Famiglia di Benestante
July 18, 2009
It's the Seventeenth AnnualBenestante Family Picnic!
Sunday,August 2, 2009. (Rain or shine!)
2:00 pm - 6:00 pm
Al and Carol Malley's, 9805 S. Lemont Rd.
(1/4 mile south of the I-55 Lemont Rd. Exit)
Look for the BALLNS!
Bring * a dish to share * grandchildren * memorabilia * your stories!
To help coordinate menus, please RSVP by Weds. July 29 to Diane (630/325-3298) or Carol (630/308-9922, ).
- For safety, please park in the area in front of the house, instead on the driveway.
Unearthed: The Ellis Island records of Grampa and his brother Rocco
A search of Ellis Island's website has turned up two remarkable items: Grampa'srecord of entry, and his brother Rocco's record of entry. (Click on photos to enlarge, then find highlighted text.)
Grampa arrived in New York on June 5, 1903, coming from his hometown of Gorgoglione. He then traveled to 391 S. Desplaines in Chicago to stay with his brother-in-law, Antonio Briano, who paid Antonio's passage. Though the ship's log says Grampa was married, he seems to have come by himself, since no one else from his town was listed next to his name in the logbook.
Rocco "Benestonte" arrived on April 11, 1904. He came from Gorgoglione with three buddies. All four were unmarried, all paid their own way. Like Antonio, they headed to 391 S. Desplaines.
Grampa was 31 when he arrived, and was listed as a "farm laborer." Rocco was 25 and was listed as a "country man." Neither could read or write.
(I couldn't locate an entry for their brother, James.
Nor could I find one for Gramma.)
More details at
Stories of Grampa and Gramma
Gramma and her first husband lived in New York. They had four children. When they separated, he took two of their children, and Gramma took the other two (Rosie and George).
Gramma and Grampa Benestante first lived on Taylor Street in Chicago, then moved to Kenneth Avenue, which was rustic at that time. They raised chickens, they canned preserves, and they made Italian sausage, storing it in barrels of lard.
They also raised a pig, which the kids loved as a pet. Elsie said she even used to ride it.
The small grove of cherry trees in the far corner of their lot grew cherries that were too sour to eat.
Gram loved figs, graham crackers, tea, licorice (anise), prunes, dates…and lemon drops. She took prescription pills that looked like M&Ms but fortunately were bitter. (We kids learned that the hard way!)
Gramma used to sing us songs from her girlhood: "Lazy Mary," "O Sole Mio." And she'd dance and sing the "Darrandell," swaying from foot to foot, swishing a shawl from side to side behind her.
She would often give us kids a nickel or dime, unwrapping them from a knotted handkerchief, and making a big show of standing sideways and palming them off to us "on the sly."
Grampa was a hod carrier by profession. That's where he got the cement-mixing tub that he used in crushing grapes for his home-made wine. For that task, he'd wear hip boots. Sometimes the boys would help.
He was proud of his wine. During prohibition, he'd distribute it free to neighbors, because giving alcoholic beverages away wasn't illegal.
A friend once gave Grampa some wine that fell short of Grampa's standards. Grampa snorted, "I givva hima gooda wina, he givva me wina lika what I usa to washa out the wina barrels."
Elsie told us that Grampa was very stern with his sons. During dinner, he would rest a belt on his lap. Elsie used to say, "I saw a lot of blood when I was young, though none of it was mine." But he was stern with her, too: about going out with boys. He'd chase them away.
Italian in One Easy Lesson
Here are some words and phrases of Gramma's,
as I recall them. Pepper your speech with these beauties and you'll sound like a real "PaiZAN"!
whyOHN / boy
whyOHtuh / girl
mahREED / husband, wife ("married")
kerSPELL / bread dough deep-fried in olive oil
skaWORTCH / witch
muss / mouth, face
skash / slap, hit
skash ooMUSS / "I slappa you face!"
stahta CHEET / "Stoppa the mouth!"
booKOWDS / bathroom ("backhouse")
ooKOWDS / pants
ooLEET / pants
pihSHA ooLEET / wet the pants
brootch / lice
imbriAG / inebriated
imbriAGoh / boozer
stroosh / wash with a wet rag
keckyaRONE / chatterbox
gooGOOTS / cucumber (A neighbor with a big nose was called "Joe GooGOOTS")
Grampa came from the town of Gorgoglione, Gramma came from a farm in the province of Cosenza.
Gorgoglione.
Cosenza
Find map at To zoom it, double-right-click (or left). To scroll, drag.