33.

THE MARONE FAMILY

Initially, the focus of the Sarli Journal has been on the Sarli family of Laurenzana. It's time to change the focus for a while to the family of Maria Carmela Marone, wife of Egidiantonio Sarli, and mother of Rocco Vincenzo Sarli AKA Joseph Louis Mott.

Below is a pedigree chart for Maria, as far back as we know so far:

*Giuseppe Marone     Egidio Peloso
& Vittoria Urga          & Anna Manzi
                 ll                    ll
*Nicola Marone & Angela Peloso              Giuseppegidio Robortaccio & Nunzia Ungaro
     (1763-)        ll         (1772-)                       (1763-)                ll                  (1765-1809)
            *Vito Marone                                                        Rosa Robortaccio 
                (1799-)                                  ll                               (1798-1869)
                                             *Maria Carmela Marone
                                               (1821-1869)

Children of Vito Marone & Rosa Robortaccio
*1. Maria Carmela Marone (20 May 1821-7 Aug 1869) m. Egidiantonio Sarli (1817-1860)
  2. Maria Antonia Marone (12 April 1824-12 Apr 1824)
  3. Maria Leonarda Marone (9 Jan 1826-15 Jan 1826)
*4. Giuseppe Nicola Marone (18 July 1827-) m. Rosa Carmina Antonia Pellettiere (1832-)
      and Anna Maria Vita Filomena Motta (1840-)
*5. Stefano Vincenzo Marone (18 Mar 1831-) m. Maria Rosa D'Alesandro (1834-1867)
*6. Rocco Lonardo Marone (14 Mar 1834-) m. Maria Carmela Motta (1835-)
*7. Donatantonio Maria Marone (3 May 1836-) m. Rosa Gaetana Carmina Martoccia (1839-)
  8. Giovanni Antonio Marone (1840-1841)
  9. Giovanni Antonio Marone (1842-1843)
10. Egidio Antonio Marone (1845-1845)

32.

MYSTERY PERSON: Rocco Pecora

Who was Rocco Pecora? Rocco Pecora is a name listed multiple times in court documents related to the 1876 Denver murder trial. This person signed a complaint against several of the suspects in the murders of "Uncle Joe" Pecora and three youths. There is no record of Rocco as being a son of Giuseppe Pecora and Mariantonia Pavese, however, a Laurenzana birth record has been located for a nephew.

This nephew, Rocco Giuseppe Pecora, was born September 16, 1862, to Egidiantonio Pecora (Uncle's Joe's brother) and his wife Mariangela Cristallo. There is also a June 28,1888, Laurenzana marriage record for this same Rocco Giuseppe Pecora to Maria Carmela Sansone, daughter of Innocenzio Sansone and Mariantonia Graziadei, suggesting that if this is the same Rocco Pecora mentioned in the court records, he must have returned to Italy to marry.

A newspaper article of an incident a week before the murders refers to Rocco Pecora:

Denver Daily Times, p. 4, Oct 25, 1875
"A son of old Joe's came down from Georgetown (CO) yesterday, and states that some time before he went to the mountains two men raised the window of the Lawrence street house and attempted to get in. His father took a pistol and drove them off. There was a light in the room, and his father recognized them as Galotti and one of the Italians who lives in the country."

Some newspaper articles of the time listed the victims as "Joe" Pecora, his two sons Giuseppe and Giovanni, and a cousin named Luigi. Another listed the old man "Uncle Joe," two sons, "little Joe" and "Nic," and "a cousin whose name no one had ever heard." 

The chapter in the book HANDS UP! which provides an account of the 1875 Denver Italian Murders says "It was . . . learned that the children who called Pecorra 'father' and 'uncle' were not united to him by any tie of kindred."

Court documents obtained by Dr. Joseph Mott, contributor of articles to this blog, and his sister Donna Mott, list the three young victims as John (Giovanni) Pecora, Domenico Fanelli, and Domenico D'Onofrio. 

Strong possibilities I've found are:

(1) Giovanni Pecora b. 12 Sep 1863, son of Sebastiano Pecora & 2nd wife Maria Carmela Abbate

(Sebastiano's 1st wife was Angela Carmina Sarli, granddaughter of Saverio Sarlo & Geronima Bianco)

age 12 in fall of 1875 

(2) Domenico Egidio Fanelli b. 18 Oct 1856, son of Francesco Fanelli & Rosagnesa Cafarella

(younger brother of Maria Vittoria Fanelli who was the 1st wife of Vito Maria Sarli (brother of Joseph Mott) age 19 in fall of 1875

(3) Domenico D'Onofrio, b. 19 Nov 1857, son of Rocco Giuseppe D'Onofrio & Maria Giovanna D'Esopo; almost age 18 fall of 1875

31.
                           PAVESE CONNECTION 

A big discovery! Giambattista Pavese and Vittoria Manzi are the great-grandparents of Franklin Pecora, John Davis (Giovanni Pavese), and Joe Castle (Giuseppe Antonio Casella).

It is now evident that at least some of the musical troupe of boy musicians were cousins.
Marco, Francesco and Egidio are three of Giambattista's and Vittoria's sons.

                                                        *Giambattista Pavese
                                                                1764-1815
                                                             Vittoria Manzi 
                                                                  1771-
                                                                     []
*Marco Pavese    ---------------          *Francesco Pavese   -------------      *Egidio Pavese
   1785-1842                                             1793-1855                                    1793-1855                                            
 Maria Milano                                     Vita Maria Motta                  Maria Maddalena Martoccia       
  1796-1864                                              1799-1841                                       1806-                         
        []                                                           []                                                    []                      
 Giuseppe Pecora                         *Rocco Vincenzo Pavese              Rocco Vincenzo Casella        
    1827-1875                                           1830-1914                                        1830-                                  
*Mariantonia Pavese                Maria Maddalena Martoccia             *Anna Teresa Pavese           
    1833-1918                                             1838-                                              1833-                     
        []                                                           []                                               []                    
Francesco Antonio Pecora                 Giovanni Pavese/Pavis              Giuseppe Antonio Casella             
     1865-1941                                        1862-1950                                       1859-1936                           
  (Franklin Pecora)                               (John Davis)                                     (Joe Castle)   
                       
  Alice Sorensen                                   Ada Pearl Allred                    Mary Alice Siler (div)                   
     1879-1961                                       1878-1960                                          1885-                   

30.

BOY MUSICIANS KNOWN 
TO ROCCO VINCENZO SARLI/Joseph Louis Mott

1. *Giovanni Pavese AKA John Davis  b. 9 Apr 1862, Laurenzana, Italy (familysearch #85)
    d. 27 Sep 1950, Sanpete County, UT -  violinist
    son of Rocco Vincenzo Pavese (1830-1914) & Maria Maddalena Martoccia (1838-1898)
    Immigrated: 1872  (age 10) Citizenship Application: 1897
    Married Ada Pearl Allred 2 Sep 1902 

2. Giuseppe "Joe"  Larocco  b. 5 Sep 1859, Calvello, Italy (familysearch #191)
    d. 15 Apr 1896, Dingle, Bear Lake, ID - violinist
    (son of Rocco Vincenzo Larocco (1831-) & Maria Dell'Aquino (1837-) or
    Francesco Larocco & Hannah S. Gerold)
    married Abigail Quayle 20 Dec 1888

3. *Giuseppe Casella AKA Joe Castle b. 4 Oct 1859, Laurenzana, Italy (familysearch #257)
    d. 17 Mar 1936,, Price, Carbon, UT - violinist
    son of Rocco Vincenzo Casella (1830-) & Anna Teresa Pavese (1833)
    Immmigrated: 1868 (age  9) Naturalized: 1882
    married Mary Alice Siler 28 Oct 1899 (div)

4. *Francesco "Frank" Pecora  b. 9 Aug 1865, Laurenzana, Italy  (familysearch #211)
    d. 9 Jan 1941, Boise, Ada, ID  
    son of Giuseppe Pecora (1827-1875) & Mariantonia Pavese (1833-1918)
    Immigrated: 1868-1870 (age 3-5) Naturalized:1886
    married Alice Sorensen 28 June 1899

    Brothers:
5. Rocco Giuseppe Motto  b. 9 Jan 1854 Laurenzana, Italy (familysearch 1854 #4)
    Lived in Trinidad, CO - harpist
    son of Giovanni Antonio Motta (b. 31 May 1823- son of Michele Motta 1780 & Gaetana Nigro              1786) & Maria Carmela Martoccia (b. 9 Mar 1827- dau of Giovanni Martoccia 1796 & 

    Donata Galgano 1797)
    Immigrated: 1871 (age 17) Naturalized: 1894
    married Christina Benitez 4 Feb 1885; 

6. Michele Santo Motto b. 2 Nov 1860, Laurenzana, Italy  (familysearch 1860 #219)
    Lived in Trinidad, CO
    son of Giovanni Antonio Motta (1823-) & Maria Carmela Martoccia (1827-)
    Immigrated: 1871 (age 11) Naturalized: 1903
    married Mary Buster 8 July 1884; Eliza McBride 16 Nov 1893;

Michele Motta, listed on the passenger list of the ship The Spain along with brother Rocco, applied for passports for himself and his wife Clementa in 1914. The document states that he was born in Laurenzana and became a naturalized U.S. citizen in 1903. He settled in Trinidad, Colorado along with Rocco by 1880. They began as fruit dealers and musicians and later became jewelers.

29.

"WHAT'S PAST IS PROLOGUE" - Shakespeare

This is a quotation by William Shakespeare from his play The Tempest. The phrase was originally used in Act 2, Scene I. Antonio uses it to suggest that all that has happened before that time, the "past", has led Sebastian and himself to this opportunity to do what they are about to do: commit murder, or make another choice. In contemporary use, the phrase stands for the idea that history sets the context for the present.

I equate this to how our family history search for the true identity of Joseph Louis Mott has been a journey based on the information that was preserved and passed on. And even though we now know, though DNA testing and much research in Laurenzana, Italy, civil records, that Joseph's birth name was Rocco Vincenzo Sarli (1857-1894), it is still important to value and appreciate the past contributions of information that marked the path to that discovery!

In retrospect, it's interesting how close the family lore was to the truth:

1) "Larvasjaw" or "Larvasjan" turned out to be Laurenzana. I guess that j was a z.

2) "Solorm" turned out to be Salernum, the Latin-sounding name for Salerno, the town in southern Italy on the Gulf of Salerno, an inlet of the Tyrrhenian Sea. Originally a Greek settlement and later a Roman colony (founded in 197 BC), Salernum was the site of the Schola Medica Salernitana, a noted Medieval medical school, the first and most important of its kind. It was founded in the 9th century and rose to prominence in the 10th century, becoming the most important source of medical knowledge in Western Europe at the time.

3) "Mary C. Moroni" turned out to be Maria Carmela Marone (1821-1869). So interesting that his mother's name remained constant, despite minor spelling changes.

4) "Agadia" or "Ajadia" Motta turned out to be Egidio Antonio Sarli (1817-1860). He died young as reported, at the age of 42, when Joseph was young (not quite 3).

5) His sister "Josephine" turned out to be Maria Giuseppe Sarli (1860-1869) who died young, as reported. Maria Giuseppe translated into English is "Josephine."

6) Joseph Louis Mott used August 2 as his birthday, same as his wife Mary Emeline's. Rocco Vincenzo Sarli's birthdate in the Laurenzana, Italy, civil records turned out to be August 12, 1857.

7) It turned out that there was a step-father. His name was Francesco Urga (1822-1906). He and Maria Carmela Marone had a son together named Giovanni Antonio Urga (1864-).

There is much more to figure out, but I think we are all very grateful to have been blessed to get this far. We found the proverbial "needle in a haystack." I'm especially blessed to have been able to be in contact with descendants of Joseph/Rocco's only surviving sibling, Vito Maria Sarli (1855-1944). Those who have been receptive to my inquiries have been kind and delightful!

28.

from CLARINDA'S STORY of SAN LUIS VALLEY ROOTS
by Clarinda K. Sewell

page 115
"There was some excellent talent in the early days. There were dramas and an orchestra organized by William Woodward. The very first dance orchestra was Jordan Brady, Will Thomas and Joseph Mott. Joseph Mott played the large harp in the first dance band. Whether the other two played anything different from violin is not stated. There were no pianos in the settlement then."

page 209
"Joseph Mott was born in Italy. He, with his uncle and cousins, were concert musicians making a tour of America. While in Denver, he left his group and went to Idaho to visit cousins. While there, he was converted to "Mormonism." On his return to Denver, he discovered that his uncles and cousins had been murdered and their instruments destroyed. Having no place to go, Joseph Mott joined the Mormon migration to the San Luis Valley. He brought his Italian harp with him and it is in possession of one of his descendants. He was the only Italian born pioneer among all the early Mormon settlers. He took up farming like all the rest." (related to Clarinda by Marilyn Mott Oberrick)

27.

THE LIFE OF JOSEPH ELMER MOTT, compiled c. 1977 

by PAPA & GWEN (Joseph Elmer Mott & his second wife Gwen)

from book by Harvey Paul Mott, son of Joseph Elmer Mott & Annie Prudence Coombs

                                  Back, L to R: Joel Heber Mott, Joseph Elmer Mott;                                                  Front, L to R: Jacob Lyman Mott, Mary Emeline Kelly Mott

“I (Elmer) am the oldest son of Joseph Louis Mott and Emeline Kelly Mott. Father came from Italy as a young boy with his mother’s brother. They were musicians. Father’s instrument was a full sized harp. One of my earliest recollections is of father loading the harp into the wagon on a bed of straw and going to play for dances in La Jara, Monte Vista, Del Norte or Manassa.

Soon after they came to the USA, father and his uncle became separated in Denver.  Father always thought his uncle had been killed, but he never did know exactly what happened to him.

Father went to Idaho then, where he got a start in cattle. An extremely hard winter wiped his small herd out. He met the Beers family there and came with them to Manassa. He joined the LDS church and was baptized May 1,1881, by W.M. Ball and was confirmed by Hencel H. Heiselt. That same year he became a citizen of the United States, getting his papers June 26, 1881, at Del Norte.

Mother was born in Perry County, Tennessee. She joined the LDS church there and the family came to the valley in 1882 or 83. I’ve heard Granddad Kelly say that if he had had the money, he would have gone back on the next train, it was such a desolate place. They settled in Richfield first, then homesteaded at Morgan.

Dad and Mother were married January 21, 1886. Father was homesteading a quarter section. It had a two-room log house where they set up housekeeping. The house was (a) half mile west of Quince Norton’s on the southwest corner of the quarter. He later moved the house to the northeast corner of the 160 acres where artesian water was available. He built a lean-to on the south of the house for a kitchen. I was the first child born to them in the house, followed by Heber and Oscar. Jessie Oscar only lived about a month.

We moved to Manassa for one year. Father owned a piece of land on the northwest corner of Manassa across the road from Rogers. Jake was born while we lived there. I started school in Manassa. Then we moved back to Morgan where father farmed for two years.

Father became ill in the fall. He underwent surgery for what the doctors called telescoped intestines. The operation was performed on the kitchen table by Drs. Gale and Boothe from Alamosa. Dad never regained consciousness.  He died Oct. 4, 1894.

Our neighbors finished stacking the grain for us. Pete Mortensen thrashed the grain free of charge and all the men donated their work. Granddad Kelly hauled the grain to Conejos to the mill by team and wagon, a two day trip. He hauled about a thousand pounds a load.  It sold for fifty-five or sixty cents a hundred. The money was applied on the doctors bills. Mother went out to do house work at two dollars and fifty cents a week to finish paying the doctors.

Grandma (Mary Malinda Hunt) Kelly took the three boys into her home while mother worked. We grew up in the same home with the Kelly boys and girls, our uncles and aunts. 

Dad was a loving father, affectionate and kind. I still remember Jake running to meet him, to ride his shoulders to the house. He was short, wore a black mustache and had black wavy hair. He looked somewhat like Troy (Mott) except he was heavier.

Early in the settlement of Morgan the need for a school became evident. The school was built across the road from Alfred Price's present home.  Dad gave the land. The building was made of logs and was erected by donated work (about 1 1/2 to 2 miles north of homeplace).

Dad and Grandma Kelly did much of the work. The building served as school and church. There was one room with a few regular seats, but some of us had to sit on benches and hold our slates on our laps. The school term was four months in the summer for the first six or eight years.

. . . Times were very hard and money extremely scarce. After Father’s death, it was worse for us. After I was ten years old, I only got about six weeks of school a year as I had to work. Alma (James Alma Kelly) and I worked as a team.  We were too small to handle the team of broncos and the plow one so one of us held the plow and the other one drove.  Grandpa would broadcast the grain and we would plow it under as there were no drills then. 

. . . Once when Alma and I were about 5 years old, we wanted to bake some potatoes in (the) Kelly’s fireplace.  We were not allowed to, so we tried to do it in the barn.  Result: complete loss of barn, hay and corrals.  Needless to say, what a tragedy this was.

. . . One day at school we were digging to make a cave in an old sand mound. When we got down about 18 or 20 inches, we started finding bones. We dug up most of a human skeleton. Some people thought it was an Indian. We put the bones back and covered them up."