or her daily life, we know this: she was strong enough to endure what life gave her. She was our great-grandmother, and through her children—Philip, Giovannina, Angelina, and Maria—her story continues in all of us.
When we gather as family, we carry Angela's blood and her strength, even if we never heard her voice or saw her face. Her life reminds us that our family's journey to America came at a great cost, paid by those like Angela who stayed behind in Sicily.
Angela Falconeri was born on October 12, 1876, in the small Sicilian town of Acate (then called Biscari). She came from a family with deep roots in Sicily, though their lives were marked by the same hardships that touched many families of that time.
Angela's Ancestors
Angela's grandfather, Carmelo Falconeri, was born in the late 1700s. He married Anna Nicosia around 1819, and together they had three children. Tragically, Anna died in August 1830, leaving Carmelo a widower with young children. Just three months later, Carmelo married fifteen-year-old Salvatrice Miceli. Though their age difference was large, this was not unusual in Sicily at that time. Together, Carmelo and Salvatrice had nine children, building a large family despite the difficult times.
Their son Salvatore, born in 1833, grew up and married Francesca Puglisi in 1861. Salvatore and Francesca became Angela's parents, and Angela was their fifth child out of six. She grew up in a household where family was everything, and children were both a blessing and a source of worry in an age when many did not survive to adulthood.
Angela's Life and Marriage
On November 12, 1896, twenty-year-old Angela married Biagio Vampatella. Biagio worked for the Italian railroad, and his job was to keep the tracks clear for the trains. This work took them to different locations across Sicily as they followed where the railroad needed him. Between 1897 and 1913, Angela gave birth to eight children: Filippo, Salvatore, Giovanina, Angelina, Maria, Giuseppe, Giovanni, and Mario.
But Angela's life as a mother was filled with heartbreak. She lost two of her young sons, Salvatore and Giuseppe, while they were still small children. These losses must have weighed heavily on her heart.
Separation and Loss
In April 1913, Biagio made the difficult decision that many Italian men were making at that time—he would go to America to find better opportunities. He took their oldest son, sixteen-year-old Filippo (who would become Philip in America), and left for New York. Angela stayed behind in Sicily with their other children, and she was pregnant at the time. In October 1913, she gave birth to twin boys, Giovanni and Mario.
Angela never saw the shores of America. While Biagio and Philip were working odd jobs in New York, trying to build a new life, Angela faced another devastating loss back in Sicily. The twins, Giovanni and Mario, died when they were about two years old.
We don't know exactly when Angela passed away, but it was sometime before 1920. Philip never saw his mother again after he left Sicily in April 1913.
After Angela
Biagio returned to Sicily, and we don't know if he was able to be with Angela before she passed away. He stayed in Sicily until 1920, when he brought his three daughters—Giovannina, Angelina, and Maria—to America. He settled in New York, where he lived until his death in 1939.
All of Angela and Biagio's children who survived—Philip, Giovannina, Angelina, and Maria—built their lives in America and started families of their own.
Angela's Legacy
Angela Falconeri lived through times that we can barely imagine today. She moved from town to town as her husband's work demanded. She buried children. She said goodbye to her husband and oldest son, not knowing when she would see them again. She cared for the twins, Giovanni and Mario, and endured their deaths when they were just two years old.
Though we know few details about Angela's personality or her daily life, we know this: she was strong enough to endure what life gave her. She was our great-grandmother, and through her children—Philip, Giovannina, Angelina, and Maria—her story continues in all of us.
When we gather as family, we carry Angela's blood and her strength, even if we never heard her voice or saw her face. Her life reminds us that our family's journey to America came at a great cost, paid by those like Angela who stayed behind in Sicily.
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