Chirillo Siblings in Wooster, OH

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This page started on 4 Mar 2011.

Bob Collian's grandfather was Giuseppe "Joseph" Chirillo (see this web page). That family was not from SPA but rather from Gizzeria, Catanzaro, Italy. Giuseppe married Michelina Colaianni (from SPA) about 1913.

In 1907, Bob's great-grandfather, Giovanni Battista "John B." Chirilllo immigrated from Gizzeria with his wife and 4 children. They were going to "sons Giuseppe and Rosario" at 708 Wylie Ave in Pittsburgh, PA. The Giuseppe was Bob's grandfather and Rosario was his granduncle. Giuseppe was murdered in Wooster, OH in 1920.

The six siblings were Rosario, Elizabetta, Giuseppe, Luigi, Caterina and Candida (Candia).

In helping Bob learn more about his grandfather, I learned a lot about his great aunts & uncles as well. On this page you can read a little about his great uncles, Rosario and Luigi, and great aunt, Candia..

The Rosario Chirillo Story - The US Supreme Court

As I was researching Bob's father's SPA family, I spread out to search his mother's Chirillo family. I always cast a wide a net as possible when I research because you never know what may turn up. This was that exact case here where I found a legal appeal that amost made it to the US Supreme Court.

Rosario, known also as Ross, also lived in Wooster, OH and later in Mamaroneck, Westchester, NY. The story of him and his family is really interesting (even though they are not from SPA). Here is Rosario's story - as much as I know it. Note: some records shown the surname Americanized to Crillo.

1877 8 Oct Rosario Chrillo was born in Gizzeria, Catanzaro, Italy.

1898 Rosario Chirillo married Tomasina Ianchello (Yankello in the US), probably in Gizzeria.

1903 first son, Giovanni was born, probably in Gizzeria.

1904 4 May EI arrival, 26y, going to brother - Giuseppe Chirillo, 4 Clay Alley, Pittsburgh, PA. (Mark's note - this may actually have been in McKees Rocks.) Last residence Gizzeria.

1907 referenced in EI arrival of parents and 4 sibliings, address given as 708 Wylie Ave in Pittsburgh, PA. They were going to "sons Giuseppe and Rosario".

1910 census, Wooster, Wayne, OH, 34y. Single, living with parents. Shoemaker. 15 Billiar Street. Rosario was married in 1898 but his wife and child were still in Italy.

1910 wife Tomasina Ianchello (Yankello) and son Giovanni arrived from Gizzeria, Italy

1911 son Girardo born and died (1911-1911)

1913 son Anthony born

1914 son Joseph born

1915 son Joseph died (1914-1915)

1916 daughter Elizabeth born

1916 son Joseph born

1917 son Joseph died (1916-1917)

1917 WWI Draft Reg, DOB 8 Oct 1877. 41y, 1119 Rebecca St, Wooster, Wayne, OH. Ref wife - Thomasina (Yankello) at same address. Shoemaker

1917 daughter Rose Marie born

1919 OH death record of any unnamed son (1919-1919)

1920 census, Wooster, Wayne, OH, 40y, imm 1909, Shoemaker. With wife Thomasina (Yankello) and 4 children. 1119 Rebecca St.

1921 son Louis born

1923 daughter Mary born

1923 son George born

1925 son Joseph A born

1926 Naturalized per Loislaw Federal District Court Opinions, 21 Dec 1940.

1926 son George died (1923-1926)

1926 6 Mar NY - possible - arrival, 50y, US Citizen, passport issued 29 Oct 1925 at Washington, DC. Going to 182 Stanton St, New York City, NY.

1926-1930 wife Tomasina died

1930 census, Wooster, Wayne, OH, 54y, his wife Tomasina is not listed (see 1934 below), 6 children, imm 1906, Naturalized. Shoemaker, first married at 21y. 1119 Rebecca St., Lived next door to Samuel Monaco and Maggie Collian.

1934 Wife Tomasina died per her Ohio Death Certificate. She died at Massilon State Hospital (a mental hospital) in Massillon, OH.

1937 Ross remarried to Giuseppa "Josephine" Calabria about 23 Jun 1937 in Canton, OH.

1939 Ross and his family moved to Mamaroneck, NY.

1940

4 Jan 1940
"The seven Chirillo's, Rosario, 62, his wife and five children...."
"Chirillo, who has "Americanized" the family name to Crillo..."

4 Jan 1940
Photo of Rosaria Chrillo, wife Josephine, and daughter, Elizabeth.

16 Jan 1940
"Judge Coyne gave the sixty-two year old man 20 days to leave Westchester with his wife and four of his five children."
"Exempted from the removal order is Elizabeth Chirillo, 24 year old daughter of the shoemaker who has a $12 weekly job...."

20 Feb 1940
"Rosario, his wife, and their children came to Westchester from Wooster in January, 1939,
and rented a small shop on Halstead Avenue, Mamaroneck."
"An avalanche of publicity descended upon the family, resulting in an increase of
Rosario's business, and jobs for two daughters and mother."

24 Jul 1940
"Mr. Chirillo is the father of two daughters and two sons."

24 Jul 1940

9 Oct 1940
"The Chirillos, seven in all, left Wooster, where they had been on relief, over a year and a half ago."

10 Oct 1940
"Mr. Chirillo was a shoemaker several years ago in Mamaroneck where his children were born.
About 10 years ago he moved to Wooster and set up his shop.
Hit by the depression, he came back to Westchester about a year ago and soon applied for relief."

10 Oct 1940

2 Dec 1940
"...Chirillo applied for and was granted relief Sep 5, 1939..."

6 Dec 1940

1941

11 Mar 1941
"...the United States supreme court affirmed an order to return
a 62-year-old cobber and his family to Wooster, O."

May 1941

8 May 1941
"Rosario Chirillo, 64, Mamaroneck cobbler, and his sons,
Louis, 21, and Joseph, 15, will be deported under a state law..."

9 May 1941

21 May 1941
"Mr. Chirillo, a cobbler, visiting his wife and another
son who returned to Wooster nearly a year ago..."

26 May 1941
"Chirillo came back with his younger son, Louis...."
"Another son, Joseph, ... remained in Wooster with
his mother and her son by a former marriage."

4 Oct 1941
"Chirillo and four of his five children returned to Mamaroneck
after traveling to Wooster, O., their former place of residence.

1997 daughter Rose Marie Croston died in Holmes, OH

2008 obituary of son, Joseph, parents listed as Ross Chirillo and Tomasina Yankello.

References

On Google Books:
The homeless transient in the Great Depression: New York State, 1929-1941 by Joan M. Crouse

On www.ebooksread.com :

Interstate migration. Hearings before the Select Committee to Investigate the Interstate Migration of Destitute Citizens, House of Representatives, Seventy-sixth Congress, third session, pursuant to H. Res. 63 and H. Res. 491, resolution to inquire into the interstate migration of destitute citizens. (page 15 of 65)

Interstate migration. Hearings before the Select Committee to Investigate the Interstate Migration of Destitute Citizens, House of Representatives, Seventy-sixth Congress, third session, pursuant to H. Res. 63 and H. Res. 491, resolution to inquire into the interstate migration of destitute citizens. (page 16 of 65)

The transcription of the hearings continue on for several more pages. Here are a few excerpts (this web site obviously used OCR on the hearing minutes):

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT, SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK
File No. 11-334— Civil Action
Rosario Chirillo and Josephine Chirillo, plaintiffs
against
Herbert H. Lehman, Governor of the State of New York, John J. Bennett, Jr., Attorney General of the State of New York, George A. Casey, Sheiriff of the County of Westcheste3i, and Ruth Taylor, Commissioner of Public Welfare of the County of Westchester, dbifendants

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT, SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK
File No. 11-334- Civil Action

An affidavit discloses that Mr. Chirillo, speaking of the property he owned in Ohio, has stated that "one parcel brings in a rent of $14.00 monthly, and the second parcel is occupied rent free by a married daughter," (Exhibit 3, fol. 22) and further, that all the children were ''born in Wooster, Ohio, a town larger than Mamaroneck, New York, presumably with better business and employment possibilities, certainly with years of association for the family which presumably would bring more possibilities of prosperity than the town of their recent choice." (Exhibit 8, fol. 22)

Mr. Chirillo "is 62 years old and has complained of and requested medical care for his rheumatic condition" (Exhibit 3, fol. 15). His wife, who is 56, also "mentions poor health, particularly attacks of gallstones in the past, feeling too ill to be working, and chronic bronchitis." One son. "Louis shows serious symptoms of mental difficulty" and will need "permanent support" (fols. 61-62). His brother "Anthony is at present in Maslin State Hospital in Ohio" because of a psychiatric difficulty (UL, fols. 17-18).

Old Newspaper scans - search for "Chirillo Wooster":

Old New York State Historical Newspaper Pages

Luigi Chirillo

In September of 2013, I received this email:

From: "Judith Crillo" <jcrillo

msn.com>
Subject: Chrillo/Crillo/etc.
Date: Fri, 4 Oct 2013 11:11:37 -0700

Hello, Mark,

My name is Judith Crillo (changed from Chirillo by my father, Louis/Luigi).

I have been searching for years for more information about my Father’s family in Wooster, Oh. Nearly everyone who ‘knows anything’ seems to be dead and thus I was thrilled to discover the SPA Families website, especially when I found so many references to my Father’s family by someone named “Bob”. I could not figure out how to contact him, but saw your name at the end of Part 3 which is why I am contacting you.

I would be most interested in writing to people on your website – I have a lot of ‘family tree’ information since I have been searching for about 20 years.

Joseph (Joe) Chirillo/Crillo, who is mentioned in your website, Part 3, and who was murdered in 1920 in Wooster, was my Uncle. Nearly all of my family and relatives lived on Rebecca, Pittsburg, or Billiard Streets.

We are also eager to find information about Jennie Rich( Ricci) who was from Wooster and married my father (Louis Chirillo/Crillo) about 1911. They had 4 daughters, one of whom was killed in an auto accident in Canton, OH in 1923. Two other daughters, Louise and Gloria, have died. The sole remaining child of Louis Crillo and Jennie Rich, is my sister, Jerry Crillo Cording, who lives in Wooster. Jenny Rich's father was John Rich, (I believe the name had been Ricci) and they lived in Wooster many years. Jennie Rich died in 1954 and my father remarried and my brother and I are from that marriage.

If you would be so kind as to reply to my email, I would appreciate it. Also, if you could put me in touch with ‘Bob’ I would be very glad.

Thank you very much.

Judith Crillo

Over the next few months, I helped Judith find out more about her family. As it turns out, the Rich family, was indeed Ricci in Italy but the family was from Pietrabbondante, not from SPA.

Candia Chirillo

Here is a family tree on ancestry.com which was created by Cheryl Bosley. It includes a lot of photos.

Cheryl also sent me a few emails:

Date:    Sun, 1 Aug 2010 12:13:59 -0700
Subject:    family info
From:    Cheryl Bosley <ecbosley

gmail.com>

Here are the family tree notes I could find most readily:

Joseph Chirillo was murdered by hired gun Sam Monico at Maggie Chirillo's (Joseph's wife) request in their own home.
Sam was later shot and killed by Ecolene "Ec" Marone of the Cleveland Mafia.

I have relocated and haven't finished sorting all my family tree information, I believe I have pictures, I would like to see your cousins family tree is it on Ancestry?

Cheryl

Cheryl,

Thanks for your email.

It has been very interesting learning about this family. Robert "Bob" Collian contacted me a few months ago asking for help in learning about his family. In Italy, the family name was Colaianni. That family was from the same town as my mother. I have many Colaianni in my ancestry.

There are several other people researching Colaianni from San Pietro Avellana. One of them actually turned out to be Bob's 2nd cousin, once removed. I'm a little more distantly related. (I've copied her on this email - Cris Swetye.)

Bob told us that his parents never spoke much about their ancestry. He knew very little about his Colaianni
side but he knew a little more about the Chirillo side.

We set out to help him learn more and we were very successful in connecting his Coliaianni side into family
trees that Cris and I had already researched.

I've attached two printouts from my data base that depict what we have learned.

I want to point out one relationship connection that we are not sure of yet. We are not certain about the parents of his grandfather, Sabatino "Sam Collian" Colaianni. I have connected him to who I think are his parents but I am not certain. I've added a note to this effect in my data base.

We could not add too much on the Chirillo side since Cris and I never worked on that family (and
they were not from San Pietro Avellana where we concentrated).

We did learn that both Joseph Chirillo and Sam Monaco were murdered. (We found their death certificates and I can send them to you if you don't have them.) It was interesting to learn that Sam killed Joseph because, as you probabaly know, a few months later Sam married Maggie.

My family tree (from my mother's hometown of San Pietro Avellana and my father's hometown of Sant'Eufemia a Maiella) are at my web page: http://www.silogic.com/genealogy/GED.html

This tree includes the Bob's Colaianni branch and a few Chirillo.

I'd like to put you directly in touch with Bob if that is ok with you.

ciao.
Mark

This site prepared and maintained by Mark DiVecchio

email : markd@silogic.com

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