Hi, I'm new here

[dudenamedric]

Hi, my name is Riccardo Fantasia. I'm new to the site. I was wondering if there were any other Fantasias on the site. Some other names in my family tree are D'Andrea, Guzzino and Galderio. As far as I know my whole family is from Chicago and all around the Chicagoland area. From what I understand, my grandfather, Riccardo Carlo Fantasia was born on the boat coming over here in the 1920's. I'm looking forward to learning a bit about my heritage. Have a great night all.

[johnnyonthespot]

Hi, my name is Riccardo Fantasia. I'm new to the site. I was wondering if there were any other Fantasias on the site. Some other names in my family tree are D'Andrea, Guzzino and Galderio. As far as I know my whole family is from Chicago and all around the Chicagoland area. From what I understand, my grandfather, Riccardo Carlo Fantasia was born on the boat coming over here in the 1920's. I'm looking forward to learning a bit about my heritage. Have a great night all.

Hello and welcome!

Did Riccardo marry Mary Turgnich in Illinois on Jan 14, 1950? Did he die Oct 31, 1979? Both of these records are avaiable on ancestry.com.

Also, there is a Social Security record for "Carlo Fantasia" (most likely same person) which states date of birth Aug 25, 1925.

[johnnyonthespot]

The Social Security Death Record:

Name: Carlo Fantasia
SSN: 336-12-2914
Last Residence: 60466 Park Forest, Cook, Illinois, United States of America
Born: 26 Aug 1925
Last Benefit: 60466 Park Forest, Cook, Illinois, United States of America
Died: Oct 1979
State (Year) SSN issued: Illinois (Before 1951)


The marriage records:

Name: Riccardo Fantasia
Marriage Date: 14 Jan 1950
Spouse: Mary
Marriage Location: Cook County, IL
Marriage license: {2A4CCEA3-00A0-4A79-9072-6B8D5C4889FC}
File Number: 2116972
Archive collection name: Cook County Genealogy Records (Marriages)
Archive repository location: Chicago, IL
Archive repository name: Cook County Clerk


Name: Mary Turgnich
Marriage Date: 14 Jan 1950
Spouse: Riccardo
Marriage Location: Cook County, IL
Marriage license: {2A4CCEA3-00A0-4A79-9072-6B8D5C4889FC}
File Number: 2116972
Archive collection name: Cook County Genealogy Records (Marriages)
Archive repository location: Chicago, IL
Archive repository name: Cook County Clerk



And then there is this interesting record:

Name: Carlo Fantasia
Arrival Date: 1 Jul 1945
Age: 19
Birth Date: Abt1926
Gender: Male
Ethnicity: Slovakian
Ship Name: Josiah Royce
Port of Arrival: San Francisco, California
Port of Departure: Saipan; Marianas Is
Archive information (series:roll number): IMUSACA1907:130172

This Carlo Fantasia served as a crew member during this voyage. Hmmm...

[edit] Attachment deleted.

[dudenamedric]

wow thank you so much, yeah Riccardo Fantasia & Mary Trusgnich are my grandparents. this is very cool!

[johnnyonthespot]

Okay, now getting back to a major point of interest...

To my cohorts here on this board, let's assume for a moment that Riccardo was born on a boat somewhere in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean - what would his nationality be? Would it depend on exactly where the boat was located at the time? Would it matter if the boat was US-Flagged vs. Italian-Flagged (or perhaps Slovakia-Flagged, more on this later)?

What do you all think of this story? Would a ship's master in the 1920's allow a seriously pregnant woman to travel at all? This being a time when death of mother and/or fetus during childbirth was far more common than today?

Looking at the manifest I posted in the previous message, note that it says this Carlo Fantasia is of Slovak "Race" and USA nationality. If this is our Riccardo, what do we make of this? Perhaps he was not born on the boat, but actually on US soil? Fantasia is most definitely an Italian name with origins in Southern Italy; why is this Carlo listed as a Slovak?

[edit]

Come to think of it, why are all these persons of U.S.A. Nationality listed on the "List or Manifest of Aliens Employed on the Vessel as Members of Crew"?

[johnnyonthespot]

Is this your grandmother?

Name: Mary Trusgnich
Birth Date: 28 Apr 1923
Birth Location: Cook County, IL
File Number: 6062507
Archive collection name: Cook County Genealogy Records (Births)
Archive repository location: Chicago, IL
Archive repository name: Cook County Clerk

[dudenamedric]

Is this your grandmother?

Name: Mary Trusgnich
Birth Date: 28 Apr 1923
Birth Location: Cook County, IL
File Number: 6062507
Archive collection name: Cook County Genealogy Records (Births)
Archive repository location: Chicago, IL
Archive repository name: Cook County Clerk

yep that's her...as far as the boat question, the carlo of slovak origin traveled on a boat in 1945, he wasn't born then. at least that's how i understand that pic that was posted. i know that my family has slovakian blood, i think trusgnich is a slovakian name. perhaps my grandfather traveled under his nickname, Carlo, and listed himself as slovakian for whatever reason. i couldn't say, but it's a possible answer to the question.

[johnnyonthespot]

Is this your grandmother?

Name: Mary Trusgnich
Birth Date: 28 Apr 1923
Birth Location: Cook County, IL
File Number: 6062507
Archive collection name: Cook County Genealogy Records (Births)
Archive repository location: Chicago, IL
Archive repository name: Cook County Clerk

yep that's her...as far as the boat question, the carlo of slovak origin traveled on a boat in 1945, he wasn't born then. at least that's how i understand that pic that was posted. i know that my family has slovakian blood, i think trusgnich is a slovakian name. perhaps my grandfather traveled under his nickname, Carlo, and listed himself as slovakian for whatever reason. i couldn't say, but it's a possible answer to the question.

To be specific, he worked on a boat for (at least) two years. When that boat came into port in 1945, it had to present a list of crew members; Carlo was one of them (a "wiper") and had been on board for two years. Note, this roster does not necessarily mean that his career aboard the boat had come to an end. This may have been his final sailing, or he could have gone on to work the boat for several more years.

It is not outside the realm of possibility that this is your Riccardo Carlo - aged 19 years in 1945 and thus born in 1926 - and that he took a job aboard a boat for several years. I am interested in the fact that he is listed as USA nationality; this could possibly mean that your Riccardo Carlo was actually born on US soil, not "on the boat" as family oral history leads you to believe.

[dudenamedric]

It very well could be possible that this is him. To be honest, nobody's ever mentioned that he ventured out west, but then again they might not know either. I can, however, show this to my family and see if they can give me any extra info. Thanks again for finding all of this for me. I really appreciate it.

[johnnyonthespot]

It very well could be possible that this is him. To be honest, nobody's ever mentioned that he ventured out west, but then again they might not know either. I can, however, show this to my family and see if they can give me any extra info. Thanks again for finding all of this for me. I really appreciate it.

I think every one of us who has gone on this quest has learned things about one or more ancestors that were never before mentioned or no one knew about. One big example, it is amazing how many people - myself included - start out with the belief that our Italian ancestor(s) never became naturalized US citizens only to find out otherwise.

[HungarianGal]

I came across this while searching the Internet. By now you may already have this information. But here goes.
Your Grandfathers birth name was Riccardo Fantasia. At times he went by Carlo and also by the nick name "Lefty". He was first generation Italian born here in Chicago Heights Il.
Your Grandmother , Mary Trusgnich was of Slovakian and Italian descent.
Your Grandfather had 2 brothers, Thomas and Nicholas.
He also had a sister from his fathers last marriage, her name Asunda Di Romanel (Sue of Rome)
Your Grandfather worked as a Coalpasser and a Fireman on the SS Horace Johnson in 1944.
D'Andrea is not a family name
Guzzino, your Grandfathers Aunt (Florence) on his mothers side married a Guzzino. They had 2 sons, Sam and Richard.
Galderio, Your Aunt Roxanne married Michael Galderio and they had a son, Daniel. Roxanne and Mike divorced and she later married Ron Porter

Your Great Grandfather was Bernardino Fantasia, born in Terracina, Italy on 6-10-1886 and passed on 1-21-1961.
Your Great Grandmother was Louise (Liza) Monico born in Clarement France in 1890 and came here in 1896 when she was age 6. She was Italian. Her family moved to France for work, like we move from state to state in this country.
The following information in on the Monico side of the samily
Your Great, Great Grandmother was Anna Marie Mancini born 11-3-1866 in Pizzone Italy. Passed in 1950.
Your Great, Great Grandfather Nicola Monico and was born in Pizzone, Italy.
Your Great, Great, Great Grandfather was Domenico Mancini.
Your Great, Great, Great Grandmother was Antonia (do not have her maiden name).

I obtained this information from the Fantasia family while I was married to your Grandfather. We married on 4-15-1964 until his death Oct 31,1979.

[dudenamedric]

I came across this while searching the Internet. By now you may already have this information. But here goes.
Your Grandfathers birth name was Riccardo Fantasia. At times he went by Carlo and also by the nick name "Lefty". He was first generation Italian born here in Chicago Heights Il.
Your Grandmother , Mary Trusgnich was of Slovakian and Italian descent.
Your Grandfather had 2 brothers, Thomas and Nicholas.
He also had a sister from his fathers last marriage, her name Asunda Di Romanel (Sue of Rome)
Your Grandfather worked as a Coalpasser and a Fireman on the SS Horace Johnson in 1944.
D'Andrea is not a family name
Guzzino, your Grandfathers Aunt (Florence) on his mothers side married a Guzzino. They had 2 sons, Sam and Richard.
Galderio, Your Aunt Roxanne married Michael Galderio and they had a son, Daniel. Roxanne and Mike divorced and she later married Ron Porter

Your Great Grandfather was Bernardino Fantasia, born in Terracina, Italy on 6-10-1886 and passed on 1-21-1961.
Your Great Grandmother was Louise (Liza) Monico born in Clarement France in 1890 and came here in 1896 when she was age 6. She was Italian. Her family moved to France for work, like we move from state to state in this country.
The following information in on the Monico side of the samily
Your Great, Great Grandmother was Anna Marie Mancini born 11-3-1866 in Pizzone Italy. Passed in 1950.
Your Great, Great Grandfather Nicola Monico and was born in Pizzone, Italy.
Your Great, Great, Great Grandfather was Domenico Mancini.
Your Great, Great, Great Grandmother was Antonia (do not have her maiden name).

I obtained this information from the Fantasia family while I was married to your Grandfather. We married on 4-15-1964 until his death Oct 31,1979.

Wow, I feel so terrible taking 10 years to check this again. On the off chance you still get notifications for this, I first want to thank you so very much for all of that info.

By chance are you Marie? I've heard of you but never got much info. If you get this and would like to reach out beyond this forum (which I honestly forgot all about lol) please email me at ricfantasia@yahoo.com. I'd love to be able to hear more about my grandfather, maybe even my dad. He died when I was 8, so I never really knew him - definitely not as well as I would've liked.