Mauro Di Giovanni Mystery

[Rodeo]

Mauro Di Giovanni (b. 1873) emigrated from Italy to New York in 1903, followed by his wife, Angela, and three children in 1905. A fourth child was born to them in New York in 1906, the address cited on that birth certificate being 444 Metropolitan Avenue.

Mauro Di Giovanni drowned in a boating mishap on the Hudson River between 1906 (following the birth of his fourth child) and 1911 (when his widow remarried).

However, I can’t find a death certificate for him in either the New York City or New York State online death indexes covering those years, despite using every permutation of the surname Di Giovanni. Why would this be?

Presumably, his body was recovered and his wife duly informed of his death. In the event that his body wasn’t recovered, could a death certificate still be issued?

Maritime accidents on the Hudson River, particularly involving steamboats, were not uncommon in that era. Is there an exhaustive list of these held in an archive somewhere?

Any assistance would be most appreciated.

Many thanks.

Cheers,

Rodeo

[oldohiohome]

I'll look at this later if I get a chance. Meanwhile, did you try looking by first name? If so, try Mario (which is how I read it at first) or Maurice, or anything else you can think of.

Also, he died after the conception of their last child, not necessarily after its birth.

edit to add:
Have you found his widow and children in 1910? How was the name spelled, and is that any help?

[Rodeo]

Hi Oldohiohome

Many thanks for your reply.

Yes, I did try various permutations of Mauro -- Moro, Morro, Mario, Maurice and Morris -- with similarly no result.

If the father was deceased, wouldn't it be indicated on a US birth certificate? It merely cites his name, age (32) and address. The actual informant on the birth certificate wasn't Mauro or Angela, the parents, but rather a third party (presumably a friend or neighbour) because I suspect they didn't speak adequate English.

Cheers,

Rodeo

[Rodeo]

Oops! I forgot to add that the family is not recorded in the 1910 US Census.

Angela (and two of her children with Mauro) are recorded in the 1915 US Census in the household of her second husband.

Cheers,

Rodeo

[oldohiohome]

If the father was deceased, wouldn't it be indicated on a US birth certificate?

I don't know for sure.

It merely cites his name, age (32) and address.

If they listed his age and address I would figure he was still alive.

As for missing, presumed dead, see:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Declared_death_in_absentia#United_States
--> 7 years time, which matches my recollection of the common understanding about declaring someone dead.

Angela re-married in less than 7 years, so she must have known Mauro was dead and, I would think, be able to prove it. Or that they were divorced. In other words, that she was free to marry.

I can't find him either.

I wonder if these people would have any suggestions.
https://italiangen.org/databases/

They indexed the NYC vital records long before they were freed up and put on line. Their contact information is at the bottom of the page.

[MaureeninNY]

I think I've finally found the family in 1910:
Metropolitan Ave. Brooklyn
Digmare Angelo  35
 Mary Angelo  12
 Tessie Angelo  10
 Tony Angelo  7
 Miller Angelo  3

 

Maureen

[oldohiohome]

The given name and surname was reversed, Angela became Angelo, and Digiavani became Digmare.

Familysearch isn't working for me today, here is the link anyway.
https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M54T-LDW

or search for Digmare Angelo at ancestry.com.

She's widowed, so Mauro died before the census was taken. She and the older three children arrived in 1906.

[Tees]

Hi,

What about this: 1795224   DiGiovanni   Marianno   55 y   Dec   25   1905   39208   Manhattan   D215

Or he could be indexed in New Jersey.

My great-grandfather worked as a ship engineer in the port in Brooklyn but he died on other side-in Jersey City--another port.

How did I find out is through the cemetery records and headstone on my great grandparents' grave.

Perhaps it would be helpful if you could check cemetery records they will tell you where to find his death certificate and which state it was. You can ask for the certificate number and date of his death.

Sometimes they will be kind enough to help you out?

That's how i found my great great grandparents via my grandfather's oldest sister that we don't know about. Poor baby she was buried with them.

Kind regards,

Tees

[Tees]

Another thought for you to ponder about: is it possible that he ran away from the family? Some immigrant fathers found it hard to live in a new country and they would return home to Italy.

On the US birth certificate, we do not indicate whether a parent is deceased or not. Same with the marriage certificate.

Your best bet is to look up the cemetery records saving you all the headaches, I think.

Do you know when his wife passed away? Then, you can order her death certificate and it will tell you where she was buried. You probably would find him there?

I used to live in NYC and I do access the records in person. I would be happy to check the records to see if the person is yours or not. Sadly, I am living in other state now.

Kind regards,

Tees