Although Girolama Pardo was born in 1878 in a town near Palermo called San Cipirello, she ended up sailing to America in 1903 to marry her husband and start a family, a line that proceeded forth from that point forward not in Sicily but in the United States of America.
According to her grandaughter Connie, a man named Giuseppe Biundo of neighboring town Cinisi had wanted to marry Girolama Pardo of San Cipirello before he left Sicily in 1900 and immigrated to America. Her parents wanted the marriage to wait though, to see first how things turned out there.
So Giuseppe Biundo immigrated alone to New Orleans in July of 1900 and started business there. There were a lot of Sicilians at that time who had recently immigrated to New Orleans, many from the same and surrounding towns of Giuseppe’s hometown. Most of them lived in the Quarter at the time, often within blocks of one another, similar to proximity as in their homeland. In this way, they were able to help each other feel more comfortable and protected in the new land, and also were able to help each other get started in business or help with finding work.
As Giuseppe was soon able to prove himself and in a relatively short time become successful, Gerolama’s parents sent two of their sons (Girolama’s brothers) over to work with Giuseppe before finally sending Girolama over in 1903.
Here’s a copy of her ship record. As you can see at the top of the page she set sail from Palermo on September 17, 1903.
She was listed on line # 22. It has her age as 26; however I believe that was entry error and it should have been 24 if later documents are accurate.
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.
According to the newspaper, they arrived and passed quarantine on October 7th and were set to come up to point on the 8th. Girolama had begun this voyage on the 17th of September, and she was arriving now in a new land not having seen her brothers in some time, and not having seen Giuseppe, her fiance, in three years. Here are a few excerpts the paper wrote about that voyage:
On board this great ship are some 1300 immigrants, men, women, and children, who have come to this strange country from the sunny shores of Italy to seek their fortunes.
As they lean over the side of the big steamer, gazing with longing and curious eyes at the shore, so near and yet so far, they present a wonderful sight to the one to whom such scenes are unfamiliar.
Many of these people have, perhaps never before been more than a few miles away from their native homes in Italy, and to take the long and weary journey of thousands of miles across the Atlantic Ocean has seemed to them a marvelous undertaking, as indeed it is.
It is a colossal undertaking.
In diminutive skiffs, which have been rowed out to the ship as she lies in mid-stream, are hundreds of friends and relatives of some of the strangers who are so fearfully awaiting the chance to join them on the shore of the land of their dreams.
From the little boats alongside to the bulwarks high above the surface of the river, continually there passes an excited and animated flow of words, all in the Italian tongue. Some of the boats become so excited and are so anxious to communicate with their imprisoned friends that they stand up, and regardless of the imminent risk that they subject themselves to, of being pitched overboard, they cry and howl their greeting, shout their advice and their felicitations, gesticulating, waving frantically with their arms.
All day these people to whom America is no longer a strange place, hover like a flock of sea gulls about the big ship. Come more and more, and yet others, clothed in their Sunday best, to pay their respects to the strangers.
Until the dusk begins to intrude and to hide the fond faces of the newcomers from view, citizens from the shore of their adopted land continue to arrive at the side of the great ship. They at last turn reluctantly back, shouting and yelling their partings and advice.
The Manilla left Italy on the 17th of last month. Wednesday, at about half past one o’clock, she steamed out of the Gulf and came up the river. She arrived at her anchorage at about 7 o’clock, she steamed out of the Gulf and came up the river. Her voyage was without mishap. All who came with her, including eleven stowaways, were in the best of health when she lowered her anchor in the waters of the Mississippi.
The immigrants were landed yesterday at the Northeastern wharves. Some 1300 men, women and children came ashore. For an hour and more there was a constant march of Italians down the gang plank. They came in great drove, one after the other, passing the little opening in the bulwarks at the side of the ship and on down the long gang plank to the shore. Here they were met by friends and relatives, who stood by and anxiously scanned the faces of the passengers as they walked slowly and hesitatingly along the way to the land.
The Manilla lowered her anchor in the waters of the Mississippi early on Wednesday morning. All that day, and the next, the inspectors of customs and the inspectors of passports were busy in examining the immigrants. At last the ordeal was over, and the immigrants were given their liberty.
For three long and weary weeks they had been cooped up on board ship. For three long and tiresome weeks they had been forced to live in their cramped quarters, and the relief of getting ashore after all this was a heaven-sent blessing.
When the examination was finished and the immigrants were told that they would soon be landed there was sent up a great shout of rejoicing and gladness. Each one wanted to be the first to reach the shore.
Pushing and shoving, with yells and nervous complainings, they prepared for the departure. It was the great moment. As the gang plank was lowered they all crowded to the little gate that admitted to the plank and waited with the utmost impatience for the beginning. It was the beginning of the end for them, and they were anxious to get it over with. After this there was a second life for each one of the men, women and children on that ship.