Fortunata, 30; the baby, 2 months.
My mother was an Italian immigrant.
That’s her in the passport photo.
Mom’s the baby.
My grandmother, Fortunata, is the heroine.
Or the crazy woman, depending on your perspective.
If Fortunata looks a little stressed, keep in mind her baby was only two months old. Her other children were nine years and thirteen months months old.
They was leaving in two weeks to travel to 1931 America where her hardworking immigrant husband Antonio waited.
None of the four travelers spoke English.
Good luck.
Her oldest daughter, Rosa, remembered the excitement of leaving her unhappy grandparents and homeland in Milazzo. Family brought gifts, many tears and hopes Fortunata wasn’t out of her mind.
None of them had ever left the northeastern corner of Sicily before.
Trains and ships
SS Roma; the Italians turned her into an aircraft carrier in WWII! (Wikipedia)
Fortunata and her young family rode a Sicilian carrota to Messina, ferried across the strait and caught a train to Naples.
Once the foursome reached Naples and made their way to the docks, the SS Roma swallowed them up. No surprise, almost as soon as the ship set sail, Fortunata’s adrenaline disappeared.
Sea sickness overtook her historically queasy stomach and she couldn’t keep down any food, nor even get out of bed to care for the children.
Someone learned how sick Fortunata was, and arranged for her to go into the infirmary with all three children, where they remained for the entire voyage.
“The only thing I really remember about the trip was being very sick and hearing the hospital nurse yelling at Franco to leave the bed pans alone,” Rosa said.
The ship landed at Ellis Island on April 6, 1931. Rosa remembered seeing the Statue of Liberty.
Welcome to America
US officials allowed Antonio on board ship to help his family through customs.
As American citizens ((because my grandfather was a naturalized US citizen, the whole family were automatically US citizens), their inspection was cursory–which was a miracle.
Rosa, 9; Franco 18 months.
Fortunata had hidden a bottle of champagne in the baby’s diaper as they went through customs.
Antonio was furious when she pulled it out–far from the docks. Had the customs agents found the bottle, the entire family would have been deported back to Sicily in Prohibition-era New York.
Fortunata’s immigrant experience bears little resemblance to many coming to America today–though it’s important to note she was an American citizen traveling on a US passport.
Her children were cared for, her family welcomed.
Once reunited with her husband, the family boarded a train and rode it across the country to San Bernardino, California.
This time, of course, Antonio could help with the children.
My family all benefited from Fortunata’s courage in setting off from the only home she knew and sailing across an ocean to a land where she didn’t know the language.
As for me, I’ve travelled the world with infants myself–always on an airplane. I can’t imagine spending two weeks on a ship with three young children and feeling poorly–even if, like Fortunata, my husband was on the other end waiting for me!
What challenges did the immigrant ancestors–even if it includes your mother–meet as they moved to the new world?
Tweetables
An Italian family immigrates to America in 1931 Click to Tweet
An Italian woman’s courage, taking 3 kids to 1931 America. Click to Tweet
Smuggling champagne in a baby’s diaper. Click to Tweet
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