In English we don't usually use è or é unless the word is borrowed from another language. So I'm guessing when they immigrated the accent mark was dropped.

I was curious because the last name is pronounced here so it rhymes with 'hands', sort of. One syllable, American 'a', sounding more ...

Children's names are Angelina, Natale, Josephina, August, Antonette (?), oh goodness, that's all I have. 8 or 9 kids total -- one died young.

There are also cousins in the area, too.

The birth and death date of the SSDI concurs with what my mother remembers. This is a different birth date than the draft card, but the 'wife and baby' and working location is about right for my great-aunt Angelina to be born.

Thank you so much for your help!

Nuccia, could be! I'll get the birth and death dates from my mom. We're having a family reunion this year and it would be really neat if I found an old draft card!

Hello all,

My great-grandparents were Santo and Girolama Franze, and according to my family, they hailed from Sicily before settling near Pittsburgh sometime in the early 1920s, I think. (My grandfather Natale is American-born and 75 or so.)

Now for the question: Franze doesn't sound very Italian ...