Lena Manfra DeMeglio

I guess you are probably thinking here we go again it’s just another story about someone’s roots. You’re right; however I uncovered some interesting facts about my heritage. When I was growing up, Mom and Dad would tell me facts about their family and at that time like most children I listened, but it really didn’t seem so important. Well, I’m glad some of what they told me stayed with me. I decided to research my family’s roots in 1994. So, I went to the best source of all, my Mom, Lena DeMeglio. Mom loved her father dearly and told me he died when she was only 3 years old, but she never forgot her Dad especially since her Mom talked of him often through the years. Her Father, Alfredo Manfra (born Sept. 13, 1885) son of Alfonso and Orsola (Pellecchia) Manfra left Avellino, Italy a town not to far from Naples, we think around 1904. She said he came through Ellis Island, but I could never find out the name of the ship. He lived at Constantinopli Street which Mom always told me …He came from a long line of butchers as I later learned from all the information I was able to obtain through my research. Grandfather Alfredo settled in the city of Orange, New Jersey and worked for a family owned grocery/butcher shop. Once he saved enough money he purchased land down the street from where he worked and had two buildings constructed. One building had a store on the first floor and 2 apartments above it The other building had a store front with a 3 room apartment in the rear and the second floor had a big apartment for his wife and family to be. The new buildings also had a driveway between them with garages. It seems Alfredo had the foresight for an expanded family and a place for another business.

Alfredo met and married Assunta Nevola (October 23, 1910) who also came from Avellino, Italy and lived at Constantinopli Street. They both came from the same town and actually lived across the street and down the street from one another; however they didn’t know one another until they met in Orange, New Jersey. Alfredo’s address was 89 Constantinopli Street and Assunta’s address was 64 Constantinopli Street. (I was able to find out the addresses from copies of their original birth certificates I ordered from records I viewed at the Latter Day Saints Family Center) Assunta, (born February 27, 1893) daughter of Constantino and Concetta (Giovane) Nevola left Avellino (Mom always said when she was 15) in 1908, however I have not been able to determine that since I could not find her passport or locate the ship she came to Ellis Island on or any records of the family who sponsored her in the United States.

By 1919 Mom had two older brothers, one younger brother and another baby was on the way. But 1919 did not start off as a good year for the Manfra’s since Alfredo became ill in January suffering from pneumonia from which he did not recover. He died January 14, 1919 at the age of 33 and left behind a young wife of 26 with four children ranging in ages from 7 to 1. Now faced with no husband and all these children, what was Grandmother Assunta to do? Well, she did what any Italian woman would at that time who was alone in America. She took over the business and became known as Assunta “Butch” by all who knew her in the neighborhood. Grandmother Assunta gave birth to a girl on April 30, 1919 and named her Alfreda after her deceased husband. So she now had Alfonso 7, Emilio 5, Orsolina 3 (my Mom), Carlo 1 and Alfreda.

Now that she was a widow with a business she was sought after by many young men in the town even though she had 5 children. Assunta apparently was a lonely woman even with 5 children since she didn’t have a man to provide for the family. I guess her having to raise her children and working in the butcher shop was difficult, So Assunta accepted the marriage proposal of Antonio Tarantino and they were married January 22, 1920, one year after the death of her beloved husband Alfredo Manfra. As Mom’s brothers got older they became butchers and worked in the butcher shop. Those times were difficult and Mom didn’t talk too much about it. She did tell me that she was taken out of school and her Mother sent her to Wilfred Academy of Hairdressing to become a Hairdresser. The other store became a Beauty Shop where Mom worked to help support the family. But with all that happened to my Mom during her childhood she was loving, caring, protective and as wonderful as a Mom could be. I miss her and will till the end of time……