When Francesco “Frank” Bivona was born on November 30, 1904, in Mendoza, Argentina, his father, Vincenzo  Bivona, was 29 and his mother, Anna Cappadoro Bivona, was 27.

Frank was from an Italian family, but he was born in Argentina where his family resided for a number of years before going back to Sicily, Italy. He then emigrated to the United States leaving from a port of departure in Palermo, Sicily, Italy on 22 December 1915. He came to New York on the vessel known as Giuseppe Verde and arrived stateside on 6 January 1916.

FRANK’S MOTHER: The ship manifest for the Giuseppe Verde provides some information about Frank’s mother.  His mother was listed on the ship manifest as Anna Cappadero (note the name Cappadoro is spelled differently here) We know that the Giuseppe Verde vessel sailed out of Palermo on 22 December 1915.  Frank’s mother says that she is a 38 year old woman who can read and write. Her age matches with the birth date that I found for her: 30 November 1877.  She states that she is married to Vincenzo Bivona and is going to meet him in Brooklyn, NY at his residence on Stagg Street.  She also states in this manifest that she has no occupation and that the name of her mother was Maria Accardi. Her physical description is of a 5’4″ woman with brown hair and eyes. Her birth place was Partanna, Italy.

By the time of the 1920 US census, Anna is living at 165 Manhattan Avenue, Brooklyn, NY with her husband and children. It is in this census that you can see her children Joe, William, John, and Frank all had been born in Argentina. The other children listed in that census Vincent, Tony, Paulie and Angelo were all born in New York.  In this census, Anna also states that she became a naturalized citizen in 1916.

FRANK’S FATHER: I believe that Vincenzo was born on 7 April 1874. One of the only methods for tracing him was a WWI draft registration card that I found. The draft registration would have occurred from 1917 to 1918. Vincenzo was naturalized as a US citizen in 1916 so he would have had to register. Here is why I believe the draft card belongs to him: He lists his closest relative as Anna Bivona and his residence as 165 Manhattan Ave. He is employed by the Eastern District Dye Works and his job is to dye silks.  Now…go back to the 1920 US census for Anna and you will see that the address is also listed as 165 Manhattan Ave. (He lists his full name as Vincent Salvatore Bivona and describes himself as of medium height and build with black hair and brown eyes.) In the 1920 US census, Vincenzo says that he is a washer in a silk factory. I believe that he is buried in a Catholic cemetery: St. John Cemetery, Middle Village, Queens County, New York.

Vincenzo was an alcoholic and that may explain why his wife Anna eventually leaves him and lives in her own household.

FRANK: When working with genealogy, I try to find official documents that can provide insight and a timeline. I found a baptism record from Nuestra Señora de Luján, Luján de Cuyo, Luján, Mendoza, Argentina on 25 Jul 1905 for Frank.

In the 1920 census. Frank is listed as the 15 year old son of Vincent and Anna living on 165 Manhattan Avenue, Brooklyn district of Kings, New York.  His birth place is recorded as Argentina, but his mother tongue is Italian. Instead of school, Frank, at age 15, is employed as a clerk at a silk factory.

I found this declaration of intention for naturalization (by the time of this document Frank is 19 years old):

At the age of 22, Frank married Angelina “Angie” Cirabisi. I found a wedding date of 30 April 1927. They were married in New York.

By the time of the 1940 census, Frank is 34 years old. (His daughter, Annabelle, is 7 years old.) The residence is now listed as 162 Irving Avenue, New York, Kings, New York. He states that the highest grade he has completed in schooling was 6th grade. He is now working 40 hours a week as an insurance agent. His yearly income is 2,450. He is living with his wife, Angie (born in New York), and his daughter Annabelle. In this 1940 census, he is also living with his father-in-law, Joseph Cirabisi who is recorded to be of alien status having been born in Italy.  In 1940, the other person living with Frank and his family is his mother-in-law, Leonada Cirabisi who is age 52.

Recently, Anne (Annabelle “Anne” Bivona Barnes)  described her residence on Irving Ave. It was a railroad flat, a 4 unit apartment above a drug store. She said they lived there from 1939-1955. Pasquale Zinnanti owned the building. The owner was a distant cousin of Angie’s. The Zinnanti children, Frank and Joseph, were like brothers to Anne.

FRANK’S SIBLINGS: Frank’s parents Vincenzo and Anna had 7 children. Here is some information on those family members:

Giuseppe or “Joseph” was born around 1899 in Argentina.

William seems to have 2 birth places! In some cases, he lists Argentina as his place of birth. BUT, in his petition for citizenship he states that he was born in Italy. The photo below is very interesting because it shows Pasquale Zinaupi as a witness who resides at the same 162 Irving Avenue address as shown in the photo I included for Frank and fits with Anne Bivona Barnes’ recollection of the owner of the building! The other witness is Giuseppe (or Joseph) his brother.

I am also including this photo of William Bivona’s death notice because it gives a clue as to the possible burial location for other members of the family. 

Vincent was born 5 December 1908 and states 2 places for his birth. In the 1920 census (he was 11 years old) and he claims to have been born in New York. In the 1930 census (he was 22 years old) he states that he was born in Argentina. The other information that the 1930 census gives us is that Anna is now living without her husband at 350 Melrose Street. In 1930, she is claimed to be the head of household living with her children Vincent, Tommy, Angelo and Pauline.  In this 1930 census Vincent lists his occupation as a “paster” in a shoe factory.

Antonio “Tony” was born approx. 1911 in …well, here we go again. In the 1920 census he states that he was born in New York, but in the 1940 census he states that he was born in Argentina. In 1940 he is living at 331 Melrose Street with his wife. Note: he is obviously a neighbor to his mother Anna and some of his siblings in 1940! In 1940 his occupation was a wood heel turner.

Paolina was born in New York approx. 1913

Angelo was born 31 Oct. 1918.

DEATH NOTICE FOR FRANK BIVONA

Frank, father of Annabelle “Anne” Bivona Barnes, died on 18 Feb. 1969 in New York. Here is a copy of his death notice from the Daily News in New York:

He was 64 years old at the time of his death.