Girolama Pardo
Girolama Pardo was born in 1878 in San Cipirello, Sicily to Calogero Pardo and Giuseppa Leone.
Not only did she immigrate to New Orleans, her siblings all did too, as well as her father. It looks like her brother, Calogero, moved first, then Girolama, then Giuseppe, then their father Calogero, then Stefano.
So the children of Calogero Pardo and Giuseppa Leone were:
Calogero Pardo (1874-1953) married Vita
Girolama Pardo (1878-1968)
Giuseppe (Joe) Pardo (1881-1968) married Francesca (Francis)
Stefano Pardo (1885) married Rosa
San Cipirello
San Cipirello, Sicily is where they were all from. a town in Palermo region close to Cinisi. Although Sicily extends out a bit further on both sides, in the map view below you can see Cinisi on that tip upper left just above Terrassini, and if you go straight down and a little to the right, you’ll see San Cipirello. Also, if you go along the top coast all the way to the right, you’ll see Cefalu. They are all fairly close in proximity.
According to her granddaughter Connie, someone used to come to Girolama’s house in San Cipirello and do her hair regularly, and she’d go once a year into Palermo to get her clothes made.
(I’d like to insert a better photo of her here, and if you have any others of her that you’d like to email me, I can add them.)
Giuseppe Biundo had wanted to marry her prior to leaving Sicily and immigrating to the United States, but her parents wanted to see how things worked out for him there first.
As Giuseppe was soon able to prove himself and in a relatively short time become successful, Girolama’s parents sent their son Calogero (Girolama’s brother) over to work with Giuseppe before finally sending Girolama over in 1903.
Girolama arrived in New Orleans October 1903. The image below is of her passenger record. She is on line # 22.
Girolama had begun this voyage on the 17th of September, and she was arriving now in a new land not having seen her brother in some time, and not having seen Giuseppe, her fiance, in three years.
At that time, they used to print articles in the newspaper telling about each passenger ship that had come in, describing some of what the voyage was like. You can read about Girolama Pardo’s particular voyage here.
As it says on the passenger record, she was going to stay with her brother, Calogero Pardo. (Her wedding would take place the next month).
Marriage
Giuseppe Biundo married Girolama Pardo in New Orleans on October 25th, 1903.
Below is a copy of their marriage license, recorded on October 13th, 1903. Father Lorente was the priest. It states that Giuseppe Biundo was 31 years old at the time, son of Giuseppe Biundo and Giacoma Mangiapane.
It looks to me as if it is saying Girolama Pardo was 24 years old at the time, and it says that she was the daughter of Cologero Pardo and Giuseppe Leone.
(Her passenger record in the month prior had stated that she was 26, so one of those records was incorrect unless I am reading the handwriting of one of them incorrectly.)
The witnesses for Giuseppe and Girolama’s marriage license were Vito Ruffino, Giuseppe Impastato, and Calogero Pardo (Calogero was Girolama’s brother. Her father, also Calogero, immigrated later in 1906).
Below is the document that states they were married on October 25th, 1903 and again confirms their parent’s names.
Giuseppe Pardo
Giuseppe Pardo (another brother of Girolama’s) departed Palermo on September 29th, 1904, and arrived in New Orleans on October 17th, 1904. He was 23 years old and stated as going to stay with his brother Calogero Pardo at 1141 Decatur.
(I don’t have a record for Calogero, but he was already living there before Girolama arrived. He was the first sibling who immigrated to New Orleans.)
Calogero Pardo
Calogero Pardo (father of Calogero, Girolama, Giuseppe, and Stefano) was originally scheduled to arrive in New Orleans in May 1906; however his name is crossed out on that passenger record indicating he did not make that particular voyage. He did arrive on October 5th, 1906. His passenger record is below. It states that he was 62 years old at the time. (On the 1910 census, he was living with Giuseppe Biundo and Girolama on Decatur.)
Stefano Pardo
Stefano Pardo, another of Girolama’s brothers, initially was going to immigrate and arrive in New Orleans around 1906 at the age of 21. I found a passenger record for him for for October 5th (same voyage his father took), 1906 stating that he was going to stay with his brother, Giuseppe Pardo, on Hospital St (former name for Governor Nicholls which would have been the side entrance of 1139-41 Decatur Street where Giuseppe Biundo and Girolama Pardo lived); however, that record has a line through his name and all the details are not filled out. When that happens it indicates the person did not make that trip although they were initially scheduled for it.
The next record I found for him is his 1930 census record, in which it states that he immigrated in 1920. At that time he lived with his wife Rosa, his daughter Rosa, and his son Samuel.
to be continued…