2020-03-01

The continuing story of Biagio Russo (1897-1962 ?)

When Chuck showed me his family tree around 1998, it seemed pretty extensive to me. That was before I more fully understood genealogy research. Here is his work from 1971. (Click on the image to view it better.)


Since then, I quizzed him and members of his family, adding vital statistics to the tree. I also developed the hope to include at least the parents and siblings of those who married into the family.

The Family of John Iacano and Angela Russo

Most importantly, Chuck documented his grandparents John Iacano (born Giovanni Iacono) and Angela Russo (born Angela Russo Femminella). Recently, I've placed the family in the 1940 U.S. Federal Census of Cleveland and at the address of 3473 East 114th Street. This census is key to documenting the family, since it was the last opportunity to find them together. The oldest daughter, Frances, had already married in 1935, Grandmother Angela would die in July 1940 after removal of a liver cyst and subsequent internal hemorrhage, Grandfather John would die on 20 October 1944 in the East Ohio Gas explosion, and youngest son Joe Sam would die heroically on 9 February 1945 in the last offensive against the Nazi Wehrmacht at the border between Luxembourg and Germany.



The work in the 1940 Census revealed the families that held the spouses of Chuck's uncles and aunts. Surrounding his mothers' family of 1940, I found...
  • The newly married John Ventura and Frances Iacano couple living with his sister Josephine and brother-in-law Joseph Cancilla. Their address is 3368 East 126th Street in Cleveland.
  • The future first husband of Rose Iacano, Tony Calire, living at home with his parents Joseph and Rosalind Carlire and four siblings (Jack, Josephine, Charles and Santina). The address is 4669 East 146th Street in Cleveland.
  • Rose's second husband Charles Derry living with his parents Charles Hercule and Jennie M Derry and sibling Dorothy and her new husband Max Gast. The address is 13507 St. Clair Avenue in Cleveland. His estranged wife Leona Reese-Derry claimed his residence as 9601 Lockyear Avenue, with her and their three children (Dorothy, Lois, and Shirley).
    Separately, I found Charles Derry's other sister Ethel married to George Morton in Elyria OH and housing her father-in-law Oliver Morton.
  • Uncle Frank's future wife Frances Nanak at home with her parents Pavel (Paul) and Eva Nanak and her three siblings (Paul, Anna, and John). The family name is spelled "Manak" in the enumeration. Their address is 2372 East 28th Street in Cleveland.
  • Uncle Jimmie's future wife Frances LoPiccolo living with her widowed father Christopher and her eight siblings (John, Sue, Jennie, Mary, Grace, Rose, Jack, and Maryanne). The enumeration spans two pages, shown here in one image. Their address is 2521 East 23rd Street in Cleveland.
  • Uncle John's future wife Florence Pounds at home in Lamesa, Dawson County TX with her parents Robert and Nannie Pounds and her brother Olan.
  • Aunt Tanny's future husband Ralph Coschignano (later Cosiano) at home with his parents Pasquale (giving the nickname Patsy) and Martha and his brothers Frank and Patrick. They resided at 2390 East 38th Street in Cleveland.

Over the 80 years since the 1940 census, Cleveland has changed a lot. Most of those residences have been razed and replaced by subsidized housing or light industry. This map shows the Cleveland residences plotted over a 1994 aerial photograph of the city.


Other Iacano Families

Chuck's information about the family extended back to his Sicilian great-grandparents. His grandfather's parents were Francesco Iacono (which his sources said was spelled "Gacomo") and Francesca Rovetto.


His sources named two great uncles and a great aunt who migrated to South America. Another great uncle, Emmanuele, settled in Cleveland. His family may still have members living in Cleveland, but Chuck's family is no longer in touch with them. My research in Cleveland reveals several other potential relatives with similar family names. However, no information links them to this Iacano family.

  • One of these families is the Louis Iacano family. In 1940, Louis was 57 (born in Italy before April 1883). His wife, Jenny, was 46 and also born in Italy. One 20-year-old daughter was living with them, Carrie, who was born in New York. Two sons, Joe and Angelo aged 13 and 12 respectively and both born in Ohio, were also part of this family. Carrie's birth in New York makes it relatively unlikely that they are related. This couple might have married as early as 1910 and as late as 1919.
  • The census includes the Michael "Iacfnofno" family. In 1940, Michael was 45 (born in Italy before April 1895). His wife Clara Iacfnofno, age 42, was also born in Italy. The family included a son and a daughter: Lawerence, 16, and Mary, 15, both born in Ohio. This couple's marriage might have been between 1914 and 1923.
  • I've searched for a marriage of Louis Iacano, with no result. I had presumed that Louis and Jenny married before emigrating from Italy, but I felt it worthwhile to explore this as a chance. 
    • I've also searched for a marriage of their eldest daughter Carrie. No results show the name "Carrie," and results for variants of "Carol" do not include Louis Iacano or Jenny (with any surname) as parents.
    • I searched also for a marriage of Joe Iacano with parents Louis and Jenny, without result.
    • I searched for a marriage of Angelo Iacano with parents Louis and Jenny. Also without result.
  • Searches for any with the family name "Iacfnofno" produce no results. I presume the name was mis-written by the census enumerator. Perhaps it should have been simply "Iacano" or a variant, perhaps as varied as "LoIacano," which is a family in Cleveland. However, neither searches for "Lawrence Iac*" nor "Lawrence LoIac*" produce results.
The Emmanuele Iacano family was indeed present in the 1940 Census.

Other Russo Families

Angelina Russo-Iacano's siblings included Biagio, Joseph, Tony, and Caroline. The information for Joseph, Tony, and Caroline are straightforward.

Other Blogna Families

Angelina Russo-Iacano's parents, Vincent Russo and Rosa Blogna-Russo also immigrated to Cleveland, as did at least one Aunt (Anna Blogna).
...to be continued in a later edit.