Finding aid for Lenses: An archive of Italian American Experience

Date Range: 1928-2018

Finding Aid created by Dylan Martin, 2018

Copyright Dylan Martin

Extent: 7 pages (website)

Languages: The material is in English and Italian

Abstract

A collection of documents detailing the Coppotelli and Cuda family’s immigration to and experience in America, and documents that document the larger Italian-American experience in America.

History

These documents were created by a wide range of sources, both individual and institutional. I undertook this project in the hope of both personally learning more about my family’s history and the context in which it resides and to create a personal archival perspective on Italian-American experience.

Scope and Content

The documents here include images, videos, audio, articles, and essays documenting Italian-American and family experiences. These items document the path of one family, and place it in a larger context of Italian-American immigration and assimilation into America. The family documents and broader contextual items are mutually informative, creating a unique and personal perspective into immigration and life as an Italian-American.

The documents are arranged along the path of my family’s history. Beginning with Home in Italy (1928-1935), the archive progresses through Deciding to Leave (1936-1937), Immigration to America (1936-1938), Settling in America (1937-1949), Finding Success (1950-1999), and Maintaining Traditions Today (1999-2018).

Subjects

• Immigration
• Italian-American
• Italy
• American Experience

Works Cited

General

National Italian American Sports Hall of Fame. “Logo.” National Italian American Sports Hall of Fame, 19 May, 2018. http://www.niashf.org/uncategorized/public-affairs-marketing-events-internship/

Home

Blogger, Osia. “Italian emigration from 1876-1976.” Sons of Italy Blog, 19 May, 2018. https://osia.wordpress.com/2012/06/26/italians-the-worldwide-human-web/

Marinetti, Victor, John Marinetti, and Art Baratono. “Italian immigrant song (part 1); Italian immigrant song (part 2).” By Alan Lomax. 1938. Library of Congress. Web. 16 April 2018, https://www.loc.gov/item/afc1939007_afs02370b/

Home in Italy

Albert, Goldschmidt. “Pisa City Map, 1929.” The 1900 Collection: Maps and Plans of Yesteryear. Accessed 19 May, 2018. https://www.discusmedia.com/maps/pisa_town_plans/6662/

“Life in Italy During the 19th Century.” Life in Italy. Accessed 18 May, 2018. https://www.lifeinitaly.com/history/life-italy-during-19th-century

Mainieri, Aldo. “Morano Calabro, Cosenza, Calabria, Italy, 1935/1936.” In Attraverso l’Italia. Touring Club Italiano, 1937. Accessed 19 May, 2018. http://dontgetanysplinters.tumblr.com/

“San Giovanni in Fiore.” BCC Mediocrati. Accessed 19 May, 2018. http://www.mediocratitour.it/tour.php?lang=en&comune=bancartis

“Traditional Events in Pisa.” About Pisa. Accessed 19 May, 2018. http://www.aboutpisa.info/traditional-events.html

Deciding to Leave

“History of Italian Immigration.” From Europe to America: Immigration Through Family Tales. Accessed 19 May, 2018. https://www.mtholyoke.edu/~molna22a/classweb/politics/Italianhistory.html

“Second Wave Italian Immigrants to America.” By Tony R. Youtube. Web. 27 September 2011. Accessed 19 May 2018. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eQj_xjOMHs8

“The Life of an Italian Immigrant: An Oral History Video.” By oralhistoryvideo. Youtube. Web. 16 April 2018. Accessed 19 May, 2018. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eQj_xjOMHs8

“When did they Come.” Destination America. Accessed 19 May, 2018. http://www.pbs.org/destinationamerica/usim_wn_noflash_5.html

Immigration to America

Ault, Alicia. “Did Ellis Island Officials Really Change the Names of Immigrants?” Smithsonian.com. The Smithsonian Institute, 28 December 2016. Accessed 19 May 2018. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/ask-smithsonian-did-ellis-island-officials-really-change-names-immigrants-180961544/

Photograph 18-AA-93-59; Ellis Island, New York; 2/4/1936; New York - Ellis Island; “Airscapes” of American and Foreign Areas, 1917 - 1964; Records of the Army Air Forces, Record Group 18; National Archives at College Park, College Park, MD. Accessed May 19, 2018. https://www.docsteach.org/documents/document/ellis-island.

Photograph 90-G-125-29; Immigrant Children, Ellis Island, New York; ca. 1908; Public Health Service Historical Photograph File, 1880 - 1943; Records from the Public Health Service; National Archives at College Park, College Park, MD. Accessed May 19, 2018. https://www.docsteach.org/documents/document/children-ellis-island

“Prinz Oscar Ship Manifest.” Liberty Ellis Foundation. Accessed 19 May, 2018. www.libertyellisfoundation.org

“S.S. Prinz Oskar and Prinz Adalbert.” GG Archives. Accessed 19 May, 2018. https://www.gjenvick.com/Brochures/HamburgAmericanLine/AcrossTheAtlantic/1905/11-PrinzOskar-PrinzAdalbert.html

Settling in America

Falco, Ed. “When Italian Immigrants were ‘the Other’.” CNN.com. CNN 10 July 2012. Accessed 19 May 2018. http://www.cnn.com/2012/07/10/opinion/falco-italian-immigrants/index.html

“How? became?…” U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Accessed 19 May 2018. https://www.uscis.gov/history-and-genealogy/genealogy/genealogy-notebook/immigrant-name-changes

“Largest Ancestry: 2000.” From Brittingham, Angela and G. Patricia de la Cruz. “Ancestry: 2000.” U.S. Census Bureau June 2004. Accessed 19 May 2018. https://www.census.gov/prod/2004pubs/c2kbr-35.pdf

“Look Back: Local Photos from the 1960s, ’70s.” Observer-Dispatch. Accessed 19 May, 2018. http://www.uticaod.com/photogallery/NY/20171006/NEWS/324009997/PH/1?start=2

Puleo, Stephen. “From Italy to Boston’s North End: Italian Immigration and Settlement, 1890-1910.” University of Massachusetts Boston: ScholarWorks at UMass Boston. May 1994. Accessed 19 May 2018. https://scholarworks.umb.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1155&context=masters_theses

Growing up Italian-American

“1948-49.” The Syracuse Daily Orange. 1948. Accessed 19 May 2018. http://dailyorange.com/archives/

“Cheryl Pitts, Anthony Cuda wed in Park Church Ceremony.” Newark Courier-Gazette. Newark, NY 29 June 1967. Accessed May 19, 2018. http://nyshistoricnewspapers.org/lccn/sn88074531/1967-06-29/ed-1/seq-2/#date1=01%2F01%2F1725&city=&date2=12%2F31%2F2016&searchType=advanced&SearchType=prox5&sequence=0&lccn=&index=5&words=Anthony+Cuda&proxdistance=5&county=&to_year=2016&rows=20&ortext=&from_year=1725&proxtext=anthony+cuda&phrasetext=&andtext=&dateFilterType=range&page=1

Giannone, Mary. By David Dunham. 2014. Oral History Center, The Bancroft Library, University of California. Web. 16 April 2018. http://digitalassets.lib.berkeley.edu/roho/ucb/text/giannone_mary_2016.pdf

Hall, Stephen S. “Italian-Americans Coming into their Own.” The New York Times Magazine 1983. Accessed 19 May 2018. https://www.nytimes.com/1983/05/15/magazine/italian-americans-coming-into-their-own.html

“The Italian Americans: Breaking Through.” PBS 17 February 2015. Accessed 19 May 2018. http://www.pbs.org/video/italian-americans-breaking-through/

Finding Success

“1960 General Electric Computer - GE 210 - 1961 MICR - Banking Finance Data Processing.” By Computer History Archives Project. Youtube. 9 March 2016. Accessed 19 May 2018. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QfHMu75cfjg

Martin, Dylan. Photograph of GE Computer Council Award, given to Donald Coppotelli. 18 May 2018. Author’s personal collection.

Photograph of Donald Coppotelli and his Daughters. Date unknown. Author’s personal collection.

Photograph of Coppotelli family at Lee Martin and Claudine Coppotelli’s wedding. August 29 1994. Author’s personal collection.

Tomasi, Lydio F. “The Italian American Family.” Center for Migration Studies 1972. Accessed 19 May, 2018. http://cmsny.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/Tomasi-The-Italian-American-Family.pdf

Maintaining Traditions Today

Cannato, Vincent J. “How America became Italian.” The Washington Post 9 October 2015. Accessed 19 May, 2018. https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/how-america-became-italian/2015/10/09/4c93b1be-6ddd-11e5-9bfe-e59f5e244f92_story.html?noredirect=on&utm_term=.0dc6898e02f5

Martin, Dylan. Photograph of family recipe. 18 May 2018. Author’s personal collection.

Martin, Dylan. Photograph of extended Coppotelli family at Christmas 2017. 22 December 2017. Author’s personal collection.

The Italian American Slang Word of the Day. Website. Accessed 19 May 2018. http://italianamericanslangwordoftheday.com/