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Like a great many first-generation Americans, my father married a non-Italian, a German-American girl, Phyllis Mabel Zapff and thus, I and my siblings were of Italian and German descent.
Hans Zapff, an officer in the imperial army, covered himself with glory in campaigns against the Turks in 1564 and became a noble by edict of the emperor. Alas, but a few generations later, the Zapffs sank into poverty and extricated themselves by marrying into a very wealthy Bamberg family. That family, though rich, were commoners and the Zapffs were forced to relinquish their title.
By the late nineteenth century, my maternal great-grandparents, living in Berg, decided to join many other family members who had emigrated to the United States and Ottelia and August Zapff arrived in Boston in September of 1881. Three weeks later, Ottelia gave birth to my grandfather, Gustave Oscar, in Webster, Mass.
On June 10th, 1902, “Oscar” Zapff, already gaining fame for his magnificent singing voice, married Clara Henning. They had four daughters, the third of which was my mother, Phyllis. In order of birth, they were Alberta, Dorothea, Phyllis and Madeline. Clara died in the great Influenza Epidemic of 1918 and in 1926, Oscar married Elsa. In 1937, they had a daughter, Patricia.
Oscar died in 1952. Of his five daughters, only my mother, Phyllis and her half-sister, Patty are still living.
According to my father’s dictum that, “to be half-Italian is quite similar to being half-pregnant” and also, probably, because I was the first-born male in my generation, my paternal grandfather’s name-sake and favorite, I’ve always considered myself, “Italian”. Bella Italia is, in all the world, my most favorite country to visit and I’ve delighted in immersing myself in its history and geography. I’ve sought out and visited relatives in Rome and Poggio Moiano and participated in strengthening familial bonds with reciprocated letters, gifts and e-mails across the Atlantic.
In Italy, Basilicis are located in a narrow belt of territory between Rome and Ancona. My paternal great-grandfather, Paolo, was born in Poggio Moiano circa 1845. A farm laborer, he was impressed into the army and distinguished himself against the French at Mentana. He was awarded three gold coins by Garibaldi and carried the sobriquet, “El Soldato” for the rest of his days.
Paolo had eight children, five boys and three girls. All the boys emigrated and the girls all remained at home and married local men. In birth order, there was Barbara, Vincenzo, Angelo, Maria, Lucia, Giovanne, Eugenio, (my grandfather), and Cesare. Vincenzo, alone of the boys, later returned to Italy and married. Thus, in Poggio Moiano today, only Vincenzo’s grandson, Giovanne, carries the Basilici name.
In my first novel, “Genio”, I chronicled my grandfather’s truly adventurous life from his upbringing in Poggio Moiano, sheepherding up in the mountains at age 12 and, in his teens, signing a labor contract to work on a coffee plantation in far-off Brazil. After fulfilling his contract, he remained in Brazil and built a thriving horse-trading business. But those were violent, wild and lawless times and he had to fight to protect his life and property. Tragedy struck and Genio, devastated, sold out, returned to Italy and then left for the United States, arriving in 1906. “Genio”, ISBN: 0-595-18592-4, is still available through iUniverse.com, amazon.com and the websites of most major book sellers.
In 1907, he saw a picture on the mantle at the home of his closest friend, Giovanne Purillo. It was Johnnie's young sister-in-law, Maria Nina DeNigris, a sixteen-year-old, with chestnut hair and liquid eyes. They corresponded and she agreed to marry him. He sent her passage money and she arrived in Boston in early 1909. Within a month, they were married in the Church of the Sacred Heart, North Square, Boston.
Eugenio and Maria Nina had eleven children, of which my father, Angelo, better known all his life as “Blackie”, was the second born. In birth order, they were Paul, Angelo, Susan, Cesarine, James, Anthony, John, Joseph, Angelina, Mary and Candida. At this writing, only Angie and Candida, (better known as Dolly), are still living.
In my second book, “Legacy of a Hero”, I chronicle Genio’s rise to prominence in Dedham, Mass., his personal bravery against the rising tide of anti-Italian bigotry, Sacco and Vanzetti’s trial and his pervasive influence throughout Italian communities in the Northeast until his death in 1947. “Legacy of a Hero”, ISBN: 0-595-30215-7, is available at iUniverse.com, amazon.com and the websites of most major book sellers.
Although “Legacy” is based on factual occurrences, I took “literary license” to narrow Eugenio's progeny from eleven to one and changed the name of that one, my father, from Angelo to Enrico. It would have taken writing skills I don’t possess to have followed the stories of eleven children, without cluttering up the greater story of my grandfather, a remarkable man and true hero of his generation.
My father had four children, Elsa, Eugene, (me), Richard and Judith Ann. Elsa Church has four children, I had six, Dick, six and Judi Cimeno, one.
Tarese Gavin and I were married in 1961 and promptly moved to Florida. In order of birth, my children are: Cheryl, Lea, Donald, Bradford, Cris and Joy. Cheryl Murphy has three boys, Lea Kelly has two boys and a girl, Donnie has two boys and a girl, tragically, Brad died in his early 30’s, Cris Hutton is a proud aunt to all and Joy Ruggiero has one boy.
We now reside in South Florida, in the small town of Margate. As of this writing, we have, so far, ten grandchildren and three great-grandchildren and life is grand.
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