I have written a couple of times about my grandfather, Celio “Jay” Capelli. He was born Celio Ciardonei in Cossano Canavesse, Turino, Italy on December 31, 1914. His parents were Matteo Ciardonei and Adele Siletto.
On March 22, 1920, Celio (5 years old) and his father, Matteo Ciardonei, arrived in the United States on the SS Dante Alighieri. According to the ship’s manifest, Matteo was deported March 31st because he had been diagnosed with tuberculosis. This information came from the passenger manifest found on Ellisisland.org almost 10 years ago. I got a printed copy for my Grandfather for Christmas about 8 years ago.
Yesterday, with the free access to immigration records at Ancestry.com, I found another piece to the story. Since I do not have a digital copy of the passenger manifest, I did a search for the last name “Ciardonei.” I was surprised to see several entries for both Celio and Matteo. When I opened each digital image, I realized that they had been included on additional lists in the ship’s paperwork. Specifically, the Record of Aliens Held for Special Inquiry and the Record of Detained Aliens.
The Record of Aliens Held for Special Inquiry states that 31 year old Matteo was hospitalized upon arrival and given a “tuberculosis cert” designation. He was deported on April 12th at 1:45 pm on the SS Guiseppe Ver??an. Celio was admitted to the U.S. on March 31st at 10:55am.
The Record of Detained Aliens lists my grandfather being held with other passengers from the Dante Alighieri. He was fed 8 breakfasts, 7 lunches, and 8 dinners during his detainment. He was released on March 31st. The Disposition column for the other passengers lists the addresses of where they were going. My grandfather’s entry is blank. It is interesting to note that almost everyone else on the list had a Cause for Detention listed as lack of funds. My grandfather’s Cause for Detention is “father in hosp.”
These documents made me very sad last night. I had known that Matteo was brave and left his son with his sister-in-law when he was deported. I had never considered what had occurred between the time Matteo and Celio arrived and when Matteo was deported. It must have been so scary for a 5 year old to be separated from his sick father and be detained for a week. He did not know any English at the time so communication must have been difficult.
The only glimmer of hope that I see in these documents is that my grandfather was detained for only 8 days (as indicated by the number of meals). His ship arrived 10 days prior to his release leaving us with a 2 day difference. I am hoping that he got to spend the time with his father in the hospital during those 2 days. It would have been the last times they would see each other. Matteo died in his hometown in Italy just under a year later on Mar 14, 1921.
I will end on a positive note. I also found a Lucia Siletto Brunero on a passenger manifest in 1938 last night. She listed that she would be visiting her son, Salvatore Siletto. I have previously documented that “Sal” is my grandfather’s uncle. So it seems that my grandfather got to visit with his grandmother when she came to visit in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It would have been the first time he saw his grandmother in at least 18 years.
