#MeetMyImmigrants: Aniello "Andrew" DiBiase

Aniello DiBiase was born 19 June 1868 in Agropoli, Italy. He is one of my thirteen immigrant 2x-great-grandparents. He married Concetta Giordano there in 1890, and they had two children in Italy. He worked as a farmer and farmhand in Italy, and immigrated to the US in 1894. He moved to Boston [in Elizabeth Township], PA, and worked as a laborer. (Early notes suggest in a brickyard - but where's the source!? :]) His wife and children joined him in 1899. The family moved Wilmerding in 1905. According to family legend, he lent Gennaro Camperlino (the father of his soon-to-be son-in-law) money to bring his family over in 1913. Aniello and Gennaro became as close as brothers... and were in-laws by 1919! Aniello and Concetta had at least ten children, two of whom died in childhood. Andy naturalized as a US citizen in 1915. Throughout his time in western PA, Andy worked as a day laborer, a machine hand, and a janitor. He suffered chronic asthma, and died in Wilmerding in 1935.

Strangely enough, my first Italian immigrant ancestors that stepped foot on US soil lived in western PA... and now I find myself a proud Pittsburgh resident, just a few miles up the road from Wilmerding. What can I say? The call of my ancestors is a strong one.

Are you ready to meet your immigrants? Let's work together to find your roots.

View Andy's original post on Facebook.