East Ely Railroad Depot Museum

Frazzini	Emiliano Frazzini	Lucrezia Carlini	Benilda Frazzini	DiVecchia	Site Home
Dawson, NM	Ely, NV	Ogden, UT	Raton, NM	Aurora, MN	San Pietro Avellana

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In Aug of 2007, I spent a week at the East Ely Railroad Depot Museum. This museum acquired all the offices and paper records of the Nevada Northern Railway (NNRY) when it ceased operating about 1983. The museum is housed on the second floor of the East Ely depot. Almost ALL of the Italians who worked for the railroad company were from San Pietro Avellana.

This museum is a great source for information about the people who lived in Ely and worked at the NNRY. Since the interest of this web site is the people from San Pietro Avellana, Italy, the museum adds a lot to our history. From what I have found, almost all of the Italians who worked on the railroad were from SPA. The payroll records in the museum's collection has enabled me to trace family history back to the earliest days of the NNRY in 1906. I was able to learn more about the death of Carmine Acquafondata and then his son's time working there. The museum held autobiographical information from John Mariani, who lived until he was 104 years old. Records from around the start of the Second World War, give a historical perspective about how differently Italians, Germans and Japanese were treated. I spent a week in the "Vault" where the records are stored and I need to go back many more times to fully explore the collection.

As you look at this page, please tell me how I can improve it. If you find your relatives here, let me know and I will add a note. Let me know if you can help with the first names of any of the men in the payroll records where the first names were often just initials.

Once you look at this page, these two pages will give you more information about Ely and the Italian families who lived there: Ely, NV and Carlini Families.

Photos of the East Ely Railroad Depot Museum

The museum is housed on the second floor of this building, the East Ely Depot. The first floor houses the gift shop of the sister museum, the Nevada Northern Railway Museum. That museum operates the trains.

Sign to second floor.

Typical office located on the second floor of the museum

Transportation Building. This building houses the Nevada Northern Railway Museum.

At the rear of the Transportation Building is the Vault.
The Vault is a windowless concrete room located at the rear of the first floor of the Transportation Building.

Closeup of the Vault's Door.

Come in!

Inside the Vault were stacks of old records. The temperature and humidity in the Vault remains fairly constant. The room does not have any environmental controls. Bare lights hang from the ceiling. The payroll records are in the grey binders on these shelves.

Wall of boxes. These were the oldest records in the Vault. Many records from the 1905-6 initial construction of the railroad including buying the property needed or getting the right of way. The earliest personnel records that I found were from 1915.

Box containing the records about the death of Carmine Acquafondata in 1924.

There was a table in the Vault.
I setup my computer and scanner and worked in here for 4 of the 5 days that I was in Ely.
The box that I am examining here contained 1915-1920 Job Applications.

This is the bulding over the RIP track. RIP, I believe, stands for Repair in Place. This is where damaged cars were placed and where the repair crews worked. This building dates from about 1940. Before that, the crews worked outside all year long. Many men from SPA worked as Car Repairers.

Inside the Engine Repair Building, Number 93 was having its main bearings reworked. Many men from SPA also worked in this repair facility.

Typical building remaining in the yard.

The Engine House - Number 40 can be seen in one of the stalls. On the left is the Engine Repair Building.

A view of the yard at East Ely. Click here for more history of the NNRY.

East Ely Railroad Depot Museum

The week of 27 Aug 2007, I travelled to Ely to examine the records held by the East Ely Railroad Depot Museum. The curator, Sean Pitts, was very helpful. He set me up with desks to work at and directed me where to search.

During my previous visit, I looked at a few of the payroll records which were kept at the 2nd floor office part of the museum. 18 years of payroll records were kept there dating from 1906 to 1955. I spent Monday looking through those records in detail. The next day, I moved to the Vault where the remaining payroll records were along with other records.

Here is part of what I saw. Remember that this is just a few of the men whose names I recognized. All of these men (or their fathers) were born in San Pietro Avellana, Italy, my mother's hometown. Here is a good link to a site about the Nevada Northern Railway and here is another Nevada Northern Railway.

Payroll Records

A note about the following tables: These tables are not complete. I only looked at a few selected years, I did not note every man from SPA that I found. It would have been just too much work. I think, though, over the years I looked at, I've found 90% of the men from SPA who worked for the railroad (but I need to do more research during the WWI years 1916-1919). Some of the years listed below, which obviously contain a lot of names, do list all the SPA names that I could find for that year. Italians appear on the payroll from the very first years of operation of the NNRY starting in 1906. In parenthesis (..) in the tables are my comments, which do not appear in the payroll records. I did not transcribe my complete notes into this web page. Look at the raw notes for Day 1 to see all my notes.

1906 : Section Gangs
Name	Position	Pay Rate
Frank Rossolo (Pasquale Iannacchione)	Foreman	$70/mo
Jim Lorenzo (probably Vincenzo diLorenzo, see note below)	Laborer	$1.75/day
John A. Giocomo	Laborer	$1.75/day
Sam diCianno	Laborer	$1.75/day
Felix diCianno	Laborer	$1.75/day
A. Feazzini (sic - probably Frazzini, see email below)	Laborer	$1.75/day
Gaetano Gatti	Laborer	$1.75/day
Wm . Gatti (possibly Odorino or Gennaro Gatti, see note below)	Laborer	$1.75/day
Elmore Gatti (probably Eminio Gatti, see note below)	Laborer	$1.75/day
Peter Gatti (probably Perino Gatti, see note below)	Laborer	$1.75/day
V. Iasello (probably Vincenzo Iasella)	Laborer	$1.75/day
G. Iasello (probably Giuseppe Iasella)	Laborer	$1.75/day

1906 was the first year of operation of the NNRY. All of the above men appear to work on Frank Rossolo's section gang but the records don't call out by section as they do in the later records. Frank Rossolo was the Americanized name of Pasquale Iannacchione.

Jim Lorenzo is Vincenzo diLorenzo. Gaetano Gatti was his brother-in-law. Perino Gatti, Gennaro Gatti, Erminio Gatti and Odorino Gatti were his nephews (sons of Gaetano Gatti and Maria Cristina diLorenzo). All were gone from the records by 1907 when they probably moved to Dawson, NM. Vincenzo, Gennaro, and Odorino were killed in the 1923 mine explosion at Dawson.

The two Iasella's are related to me by marriage. I don't know who the A. Frazzini could be.

Date: Tue, 11 Sep 2007 20:31:14 +0000
From: ninifrazzini <ninifrazzini

hotmail.com>
Subject: [SanPietroAvellana] Re: Sampietresi in East Ely, Nevada

Mark,
I took a look at the web page and I believe that the A. Frazzini in the 1906 records was my great-grandfather Amico. The Gatti's were his brothers-in-law and my great-grandmother Ersilia came to join him in Ely in 1906 after he was already here. They both went back to SPA sometime soon after, and Amico came back to the US in 1909 to bring his younger brother to the Frazzini Bros. in Trinidad, CO. I cannot make out the name of the brother on the ship manifest but he was only sixteen.

Perino Gatti moved to Youngstown, OH sometime before 1920 because when Amico finally came back to the US to stay in 1920 he went to his brother-in-law Perino's house in Youngstown. My great-grandmother never came back to the US to stay. I am still looking into the mystery of the 2 sisters my grandfather had.

Janine Frazzini

Date: Tue Sep 11, 2007 1:42 pm
From: "Dale M Musilli" <musillid

earthlink.net>
Subject: Re: [SanPietroAvellana] Re: Sampietresi in East Ely, Nevada

Janine

My great aunt Cokie DiGiacomo married Frank Gatti in Leetonia, Ohio, just south of Youngstown. Frank had a brother John, who became a judge in Trumbull or Mahoning County. Do you know if and how Frank and John might be related to Perino?

Dale

Date:    Tue, 11 Sep 2007 16:07:10 -0500
From:            Janine Frazzini <ninifrazzini@hotmail.com>
Subject:         Re: [SanPietroAvellana] Re: Sampietresi in East Ely, Nevada

Dale,
I am not sure. I do know that Perino had several more brothers, but I am not sure if any of them ended up in the Youngstown area. I vaguely remember visiting his home when I was a small child, I think he had kids. I found a death notice for him, maybe an obit search would yield some info on relatives. Wilberta gave me some info that one of her relatives thought either Perino or his wife may have committed suicide. His death notice did not state that. He passed away in November 1970 and was widowed. He lived in Campbell, OH. I could try the Youngstown Vindicator obit archives if it would help.

As a side note, the name of the witness or witnesses for my grandpa Frazzini's marriage to my grandmother (Anna Ward) was DiGiacomo. I can't remember the name on the certificate, I have it at home and will have to check and let you know.

Janine

So Amico Frazzini would be the brother-in-law of the Gatti brothers - married Ersilia Rosa Gatti. What I know of the Gatti family is on the Gatti Graphical Tree.

1907 : Motive Power and Car Department
Name	Position	Pay Rate
R. Frazzini	Boilermaker Helper	$2.50/day
G. Morelli	Car Repairman Helper	$2.25/day
R. Colaizzi (could this be Ruggerio Eliseo "Elisha" ?)	Hostler Helper	$2.25/day
S. DiIullo	Hostler Helper	$2.25/day
M. DiFlorio	Watchman	$2.50/day
T. Morelli	Coach Cleaner	$2.25/day
F. DiJullo (probably Filiberto diIullo)	Coal Heaver	$2.25/day
J. Colaizzi	Coal Heaver	$2.25/day
E. DiFlorio	Coal Heaver	$2.25/day
A. Ricci	Laborer	$2.25/day
F. Ricci	Laborer	$2.00/day
1907 : Maintenance of Way Department - Section Gang 1 Cobre
Frank Rossolo (this is Pasquale Iannacchione)	Foreman	$75/mo
Sam DiCianno	Laborer	$1.75/day
John Colaizzi	Laborer	$1.75/day
D. DiFlorio	Laborer	$1.75/day
C. Gatty (probably Gatti)	Laborer	$1.75/day
1907 : Maintenance of Way Department - Section Gang 6 Currie
John Giacomo	Foreman	$75/mo
1907 : Maintenance of Way Department - Section Gang 14 Ely City
S. DiFlorio	Laborer	$1.85/day
S. Morello	Laborer	$1.85/day
Mike Mariani	Laborer	$1.85/day
1907: Storeroom
Mike Mariani	Laborer	$2.00/day
1907: General Office
Tiberio DeCianno	Janitor	$65/mo

In 1907 there were again more recognizable names from SPA.

1910 : Motive Power and Car Department
Name	Position	Pay Rate
Mike Frazzini	Engine Wiper	$2.25/day
A. Carlino	Coal Hostler (Cobre)	$2.25/day
Anthony Morelli	Car Repairman Helper	$2.25/day
F. Mariani	Coach Cleaner	$2.25/day
R. Colaizzi (could this be Ruggerio Eliseo "Elisha" ?)	Engine Watchman	$2.50//day
A. Ricci	Boiler Washer	$2.25/day
Sam DeTella	Car Repairman Helper	$2.25/day
L. Colaizzi	Coach Cleaner	$2.25/day
Ernesto DeTella	Coach Cleaner	$2.25/day
F. Ricci (Fred)	Watchman	$2.50/day
G. Mariani	Engine Wiper	$2.50/day
M. Frazzini	Engine Wiper	$2.50/day
D. G. Morelli	Coal Hostler	$3.00/day
Ernesto DiTullo	Machinist Helper	$2.50/day
1910 : General Office
Tiberius (Tiberio) diCianno	Janitor	$70/mo
1910 : Maintenance of Way Department - Section Gang 1 Cobre
Frank Rossolo (Pasquale Iannacchione)	Foreman	$70/mo
P. Ricci	Laborer	$1.65/day
Tony DiCianno	Laborer	$1.65/day
P. DiCianno	Laborer	$1.65/day
D. Morelli	Laborer	$1.65/day
N. Frazzini	Laborer	$1.65/day
1910 : Maintenance of Way Department - Section Gang 2 Shafter
J. Frazzini	Foreman	$70/mo
S. Colaizzi	Laborer	$1.65/day
1910 : Maintenance of Way Department - Section Gang 3 Shafter
S. Colaizzi	Foreman	$70/mo
1910 : Maintenance of Way Department - Section Gang 6 Currie
Tom Carlini	Foreman	$70/mo

In 1910 there are a lot of familiar names but I don't know who some of these men are - M. Frazzini, N. Frazzini, J. Frazzini, Sam DeTella, Ernesto DeTella, Tom Carlini. Mike Frazzini appears in the early payroll records but then does not appear again until the early 1940's.

Date: Sat, 08 Sep 2007 20:44:02 +0000
From: Cathy Youngblood <roothunter

azyoungbloods.us>
Subject: [SanPietroAvellana] Re: Sampietresi in East Ely, Nevada

Mark,

You have a reference to Tom Carlini, 1910 Maintenance of Way Department Foreman, Section Gang 6, Currie. You say you do not know who this man was - among a few others listed there. Although I have no evidence my g-grandfather's other brother, Tommaso Carlini, lived in Utah somewhere for a time. I know next to nothing about him but that he was blind and went back to SPA and died there in the 1940's. I believe he was here before Ellis Island as I have not found him coming and going through there with the exception of a Tomnaro Carlini who crossed at the same time as my great-grandmother, Lucia (Mariani) Carlini and her son, Giovannino Carlini, in 1910. I have never had a chance to look into him and might not for awhile but it could be a hint.

Thanks for such a great job. I just wanted to mention that your website is one of the best I have ever seen and the content is amazing. In fact, our son plans to apply for a Sons of Italy scholarship and he must write an essay about Italians in America. I have guided him to your site because he couldn't find any better place to do his research.

Ciao,
Cathy Youngblood
Gilbert, AZ

1920 : Motive Power and Car Department
Name	Position	Pay Rate
C. Acquafondata (Carmine)	Engine Watchman	$5.10/day
Terry DiTella	Laborer	$4.21/day
Ersenio Settefrati	Machinist Handyman	$4.83/day
Enrico Colaizzi	Laborer	$3.96/day
Cesare Colaizzi (son of Filippo and Berardina Ricci Colaizzi)	AB Repairman	$5.50/day
1920 : Maintenance of Way Department - Section Gang 17 East Ely
Frank Rossolo	Foreman	$137.50/mo
Dan Morelli	Laborer	$4.16/day
Ed DiSanza	Laborer	$4.16/day
P. Colaianni (probably Perigio Pasquale Colaianni)	Laborer	$4.00/day
G. Ludovico	Laborer	$4.16/day
1920 : Maintenance of Way Department - Section Gang 19 Lane City
D. Labate (Domenico)	Foreman	$130/mo
Joseph Labate	Laborer	$4.00/day
D. Carlini (possibly Domenico Maurizio Carlini)	Laborer	$4.00/day
A. Carlini (possibly Armando 'Herman' Carlini or could be Alfredo Carlini. There was an Alfredo Carlini who worked for the railroad from about 1909 to sometime after 1924. He was the brother of Carolina Santa Carlino Greco who lived in Pueblo, CO.)	Laborer	$4.00/day

There is my great granduncle, Teridano diTella. He worked for the NNRY from early April 2nd to middle June of 1920. Here is his 1920 job application. I don't know who the D. Carlini is. P. Colaianni is probably Perigio Pasquale Colaianni who was born in SPA in 1878 and appears in the 1920 census from East Ely. Domenico Maurizio Carlini appears in the WWI Draft Registration).

1923 : Motive Power and Car Department
Name	Position	Pay Rate
F. Carlini (Felice)	Car Repairman	$5.28/day
Fred Ricci	Repairman 2nd Class	$4.64/day
F. DiIullo (Filiberto)	Repairman 2nd Class	$4.64/day
John Mariani	CR Helper	$4.00/day
C. Acquafondata (Carmine)	Laborer	$3.04/day
L. Labate (Loreto)	Boilermaker Helper	$4.08/day
1923 : Maintenance of Way Department - Section Gang 14 East Ely
Frank Rossolo (Pasquale Iannacchione)	Foreman	$115/mo
Ed Disanza	Labor	$3.04/day
A. Carlini (possibly Armando 'Herman' Carlini or could be Alfredo Carlini)	Labor	$3.04/day

F. (Felice) Carlini and A. (Armando, later called Herman) Carlini, are my granduncles. There is quite a story about C. (Carmine) Acquafondata - click here for his page.

1924 : Motive Power and Car Department
Name	Position	Pay Rate
C. Colaizzi (Cesare) (son of Filippo and Berardina Ricci Colaizzi)	AB Repairman	$0.66/hr
F. Carlini (Felice)	Car Repairman	$0.66/hr
Fred Ricci	Car Repairman	$0.66/hr
F. DiTullo (Filiberto)	Car Reparman 2nd Class	$0.50/hr
E. Settefrati (Ersenio)	Mach. Handyman	$0.59/hr
Loreto Labate	Boilermaker Helper	$0.51/hr
B. Settefrati (Berardino)	Car Repairman Helper	$0.50/hr
P. DiCianno (possibily Umberto Pietro diCianno)	Car Repairman 2nd Class	$0.58/hr
A. Iannacchione (Amico)	Car Repairman Helpr	$0.50/hr
C. Acquafondata (Carmine)	Laborer	$0.39/hr
J. Mariani (John)	Hostler Helper	$0.48/hr
Filippo Rossi	Laborer	$0.39/hr
1924 : Maintenance of Way Department - Section Gang 14 East Ely
Frank Rossolo	Foreman	$130/mo
Ed DiSanza	Asst Foreman	$114/mo
1924 : Maintenance of Way Department - Section Gang 15 Lane
D. Labate (Domenico)	Foreman	$115/mo
Jas Labate	Laborer	$0.39/hr
Wm Labate	Laborer	$0.39/hr
D. Piccinini (not SPA, Domenico)	Laborer	$0.39/hr
1924: Maintenance of Structures Department
Jno DiFlorio	Carpenter Helper	$0.50/hr
1924: Operating Department
Ed DiSanza	Asst Janitor	$0.50/hr
E. Settefrati	Fireman	$5.71/day
1924: Storehouse Department
Edward DiSanza	Porter	$115/mo

Domenico Piccinini was not from SPA but he married Antonetta "Tonita" Labate.

Carmine Acquafondata last appeared in the payroll records for the first half of August. He worked 129 hours. He was killed on the 15th of August.

1928 : Motive Power and Car Department
Name	Position	Pay Rate
Henry Settefrati	Car Repairman Helper	$0.51/hr

1929 : Motive Power and Car Department
Name	Position	Pay Rate
Fred Carratelli	Car Repairman Helper	$4.35/day
1929 : Storehouse
Guido DiJullo (probably Gene DiIullo/Diullo, son of Filiberto)	Stockman	$4.00/day

1930 : Motive Power and Car Department
Name	Position	Pay Rate
B. Settefrati (Berardino)	Car Repairman Helper	$4.35/day
Herman Carlini	Car Repairman Helper	$4.35/day
1930 : Storeroom
Guido DiTullo	Clerk	$4.00/day

1931 : Transportation
Name	Position	Pay Rate
Mike Fondi	Messenger	$50/mo

1931 was the first year that Mike Fondi, son of Carmine Acquafondata, appeared in the payroll records.

1936 : Motive Power and Car Department
Name	Position	Pay Rate
Felix Carlini	Car Inspector	$5.76/day
Caesar Colaizzi (son of Filippo and Berardina Ricci Colaizzi)	AB Repairman	$5.76/day
A. Iannacchione	Car Repairman	$5.76/day
Fred Ricci	Car Repairman	$5.76/day
John Mariani	Car Repairman 2nd Class	$5.12/day
F. DiIullo	Car Repairman 2nd Class	$5.12/day
Herman Carlini	Boiler washer	$4.24/day
Amedeo diCianno	Laborer	$3.20/day
L. Labate	Car Inspector Cobre	$165/mo
1936 : Maintenance of Way Department - Section Gang 10 East Ely
E. Disanza	Foreman	$4.80/day
D. Disanza	Labor	$0.38/hr
M Colaizzi	Labor	$0.38/hr
M.K. Disanza	Labor	$0.38/hr
H. Rossolo	Labor	$0.38/hr
1936 : Transportation Department
L. Labate	Fireman	$6.08/day
R. Ricci	Janitor	$0.50/hr
1936: Accounting
Mike Fondi	Abstract Clerk	$145/mo

By 1936, Armando Carlini was known as Herman. John Mariani worked for the railroad his whole life. Mike Fondi is the son of Carmine Acquafondata. L. (Loreto) Labate is Lorry Labate's father. There is a photo of Caesar and Vincenzo "Jim" Colaizzi on the Carlini web page.

1939 : Motive Power and Car Department
Name	Position	Pay Rate
Herman Carlini	Machinist Helper	$4.75/day
Felix Carlini	Car Repairman Helper	$4.75/day
Charles Basso	Staty Fire (Stationary Fireman)	$3.60/day
O. Dilorenzo	Car Repairman Helper	$4.75/day
Amedeo diCianno	Boiler washer	$4.64/day
John Mariani	AB Repairman	$6.16/day
1939 : Maintenance of Way Department - Section Gang 10 East Ely
Ed Disanza	Foreman	$5.20\day
1939 : B&B Department
John diFlorio	Carpenter	$5.76/day

In 1939, my granduncles are still working there, as is John Mariani. My granduncle Herman (Armando) died in 1940 and Felix died in 1944.

1943 : Motive Power and Car Department
Name	Position	Pay Rate
Cesare Colaizzi (son of Filippo and Berardina Ricci Colaizzi)	Car Foreman	$235/mo
Felix Carlini	Car Inspector	$6.96/day
Fred Ricci	Car Inspector	$6.96/day
D. M DiSanza	Car Inspector	$6.96/day
Amico DiCianno	Car Inspector	$6.96/day
John Mariani	AB Repairman	$6.96/day
A. Iannacchione	Car Repairman	$6.96/day
F. DiIullo	Car Repairman	$6.96/day
Joseph Labate	Car Repairman	$6.96/day
V. Colaizzi (probably Vincenzo, son of Filippo and Berardina Ricci Colaizzi)	Car Repairman	$6.96/day
Amedeo DiCianno	Machinist Helper	$6.24/day
John DiFlorio	Car Repairman Helper	$5.55/day
Joe Colaizzi	Car Repairman Helper	$5.55/day
T. V. Carlini	Car Repairman Helper	$5.55/day
Marion DiIullo	Car Repairman Helper	$5.55/day
1943: Maintenance of Way Department - Section Gang 2 Shafter
Mike Frazzini	Foreman	$5.80/day
1943: Maintenance of Way Department - Section Gang 10 East Ely
Ed DiSanza	Foreman	$6.40/day
1943: Maintenance of Way Department - Section Gang 9 East Ely
U. P. DiCianno	Foreman	$6.00/day
V. M. Colaizzi (possibly Vincenzo Amico, son of Antonio and Rosa Maria Settefrati Colaizzi)	Asst Foreman	$5.46/day
1943 : Transportation Department
Cesare Colaizzi (son of Filippo and Berardina Ricci Colaizzi)	Unloading Foreman
C.O. Fondi	Clerk	$125/mo
Mike Fondi	Chief Clerk	$264/mo
A. P Fondi	Brakeman	$7.28/day
Amedeo DiCianno	Fireman	$7.28/day

During WWII, the Italians were kept working. Mike Frazzini appears on the payroll again and remains there through the latest year that I looked at, 1955.

1955 : Motive Power and Car Department
Name	Position	Pay Rate
Amedeo DiCianno	Machinist	$16.25/day
Cesare Colaizzi (son of Filippo and Berardina Ricci Colaizzi)	Car Foreman	$425/mo
Domenick DiSanza	Car Inspector	$15.91/day
Amico DiCianno	Car Inspector	$15.91/day
V. Colaizzi (possibly Vincenzo, son of Filippo and Berardina Ricci Colaizzi)	Car Inspector	$15.91/day
Fred Ricci	Car Inspector	$15.91/day
A. Iannacchione	Car Repairman	$15.91/day
John Mariani	AB Repairman	$15.91/day
H. P. Rossolo	Car Repairman	$15.91/day
Amedeo di Martino	Car Repairman	$15.91/day
D. Iannacchione	Car Repairman	$15.91/day
Antonio Colaizzi	Car Oiler	$15.05/day
1955 : Maintenance of Way Department - Section Gang 9 East Ely
Mike Frazzini	Foreman	$14.25/day
V. M. Colaizzi (possibly Vincenzo Amico, son of Antonio and Rosa Maria Settefrati Colaizzi)	Asst. Forman	$13.60/day
1955: Maintenance of Way Department - Section Gang 10 East Ely
Ed DiSamza	Foreman	$14.27/day
E. Settefrati	Yard Cleaner	$1.595/hr
1955: Transportation
L. Labate (Loreto)	Engineer	$17.15/day
1944: Accounting
Mike Fondi	Chief Clerk	$421.50/mo
Richard DiCianno	Rate Clerk	$361.00/mo

1955 gets into the modern day. We start to see sons of workers getting jobs on the NNRY. Mike Fondi has moved up to Chief Clerk in the Accounting Department.

NNRY Job Applications

In one box in the Vault at the museum, I found several hundred job applications dated from 1915 to 1920. The box was labeled "MP&C Personnel Records". They were separated with lettered tabs A-Z.

I went through them one by one looking for SPA names. Here are the ones I found. This list may not be complete. Each application was four pages. Because of time constraints, I only scanned the first page of most applications unless there seemed to be interesting information on the remaining pages. There are a few applications here where I scanned all four pages so you can see what kind of information was on each page. On the first page was date and place of birth, parents names, dependents names and job history. The second page has the applicants signature. The third page is the report of a physical examination done by the company surgeon. The fourth page is a summary page.

For me, personally, the most interesting find was a job application from my great-granduncle Teridano diTella. I knew that he returned to the US on 2 Mar 1920 going to his brother's home in Sacramento, CA. I never knew that he then travelled to Ely to work for the NNRY. The payroll records show that he worked there only from early April to mid June 1920. At some point after that, he returned to Dawson.

Click here for an index into all of these documents or I've got some specific links below.

I copied the job application forms for these men:

Filiberto DiIullo (filed under "T")

Vincenzo Colaianni

Ortenzio DiSanza (filed under "S")

Ersenio Settefrati

Ed DiSanza (filed under "S")

Terry DiTella (filed under "L")

Domenico Lombardi

Henry Lombardi

Loreto Labate

Incoronato Mariani (brother of John Mariani)

Joe Mazzocca

Gennaro Mariani

Agostino Morelli

Frank Mariani

Rocco Frazzini

Michele Friani

William W. Hogen (not SPA, he was the operator of the Clamshell that killed Carmine Acquafondata)

Oreste Colaizzi

Vincenzo Colaizzi (This application is for the Vincenzo Amico, shown in other records as "V. M." whose wife was Filomena. He was the son of Antonio and Rosa Maria Settefrati Colaizzi)

Andrea Colaizzi

Amico Colaianni

Felix Carlini (my granduncle)

Cesare Colaizzi (brother of Vincenzo and son of Filippo and Berardina Ricci Colaizzi)

Fred Carratelli

NNRY Filing System

A note about the filing system used by the NNRY. Correspondence was filed into folders. Each folder was labeled with a letter followed by a number. The interesting folders that I looked at were "A-3 Accidents - Personal Injuries" and "E-3 Employees - General". The folders were lettered A to Z with each topic given a letter/number combination. The boxes generally contained two years worth of correspondence. When a box was labeled "A to M", it meant folders whose letter/number combination started with that letter - it had nothing to do with first letter of person's last name. I found this system used on the earliest correspondence I could find (1924) to the middle 1950's.

1941 Dec 7 - Pearl Harbor

I came across these documents in a box labeled "General Superintendent's Correspondence - A to M - 1940 and 1941".

They are documents which detail the reaction of the NNRY management to the attack on Pearl Harbor by the Japanese. These documents give a insight into the different ways that Italians and Germans were treated compared to the Japanese. The NNRY went to great lengths to determine the citizenship status of the Italians and Germans who were kept from working for only a few days. The Japanese were not treated so nicely.

In the correspondence about the Italians, it lists each man along with the date of place of their naturalization.

Click here for an index into these documents.

Death of Carmine Acquafondata

One of my goals on this visit was to find out what really happened to Carmine Acquafondata. Amazingly, I found the complete file on his death, the settlement with his wife Francesca, and the hiring of his son, Mike. Look on the Acquafondata web page for the details. If you have already seen that page, here are direct links to the documents:

From box labeled "A to M - Jan 1, 1924 - Dec 31, 1925" containing folder labeled "A-3 Accidents: Personal Injuries".

1924 Death of Carmine Acquafondata

From box labeled "Correspondence A to N - 1930-1931 - Gen Mgr" containing folder labeled "E-3 Employees - General".

1931 Hiring of Mike Fondi

Giovanni 'John' Mariani's Life Story

The museum had copies of John's life story written by himself. The story is one of great interest to people from SPA. He remembered almost all of his ancestors and his story gives us a good example of what life was like for Italians in the early part of the 20th century. John was born in 1904 and died in 2008.

The story was written in four pieces. Here they are as four PDF files written in these four years:

1974 (This was scanned and converted from a typewritten copy)
1996 (a very large 4MB file containing images of a handwritten document)
2000 From an interview by Glenn Terry on 2 March 2000 (This was scanned and converted from a typewritten copy)
2004 (a large 1MB file containing images of a handwritten document)

For more about John and a photo, look at my Ely, NV web page.

Some emails:

Date: Sat, 08 Sep 2007 20:44:02 +0000
From: Cathy Youngblood <roothunter

azyoungbloods.us>
Subject: [SanPietroAvellana] Re: Sampietresi in East Ely, Nevada

Mark,

It looks like you had a fruitful trip to Ely. I haven't even begun to touch the information you have put up from your research at the Museum and already, I have a couple of tidbits to add.

I read most of the 1974 typewritten story of Giovanni "John" Mariani's life. What a treasure trove of information. He writes about finding a girl, Viola Carlini, who was the daughter of Elisabetta Mariani. Elisabetta was the older sister of my g-grandmother. I am posting a photograph of Viola Carlini probably at about the time of the courtship. Viola, who was a first cousin to my grandmother, went on to marry Felice Pace and they had quite a few children but I do not think they lived in SPA or that Felice was from there.

Thanks for such a great job. I just wanted to mention that your website is one of the best I have ever seen and the content is amazing. In fact, our son plans to apply for a Sons of Italy scholarship and he must write an essay about Italians in America. I have guided him to your site because he couldn't find any better place to do his research.

Ciao,
Cathy Youngblood
Gilbert, AZ

Other bits and pieces

There were many personal injury reports. I didn't scan all of them but I took a few notes where genealogy information was shown:

1925	Accident of Henry Cioffi, 19y, foreman: Frank Rossolo, father: Vincent Cioffi, lives at 142 25th St. Ogden, UT. Crushed finger. Accident report shows first initial as "A".
1925	Accident of Fred Ricci, 2 May 1925, parents: Antonio and Filomena Ricci, in SPA.
1925	Accident of Loreto Labate, 28y, uncle Dominic Labati, Lane City, NV.
1928	Frank Mariani, multiple puncture wounds of face and hands caused by explosion of cap, occurred on RIP track.
1928	Filiberto DiIullo, 40y, fracture of right zygoma, occured on RIP track, foreman: Bob Read
1929	Herman Carlini, laceration of forehead over right eye
1934	Mike Fondi, 21y, Dropped arch bar on right foot, fractured great toe
1935	Mike Iannacchione, laceration of upper lip, occurred on RIP track, wife Clotilde in SPA
1941	V(incenzo) Colaizzi, wife Antimina Colaizzi, witnesses: A. Iannacchione, Fred Ricci, C(esare) Colaizzi, and Mario Colaizzi. (This Vincenzo is the father of Mario and wife of Antimina, son of Filippo and Berardina Ricci Colaizzi).
1941	O. DiLorenzo, occurred on RIP track
1942	Mario Colaizzi, 27y, father: V. Colaizzi, mother: Antimina Colaizzi, foreman: C. Colaizzi
1952	Fred Ricci, 55y, Car Inspector, nail punctured foot
1953	Anthony N. DeLorenzo, 23y, KCC Brakeman On 27 Feb 2008, Christine DiCianno-McDonald <cmccabecarolina.rr.com> wrote: This is my Uncle, the brother of my mom Josephine (DeLorenzo) DiCianno. He was the youngest sibling in my mom's family and the only son. You are correct that he worked at Nevada Northern Railroad. He was married two times, passed away several years ago, and is survived by 2 sons, Christopher Matson and Patrick DeLorenzo. I have lost track of both over the years.
1953	John DiFlorio, 65y, Car Repairman Helper, amputation of part of right thumb, witness, G.V. Ricci

Misc:

1925	William J. McMaster's father M.J. McMaster signed a Minor's Release form for his son. The witness was Mike Fondi.
1932	Memo from Hickey, 5 minutes of non-operation in respect to "my late esteemed friend, J.E. Lovejoy". J.E.L. had a heart attack on 15 Jan and died 2 Feb. Lovejoy signed all the paperwork on the death of Carmine Acquafondata.
1945	Vincenzina Mariani, resigned to return to school, hired 25 Jan 1945, resigned 25 Aug 1945. This is the daughter of John Mariani.

Old Photos

Here are old photos of people whose names you have seen on this page. Most of them are from other pages on this web site and I've gathered them here.

From my Carlini web page.

1920 Ely, NV
Edmondo diSanza (brother of Letizia) Felice Carlini
Letizia diSanza (wife of Felice)
Felice Carlini was my granduncle.

From my Carlini web page.

1933 Ely, NV

Back of photo : ** means I can't read the word (the photo had been glued into an album and parts of the album page are still glued to the back of the photo). East Ely, NV. My comments in parenthesis.

** (first) Gruppo
1. Felice Carlini
2. Letizia Carlini (wife of Felice)
3. Cesare Colaizzi
4. Dora Carlini (daughter of Felice and Letizia)
5. Grace Carratelli - no paesana (wife of Federico)
6. Amelia DiFlorio (sister of Letizia and Edmundo. a diSanza)
Norma Carlini (daughter of Felice and Letizia)

From my Carlini web page.

1933 Ely,NV

Back of photo : ** means I can't read the word (the photo had been glued into an album and parts of the album page are still glued to the back of the photo). East Ely, NV. My comments in parenthesis.

2nd Gruppo
1. ** Norma (daughter of Felice and Letizia)
2. Cesare Colaizzi (brother of Vincenzo)
3. Felice Carlini (AKA Felix)
4. Armando Carlini (brother of Felice, AKA Herman)
5. Giovanni DiFlorio (husband of Amelia, AKA John)
6. Alfredo Carratelli (Federico or Fred, husband of Grace)
7. **enzo Colaizzi (most likely Vincenzo, he would be the brother of Cesare)

From my Carlini web page.

Armando Carlini, brother of Felice.
My granduncle.

From my Carlini web page.

Dennis Diullo's grandfather Filiberto Diullo and my grand uncle Felix Carlini.
(photo sent to me by Dennis Diullo)
Note the building at the right rear, the East Ely Depot.

From my Carlini web page.

Armando Carlini
I think this is one of the work buildings in the NNRY Ely yard.

From my Carlini web page.

Car 605 - Armando Carlini is on the left

From my Carlini web page.

Armando Carlini is kneeling second from right

From my Ely, NV web page.
Photo from the album owned by Filiberto diIullo, from his grandson, Dennis Diullo.

John Mariani on the left. Silvana Ricci thinks the man on the right is Amico "Mike" Iannacchione.

From my Ely, NV web page.

Engineer Loreto Labate on the No. 40 of the Nevada Northern Railway.
No. 40 was retired about 1940 shortly after a major overhaul. It was saved from the scrap heap by being hidden by the workers. This photo is probably from a fan trip some time in the 1950's or 1960's.

Sent to me by Rayna Valentine

Date: Sat, 08 Sep 2007 22:37:47 +0000
From: raynavalentine <<raynav8

outlook.com>>
Subject: [SanPietroAvellana] Re: Sampietresi in East Ely, Nevada

Hello, Mark,

Attached is a photo of my Grandmother taken with "the Fondis" which I believe was taken during one of Grandma's trips to Ely to visit Rosie and Uncle Al. Could be your relatives?

You're right about the Guido DiJullo being Uncle Gene. He did work for the railroad in Ely late 1920's/early 30, and is undoubtedly also the Guido DiTullo listed as a clerk in the storage room for 1930. Grandma always complained that all the Americans thought their Italianate capital "I" was a "T" and that her sister's last name was sometimes misread as DiTullo just like my mother's second name being as Tula instead of Iola.

The picnic photo I have showing an Ely picnic with Settefratti family probably includes one of the men listed on the railroad's rosters.
I've attached it, also.

Rayna

Sent to me by Rayna Valentine

From Rayna:

Based on a 1930 census from Ely, the Settefrati in the photo DiIullo - Settefrati Outing are:

Ersenio Settefrati, born 1893 SPA, immigrated 1914
Santa Settefrati, born 1894, immigrated 1920
Lizena (in the census Lavina) Settefrati (daughter), born 1914 in SPA, immigrated 1920
Ginia Settefrati, (daughter) born 1926 in NV

They lived a couple of doors away from the Henry Lombardi family, wife Jeanie, children Consettina, Ida and Henry..

Jun 2010 posting in my guestbook by Sue Branscomb:

My grandfather and grandmother, Ersenio and Santa (Aquafondata) Settefrati. My mother is Gina Marie Settefrati Forman. She is 84 years old and lives in Elko, Nevada. I have some photos I will provide the website if you would like. My aunt was Lesina Settefrati (Lusetti). She was born in San Pietro but my mother was born in Ely, Nevada. Ersenio worked for the railroad. My mom knows most of the folks on the website. Looking forward to hearing from you. Thanks

Jul 2010 email from Sue:

I thought I would let you know that I believe the small child sitting near Santa Settefrati is my mother. Lisena and Gina were Santa and Ersenio's only children. My mom and her sister were approx. 12 years apart since my aunt was born in Italy and my mother was born in US after my grandmother came over. In fact in one of the photos I will send, my grandmother and aunt and still in Italy and my grandfather is in US and they blended two photos together. If you take a close look you can see the difference in background, floor coverings etc. in photo.

Photo from Loreto Labate's son Lorry.

Loreto Labate and Fred Ricci

The following photos were from the photo album of Filiberto DiIullo. I scanned them on a visit to his grandson, Dennis Diullo. I don't have dates or any other information. I had received them in 2005 but never put them on my web site before now.

Who are these men?

Jolene Gardner, the granddaughter of Carmine Acquafondata, helped identify some of these men. In Jan of 2015, she wrote "Here, on your pictures on the East Ely Depot web page, on the picture that says "Who are these men?". Well I think I have their names. Top row -- left to right is Jim Colaizzi, Amico Di Cianno, unknown then Cesare Colaizzi, unknown. Bottom row -- unknown, Fred Ricci, Angelo Cordoni, Mike Iannacchione."

"I went to two different people to get the names of the man in the middle sitting on the chair is
Mr Ricci so I went and talked to his son Jerry Ricci and then I went and talked to Miss DiCianno and she told me the
rest. Her dad is the second man standing left to right. Any way, I printed the picture out and just kept looking at it and
then I knew one of the guys which was Mr Ricci so there you go. I guess if you look at it long enough it will come to
you."

These photos are also from the album of Filiberto DiIullo. Unknown wreck, unknown year. "Wrecking Crane A" is still owned by the Nevada Northern Railway Museum. I saw it on my 2007 trip.