Charlie Elia

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Charles (Rosario) Elia

Charlie Elia
File:None on file
Fact File
Birth Date: March 13, 1908
Family Information
Lineage: Charlie Elia Lineage
Parent: Maria and Nicola Elia
Siblings: Angela Ocello
Tom Elia
Rose Modica
Mary Elia
Sam Elia
Angelo Elia
Tony Elia
Children: Nick Elia
Mary Jean Mody
Charles Elia
Theresa Genchur


Early Life

Charlie Elia was born Rosario Elia, the third child of Maria and Nicola Elia on March 13, 1908, in Brown's Station, New York. When immigrants or the children of immigrants had unusual or ethnic names, they were sometimes changed to make it easier for English speaking people to pronounce or remember. If you study some of the Ellis Island websites, you might recognize some names spelled phonetically instead of the correct way so the recorders could put something on the manifests. At the time too, many immigrants spoke little English and could not communicate the spelling of their names or the pronunciation. This happened in much the same way when children attended school. The teachers thought it was better (for whom we can only guess) for the children to have "American" names. This is how Rosario was changed to Charlie and Carmello was changed to Tom. In later years, some people had their names legally changed since they were used to being called by the new name for years. Rosario later changed his name to Charles.

When he was of working age, he quit school and joined his mother as an employee of the Norwich Knitting Mill in Norwich, New York. Charles worked in different areas of the mill until finally running the largest knitting machines, several at one time, in the end of his carer. He also worked for a local contractor named Sid Johnson for many years doing all kinds of work, including driving him around and maintaining Sid's many properties in Norwich. He was a very hard working man. As family stories go, Charles was the "rascal" of the family, often doing things he wasn't supposed to and getting into a little trouble now and again. It has been told that he ran down the railroad yard, shedding his clothes because he did not like to wear the clothes his mother made for him. Also when group pictures were taken, little Charles was nowhere to be found because he didn't want to be in the picture.

Adulthood

Charlie married Theresa Messina on November 19, 1932. They had four children: Nicholas, Mary Jean, Charles, and Theresa. Charles and Theresa lived in the upstairs apartment at 22 Ross Avenue for several years, which was next to his parents on West Railroad Street, his brother Tom who lived next to his parents, and across the street from his sister Angela. Years later, his brother Sam lived in a house on Clinton Street which backed up to Charles's house. Also, next door to them was Theresa's aunt, Mrs. Messina. When Theresa was pregnant with their first child, Charles worked nights, so Marie Ocello (Barbarossa), who was only eleven at the time, spent the night with her Aunt to keep her company. Marie said she would have to get out of the house by 6:45 a.m. because Charlie would get home at 7 a.m. Toward the end of her pregnancy, Theresa stayed with her mother in law and father in law. Maria Elia delivered her grandson Nicola, (later Nick) in the family home. Nick was the last child that Maria delivered after having been a mid wife in the Italian community for years. Some years after daughter, MaryJean was born, Charles and Theresa bought a larger house on Silver Street. They had two more children, twelve years after MaryJean was born, Charlie in 1949 and Theresa in 1952. Later on the family would move back to the Ross Avenue house and convert it to a one family dwelling.

Teresa passed away in 1975 from complications of ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or Lou Gherig's Disease), but Charlie would live another 30 years. For most of that time, he continued to live in the house on Ross Ave. Charlie became close to Marie's husband Ralph, and the two would often go fishing together and watch the late night news together. Marie says that even when Ralph would fish alone, he would usually stop off first at Uncle Charlie's house because he would clean the fish for Ralph. Marie knew if Ralph wasn't home right after his meetings, she could find him at Uncle Charlie's. Charles liked to fish, garden and cook and gamble. He enjoyed a few trips to Las Vegas with a pal in later years.

In his later years, he spent less time at home and would visit his children, particularly Nick of Canandaigua and Mary Jean of Sherburne. He was the longest lived of the Elia children, and was mentally sharp and physically active for most of his life. He passed away in 2005 at the age of 96.

Theresa Messina

Theresa Messina was born in 1910. She grew up in the Bouckville-Hamilton area. When she was old enough to work, she moved to Norwich and lived with her Aunt, Mrs. Messina on Ross Avenue. She started a job in the Norwich Knitting Mill. She and her sister dated two friends, Charles Elia and Joe Mirabito. Later the girls married their dates.

Synopsis of Dates

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