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The Parents of Joseph F. Periconi Sr.
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| Giovanni Pericone |
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| Grazia Spinella |
My grandfather's father was Giovanni 'John' Pericone. He was born
12 October 1844.
One might notice the difference in the spelling of the
last name. Pericone was spelt with an "e" at the end back then.
There is a story behind that, and we will cover it in due time.
My grandfather's parents were both born in southern Italy, in a small town
called Calabria. On one visit to southern Italy, my younger brother discovered
that Calabria is divided into upper and lower Calabria. I don't know if the
concept of uptown and downtown sparks the concept or not. More
important is the fact my brother discoverd the actual city Giovanni
came from. It was important because you see my grandfather, Joseph,
was very tight lipped about giving people information on where
specifically he was from; anything about his childhood or any
other information regarding his youth, upbringing or family. Not having him
to ask why, I will refrain from guessing. Some have made the suggestion that
he was in America and that he wanted to forget the 'Old' country!
That was certainly a good reason.
I just remembered something else my brother mentioned on his return from
that trip. The people in Calabria were open and friendly. However, he observed
that the township itself seemed like a recent war zone. One explanation was
that an earthquake had taken place in the early nineteen hundreds. Since there
still existed rubble and there weren't many new buildings, it could only be
conclude that this area is a very impovished one. Could my grandfather have
been embarrased or ashamed of his home town, I don't know. My brother visited
this area in the mid nineteen nineties.
My grandfather's mother was Grazia 'Grace' Maria Spinella. Grace was
born 28 December 1847. She was also born in the same area as my great
grandfather. I am sure there must be a photo somewhere of the two of
them together. I will keep searching for one and will update this
section when its found.
The union of these two people produced four aires, three male and one
female. The oldest child was my grandfather Joseph F. Periconi. Following
Joseph was his sister Mary, a brother Domingo and the youngest member
of the family, John.
Additional information about my grandfather and his siblings can be found
by clicking on "Joseph's Siblings" at the bottom of this page.
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