Special Names

Yesterday was my son's 28th birthday. Besides making me feel old, it also makes me nostalgic. (I'm such a sap!)

I named my son James Culotta Ingles after his father's maternal grandfather, who's name in Italian is something like Giovanmario Guglielmo Culotta.( I think his mother's surname  de Liberto was in there somewhere too.) We called him "Nano."

The photo above is his wedding day, pictured with his parents.

I haven't ventured very much into Italian research yet, but I know a few generations of Nano's family.

So this James Culotta was born Sept. 10, 1907 in Baltimore, the son of Ferdinando "Frank" Culotta and Concetta Teresa Liberto, photo abovee. Frank had emigrated from Sicily in 1890, she in 1896 and were married in Baltimore in 1898.

They had 7 children, but lost a son, Joseph, in May of 1908 when he was hit by a streetcar, pictured above. At the time, Frank owned a saloon and was very active in local politics.

In 1914, Nano and his family returned to Cefalu, Italy for a short time, I believe to handle some family business there. I remember Nano telling a story about swimming in the ocean and drowning, only to awake on the beach in the arms of a man he had never seen, and never saw again.

Cefalu

They came back from Italy around 1920 and continued to run a saloon/lunchroom. Nano later worked there with his brother for many years on the lunchroom side while his brother worked the bar side. They were the only place in town that served blacks and whites side by side. It was located at Pratt & Light.

Nano married Marie Kohlerman on October 19, 1930, they had five girls and just one son, Jimmy. When Jimmy was 19, he was hit by a bus and killed in Baltimore City. So tragic. That's why I named my son James Culotta, to carry on the name in a way.

Nano died in January, 1988, two years after his wife. He was a really special man and I miss him.

Easter 1957

I'm looking forward to getting this Italian side more fleshed out, but am more concentrating on US for now. Stay tuned!