Gregory Family History

There are DeGregorios and Staffieres still living in a small town on the Campagna and Puglia border in Italy. The town is Anzano Di Puglia.If you visit, you will have to climb a mountain ridge off the highway from Naples and ask a local where it is.
Sometime in the first millennium there was a pope by the name of DeGregorio, aka Gregory the Great. All Gregory's like to claim him as an ancestor. The bad popes came along later
The earliest document available lists the Staffiere family of Angelo Rocco, who was born in 1825. The last on the list, and the only daughter is Maria; Nana Gregory.

She came to America about 1891 with her husband, Saverio and her 2-year-old son Costantino, my father. During the voyage a daughter was born: Agnesa( Aunt Lizzie). Was she a citizen of the United States or Italy? Were the parents charged an extra fare?
Maybe she was a "Woman Without A Country " ala Philip Nolan. Saverio and Maria probably saved for years to raise the passage. There was no money for the extra fare." She comes with us free of charge or take us back to Italy!"
We have included a new document about the Gregory Family.( See below)
It's title is:Situazione di Famiglia del Sig. DEGREGORIO SAVERIO DI EUPLIO E DI PASTORE AGNESA
Translation: Situation of the Family of Mr. Saverio DeGregorio
son of Euplio and Agnes Pastore.
Saverio is listed first: date of birth Oct 1 , 1850
His wife is next( my grandmother) : Mary Grace July 2, 1868
Son ( my father ) Costantino Buonopede May 4, 1889
Daughter ( my aunt Lizzie) Agnes Dec 14, 1890

It was always believed that my father's first name was Constantino. This document shows there is no "n" before the "s".In fact the name for the city, Constantinople in Italian is Costantinopoli. This may explain how he became to be known as Gus. If, his brothers and friends, shortened his name to COS, and if you say it outloud, you can see how the Irish kids and others might think you were calling him Gus.
A full translation of his name:COSTANTINO BUONOFEDE "Constant, stable, firm, enduring, with Good Faith." ( That was Gus)

It was always believed that Gus's first name was Constantino. This document shows there is no "n" before the "s". In fact the name for the city, Constantinople in Italian is Costantinopoli. This may explain how he became to be known as Gus. If, his brothers and friends, shortened his name to COS, and if you say it out loud, you can see how the Irish kids and others might think you were calling him Gus.
A full translation of his name: COSTANTINO BUONOFEDE "Constant, stable, firm, enduring, with Good Faith." (That was Gus)

The four DeGregorios landed on Ellis Island and immediately embarked by train to East Boston.
East Boston, at that time, was composed of three-story tenement buildings. Many are still there.
New DeGregorios were being born about every 18 months. Gus and Lizzie had a brother Emilio. He was later known as Ralph and then Marco. Most of us knew him as Marco. In 1895, another brother arrived. He was named Angelo after his grandfather. He later became known as Albert Gregory.

The family then moved to Worcester Massachusetts when Angelo was a baby. In Worcester, Michele (Michael) was born. They heard about the employment available in the tobacco fields in East Hartford Connecticut and decided that was the place to go. Angelo (Al) remembered working as a 6 to 7 year old in the tobacco fields and the many skin irritations he received.
Another son was born in Hartford. He was named Saverio (Samuel) after his father. In 1902, the last to be born was Anna Maria (Annie).Shortly thereafter, the father, Saverio, died.
While in Hartford, Gus who was about 12 years old got a job as an apprentice machinist at the Underwood Typewriter Company. Like most children of immigrants in those days, he left school after the eighth grade to assist the family. He was able to get the job at Underwood because he studied Math and other subjects on his own in the evening and also, probably, because he was the oldest in a large family without a father.

After a few more years, it's back to East Boston. Eventually they all married and were known as couples i.e. Gus was known as Gus and Angie.
Gus and Angie
Lizzie and Tony
Marco and Hazel
Al and Rose
Mike and Izzy(Isabel)
Sam and Katherine
Annie and Rocky.
From these unions came many DeGregorios who were never known by that name. Four name changes were officially made and the rest just made the changes on their own. Petitions and decrees were made at the Norfolk County Probate Court for
Constantino.(Whose name was really Costantino) ( All these petitions have interesting reasons given for the name changes)

See the articles DEPRESSION and THREE TELEGRAMS for more family history