Cipollo Family Part II: The Journey to America

 Last updated Aug 5, 2018.

THE FIRST WAVE
On May 19, 1893 Rosamaria Crusco (nee Cipolla) arrived in the United States with her husband of eight months, Vincenzo Crusco and her younger brother Felice Cipolla (soon to be known as Felix Cipollo). They traveled aboard the S.S. Alesia, a ship of the Fabre Line, that sailed under a French flag. This was the first time a child of Luigi Cipolla and Maria Vincenza Cipolla (nee Trotta) set foot on American soil. Reaching the shores of the United States was no doubt an adventure and story of its own.  

Familiar waters 
The 1893 trip on the S.S. Alesia was not the first time Vincenzo boarded the Alesia in Naples for a journey to America. On February 22, 1888 the Alesia arrived in New York with Vincenzo Crusco and 497 other Italian passengers onboard. The next day the passengers passed through immigration. This trip was identified by Vincenzo in his 1917 Petition for Naturalization papers.

A walk through the 1888 passenger list for the Alesia appears to capture his arrival, possibly with his father Michel. The document is weathered and the ink is faded, but it is appears passengers 355 (age 41) and 356 (age 16), represent Michel and Vincenzo. The author of the document appears to have captured passenger 356 as "Figlio Vincenzo", meaning "son Vincenzo." This would be consistent with passenger 355 being his father, Michel Crusco (Note: Many names are abbreviated in the passenger log). Records indicate that entry into the US for Michel and Crusco was through New York's Castle Garden Emigration Center, which preceded Ellis Island (opened in 1892). The remains of Castle Garden can be visited today.  

February 23, 1888 Passenger List for the Alesia

Castle Garden Emigration Center & Statue of Liberty
Source: Library of Congress

More research is needed to discover where Vincenzo spent time during his first trip to the United States, but we can be confident he got his first glimpse of the Statue of Liberty! Unfortunately, almost the entire 1890 US Census record collection was destroyed in a fire making it hard to identify his whereabouts. It isn't hard to imagine that Vincenzo spent time in Philadelphia and that his time there inspired dreams of a bright future with a family of his own. Maybe he returned to Muro Lucano to marry Rosamaria and convince her to make the journey to America five years later. 

Felice Cipolla and his voyage to America
On April 24, 1893 the Alesia left Naples, Italy for New York. Felice and his family made their departure from Naples, the closest major port to Muro Lucano and an exit point for many thousands of Italians emigrating to new regions of the world. A newspaper reports that the Alesia stopped at multiple Italian ports and finally passed Gibraltar to cross the Atlantic on April 29. They wouldn't see the shores of America until May 14 and records suggest they did not pass through immigration before May 19 due to some unusual circumstances.   

Vincenzo, Rosamaria and Felice had a lot of company for the journey. The journey was shared with 983 other passengers, nearly twice what Vincenzo sailed with on the same ship in the winter of 1888. Spring was a more popular travel period and immigration from southern Italy was picking up steam. The Alesia could accommodate 12 first class and 1,000 third class passengers within its 328 foot length (about the size of a football field). We can be sure there wasn't an abundance of space for the passengers. 

There were 18 other members of the Muro Lucano community captured on the passenger list. Rosamaria was one of only two females in the group. Six from their group (males Giovanni Magro, age 33; Guiseppe Lombardo, age 31; Felice Fasciglione, age 31 plus a married couple and an in-law with the Cravaglia surname) identified Philadelphia as their final destination. Everyone else identified New York. Maybe the Philadelphia-bound group traveled as a unit. Maybe they had contacts in Philadelphia they could reconnect with, including Vincenzo's father. More research is needed. 

Vincenzo Crusco (Row 357), Rosa Crusco (Row 358) - listed as "moglie Rosa" for "wife Rosa", and Felice Cipolla (Row 359) on the May 1883 passenger list for the S.S. Alesia

It might seems striking that so many from a small town like Muro Lucano were emigrating at once. In fact, Basilicata was hit especially hard by emigration and was the only region in Italy where the population actually fell between 1881-1901. (See Women Who Remained Behind, 1880-1914). Consistent with the small sample of Alesia's passenger list, 80% of those who emigrated were male. Often times those emigrating were married, but this passenger list does not disclose their marital status. Married men would make this journey alone sometimes seeking seasonal or temporary work and intending to return home. However, more than any other region, Basilicata saw entire families emigrate and so it is interesting to see Rosamaria traveling with her new husband and brother. 


While there were many benefits from emigration events for towns like Muro Lucano, including an infusion of money returned to the local economy back home and a return of new modern ideas about education from those "birds of passage" who returned, negative impacts were also evident. Francesco Saverio Nitti, born 1868 in Melfi, Basilicata, and Prime Minister of Italy between 1919 and 1920, commented on the loss of population in various towns of the region, saying “I represent one of the towns most devastated by emigration, the area of Muro Lucano; in it emigration…has become morbid. The population is reduced in some municipalities by half or at least half: Sanfele, Balvano, Ruoti, Ruvo, perhaps all the towns in my area are decimated by emigration.” 

It isn't hard to imagine the impacts on towns where the youngest and strongest left. This is especially true of a region that was especially agrarian and capable field workers were vital. No doubt it wasn't an easy decision for Rosamaria and the rest of the Italian passengers on the Alesia to leave loved ones, friends and communities behind, even if temporarily. They were also leaving behind a beautiful rural landscape for city conditions that would be far from ideal. Many challenges were ahead of them. 

Conditions on the Alesia
The Crusco-Cipolla family brought one piece of luggage when them for the journey.  It looks like they were quartered in the forward section of the ship, possibly not all together. The conditions of the ship were rough. Three passengers wouldn't survive the journey.

Arrival
We don't know too many details specific to the arrival of the Alesia in New York on Sunday, May 14, 1893 but it was filled with drama. Small pox caused the ship to be held in quarantine for several days before the passengers were processed through immigration. The record of the Health Officer and an article from The World give us a window into unhealthy conditions aboard the Alesia. For those who were able to make it on deck or off the ship, they likely found overcast skies and even some rain. By May19 the passengers were being processed by immigration and sunny skies and mild temperatures prevailed to lighten the load. The journey to Philadelphia was now in front of them. 

Source: The World, May 15, 1893