Tuesday, July 3, 2018

1940 Draft Cards Reveal Cimino Family History

New hints on my Ancestry tree led me to some interesting documents on Fold3.com for my grandfather and his brothers. First let me show you some pictures of the people in the documents.

Here is a picture of three of the Cimino brothers taken in 1973.
From left: Kathleen (daughter of Fred), Dick, Fred, and John Cimino
I do notice that Grandpa Dick is holding his cigar. I have very vivid memories of his ashtray next to his recliner in the family room. I believe that he smoked Roi Tan cigars. We had several of his cigar boxes for trinkets over the years but I do not have any today.

Here is an image of an ashtray that was similar to the one that Grandpa Dick had next to his recliner:



Armour Company employees in 1932. Kneeling third from left is Fred Cimino. Standing third from left is Dick Cimino. 
Carroll Stewart was a neighbor on 17th Street and I believe he is the man with his hand on Fred's shoulder in the picture above.  Carroll and his girl friend Ollie and Fred and his girl friend Shirley stole away from Sioux City and got married on the same night in Shirley's hometown of Pender, Nebraska.

This is John Cimino before he lost his hair so it was probably taken about 1940.
A Cimino Family Picnic in 1962
All of the people in the above photo are Ciminos except where the last name is noted. Standing: Austin McCrory, Sophie, Christena "Tena", Shirley, Ann, Rose Cimino Ferraguti, and Jimmy McCrory. Kneeling: Antonino "Tony" or "Nonnu", Fred, Betty, Tony, John, and Rose's husband, Sam Ferraguti. At one point, I thought this was in Sacramento but it may be in South Sioux City.

So here are the draft cards for the Cimino brothers:

1940 Selective Service Registration Card for Dick Cimino
 Grandpa Dick worked at Armour Meat Company in 1940 and lived on 17th Street in South Sioux City.
Physical Description of Dick CiminoGrandpa Dick and Fred were the tallest at 5' 8".

1940 Selective Service Registration Card for Fred Andrew Cimino 
 Uncle Fred worked at Armour Meat Packing Company in 1940. Fred was the only one that did not live on 17th Street in 1940.
Physical Description of Fred Cimino

1940 Selective Service Registration Card for John Joseph Cimino
 This is the first record that I have seen with Uncle John's middle name.  I had him as John J. Cimino until now.
Physical Description of John Cimino
 John was the shortest and the lightest of the four brothers at 5'4" and 125 pounds.

1940 Selective Service Registration Card for Sam Cimino
 Sam was working on a WPA project in 1940.

Physical Description of Sam Cimino
Uncle Sam was in the middle with a height of 5'6". Sam is the only brother not shown in any of the pictures above so here are some pictures of him:
Sam Cimino and dog about 1940
 The inscription on the back of this picture says "Josie, the dog is the one with his mouth open, Sam". Josie is Sam's sister.
Anna Parr Cimino and Sam Cimino at the grave of Sam's sister, Camela Defozeo.  
The Italian spelling of this sister's name was Carmela Cimino Defazio. She was the second Carmela born to Tony and Mary Cimino in Sicily. They were obligated to name their first daughter after Tony's mother, Carmela Grasso. Carmela came over on the boat in 1911 with her mother, Maria Ossino, my Grandpa Dick (Sebastiano) and Uncle John (Giovanni) but died in childbirth in 1920. Her grave is in the Marian section of the Calvary Cemetery in Sioux City, Iowa. Carmela's husband was Pasquale "Pete" Defazio. His second wife, Mary Pironaggi, his mother and several other family members are buried in this same family plot.


Sam and Dick Cimino about 1940.
I notice that Grandpa Dick liked to feature his cigar in photos. 
He smoked Roi Tan cigars as I recall.



1942 Affidavit by Tony Cimino for Delayed Birth Certificate of Fred Cimino
As I was adding the draft cards to Uncle Fred's profile on Ancestry.com, I noticed that he had a hint for an Iowa Delayed Birth Certificate.  This was a pretty interesting document as it was a 1942 affidavit filed by his father, Tony Cimino and signed with an X.  Again we see creative spelling as the mother was Maria Ossino not "Uosino." I guess you have to sympathize with the record officials trying to understand the broken English of our Italian immigrant ancestor.

Haley Aguirre of the Sioux City Museum gave me some information about the Ciminos and the packing houses:
In the 1940 city directory for Ciminos. I see the three brothers you mentioned – Dick, Fred, and John – as butchers at Armour. I also see two more, Sam and Sophia [John's wife], who work at Cudahy’s, another city packing plant. All are shown as residents of South Sioux City. I managed to get my hands on a South Sioux City directory, but the earliest I have is 1957. There John and Sophie Cimino live at 402 W. 15th, and Tony and Christina Cimino live at 618 W. 17th.  John is employed at Armour.
Ms. Aquirre also sent me some images of the Armour plant. The first is from the early 1920s, and the second is from right around 1940, when the Cimino brothers would have been working there.

1920s view of the Armour Plant


1940s view showing the ramp where the cattle were herded into the plant

The uncanny coincidence in all of this is that Haley Aquirre is related to the DeFazio family.  Her husband's grandfather is Gary Aguirre. Gary's father was a Mexican immigrant named Luciano Aguirre. Gary's mother was Rose Frances DeFazio. Rose's parents were Pasquale "Pete" DeFazio and his second wife, Mary Pironaggi.

Haley Aguirre shared several details about the Italians of Sioux City:

Sioux City did not have a very high concentration of Italian immigrants, at least in comparison to other parts of the Midwest like Chicago. The neighborhood with the largest concentration of Italians was what we now call the East Bottoms, so called because it was on the east side of the railroad tracks and the Floyd River, in the river bottoms. The people who lived there at the time never called it “bottoms,” they actually resented the name and its negative connotation. They called it “east side.”
Regardless, the main streets over there were 7th Street. You’ll see it referred to as East 7th, to notate that they’re talking about the east side of 7th, the portion across the river from downtown. 7th runs east-west, the major north-south streets were Morgan and Steuben. So that first address you gave me for Anthony Cimino, 614 Steuben, was in the East Bottoms. He surely would have known that large Italian community living there.
People in the East Bottoms primarily worked in factories, railroads, and the stockyards, all of which were close by. The Community House was down there, a social service agency that particularly looked after Sioux City’s immigrant populations. It offered English classes, trade apprenticeships, day-care services for children with two working parents, and more services that I could ever name here. The director of the Community House was a woman named Mary Treglia, an Italian immigrant. You can read more about her story and the Community House here: http://siouxcityhistory.org/notable-people/36-mary-treglia-and-the-mary-treglia-community-house.
The Bottoms unfortunately are no longer there. They were eradicated in the 1950s and early 1960s when the Floyd River Flood Control Project re-routed the river right through the neighborhood. The Community House was moved to the Northside, where it sits today, and residents of the East Bottoms were forced elsewhere. Many moved to Sioux City’s Westside, which also had a working-class population. West 7th Street had long been a major business district for immigrants of all kinds. I’m not surprised to see Anthony Cimino living there, either.
Gary [her husband's grandfather] also told me stories about the East Bottoms. He grew up at 8th & Steuben Streets. The door to every house was always open. Anyone in the neighborhood could walk into any house, sit at the table and be served a meal. Adults could sit and play cards between shifts of work. Children would play by the railroad tracks, and sometimes they were lucky enough to see the circus train come into town. 
Many DeFazios worked at the Community House when they could and knew Mary Treglia well. Gary was even pallbearer at her funeral. He also mentioned that all the Italians that he knew of living there were Catholic, and members of the Enunciation Church in the Bottoms. Therefore, the Diocese of Sioux City may have more information for you: https://scdiocese.org/ 
I was stunned to get so much information about the Italians of Sioux City and even more amazed that Haley and I were connected through a family relationship.

Here are the vital details of all of the Cimino siblings mentioned above:

Children of Antonino Cimino and Maria Ossino


First Generation

1. Antonino "Tony" Cimino was born 24 Dec 1878 in Carlentini, Siracusa, Sicilia, Italia. He died on 8 Nov 1963 in South Sioux City, Dakota, Nebraska. He was buried on 11 Nov 1963 in Dakota City Cemetery, near South Sioux City, Nebraska where he lived.

Antonino married (1) Maria Ossino daughter of Giovanni Ossino and Concetta Bruno on 30 Jun 1903 in Carlentini, Siracusa, Sicilia, Italia. Maria was born on 10 Mar 1879 in Lentini, Siracusa, Sicilia, Italia. She died on 6 Nov 1940 in South Sioux City, Dakota, Nebraska. She was buried on 8 Nov 1940 in Dakota City Cemetery.

Antonino married (2) Christena Cordsen  daughter of Fred Carl Cordsen and Cecelia Marie Thompson in 1940. Christena was born on 5 Apr 1892 in Oakdale Village, Antelope, Nebraska. She died on 29 May 1977 in South Sioux City, Dakota, Nebraska. She was buried in Dakota City, Dakota, Nebraska.

Antonino and Maria had the following children:

2 F i. Carmela Cimino was born on 28 Apr 1903 in Carlentini, Siracusa, Sicilia. She died on 14 Oct 1903 in Carlentini, Siracusa, Sicilia.

+ 3 F ii. Carmela Cimino was born on 8 Aug 1904. She died on 1 Jun 1920.

+ 4 M iii. Richard Sebastiano Cimino was born on 30 Oct 1906. He died on 9 Aug 1979.

+ 5 M iv. John J. Cimino was born on 3 Jul 1909. He died on 12 Apr 1980.

+ 6 F v. Sarah Cimino was born on 28 Mar 1912. She died on 30 Sep 1967.

+ 7 M vi. Frederick Andrew Cimino was born on 4 Dec 1913. He died on 21 Dec 1998.

+ 8 M vii. Samuel Cimino was born on 13 Apr 1915. He died on 18 Dec 1979.

+ 9 F viii. Josephine Cimino was born on 20 Oct 1917. She died on 10 Mar 1998.

+ 10 F ix. Rose Cimino was born on 13 Dec 1918. She died on 3 Apr 2004.

+ 11 F x. Camilla Cimino was born on 29 Aug 1921. She died on 22 May 2017.



Second Generation

3. Carmela Cimino was born on 8 Aug 1904 in Carlentini, Siracusa, Sicilia, Italia. She died on 1 Jun 1920 in Sioux City, Woodbury, Iowa. She was buried in Calvary Cemetery, Woodbury, Iowa.

Carmela married Peter Pasquale Defazio son of Pasquale Defazio and Carmella Grece on 31 Dec 1918 in Sioux City, Woodbury, Iowa. Peter was born on 24 Apr 1893 in Sambiase, Catanzaro, Calabria, Italia. He died on 6 Dec 1965 in Sioux City, Woodbury, Iowa. He was buried in Dec 1965 in Sioux City, Woodbury County, Iowa.

4. Richard Sebastiano Cimino was born on 30 Oct 1906 in Lentini, Siracusa, Sicilia, Italia. He died on 9 Aug 1979 in Sacramento, Sacramento, California. He was buried on 13 Aug 1979 in St. Mary's Cemetery, Sacramento, California.

Richard married (1) Mary Iza McCrory daughter of Joseph William McCrory and Julia Ann Newman on 21 Apr 1927 in Elk Point, Union, South Dakota. Mary was born on 19 Sep 1908 in Castana, Monona, Iowa. She died on 5 Aug 1952 in Sacramento, California. She was buried in St. Mary's Cemetery, Sacramento, California.

Richard married (2) Macy Lu Kimes daughter of Joseph Lafayette Kimes and Julia Poe on 2 Jul 1955 in Reno, Washoe, Nevada, USA. Macy was born on 22 Sep 1904 in Crawford, Arkansas, United States. She died on 27 Sep 1991 in Carmichael, Sacramento, California. She was buried on 5 Oct 1991 in St. Mary's Cemetery, Sacramento, California.

5. John J. Cimino was born on 3 Jul 1909 in Lentini, Siracusa, Sicilia, Italia. He died on 12 Apr 1980 in South Sioux City, Dakota, Nebraska, USA. He was buried in St. Michael's Cemetery, South Sioux City, Nebraska.

John married Sophie J. "Zofia" Hildebrandt  daughter of Adam Hildebrandt and Josephine Lubanski on 28 Nov 1932 in Dakota City, Dakota, Nebraska. Sophie was born on 27 May 1913 in Stupso, Poland. She died on 17 Jan 1998 in South Sioux City, Dakota, Nebraska. She was buried in St. Michael Catholic Cemetery, South Sioux City, Nebraska.

6. Sarah Cimino was born on 28 Mar 1912 in Sioux, Woodbury, Iowa. She died on 30 Sep 1967 in Livermore, Alameda Co., California. She was buried in St. Mary's Cemetery, Sacramento, California.

Sarah married (1) August Anthony Oddo  son of Cirino Frank Oddo and Alfia Milana on 28 Sep 1928 in Elk Point, Union Co., South Dakota. The marriage ended in divorce.August was born on 9 Jul 1910 in Sioux City, Woodbury, Iowa, USA. He died on 11 Jun 1997 in Mansfield, South Dakota. He was buried in Northville, Spink County, South Dakota, USA.
Sarah married (2) Ferdy Francis . The marriage ended in divorce.

7. Frederick Andrew Cimino  was born on 4 Dec 1913 in Sioux City, Woodbury, Iowa. He died on 21 Dec 1998 in Fairmont, Martin, Minnesota. He was buried in Welcome City Cem, Martin, Minnesota.

Frederick married Shirley Frances Thompson  daughter of Paul Thompson and Anna Belle Livingston on 3 Jul 1934 in Pender, , Nebraska. Shirley was born on 18 Apr 1916 in Pender, Thurston, Nebraska, USA. She died on 12 Jun 2010 in Fairmont, Martin, Minnesota, USA. She was buried in Welcome, Martin County, Minnesota, United States of America.

8. Samuel Cimino  was born on 13 Apr 1915 in Sioux, Woodbury, Iowa. He was christened on 22 Aug 1915 in Sioux, Woodbury, Iowa. He died on 18 Dec 1979 in Prineville, Crook, Oregon. He was buried in Prineville, Crook County, Oregon, USA.

Samuel married Anne Frances Parr  daughter of William M Parr and Chloe C Goodwin on 7 Dec 1935 in Elk Point, Union Co., South Dakota. Anne was born on 20 Nov 1918 in Whiting, Monona, Iowa, USA. She died on 20 Jun 1998 in Prineville, Crook County, Oregon. She was buried in Prineville, Crook County, Oregon, USA.

9. Josephine Cimino was born on 20 Oct 1917 in Sioux, Woodbury, Iowa. She died on 10 Mar 1998 in San Lorenzo, Alameda, California.

Josephine married (1) James Vontash also known as James Joseph Von Tersch.

Josephine married (2) Harvey Lewis Terry . Harvey was born on 30 Jan 1913 in Ireton, Sioux, Iowa, USA. He died in Oct 1984 in Omaha,Nebraska USA.

Josephine married (3) Keith Barker .

Josephine married (4) Sam L. Leffler  on 12 Aug 1964 in Carson City, Nevada, USA. Sam was born on 2 Oct 1924. He died on 2 Dec 2005 in Citrus Heights, Sacramento, California.

10. Rose Cimino  was born on 13 Dec 1918 in Sioux City, Woodbury, Iowa. She was christened on 8 Jan 1919 in Sioux City, Woodbury, Iowa. She died on 3 Apr 2004 in Omaha, Douglas, Nebraska.

Rose married Salvatore Silvio "Sam" Ferraguti  son of Verardo Ferraguti and Elvira Silvia Settini on 18 Jun 1937 in Papillion, Sarpy, Nebraska. Salvatore was born on 1 May 1918 in Nebraska. He died on 2 Nov 2003 in Omaha, Douglas, Nebraska.

11. Camilla Cimino  was born on 29 Aug 1921 in S. Sioux, Dakota, Nebraska. She died on 22 May 2017 in , , California.

Camilla married (1) Francis Budd Gonnion son of Joseph Elmer Gonnion and Frances Muriel Moffett in 1938. Francis was born on 27 Oct 1918 in Sioux City, Iowa, USA. He died on 12 Oct 1987 in Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, USA. He was buried on 24 Nov 1987 in Riverside, Riverside County, California.

Camilla married (2) Clyde Lemuel Horn son of Claud Horn and Leona Taylor on 18 Nov 1944 in Elk Point, Union, South Dakota, USA. Clyde was born on 22 Jun 1920 in Winnfield, Winn, Louisiana, USA. He died on 11 Dec 1996 in Fort Worth, Tarrant, Texas.

As you can imagine there are dozens of cousins descended from these Cimino siblings spread throughout the Midwest and the West coast with a few right here in Texas.

Happy Trails until we meet again!