A Brief History of the Abruzzese Society and Italian-American Fraternal Organizations in Schenectady

This post was written by Archives Assistant Angela Matyi. Angela processed our collection of Abruzzese Society records through a Documentary Heritage Program Grant provided by the New York State Archives.

Officers of the Abruzzese Society, undated. Courtesy of the Abruzzese Society Collection.

In the late-nineteenth and early-twentieth centuries, the city of Schenectady saw a massive influx of Italian immigrants.  Like many immigrants to America, they came seeking work and opportunities for economic and social advancement, things that were not altogether difficult to find thanks to the dynamic presence of the General Electric and American Locomotive companies which pulled in laborers by the thousands.  However, opportunity alone does not an easy life make. 

America was an unfamiliar country, with unfamiliar customs and an unfamiliar language.  Adaptation to it all was difficult at the best of times.  It was not long before the Italian immigrants felt keenly the need to establish some kind of organization that would provide immigrants and their descendants a place to engage with fellow Italians, creating and reaffirming bonds of fellowship and, later, providing financial assistance in the event of illness or injury.  The first of these fraternal communities to be founded was the Societa’ Unione Fratellanza, in 1892.  By 1900 it boasted forty members, though these were mainly comprised of the “prominenti,” those men who had already achieved some level of economic success, particularly in business. 

The turn of the century also saw the founding of Schenectady’s second Italian-American fraternal society, the Societa’ Giuseppe Garibaldi.  Though this organization was a combination of a political (GOP) club and a mutual benefit society, there was frequent crossover between it and the simpler Fratellanza, perhaps most noticeably when the Fratellanza’s first president, Stephen Abba, went on to become in the first president of the Garibaldi Society as well.  He was not long for the post.  The position of president in these societies had become one of prestige within the Italian-American community, as well as a vehicle for exercising a degree of true political influence; the result being three leaders of the Garibaldi Society in as many years.

Contributing to this sudden prominence was the spike of Italian immigration to Schenectady in the early twentieth century, which both allowed for and necessitated a sudden motley assortment of region-specific fraternal organizations.  This was as much a consequence of the geographical and social makeup of pre-1900 Italy itself as the desire for community felt by the new Italian-Americans and their children.  For centuries, “Italy” was a more abstract concept than a geopolitical reality; a vaguely understood umbrella title used for the collection of the various kingdoms and city-states that happened to call the Italian peninsula home.  Though the “Kingdom of Italy” was officially declared in 1861, it was not until 1870 that full political unification within the borders of a geographically recognizable modern-day Italy was technically complete.  Even then, a few hundred years of social habit was hard to break.  For decades afterwards, many people still identified themselves socially and politically with a specific region rather than with the nation-state.  With regional customs and, especially, dialects slow to give way to pushes for standardization, cultural fragmentation was still the Italian norm into and past 1900.

It was this mindset that the Italian immigrants brought with them to Schenectady, preferring to refer to themselves as Calabresi (Calabrians); Siciliani (Sicilians); or Napoletani (Campanians, or “Neopolitans”).  Although the Fratellanza and Societa Garibaldi were open to all Italians regardless of origin, this wave resulted in the founding of multiple regional fraternal societies.  Curiously, none dedicated solely to peoples coming from Campania were ever founded, despite their soon accounting for about 60% of Schenectady Italians; though a society for immigrants from the Campanian town of Alvignano, confusingly located in the province of Caserta, was formed, the Society of the Laboring Men of Alvignano.  In any case, regional societies founded after 1900 included the Benevolent Brotherhood of the Sons of Northern Italy (popularly referred to as the “Alta Italia Society) in 1902, several organizations for Calabrians and Sicilians in the 1920s, and the Societa Laziale for Roman Italians in 1930.

Members of the Abruzzese Society during an annual meeting, undated. Courtesy of the Abruzzese Society Collection.

Into this mix was added the Abruzzese Society (Societa Abruzzese) in 1912, established for immigrants from the (then combined, now separate) regions of Abruzzi and Molise in southern Italy.  This was the first regional mutual benefit society formed for any part of the Italian-American community, and not a moment too soon.  Perhaps unsurprisingly, the greatest employers of the immigrants’ unskilled labor, the General Electric Company and the American Locomotive Company, were also the greatest source of injury to their (overworked and underpaid) employees.  To address this issue, the Abruzzese Society followed the typical model of mutual benefit societies. 

 In this model, members would pay a small monthly due so that, in the case of illness or injury, they would be entitled to a certain amount of money per week for up to twelve weeks, and a larger amount of money in the event of a death.  During the Society’s earliest days, the due was one of $0.50, the weekly payout of $6.  If a member of the Society did indeed die, a sum of $50 would be given to the deceased’s family to cover the funeral costs.  Furthermore, all other members would be required to attend the funeral service, with a fine of $5 imposed for failure to attend.  Since the first members of the Society were relatively young and in good health, this mortuary fund was little used in the early years.  Poignantly, though, one does see small expenses for things such as wreaths ($10) and a carriage to carry Society representatives ($15), usually for the funeral of a member’s child.  

Handbook for the Abruzzese
Society. Courtesy of the
Abruzzese Society Collection.

Admission to the Abruzzese Society was restricted to males between the ages of fourteen and forty-five, with initiation fees increasing with the age of the initiate; the idea being that young children and those verging into seniority would be more likely to fall ill, and thus constitute a drain on the Society’s finances.  For this reason, admission was further contingent upon good physical health and “spotless reputation” (though exceptions, decided by an assembly, could be made in the case of minor misdemeanors), and members were not entitled to benefits for injuries or illnesses brought about by brawling, venereal disease, or drunkenness.  Within a few years of its founding, the Abruzzese Society could boast seventy-two members, and its example was being followed by other regional groups.

Many of Schenectady’s Italian-American fraternal and mutual benefit societies continued well into the mid-twentieth century.  However, after this point they started gradually to decline and disappear.  The Abruzzese Society was the only one, along with the national Sons of Italy organization, to remain in operation into the twenty-first century, celebrating its Centennial in 2012.  Nevertheless, its membership continued to dwindle, and in early 2016 the last ten members of the Abruzzese Society decided to disband the organization.

Boxes of the Society’s records were donated to the Schenectady County Historical Society, and now offer a unique look into a defining part of Schenectady’s history and culture.

Newspapers of Schenectady's Immigrants

The amount and variety of news we can receive in 2016 is non-stop and never ending. Tablets, phones, Facebook, and Twitter, and the 24-hour news cycle are all relatively new ways to keep updated on current events. These along with the more traditional newspapers can make the process overwhelming. Flashback to 100 years ago and you might have the opposite problem. News was limited to newspapers and through other people that you interacted with throughout the day. A unique way to receive news came along with the advent of the first radio news program in August, 1920. From there, the next innovation was the television with the first news broadcast on TV in 1930 and the first regular news broadcast in 1940. Absolutely none of this matters if you can’t understand the language, customs, and traditions of the country you just moved to. So just how did the growing immigrant population in Schenectady figure out what was going on in their city? Certain pioneering immigrants started newspapers that highlighted the issues that were important to these immigrant groups. Many of the papers were published in both English and in the native tongue of the publisher and were generally published as a weekly paper. This entry focuses on the German, Italian, and Polish newspapers of Schenectady.

Oswald E. Heck and the Herold-Journal



Oswald E. Heck as a young man. In addition to his skills as a newspaper editor, Heck published a book of poems in German titled Leben und Weben (Life and its Weavings) in 1922. Photo courtesy of the February 1, 1923 issue of the Daily Gazette.

German immigration to the United States increased dramatically in the 19^th Century and they were the largest group of immigrants from 1840 to 1880. Schenectady’s commercial and industrial growth during this time drew many Germans to the area. Many early German immigrants worked in broom manufacturing, but ALCO and GE soon became the main draw to Schenectady. The first German language newspaper in Schenectady was the Deutscher Anzeiger (German Indicator) which was formed in 1873 and lasted until 1897. Three years later another German paper was established, Das Deutsch Journal. Oswald E. Heck who had worked as a compositor on the Deutscher became the editor of a new German paper named Das Deutsche Journal. Heck came to Schenectady with his family and started working for ALCO, but his knack for writing led him to work for the Deutscher where he learned to set type and would write an occasional article. Heck and Das Deutsche Journal compositor Thomas Unseld Sr.  would go on to start another German newspaper in 1910 named the Schenectady Herold. World War I caused the merger of the Herold and Das Deustche Journal, creating the Schenectady Herold-Journal which published its first paper in April, 1917. With a new name came a new headquarters and the paper moved to 206 Clinton St. The paper was growing and required an even larger quarters by 1921 when the offices moved to 151 Barrett St. Unseld Sr. died in 1951 and his post as treasurer of the Schenectady Herold Printing Company was filled by his son, Thomas Unseld Jr. Heck died in 1954 and left his interest in the company to his children, Oswald D. Heck (who was very important in NYS politics, but that’s a story for another post), Else Raag, and Edwin Heck. The paper continued until 1964 when it ceased publication. Microfilm of the Schenectady Herold-Journal for certain years can be found at the archives of the University of Albany.

Italian-American Giornale

Collage of Italian language newspapers featuring Viva l'Italia, Il Corriere Di Schenectady  and Albany's La Capitale. Courtesy of the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Yale University.

One problem with researching ethnic groups through newspapers is the lack of an actual newspaper to research.  Researcher and future presenter at the Schenectady County Historical Society Robert Pascucci was quoted in a June 25, 1984 Gazette article that few of the ethnic newspapers remain today and that “This material has been lost in the Capital District…Unfortunately, the interest doesn’t seem to have been there.” As far as news reports on the Italian-American community, modern researchers don’t have a lot of resources to turn to. The news that was published in Schenectady’s larger newspapers often focused on the criminal aspect.  Schenectady Papers like The Evening Star covered the arrests of Italians sometimes reporting in broken English with headlines like “Me Take-A You Life." With articles like those, it’s no surprise that Italian immigrants started their own newspapers.  One of the most prominent Italian papers in Schenectady was Ettore Mancuso’s The Record (Previous librarian, Melissa Tacke wrote a great post on Ettore Mancuso and The Record). The Record focused on the concerns of Italian-Americans, and often published articles and advertisements in both Italian and English. Other Italian language papers in Schenectady were the Il Corriere di Schenectady and The International, but few issues of these papers exist today. The library’s Ettore Mancuso Collection has issues of The Record and a guide to this collection can be found here.

Enthusiasm of the Polish Press



Article from the Feb. 6th issue of the
 Gazeta Tygodniowa. Courtesy of
Phyllis Zych-Budka.

A common thread that ran through the papers run by Schenectady’s immigrants was a willingness to support their fellow countrymen along with their new city. The previously mentioned Record would often publish articles promoting local Italian businesses and push for Schenectadians to buy local.  Similar to that idea, Polish papers like Tygodnik (Weekly News) and Gazeta Tygodniowa (Weekly Gazette) would boost the accomplishments of Schenectady’s Polonia. SCHS member Phyllis Zych-Budka is currently writing a book about the Maska Dramatic Club, which was a Polish theater group. Phyllis recently brought in several articles from various Schenectady Polish newspapers relating to various Maska plays and events.  The difference in tone between the Polish papers and English papers is quite noticeable. The English papers were more factual, relating the location of the play, a brief description of the plot, and who was in the cast. The Polish papers were very descriptive and the publishers are adamant about getting people to attend and support events put on by other Polish-Americans. Examples of the publisher's style can be seen in the clippings posted.  



Article on the 50th anniversary of General Electric where the Polish division achieved first place in the float contest. The float featured F.G. Halturewicz as Thomas Edison and Stanley Zych as Steinmetz. The author goes on to write that "Our float was excellent, beautiful, and in good taste, full of color and most important depicted the progress of General Electric..." Clipping and translation courtesy of Phyllis Zych Budka.

The Grems-Doolittle Library is looking for issues or clippings from some of these difficult to find newspapers or if you know of any other immigrant run newspapers. Contact Librarian, Michael Maloney at 518-374-0263 or librarian@schenectadyhistorical.org if you have any leads.

Not Quite the Real Story: The Murder of Martino Franchetti



Grave of Martino Franchetti from St. John's Cemetery, Schenectady. The gravestone reads, "Martino Franchetti. Born in Castione (Italy) March 5, 1870. Died by assassination November 2, 1902.

This Blog Post was written by Carol Clemens

 

As a child, I remember hearing the family story that my great-grandfather, Martino (Martin) Franchetti, was accidentally shot and killed while walking home from work. As it was told, a fight erupted in a saloon on Summit Avenue and a stray bullet struck Martino. No one ever really talked about the tragedy, but it was simply stated that he died when my grandmother was young so she never really knew her father. However, in the course of my genealogy research, I discovered that was not quite the real story! 

My first clue was finding a reference at http://www.schenectadyhistory.org/  to an obituary in the Schenectady Gazette for Martino Franchetti…however there were five other articles listed for dates between early November and the end of December 1902. This seemed a bit unusual. Since my sister lives in Schenectady, I asked her to check the newspaper microfilm at the Schenectady Public Library. Once she did, she immediately called me with the news that all the articles were about Martino Franchetti’s murder and not an accidental shooting.

Using the Schenectady Gazette newspaper articles as a starting point, I was able to piece together a very interesting story that is quite different from the family tale. While there are details that vary from article to article, this seems to be the closest to the real story.



Article from the Schenectady Daily Union, Nov. 3, 1902.

 

Martino Franchetti immigrated to New York on April 6, 1891. He went to Schenectady where he found work as a laborer. Around 1897, Martino married Amelia Benedetta Lavacchini, another Italian immigrant who arrived in 1891 as a 12 year old with her family from Florence, Italy. As was a common practice at the time, Martino and his wife had taken in Italian boarders. From about Oct. 1901-March 1902 Antonio Tonetta boarded with the family. Antonio fell in love with Amelia, and reportedly threatened her, trying to coax her to run away with him. Amelia told Martino about the threats and he kicked Antonio out of his home. Newspaper reports state that Tonetta threated to “get even”, telling Amelia he would shoot her husband and run away with her.

On November 2, 1902, Martino went to a saloon near his home on Summit Avenue. Tonetta and a friend, Nichola Vittelli, were also there. After a couple glasses of beer, Tonetta and Vittelli left the saloon. They had gone only a short distance when a man later identified as Martino Franchetti, called to Tonetta and walked toward him from the saloon. An argument ensued. Vittelli left the men and went back to the saloon to tell the customers there that he "feared the two men would injure each other." He had just opened the saloon door when he heard a shot. Tonetta had shot Franchetti with a 32 caliber pistol in the back of the head.

The first man to reach Franchetti was Frank Columbo, who was about to enter the Franchetti home where he boarded. Columbo helped carry Franchetti to his home and also identified the shooter as Tonetta. Dr. George McDonald, the surgeon who operated on Franchetti at Ellis Hospital, said that the bullet was fired from a point in the rear from close proximity and that he had little chance of surviving. Franchetti died on Nov. 3 leaving his wife, Amelia, a widow with two young daughters.

The murder weapon, a 32 caliber gun, was found under an apple tree in a vacant lot close to the site of the crime. Meanwhile, Vittelli was jailed as a witness but Tonetta disappeared. Police searched Tonetta’s current room on Strong Street and found a trunk with about $80 in cash, several photos of him, and other personal belongings. To the police, the packed trunk indicated that Tonetta might have been planning to leave town. Local authorities circulated a description of Tonetta to neighboring cities. On November 11^th, the Schenectady Gazette ran a headline stating “Tonetta probably Captured.” Tensions grew as days passed and Tonetta was not found. The November 18^th Gazette had an article titled “Murderers not Brought to Justice”. The search for Tonetta continued across the state and neighboring areas. 

An inquest was held and Tonetta was indicted, even though he remained at large. Amelia Franchetti testified and was described as being very "composed". She said she had not seen Tonetta for 4 days prior to the killing. The last time she saw him, Tonetta again insulted her, but she did not tell Martino because she was afraid it would lead to trouble. Amelia said she received several letters from Tonetta after Martino evicted him, but she never answered them. She also testified that Tonetta always carried a revolver and that he had several times drawn it on her and threatened to kill her unless she would go away with him.  In conclusion, Mrs. Franchetti said that she did not like Tonetta and never had.

Finally, on December 30^th, nearly two months after the crime, Tonetta was captured in a Green Mountain logging camp in Vermont. When captured, Tonetta admitted that he had shot Franchetti, but did not know he had died. Tonetta was transported by train back to Schenectady, attracting crowds along the route. Once in Schenectady, he was questioned by authorities and gave the following account of the evening. According to Tonetta, he and Franchetti did not have words, but rather their friends got into an argument. Tonetta claims that when Franchetti started to enter the controversy, he drew his revolver and tried to hit Franchetti on the head.  Instead, he states the weapon discharged. Tonetta fled, dropping the revolver in the yard where the young boy later found it. Tonetta said he fled along Veeder Avenue and hid in the woods near Veeder’s Mill and eventually made his way to North Adams, MA. Hearing of work in a logging camp, Tonetta went to the Green Mountains and worked there until he was captured.

Commutation of Antonio Tonnetta. From New York, Executive Orders for
Commutations, Pardons, Restorations and Respites, 1845-1931. Courtesy of Ancestry.com and
the New York State Archives.

Antonio Tonetta was arraigned before the Supreme Court in March of 1903 on a charge of Murder in the First Degree. When asked what his plea was, Tonetta stated that he had killed Franchetti but he hadn’t meant to do so. Presiding Justice Martin Stover ordered a plea of not guilty be entered.  Stover then ordered extra jurors to be called for the trial which was to begin on March 18^th, 1903. That morning as the trial was about to start, Tonetta’s court appointed attorney, Alexander Fenwick, asked for the plea to be changed from not guilty of murder in the first to guilty of murder in the second degree. Tonetta feared if found guilty of murder in the first degree he would face the electric chair, while murder in the second degree would bring a life sentence. District Attorney Walter Briggs accepted the change, and Tonetta asked to be sentenced immediately. Judge Stover sentenced Antonio Tonetta to life at Dannemora Prison in upstate New York.

Using records found on ancestry.com, I was able to find Antonio Tonetta in Dannemora Prison in the 1910 Federal Census. Other on-line sources led me to find references to prisoner records for Dannemora Prison for that time period. Contacting the New York State Archives, I was able to obtain copies of prisoner records affirming that Antonio Tonetta was in fact detained in Danemora for a life sentence. Additional records found on ancestry.com confirmed that Antonio Tonetta was released from Dannemora on March 20, 1917 after serving about 14 years for Franchetti's murder.

 



Supreme Court Minutes from the case of "The People of the State of New York vs. Antonio Tonetta".
 Courtesy of the Schenectady County Clerk

I also contacted Sharon Sheffer at the Schenectady County Clerk’s office in the summer of 2006, in an attempt to locate any trial records they might have. While nothing was available when I first contacted them, Ms. Sheffer and her staff took a great interest in my quest. In 2007 Ms. Scheffer located a 1903 document in which Mr. Fenwick indicated he had not received any payment for his court appointed defense of Tonetta. Then in February 2009, I was again contacted by the County Clerk’s office. Buried in the back of a vault whose contents were being moved, they found the Schenectady County Supreme Court Minutes Book for 1901-1908, and kindly sent me copies of the pertinent pages.  In September 2009, Ms. Sheffer sent me a copy of the indictment which had been found when old files were being moved.

While it has taken several years to piece together the events regarding the death of Martino Franchetti, it has been a fascinating project for me.  I am grateful to the Schenectady County Clerk’s office and for those who so patiently transcribe and post records on line making it possible for me to fill in this piece of my family’s past.

Pioneer of us All: The Story of Pasquale DeMarco



Photo of Pasquale DeMarco from 1899 taken from the Grems-Doolittle Library family files.

Between 1890 and 1930 immigration from Italy to Schenectady was booming. According to Robert Pascucci’s book Electric City Immigrants: Italians and Poles of Schenectady, N.Y., 1880-1930, the number of Italian immigrants in Schenectady increased from 221 in 1890 to 5,910 in 1930, and made up 29.3% of Schenectady’s population. Many of these immigrants came to America to escape the rural poverty they had known in Italy and to try and make a living in Schenectady. There was an increase in demand for laborers in Schenectady during this time due to the expansion of General Electric and the American Locomotive Company. These jobs were a big draw for a variety of immigrant groups, including Italians. Italian Immigrants arriving in Schenectady would face a variety of challenges. Schenectady’s Pasquale DeMarco knew those challenges all too well and set out to help his fellow countrymen with the transition.

Born in Alvignano, Italy on September 9, 1862, Pasquale De Marco immigrated to the United States when he was 16 years old. He bounced around New York State, living in New York City, Albany, and Ballston Spa before becoming one of the first permanent Italian residents of Schenectady. DeMarco would go on to open a barber shop on 109 Jay Street in 1895. In addition to cutting hair, DeMarco would assist other Italian immigrants in a number of other ways. He would translate for them, act as liaison with their jobs, and send letters to their families. He also began to go to the bank and exchange the immigrant’s dollars for lira to be sent to their families in Italy. Eventually, DeMarco expanded into the banking business, as he was able to buy Italian currency when the rates were low and offer better exchange rates to his fellow countrymen.




The caption on this photo of DeMarco's business reads: "Located at 106-108 Jay Street is the attractive and well equipped office and store of Pasquale DeMarco, who has been established in business ten years,  and during this period has done a large and increasing business and earned for himself an enviable reputation in commercial circles." - Taken from the Grems-Doolittle Library family files

The services DeMarco offered went above and beyond any regular bank. He would often go to New York City to meet Italian immigrants that were coming to Schenectady, help them get through immigration and bring them to Schenectady by train. He also assisted new immigrants with finding lodging and jobs if they didn’t have anything lined up. DeMarco also played a large part in founding the first St. Anthony’s Church. Up until 1902, there was no church for the growing Italian population of Schenectady. DeMarco brought Father Bencivenga from Italy to Schenectady in order to start a church where Italian was spoken. The original church was built on the corner of Nott Street and Park Place, int was



Location of St. Anthony's marked as "Italian Ch." on Nott Street and Park Place from the 1905 Atlas of Schenectady, New York.  

Demarco’s wife, Julia Mackay DeMarco also helped with DeMarco’s business.  Julia was instrumental in helping Pasquale with the Italian immigrant women. She went back to school to learn Italian, and acted as a translator and English teacher for Italian immigrants. In addition to their 7 children, Julia and Pasquale were so respected in the community that many Italian parents named them as godparents to their children.

Pasquale DeMarco was recognized for his accomplishments by local, federal, and even the Italian government. In 1902, he received a medal for his work from the Italian government for his work with Italian immigrants. Also in 1902, DeMarco and other prominent Italian residents  petitioned  Schenectady's Common Council to donate a piece of land in Crescent Park (now Veteran's Park) for a bust of recently deceased President William McKinley. The bust was a gift from the Italian residents to Schenectady and was "intended to show the high regard in which that illustrious statesman is held by the people of Italian birth and also to attest the love and admiration they cherish for the land of their adoption." De Marco also received a commendation and medal from the U.S. Treasury Department for running Liberty Loan drives during World War I.

De Marco died on August 26, 1930 of a ruptured appendix and was buried in St. John’s Cemetery after a funeral at St. Anthony's. Respectfully referred to as the “pioneer of us all”, Pasquale DeMarco was held in high regard by many in Schenectady. He knew about the struggles of immigrating to a new place because he worked through those struggles, and decided to help others in a similar position.

"Mont Pleasant's Main Street": A Look Back at Crane Street

Postcard of Crane Street, ca. 1915. Image from Grems-Doolittle Library Postcard Collection. 

In a long letter of reminiscences about the Mont Pleasant neighborhood in Schenectady to Schenectady Gazette reporter Larry Hart, S.S. Stern wrote that Crane Street "always has been Mont Pleasant's main street." Stern listed a number of businesses that populated Crane Street in the 1920s and 1930s, from Hank Fligel's drugstore at the corner of Crane Street and Main Street, to Harry Checheck's department store at Crane Street and Fifth Street, to the Van Dyke Coffee Shop on Crane Street between Fourth Street and Main Street.

The neighborhood was first populated around the turn of the century. Italian and, especially, Polish immigrants flocked to the neighborhood, which was more spacious than other city wards. By 1910, more foreign-born Polish people resided in Mont Pleasant (the Ninth Ward of the city) than in any of the city's other wards. Hungarian and Czech families also moved to the neighborhood during the early 20th century.

The Mont Pleasant neighborhood lies roughly between the CSX railroad line to the west; to the east by Interstate 890; the Rotterdam town line serves as the neighborhood's southern boundary; Broadway serves as its northern boundary. Crane Street runs through the neighborhood, from Broadway to the Rotterdam town line.

Shared here are a number of historic photographs of Crane Street. Interested in learning more about the history of Schenectady through photographs? Visit our Library or contact our Librarian.

The intersection of Crane Street and Van Velsen Street around the turn of the 20th century. "Stop paying rent," a billboard proclaims. "Own your own home -- Buy a building lot." Home construction in the Mont Pleasant neighborhood accelerated around 1900. An Evening Star article from 1899 noted that "the sound of saw and hammer [could be] heard on all sides of the hill suburb." Image from Larry Hart Collection.    

The intersection of Crane Street and Chrisler Avenue, looking south, ca. 1915. From the neighborhood's earliest days, this has been one of Crane Street's major commercial intersections. Image from Larry Hart Collection. 

Mont Pleasant neighborhood residents crowd outside the Empire Market at 1012 Crane Street for the business' grand opening on April 5, 1950. Image from Larry Hart Collection. 

The Crane Street railroad overpass bridge in 1957. The J.C. Dearstine Lumber Company, on nearby Catalyn Street, is visible in the background. Image from Larry Hart Collection. 

The intersection of Crane Street and Chrisler Avenue, looking north on Crane Street, in 1965. Image from Grems-Doolittle Library Photograph Collection. 

The East Front Street Neighborhood: A Family Remembrance

American Locomotive Company (ALCO) plant, ca. 1907. This view from across the canal (now Erie Boulevard) shows a number of houses on the eastern part of Front Street in addition to the ALCO plant. Image from Grems-Doolittle Library Photograph Collection. 

This blog entry is written by Library Volunteer Mary Ann Ruscitto.

Do you know where the East Front Street Neighborhood is? Well, most people don’t! This is a little neighborhood that is nestled between the Stockade and the old American Locomotive Company (ALCO) plant. It consists of the eastern part of Front Street, Jefferson Street, John Street, River Street, Monroe Street, Madison Street, and Mohawk Avenue. Here are my thoughts about our little neighborhood.

As I was surfing the web I came across a dissertation by Robert R. Pascucci titled Electric City Immigrants: Italians and Poles of Schenectady, New York, 1880-1930. This dissertation is posted on the Schenectady Digital History Archive.

I often wondered what East Front Street was like when my great-grandparents settled here. My great-grandfather, Nicola Ruscitto, came to America on June 15, 1901 aboard the Nord America that departed from Naples, Italy. The manifest from Ellis Island shows that Nicola was 22 years old and single (I believe that his first wife, Tulia Pizulo, passed away in Italy). It also showed Nicola was a carpenter, and that he had $20 in his pocket. He was going to see his brother Giuseppe in Schenectady, who lived at 8 ½ Jefferson Street.

Nicola (my great-grandfather) and wife Christina (nee Listorti) lived at 210 Front Street with their son Achille and his wife Carmela. His daughter Tulia (Ruscitto) Villano lived at 214 Front St. Gaetano and Carmela (Nicola’s daughter) Ruscitto lived at 205 Front Street. Yes, a Ruscitto married a Ruscitto! But the family says that they were not related. The village Patrella Tifernina in Italy where they come from had a huge majority of people who were Ruscittos.

My ancestors gathered often for family parties and picnics. Music was a big part of their lives. Marching bands would go down Front Street and through the city and they would love to watch. At gatherings, there was always someone ready to play the mandolin or guitar.

The above picture is a Ruscitto family gathering from around 1917-1918 with all the living descendants at that time. The reunion was held at Dente Hall (Gioia Ottaviano’s grandfather’s building, located at the corner of Front Street and River Street). It is something to see how my family has grown (as of 2006, there are 658 names on the family tree, and since then many more were added!). Back row (left to right): Christine Villano (Carmine), Christine Ruscitto (Scovello), Frank Joseph Ruscitto (Sr.), Vitoria DiLallo Mastrianni), Anna Ruscitto (Pacelli), William J. Ruscitto. Second row from back: Anthony Miano, George Dilallo, Nick Ruscitto, Albert Villano, Patsy Villano. Third row from back:  Dominic Lewis, Louise Miano, Julia Ruscitto (Matricardi), Louise Ruscitto (Guerriero), Mary Villano (Prysmont). Fourth row from back:  Gaetano Ruscitto, Carmella Ruscitto, Cristina Listorti (Rucitto), Nicola Ruscitto, Achille Ruscitto, Carmella Listorti (Ruscitto), Frank John Ruscitto Tulia Ruscitto (Villano). Fifth row from back:  Guiseppina Ruscitto (Lewis), Mary Luise Ruscitto (Vergine), Andrea Vergine, Giuseppina (Peppinella) Ruscitto, Michaelangelo Ruscitto, Frances Ruscitto (DiLallo), Alexander Dilallo, Nicholas Villano, Vincenzo Villano, Vincenza (Jane) Villano, Concettine Lewis. Front row:  Frank Lewis, Robert Lewis, Nick Ruscitto, Frank Ruscitto (my father and Uncle), Lawrence DiLallo, Edith Ruscitto, Josephine Ruscitto (Rykowski), Josephine Dilallor (Foley), Edith Villano, Guy Ruscitto, Tullia (Tillie) Ruscitto (Pacelli). Photograph collection of the author. 

According to the 1920 census, my grandmother Carmela was living at 205 Front Street. She was the head of household, as my grandfather died in 1917. She had three children living with her. Julia was 23 years old, Leonard, age 16 years old, Frank who was 14 years old and my father Nicholas was 11 years old. My aunt Julia Ruscitto Matricardi was an Electrical helper (interesting!). I can remember the stories she would tell us about working in a factory on Foster Avenue. I remember teasing her because she would always start with, “way back when I was a kid ...”

Boaters and waders deal with flood waters on Front Street at the ALCO plant in this photograph from the 1910s. Image from Grems-Doolittle Library Photograph Collection. 

In the 1930 census, it shows Achille and his wife Carmela living at 210 Front Street (this is now the parking lot for BL’s Tavern). Achille and his wife were 28 years old and Achille was a salesmen who sold fruits and vegetables. The 1915 city directory shows that my great-grandfather Nicola had a grocery store at 210 Front Street.

According to Pascucci, the decade of the 1880’s closed with the two immigrant communities, Italian and Polish, being similar in size. The count in the city of Schenectady contained 221 Italians and 196 Polish foreign-born residents. The city’s growing need for laborers was satisfied largely by immigrants. Large scale Polish immigration to Schenectady extended from 1890 to 1910. The peak of 4,315 foreign-born Poles was reached in 1890. That same year, the number of foreign-born Italians was 5,387. In 1930, Schenectady had 5,910 Italians and 3,648 Poles.

Interior of grocery store operated by Antonio Mele at 28 Jefferson Street, ca. 1910. Image from Larry Hart Collection. 

Italians settled downtown when they came to Schenectady, primarily in the Third Ward (which included the East Front Street Neighborhood). 3/4 of the Italian population in 1899 lived in workers’ housing that had been built by the locomotive works in 1848. Almost 80% of Italians had an address in the Third Ward. Most lodged on Front Street, Monroe Street, Jefferson Street, and John Street.

Pascucci tells how there was a varnish factory on River Street where 177 individuals were “herded together” and how families struggled to survive on a father’s salary of seventy to eighty cents a day! It tells that in the early 1900’s male boarders were found in 20% of all Polish households, and Italian boarders were a part of almost half of all Italian families. This could explain why there were so many tenement houses in our neighborhood. These tenement houses were similar in style to Uncle Ben’s, BL’s Tavern, and the rehab house located at the corner of Front and River Streets. The apartments did not have hot water and the bathrooms were located in the halls and were shared by all.

1894 Sanborn Fire Insurance Map showing River Street. The varnish works can be seen at the intersection of River Street and Front Street. Broom factories could also be found on River Street at that time. Image from Collections of Grems-Doolittle Library.  

As I continued to read Pascucci, it gave me insight into how our families struggled to survive. It tells how hard it was being in a new country and living through the depression. By reading Pascucci I can understand why people who did not live in our neighborhood might form the impression that our area was dangerous and poor. What they do not realize is that these immigrants were strong, hard working, family oriented people who were determined to make a new life in a new country.

Quite often I run into people whose families lived in the East Front Street Neighborhood or who grew up in the neighborhood. They are reminiscing about the old days, they say that they are just driving through the old neighborhood, and they can notice the changes and how nice the area looks! It is hard to put into words how our neighborhood was when my father’s family was growing up. I know that everyone was family. If someone was sick or their children were sick, the neighbors would pitch in to help get them through their hard times. If someone needed work done on their house, everyone would pitch in to get the task done.

I would like to share my father’s last request to me. He was very sick; he had bladder cancer. We kept him home as long as we could until it was too hard for him and we brought him to the hospital. One of the last requests that he asked me to do for him was to bring him outside. I bundled him up and helped him out the front door. He asked if I could help him walk to my neighbor’s house. They always had a bench in front and he wanted to sit there. We slowly made it to the bench and he looked at me and said, “Let me sit here alone for a little bit -- you go inside.” I knew what he was doing. He was taking in the sights of his beloved neighborhood. The bench was situated so that he could look up and down Front Street and up John Street. He was saying goodbye to the place he called home for 76 years.

In closing, I urge everyone to read Dr. Pascucci’s dissertation, and see how our neighborhood was a stepping stone in the city of Schenectady’s history, and how 80% of the immigrants that settled in Schenectady stepped through the streets of the East Front Street Neighborhood on their journey!

Ettore Mancuso and The Record Italian-American Newspaper



Banner of The Record weekly Italian-American newspaper.

This blog entry highlights The Record, a weekly newspaper published from 1925-1932 in Italian and English by Ettore Mancuso. The newspaper serves as a reflection of the Italian-American community in Schenectady of the time; it also tells us more about the interests, personality, and sense of humor of its editor, Mancuso.

Photograph of Ettore Mancuso in uniform in 1918. From Grems-Doolittle Library Photograph Collection.  

Ettore Mancuso was a lawyer who was very active in the Italian-American community in Schenectady as well as in local politics. He was born in Italy in 1896 and came to the United States at the age of 13. He attended Catskill High School, then relocated to Schenectady, graduating from Albany Law School in 1922 and establishing his law practice in Schenectady soon after. Mancuso was a Democratic candidate for alderman for the 11th Ward in 1929, and served the city as secretary to Mayor J. Ward White, as the city's Director of Public Information, and as Corporation Counsel during the 1930s. Through The Record, he was a vociferous Democrat; around 1935 he became an equally vociferous Republican, and remained so until the end of his life, frequently writing letters to the editor of the Schenectady Gazette about local and national politics up to 3 months before his death in 1979. He was involved in a variety of local Italian-American organizations, including the Sons of Italy, the Italian Culture Club, the Italian University Club, the Italian Political Association, and the predominantly Italian-American Brotherly Love Lodge of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. A veteran of World War I, he was also involved with the American Legion.




July 18, 1930 article encouraging Schenectadians to buy locally: "The 'Schenectady for Schenectadians' idea is not a new one, and it is not ours; but we are the only ones who have been preaching it consistently and persistently."

The Record's bilingual pages focused on events, personalities, and organizations related to the Italian-American community. Small articles, often with photographs, introduced Italian-American pharmacists, real estate brokers, and shop owners to the community. Local Italian-American graduates of Union College were honored and pictured on the front page of the newspaper, under the headline "Our Graduates." The activities of local ethnic organizations, such as the Sons of Italy and the Italian Political Association, were featured. Occasionally, the newspaper also featured social news, highlighting the wedding of a local couple. The Record also included a variety of advertisements for local businesses in both Italian and English. Mancuso occasionally published an article entitled "Why -- No Matter What Your Business -- You Should Advertise in the 'Record' and Other Foreign Language Weekly Newspapers," to encourage local businesses to place advertisements. "We carry the local news in Italian for our readers," Mancuso writes. "Our readers get genuine pleasure out of reading their news in their native tongue. Even if they can read English, they will get more pleasure out of reading Italian, for the same reason that you would get more pleasure out of reading the New York Herald instead of some French newspaper, if you lived in Paris." Mancuso also asserted that the smaller size of the weeklies encouraged more attention to the advertisements than in the dailies, and that members of the Italian-American community read it more devotedly than the daily newspapers. "He reads it from beginning to end. His family reads it. Often it is passed to others. It gets a reading such as the daily newspaper can never expect to get."

Italian-language advertisements for the Mont Pleasant Furniture House and the Jersey Ice Cream Company from the December 5, 1930 issue of The Record.



Profile of and advertisement for local Italian-American real estate broker Michele Suraci from The Record, August 29, 1930. In addition to advertisements, The Record often included short articles highlighting local Italian-American business people.

In addition to news of the Italian-American community, The Record also featured many articles about local politics, local news, and national politics. Mancuso made no claims of being an unbiased news source, always emphasizing the editorial content of the paper; all articles appeared under the statement on the newspaper's banner, "All the News You SHOULD Know With Comments." During the early 1930s, the topics of local elections/politics, the problems of crime resulting from prohibition, and police corruption surfaced again and again. The Record also contained a column of brief comments on local and national news and happenings under the heading "This is Station B-U-N-K. The only broadcasting station using a permanent wave. 'We tell the universe.'" In the "Station B-U-N-K" column, Mancuso commented about a variety of topics, from federal immigration quotas to the statements of local politicians, sometimes with a serious tone, other times tongue-in-cheek. Mancuso also occasionally used the column to make occasional jabs at other local media outlets for what he saw as shoddy reporting. The most frequent target was the Union-Star newspaper, as in this excerpt from the Record's "Station B-U-N-K" column on July 18, 1930: "The Union-Star has made a startling discovery. Lack of business is due to the piling of money in banks, says our afternoon daily, which 'prives that people have the money, but that they are hoarding it.' Since the Star has found the cause of the trouble, we suggest the remedy. If the ones who own the money prefer to keep it in the banks, why don't the banks loosen up and loan it to those who are anxious to borrow it?"



While many of the "Station B-U-N-K" columns addressed a potpourri of issues, the September 26, 1930 column focused solely on local gambling operations.

The library's Ettore Mancuso Collection includes a number of issues of The Record, as well as several speeches and letters written by Mancuso, a recollection of his World War I experiences, newspaper clippings related to local politics and political figures, and other materials. A complete finding aid for the Ettore Mancuso Collection can be found here.