The Traversino-Monaco-Cipriani Website 
Antonio Traversino and Maria Carmela Monaco-Cipriani-Traversino
THE PAISANS FROM SAN MARCO, PROVINCIA DI FOGGIA
Circa 1914 - Antonio Traversino in bottom row center smoking his pipe. His son, Mark, to his right. Second son, Thomas, on the right end of the second row, and to his left is Mike Monaco wearing a bow tie. Mike's brother, Matt Monaco, is two people over in the center of the picture drinking a beer and wearing a straw hat. Sitting on the steps, Dominic Desmondi holds an American flag. His brother Ralph Desmondi, is in the center of the top row, wearing his hat cocked to the right. Mark Monaco is in the upper left of the picture, above the accordion player, holding a beer.
*History of the Traversino
family as related by sons Tony, Albert, Orly and daughter Helen.*
Our father, Antonio Traversino was born in San Marco in Lamis, Province di Foggia, Puglia, Italy, on February 7, 1878. He died on October 18, 1957 and the age of 79 in Aurora, Illinois, USA. He was five feet, 3 inches tall. Antonio's birth mother was an unknown woman that was the maid of his biological father, Pietro Serra, a lawyer and landowner. Antonio actually knew his real parents. Since it was the law and custom not to receive the adoptive parents' name, the state agency gave him the Traversino surname.
SAN MARCO is a town located on the Promontory del Gargano, which is near the Italian coast line, just above the spur of the heel of the boot, on the Adriatic Sea.
His adoptive parents, Tommaso Mimma and Caterina Soccio, had 8-10 children of their own which all died young of the blood disease RH Negative Factor. They were friends of the young mother and her family. Even though they barely had the means to support a child, they readily adopted the baby. (Caterina Soccio had two sisters: Maria and unknown. Tommaso Mimma had a sister named Caterina)
Our mother, Maria Carmena Monaco was born in San Marco on April 11, 1881, and died September 20, 1970 in Aurora, Illinois, USA. She was 4 feet, 10 inches tall. Her parents were Antonio Monaco and Maria Donata Filomina Cipriani. Ma was the oldest child and had three brothers: Mark, Matthew, and Mike. Her father Antonio's parents were, Marco Monaco and Celeste Ciavarella. Her mother Maria's parents were, Felice Cipriani and Angela Maria Jordana. Her father, Antonio Monaco, had five sisters: Angela, Filomina, Kristina, Carolina, and Grazia (Grace).
As a young boy, our father, hereafter referred to as Pa, did some work in the grape arbors, and eventually learned the shoe business. In those days, all shoes were measured and then made for the individual. He eventually got his own shop and in time had around 30 people working for him. At that time, policemen were transferred each month from city to city (none permanent), so Pa had a lot of their business, too. He met our mother, Mary Carmella Monaco, fell in love and married her. Her family worked in the grape arbors, that being a large business in that area.
Around 1900, Pa and the three Monaco brothers- Mark, Matthew and Mike-traveled to the United States to see if the streets were 'paved with gold' as they had heard. Our mother, hereafter referred to as Ma, her daughter, Catherine, and her sons, Mark and Tom stayed in Italy. Also remaining in Italy was Mark Monaco's wife, Louise and a daughter, Filomina. Matt and Mike were not married at that time. Ma's parents, Antonio and Filomina also stayed in San Marco. Pa turned the shoe factory over to his parents until for safekeeping while he was gone.
The trip to America took twenty-five days. Pa and the Monaco brothers passed the Statue of Liberty and arrived at Ellis Island. They traveled to Brooklyn and Pittsburgh. Some to the Monaco brothers were too young to get a job in the steel mills so they headed for Chicago. There, they got a job with the Union Pacific Railroad. They were sent to the Colorado, Wyoming and Montana areas to build the railroads. Pa was a cook, the Monacos worked on the tracks.
Around 1902, four-year-old Thomas died of pneumonia in Italy. Because of that, Pa and the Monacos returned to Italy. Pa returned to the shoe business. Much later, another son was born that they named Thomas, named after the son Thomas that died. For financial and other reasons, Ma and Pa moved to the nearby larger city of San Severo, Provincia di Foggia. They lived there for a while until Pa got malaria . The family then moved back to San Marco where the climate was healthier.
Antonio Traversino: Date of
entry into the U.S.A. - April 15, 1910 - Port of entry -- New York, New York -
Ship -- Cretic . Date applied for first papers -- Oct. 2, 1918 -
Applied
where -- Aurora City Court, Aurora, Illinois
Date applied for final papers
-- April 6, 1921 - Applied where -- Aurora City Court, Aurora, Illinois.
Naturalization certificate number -- 1563840 - Town where born -- San Marco,
Italy.
The Children of Antonio
Traversino and
Maria Carmella (Cipriani) Monaco
Catherine
Traversino Dascani 7/6/1900 - 4/9/1984
Mark
Traversino 3/5/1904 - 12/15/1995
Thomas
(Tom)Traversino 8/30/1909 - 10/22/86
Tony Traversino
6/13/1913 -
Albert (Midge)Traversino 5/24/1915 - 2/8/06
Alfred (Curly) Traversino
3/26/1917 - 3/9/77
Orlando (Orly)Traversino 6/22/1919 -
Helen Traversino Swenson
10/22/1923 -
Traversino Family Reunion
Catherine, Mark, Tommy,
Grandpa, Tony, Grandma, Albert, Alfred, Orly, Helen
However, our older sister, Catherine, stayed in Italy to continue her education. She graduated college and became a school teacher in a town called Peschici. With Ma and Pa's constant persuading, Catherine reluctantly agreed to join them in America in (1922) After her arrival, Catherine took over much of her mother's duties and seemed more like the mother to the younger children. Orlando was Catherine's interpreter and she always took him shopping in town with her.
The trip from Italy to America
took 21 days. They had their own food, clothing and slept on the deck of the
ship. They said it was cold and some ice formed on the ship. One day it warmed
up and melted the ice and they had to take off some clothes because it was too
warm. They were in the Gulf Stream and did not know anything about it. Soon,
they passed the Statue of Liberty and got off at Ellis Island. Having traveled
by rail earlier, they decided to live in the Midwest. Chicago was too big so
they settled in Aurora, Illinois, 38 miles from Chicago. our father and the
Monaco brothers got jobs at Lyon Metal Products and most of them stayed and
retired from these jobs. As soon as they could afford it, they all bought homes
and began their lives in earnest.
Word got around to friends back in Italy how nice it was in the United States, so a few came once and stayed at our house until they saved enough money to have their wives join them in America. Later on in life, their children showed their appreciation for what the Traversino family had done for their parents.
In 1921, Ma and Pa got their citizenship papers making them and Catherine, Tom and Mark, legal residents of the United States. The following sons birth names were in Italian, so the boys had to go to Geneva Courthouse in Kane County and make some corrections because we all used our names in English such as:Albert from Umberto and so forth for all of us. This happened during World War II.
Our early life was like most foreign people. In the house we talked Italian and had a glass of wine with our meals. The size of the glass was according to age of the kid, from small to regular. Soon as we went outdoors, we spoke English and played like all American kids did. In school, (early) we did have some dialect. In our neighborhood we had Italians, Greek, French, Irish, German, Lithuanian, Ukraine and Swedish families. We learned that they were just like us and even learned a few words from each of their languages. First of all were the cuss words.
In 1923, most our relatives in
Italy came to the United States. However, a few cousins did not come over and
remained in San Marco. One was a priest, Antonio Cipriani who became
Monsignor-Archpreta
with the name, Don Bonifacio Cipriani, at the Collegiata
Church in San Marco. Uncle Orlando (Orly) and
his wife, Dot, visited him at
his thousand-year-old Collegiata church. Tommy also visited Don Bonifacio. Don
Bonifacio is now deceased. Ma's parents, Antonio and Maria Monaco, Aunt Louise,
and Aunt Alma finally came to America. On holidays we would take turns at each
other's homes and had a large feast and made Italian dishes that were not fixed
during the year. The best was Christmas.
Around 1930, Catherine married a
very nice man named Marion Dascani. They a large wedding and lived next door to
Ma and Pa. They never had any children. On a trip to Chicago once Sunday, some
of the brother's went to see Ma's cousin, Mike Cipriani, the barber, who had a
shop on Taylor Street. During conversations of the old days in Italy, brother
Mark asked if Mike Cipriani knew what happened to the next door neighbors. Mark
used to play with Rosella Limosani, from next door. Mike walked us down Taylor
Street to Marshfield Avenue and show the house where the Limosani's lived. The
Limosani's came
to America about two years after the Traversino's did. The
families became reacquainted and a few years later, Mark and Rosella got married
and had a son, Mark Jr. and a daughter, Marion.
Tom married Eileen and had a daughter Alice Marie, who later married Russell Priesman. They had two boys and one girl. Tony married Florence and had two boys, Tony and Mike. Alfred married Flora and had a daughter Mary Ann.
A FEW OF ALBERT'S
RECOLLECTIONS OF WORLD WAR II
|
Albert |
Orly |
Tommy |
Tony |
Alfred (Curly) |
During the war, Mark, the oldest son, who was too old for service, moved to Los Angeles in 1942 with his family and owned a small machine shop that made airplane parts for Lockheed aircraft. Meanwhile, back in Aurora, Ma had a flags with five stars in the window. Tommy was in the army and made the Rommel chase from Africa all the way to Insbruck, Austria. Traveling through Italy, he had a chance to visit where he was born in San Marco and saw some of the relatives. Tony was in the navy and stayed in Chesapeake Bay, Maryland. Albert was in the navy and went to Pearl Harbor on the Battleship New Jersey as a cook. Alfred was in the Merchant marines and went everywhere. Orly was in the navy on the Aircraft Carrier U.S.S. Saratoga and stayed in for two terms. In 1944, while I was in the navy, I wound up on the west coast waiting to ship out and visited Mark and his family twice. They had money, but no extra ration stamps to use when you bought things. I had a jacket full when I left home in St. Augustine-from a farewell party-and gave them all I had before I shipped out to Pearl Harbor. After the war all the sons came home in good shape and started their lives anew.
******
*
|
Mr. Albert Joseph(Midge) Traversino, Abingdon Chapel, 90 of Abingdon, died at 12:18 am Wednesday, February 8, 2006 at the Care Center of Abingdon. He was born May 24, 1915 in Aurora, IL to Antonio and
Mary Monaco Traversino. He married Wilda Moak on July 31, 1937 in Crown
Point, IN. She preceded him in death on Nov. 20, 2005. Surviving are a daughter-in-law, Barbara Traversino
of Sanford, NC and a granddaughter, Jessica Traversino also of Sanford,
NC; two brothers, Orly Traversino of Arizona and Tony Traversino of
California; one sister, Helen Swenson of Louisiana, MO; several nieces
and nephews. He had lived in Abingdon since 1954 and prior to that
he had live in St. Augustine, IL. He owned the Cozy Inn Restaurant north of Galesburg
and then opened a restaurant in Elmwood, IL. He then co-owned the Junction
restaurant near St. Augustine. He later worked for the Farmington Strip
Mine for nine years retiring on July 1, 1984. Funeral service will be at 2:00 pm Friday at the Hinchliff-Pearson-West
Abingdon Chapel. Eleanor Landon will officiate. Burial will be in Oak
Lawn Memorial Gardens in Galesburg. Visitation will one hour before
the service on Friday at the Chapel. |
The
Monaco Branch of the Family
Click
Here For Main Monaco Website
Contact: eplesko@entouch.net
|
Antonio Monaco's parents were
|
|
THE
FAMILY OF |
|
THE
FAMILY OF Their daughter Philomina married
|
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THE FAMILY OF Mike Monaco and Alma ?? Alma Passed away - Son, Tony Mike married Nancy - Children: Daughter, Janet |
|
THE
FAMILY OF Philomina Monaco Married Edward
John Reiland Raymond Anthony Monaco (1929-1992)
|
|
THE FAMILY OF HENRY
MONACO |
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THE FAMILY OF MATT MONACO - JEAN PEDRONI
1-17-2006 Hi Mark, 1. Matt Monaco's death 01/09/2006 2. My son, Jeffrey Matthew Plesko, married Allison Medford on 10/06/2001 3. They have 2 children, Reed Matthew
Plesko, born 11/27/2002 and Noah 4. My son, David Edward Plesko
and Meredith (Gillespie) have 2 children,
Also, I would like to know for sure which generation you belong to and where you currently live. I am so fascinated by your website and so surprised that, by my age, I never learned more about my family. By the way, the Monaco cousins get together often for meals in Aurora or Batavia and would love to include any of the other branches of the family tree. Let me know and we will include you and anyone else that wants to participate. Of course I don't get to all of them because I'm in TX. |
Little Phil - Big Phil
The Cipriani Branch
of the Family
Grandma Traversino (Maria Carmella
Cipriani-Monaco-Traversino)
Her Grandparent's were: Felice Cipriani and
Angela Maria Jordana
***
Her mother and father were:
Maria Donata Filomina Cipriani
and Antonio Monaco
***
Maria
Donata Filomina Cipriani had three brothers:
Francesco,
Pasquale, and Rocco,
and two sisters: Calomba and Angela.
There is no information regarding brothers
Pasquale and Rocco,
or her two sisters: Calomba and Angela.
However the
information below is for her brother, Francesco,
****
The Family of
Francesco Cipriani
Francesco married Gracia Caloba and had five
children:
Felice, Pasquale, Michael, Maria, Angela Maria
Working on the
information below
|
Hi, Mom refers to the priest in the family as Donato Cipriani. Is Don Bonafacio the priestly name he took when he became a priest? If so, Donato is the son of Antonio Cipriani. Antonio Cipriani and my grandpa (Pasquale Cipriani) are sons of two brothers. Donato's brother Pasqualini Cipriani came over on the same ship with my Aunt (Michelina Cipriani Diomede) and my grandmother (Maria Ciavarelli Cipriani) in 1935. Pasqualini wanted so much to become an American citizen that he volunteered for the US service to expedite matters. He was killed in battle a number of years later. My mother called Donato (Don Bonafacio) to see if he would be able to perform the funeral service for his brother. Unfortunately, he could not. That is all my mom could tell me about him. Hopes this helps. And we pray all is well with you and the family... Clara |
Brother Felice Cipriani remained in Italy
Brother Pasquale
Married Maria Villani
Cipriani
they had three daughters: Grace, Michelina
and Teresa who died
in Italy at the age of 24.
******
Michelina had two sons: Nicholas and
Patrick Diomede
****
Grace Cipraini married Peter DelTondo
in Aurora
and moved to New York . They had
three
children:
John, Clara and Antonio
Grace at 17
Deceased 96 years-old - June 15, 2010
in Melbourne, Florida.
****
| Hi, I'm Tony DelTondo's sister
Clara (daughter of Grace and Peter DelTondo; my mother being the daughter
of Maria and Pasquale Cipriani. My husband Steve (BILS) and I live in West
Melbourne, Florida. We have four sons: Stephen Bils III, Peter, Anthony
and John. The oldest Steve and his wife Trudi live in Omaha and have three
children: Bonnie, Bethany and Steve IV; Peter and his wife Tiffany live in
Edina, Minnesota and have two girls: Beryl and Clara Grace; Anthony and
his wife Kathy have three children: Susan, Tommy and Bobby; John and his
wife Kathy also have three children : Brendan, Christopher and Amy Clare.
(Anthony (Tony) and John live in Indialantic, Florida). Our oldest
granddaughter Bonnie has two girls: Angel and Jasmyne. Please feel free to
use this info if you wish. 7/30/2003
I might add that I remember meeting Helen Traversino when she visited New York. I also visited your family with my father when I was about to start Northwestern University in Evanston, IL in 1950. Our best to you and the family. We're enjoying your family site so much... |
Antonio Del Tondo
married Mary Weger
Anthony Del Tondo passed away October 28,
2005
They have
two sons: Glenn and Doug DelTondo
***
Glenn has two children: Peter Anthony and
Robert Anthony
Douglas is married and is an attorney
Michael Cipriani married
Josepina and settled in Chicago
They had two children: Josephine and Frank
**
Josephine Cipriani Micheff has two sons: Michael and Stephen
Mike and his nephew Nicky Diomede
Maria maried
John Saraceno and her husband, a barber at Penn Station,
settled in the
Bronx living with their daughter Angela Maria.
Angela Maria married Marco
Coco and settled in the Bronx, New York.
No children - However, Marco had
children by a previous marriage.
Marco lived to be 104 years old.
|
Four Generations-
Maria Donata Philomena Cipriani
Monaco, Antonio Monaco, Mark Traversino, Rosalie Limosani Traversino,
Maria Carmela Cipriani-Monaco-Traversino, Antonio Traversino Circa 1930-
Baby, Mark Traversino Jr, |
Alma Monaco, Teresa Limosani,
Mrs. Mike Cipriani,
Florence Traversino, Mrs. Cipriani's sister, Cosentino
sisters
There are 12 families in Italy with the Traversino surname
In Puglia (region of Sannicandro)....
0
In Lombardia (region of Milan)........ 0
In Piemonte (region of
Turin)........... 5
In other Italian regions...................... 7
In
San Marco in Lamis........................ 0
In
Sannicandro...................................... 0
Email
marktravers@earthlink.net