Posted on October 31, 2010
Biagio Magelli made one trip back to Italy nearly six years after he first set foot in America. His father, Angelo (born in 1853) passed away in 1912. The following year, Biagio made a brief return trip, ostensibly to settle his father’s affairs. Perhaps because he was his father’s only son, that duty fell to him. His stay, it is believed, was only a few days. Having married some 15 months before to then 16-year-old Mary Marata, the 22-year-old husband hurried home to Illinois. The Nieuw Amsterdam ferried him from Boulogne-Sur-Mer to New York. He arrived on Ellis Island June 2, 1913. Young and traveling on a shoestring, Biagio was likely among the 2,200 third-class passengers; another 440 traveled in first and 246 in second class. The ship regularly made the rounds from Rotterdam to New York under the Dutch flag. When he departed, Biagio left behind two younger sisters, Concetta (1893-1960) and Cleofe (1896-1957). Can you add any details to the story?