Filomena Manfredi (Chiaini) and her three children, Raimondo, Silvia and Nicola, emigrated from Controne, Italy, in 1927 to reunite with Vincenzo Manfredi in the U.S.
By Ed Manfredi
My family’s roots trace back to the small mountain town of Controne, Italy, about 70 miles south of Naples. It was there that my grandparents — Vincenzo Manfredi, born on December 24, 1885, and Filomena Chiaini, born on October 12, 1892 — began their lives together. They married on May 3, 1914, and had four children: Nicola, Silvia, Eduardo (my father) and Raimondo.
Like many families in southern Italy during the early 20th century, they had little in terms of material wealth, but they held tight to the hope of a better future. Vincenzo came to the United States on April 1, 1926, entering through Ellis Island in New York. He settled in the bygone Hays neighborhood of Pittsburgh and became a U.S. citizen months later on December 20. Although he became naturalized, a 1922 change in U.S. immigration law meant that Filomena did not automatically gain American citizenship. However, their children were granted U.S. citizenship even while still living in Italy.
In 1927, Filomena brought her and Vincenzo’s small family to America, and my father, Eduardo, was born two years later in 1929. All four of the Manfredi children graduated from high school — a remarkable achievement for an immigrant family at that time. Tragically, Nicola passed away at the age of 18 from pneumonia.
The Manfredi children built successful working-class careers in Pittsburgh. Raimondo worked his way up at J&L Steel to become a general foreman. My father, Eduardo, initially studied to become an auto mechanic at a trade school, but the steel mills called to him too, and he became a furnace operator at J&L. Silvia worked at a candy factory and later became a cake decorator. All three were hardworking, determined individuals who made the most of the opportunities that came their way.
Filomena had come to the U.S. at age 25 and lived here for the next 71 years. Because of the 1922 law, she never became a U.S. citizen.
Source: Italian Sons and Daughters of America
