Pt 1: Love Across the Ocean: The Story of Guiseppa and Antonio Corbo’s Journey towards la bella vita
The beginning of the chain migration
This is the story of my great-grandparents.
Guiseppa Corbo was only nine years old when her sister Filomena married and moved away to America. Born 11 March 1897 in Fragneto Monforte, Benevento Italy to Luigia Sarracco and Domincoantonio Corbo, Guiseppa was the fifth of what would become six children. In the thirteen years between Filomena and Guiseppa, the Kingdom of Italy had fallen into a state of political unrest with higher taxes and lower wages.
Disease was rampant and in April of 1906, when Mt. Vesuvius erupted, the ensuing drought gripped the land. Any hopes of a good life as a peasant farmer in Italy were over. Talk among neighbors about moving to America was increasingly frequent and American industries were aggressively advertising the benefits of doing so. In fact, a vast majority of Italian immigrants that came to the United States were from Southern Italy. Most had the intention of working to send back money to help the family and eventually to return and were often called “birds of passage” for this reason. As many as 40% — more than any other ethnic group — did return to stay forever. For reasons unknown, Dominicoantonio and Luigia chose not to make the journey to America. But they believed in taking advantage of the opportunities available to ensure that someday things would be better, if not for them, for their children.
When Filomena sailed to America with her new husband in 1906, she left behind promises to send for her siblings as soon as possible. Indeed, some of her siblings did immigrate to America with her help beginning with Giovanni in 1911. But it wouldn’t be until fourteen years after Filomena’s departure that Guiseppa would make the journey.
In the next installment, Guiseppa will meet her future husband, Antonio and he will depart Italy forever.
I can't imagine the journey for your ancestors or any immigrants of that era.