May 2020 was the 125th anniversary of the first ancestor of my family to immigrate to the United States.
Domenico Carbone (1878-1967), middle in the photo, was the first born son of Rocco Carbone (1837-1942) and Maria Perri (1856-1916) of Cirella, Reggio di Calabria. Domenico came from a family of four children, or at least, that is all I have been able to document. His brothers were Santo Giuseppe Carbone, my grandfather, (1881-1969) [left]; BrunoAntonio, (1885- ?) [not in photo]; and Francesco, (1891-1964) [right].
The reasons why Domenico left his home and family at the age of 16 is unknown, except it was probably the reason most immigrants leave their country of birth: to seek better opportunity.
Domenico booked passage on the steamship Kronprinz Friedrich Wilhelm that departed Naples during May 1895 and arrived at Ellis Island on 24 May 1895. Domenico was traveling with some friends and a possible cousin. He shared a cabin with Luigi Carbone, 34, a laborer, with two pieces of luggage; Rocco Pangallo, 44, laborer holding one piece of luggage; Domenico Perri, 49, one piece of luggage; Domenico Marcelli, also with one piece. Domenico had one piece of luggage as well, and at 16 he was the”kid” among the four men. 1
They were all heading to “Newcastle.” There was no other identification of where Newcastle was. There are 17 Newcastle and 16 New Castle towns/entities in the United States.2
It is likely the men were going to Newcastle, Wyoming, which is in Weston County, Wyoming. Domenico married Christina Costantina “Costanza” Massaro on Oct. 2, 1902 in New Castle, Wyoming.3 Domenico and his brothers ended up in Carneyville, Sheridan County, Wyoming, where they worked for their entire lives in the coal industry. They do not show up in the 1900 United States Census in Wyoming, nor any other state, that I have been able to find.
Domenico eventually went to work for the Dietz Mines located near the coal-camp town of Carneyville, Wyoming.
In April 1907, his brothers Francesco and BrunoAntonio were involved in a “knife-affray” with other miners. The Laramie Boomerang described it this way:
The fight was lethal as several miners were stabbed and one later died of his wounds. The three men were arrested and charged with a crime. My next post will follow this issue.
- “Ellis Island Passenger Search,” database, The Statue of Liberty–Ellis Island (https://www.jewishgen.org/ : Downloaded 31 March 2020), Ship Manifest, Kronprinz Friedrich Wilhelm, Domenico Carbone, line 65.
- “Newcastle,” database, Wikipedia (https://www.wikipedia.com/ : Downloaded 31 March 2020).
- Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com : accessed 31 March 2020), memorial page for Domenico Carbone (14 Jun 1878–5 Jun 1967), Find a Grave Memorial no. 42600799, citing Sheridan Municipal Cemetery, Sheridan, Sheridan County, Wyoming, USA ; Maintained by Shelly Ketchum (contributor 48349848).
- “American vs Dagoes,” Laramie Boomerang, 19 April 1907, p2., Wyoming State Library,Wyoming Newspaper Project (https://newspapers.wyo.gov/ : Downloaded 31 March 2020).