Heritage Project

LRSCC presents an excerpt from the Italian Heritage project of the Italian-American Club of Greater Lansing.  The project, funded by a grant awarded from Michigan Humanities Council (MHC) was one of only 30 selected for recognition at the 30th Anniversary celebration of the MHC.  The result is a special legacy, a record of the settlement history of Lansing's Italian families.  The project included workshops on geneology and oral history, assisted by experts from the Michigan Library and Historical Museum.  A publication of photographs and anectdotes was produced to ensure that this proud history is not lost.

The Lansing Regional Sister Cities Commission congratulates all who participated in developing the Italian Heritage project.  We were pleased to support the Italian American Club's initiative to obtain resources from Michigan Humanities Council to complete this work.

The Story of Italian Immigration to Lansing

Of course, the first Italian to arrive was Christopher Columbus, who discovered America in 1492. Centuries later, many Italians started to immigrate to America.  Most of the immigrants arrived between 1890 and 1930. By 1930, over 4.5 million Italians had arrived.  The flow of immigrants was the primary reason for the spectacular growth of the cities and industries in the U.S. during that time.  This is true of Lansing.  Italians began arriving in 1891, but most of them came between 1900 and 1930.

Perils of the Voyage to America

Most of the immigrants from Italy entered at Ellis Island. Julia Cipparrone, coming to America to meet and marry her husband, said,  "We dropped to our knees on the deck of the ship and prayed when we saw the Statue of Liberty".

However, for some staying here was not certain.  Immigrants had to pass medical inspection. Whole shiploads were returned after reaching New York if there was a contagious disease, like cholera, on the ship.  Sometimes families were split up.  If one member was sick, that one might be deported while the others stayed in the U.S.  Many passengers had to travel "steerage" class.  This meant they were packed into below-deck compartments, with only the food they brought with them to eat, and in very unsanitary conditions for the 2 to 3 week trip across the Atlantic Ocean.  Some became sick en route.  Gina Fama Smith said her mother "was terrified she would be sent back if the doctors found her unhealthy".  

In 1918, Giuseppe Caruso sent money for passage to his two sons to join him in America.  However, World War I was starting and he thought he had better go back to Italy to be with his family not knowing that his sons had already set sail for America.  When his sons Nicholas, age 16, and Frank, age 22, arrived with no one to meet them, relatives here took them in. 

World War II brought Veronica and Vincent Novello together.  She was a student in Poland when the Germans gathered them up and sent them to Germany to work in the factories.  Vincent was in the Allied Forces and was captured by the Germans and sent to a Prisoner of War camp in Germany.  The lovely Veronica saw the handsome Vincent in the camp.  She would bring hard bread and sneak it through the fence to Vincent.  After the liberation, Vincent and Veronica were married and eventually fulfilled the dream of joining Vincent's father in Lansing.
 
When immigration was at its highest point, quota restrictions were put on immigrants from Europe.  In 1921, Maria Dionise Fata sailed to America with 5 small children and was detained for 2 weeks at Ellis Island.  They were closing the country to any more immigrants. They were finally allowed to stay and join husband and father Angelo in Lansing.

What is "chain migration"?

As families settled in Lansing, other relatives also followed.  Many were lured by friends and relatives already in Lansing.  They were told of the good business opportunities and life in Lansing.  Sometimes they were offered places to stay or money for passage.  Each family would send for a sister or brother or cousin, who would then send for another family member.  This is called "chain migration".

It may have been that the immigrants were lonely for their countrymen. In some cases, Italian immigrants were isolated.  Anna Perrone, who was well educated in Italy, arrived in the Lansing area to find that she had no one to talk to except her daughter and husband.  These situations in the early years may have increased the desire to have relatives come to Lansing.

It also encouraged the immigrants to learn the language.  Nena Sidoti yearned for an education to learn English.  She took her children, ages 3,7, and 9 to night school with her.  They had to walk a half-mile, then take the streetcar downtown, then walk to the school.  After class, they often had to carry the littlest child home.  

Most of the early Italians in Lansing were from Cosenza and St. Ippolito.  Through the years, Italians from all parts of Italy have settled here.  Today, most of the Italian Americans in Lansing can trace their family heritage to cities and villages in Calabria.

Many generations of these early families have remained in Lansing.  Gaetano DeRose arrived in Lansing in 1891 and may be the first Italian to settle here.  In 1892, Ippolito Spagnuolo arrived.  Today, Charles Paul Spagnuolo, who lives in Lansing, is the great grandson of Gaetano and Ippolito.  

How the Italian immigrants helped Lansing grow

The early immigrants opened businesses in Lansing.  Generally, the shops sold fruits and vegetables, or candy and tobacco, or ice cream.  Some of the immigrants were skilled tradesmen in Italy.  They opened shops as a shoemaker, barber, tailor or iron worker.  Due to the language barrier, some men were laborers in the automotive or other industries until they could learn the language and find other jobs that helped them create a better life for their families.  
   
Today, there are several thousand families of Italian descent in every business, industry, and government service in Lansing.

Traditions in Lansing

Each year, about 1500 Italian Americans in mid-Michigan attend the Festival of St. Ippolito on the second Sunday in August, the same day that the Festival is held in St. Ippolito, Italy.

Lansing families of Italian descent are proud of their heritage. They honor God, Family, and Country.  They preserve their love of good food and wine, music, and art, and pass it on to the next generation, always reminding them of their Italian blood.  Grace Pizzonia Andrews repeats the quotation that expresses how many of us feel, "Open my heart and you shall see, engraved upon it 'Italy'. "

These stories are taken from some of the stories in the "Book of Memories" in the Capital Area District Library in Lansing, and the Library of Michigan Genealogy Section in Lansing.

Surnames of Italian Immigrants to Lansing
Adamo	Fabiano	Petrovello
Baldino	Faccio	Pizzonia
Belsito	Faggion	Prandini
Benvenuto	Fama	Proco
Caputo	Faraone	Raffaelli
Cardullo	Fata	Rassizi
Caruso	Filice	Rochetti
Cascarelli	Ghinelli	Rose
Castellani	Giangardella	Salustro
Castronovo	Greco	Sidoti
Cicinelli	Izzo	Sirangelo
Cicorelli	LaMacchia	Sorbo
Cipparrone	Levato	Spadafora
Colizzi	Lombardi	Spadafore
Coscarelli	Magnotta	Spagnuolo
Cotti	Marazita	Spaniola
Covello	Merendino	Spaniolo
DeLuca	Nardo	Stornant
DeMarco	Novello	Tallarico
DeRose	Occhiuto	Tignanelli
Diamante	Oriando	Treviso
DiMeo	Panetta	Tumminello
Dionise	Perrone	Verderese
Drago	Petrarca	Vetere

For more information about these families see the "Book of Memories" at the Capital Area District Library or the genealogy section of the Library of Michigan.