Angela Ocello
From Eliafamily
Contents |
Angela Elia Ocello
| Angela Ocello | |
|---|---|
| |
| Fact File | |
| Birth Date: | November 3, 1903 |
| Family Information | |
| Lineage: | Angela Ocello Lineage |
| Parent: | Maria and Nicola Elia |
| Siblings: | Tom Elia Charlie Elia Rose Modica Mary Elia Sam Elia Angelo Elia Tony Elia |
| Children: | Francesco Elia Marie Barbarossa Josephine Benedicto |
Angela was born in Librizzi, Italy (province of Messina) on November 3, 1903 to Maria and Nicola Elia. She was the first of eight children. When Angela was eighteen months old she moved to the United States with her parents settling in Hoboken, N.J., and later, Kingston, N.Y. Later she moved to Norwich, N.Y. where she spent most of her life. She moved to Norwich with brothers, Tom, and Charlie and sisters Rose and Mary. In Norwich, brothers Sam, Angelo and Tony were born. She completed 6th grade and then went to work at age 14 in the Norwich Knitting Mill. While there, she met Michele Ocello, her mother's first cousin. They fell in love and since her parents did not approve of a marriage between them, they eloped and were married in Hoboken, N.J. on January 2, 1921. They lived in Hoboken until after a son, Frankie was born on March 1, 1922. Frankie had a congenital heart defect, known in those days as a "blue baby". There was a hole in his heart. They moved back to Norwich to be with family and lived with her parents for several years. Another child, a daughter, Marie, was born in December, 1923. In 1928 they bought a home at 22 Griffin Street and another girl, Josephine was born in May, 1929. She worked at the Knitting Mill until her death of colon cancer in April, 1951. Her only son, Frankie died in 1927.
Michele Ocello
Michele, Mike, as he was called by everyone, was born on December 14, 1894 in Poti, Italy, province of Messina to Francesco and Catarina (Calabrese) Ocello. He came to the United States in 1914 at age 17 to New Jersey where he had relatives. Then he moved to Norwich, N.Y. where he lived with his two sisters. After a short time working for the railroad, he began working at the Norwich Knitting Mill. He worked there for over 30 years, retiring at age 65. Michele also loved working in the garden and was a gardener for Mr. Jack Hill and Mr. Ed O'Hara, two prominent Norwich businessmen, besides cultivating a wonderful vegetable garden for his family and a large rose garden in his backyard. For many years he worked in the knitting mill, dyeing shirts. His daughter, Marie, remembers that he would often come home in a different color shirt than he left home with that morning. Charged with the family laundry, she remembers that she never had to wash his work clothes: he would wash them at work before coming home. Mike loved to play his mandolin, watch westerns and wrestling on TV. He never attended school but taught himself to read English, sometimes reading the funny pages to his grandchildren aloud. His granddaughter Michele remembers how he would entertain his grandkids by standing on his head. He was gentle and kind and was always there to help.
Synopsis of Dates
Angela's Birthday: November 3, 1903
Mike's Birthday: December 14, 1894
Anniversary: January 2, 1921
Angela's Death: April, 1953
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