Cavosie Genealogy

Branch IV: Egidio Giuseppe Cavosi (Joseph Cavosie in America) (1882-1966)

Joseph Cavosie was my great-grandfather (he died before I was born, but we called him Nono). He was born in the mountain village of Sfruz, Italy in 1882.

Joseph's birth: September 19, 1882. This image is a scan of a photocopy of a piece of mircofilm. The microfilm was obtained through genealogical resources of the Mormon church. I have 'spliced out' the entries between the top of the page and his (line 20) to save space, hence the discoloration. Also note that these records may have been transcribed. The year 'anno' (column 3, second row from top) begins '190_', and is crossed out, with 1882 written in. The transcription is purely speculation, but his siblings records share the same feature.

Joseph's parents. This is where it gets interesting. Under parents (genitori), his father is on the left (padre), and mother on the right (madre). In the case of his father, I believe it is read as Giovanni (Giovanni Cavosi, father of the child), son of Giovanni and Dorotea Cavosi (paternal grandparents of the child). Similarly, for the mother: Bollego Gioseffa (mother of child), daughter of Batta and Teresa Gasperetti (maternal grandparents of the child). Some of the spellings may not be exact, as you can see they are difficult to read. His siblings have the identical genitori listed.

He immigrated to Hurley WI in 1903 or 1905 (Ellis Island lists the former; the 1920 US Census lists the latter). I know little about his voyage, or why exactly he settled in Hurley. The most likely reason is seeking employment, as there were many iron mines in the area, but he was a mason by trade, not a miner. Joseph married twice. His first wife was Enrica Panizza (see the 1920 Census). She was born on December 31, 1879, and died on February 5, 1921. Little is known about Enrica's life, but we do know her maiden name was Panizza, and that she was from Vermiglio Italy (Ellis Island records). Enrica bore Joseph four children, and died at age 41 while unsuccesfully delivering their fifth child. Their four children are Frank, Felice Silvio (Felix), Herman (Ham), and Cecilia (Celia) Margaret. Here are the first records of him using 'Cavosie' as the family name. The children 'grew-up' being Cavosies, yet: on the 1920 US Census (Iron Co., WI), he listed the family name as Cavosi, not Cavosie. And the next year, when Enrica died in 1921 the cards that were printed for her memorial service listed her name as Enrica Cavosi. There may have been either a strong attachment to the 'Old World' spelling, or a simple indifference. It's hard to tell.

The images of Joseph Cavosi(e) and Enrica Cavosi(e) above are all from the same picture. I'm not sure when it was taken, but it must have been taken before Enrica died in 1921. It may well be the only picture of Enrica Cavosi(e) that exists. I thank Don Clark for providing me with this wonderful window through which we can remember these two.

1920 US census data collected in Hurley (Iron cty.), WI. See below images for close-ups.

The above image is a close up of their names. It is clear they still used the spelling Cavosi. Listed names include Joseph (head), Enrica (wife), Frank (son), Felix (son), Herman (son), and Cecelia (daughter). You can also see on the left margin the street name where they lived in Hurley is Division st.

The above image is a close up of other types of information. Starting on the left are sex, race, age, and marital status. More interesting is the middle column, that lists year of immigration, naturalization status, and year of naturalization. On the right is education.

This last piece is interesting. It lists the place of birth for each person, and their mother tongue. It also lists the same info for their mother and father. Joseph and Enrica both list Austria as their home, and they spoke Italian. This is all consistent with where they came from.

After Enrica died in 1921, Joseph remarried (not sure when) to a woman named Biche Dalpias. Biche (Nona) became a step-mom to the four kids and raised them as her own. Joseph and Biche didn't have any more children. The family moved into a house in Hurley located at 906 Division street. I've found tid-bits of info in online listings of the Hurley WI city directory. In it, it lists names, addresses, and in some cases professions. For instance, in the 1938 directory, they are listed as living at 906 Division st. Celia is listed as a clerk for the White Cross, and Frank is listed as a book keeper for the Relief Department. The address is only interesting because at the time they were next door to a gas station located at 910 Division street. Years later the family would eventually live at 910 Division street (post gas station). Still years later, other parts of the family would live across the street at 911 Division street, across from where the station used to be at 910. Today parts of the family still live at both 910 and 911 Division street, and 906 is still standing. Nono passed away in 1966, and Nona in 1974. Our family has many pictures of both of them, and they are talked about as warm, loving people.

Children of Joseph and Enrica Cavosie (all deceased):

(1) Frank Cavosie (1909-1964). Frank was the oldest child. He married Mamie Helen Sand (1912-1992) on February 19th, 1942 in Ironwood, MI. They had one child, Diane Sandra Cavosie (1947- ). Diane never married, and lives in Morrison, IL today.

(2) Felice (Felix) Silvio Cavosi(e) (1910-2004 ). Felix Cavosie is my paternal grandfather. He was born in 1910 in Hurley and made it all the way to age 93. He married Carolyn Douglas, who has remained his wife of 59 years. They had four children: Joseph Robert, Linda, James (Jimmy), and Melissa. All of the siblings are alive today. I’m sorry to write that my grandfather recently passed away, on Jan. 3, 2004.

(3) Herman (Ham) Cavosi(e) (1911- 2002). Ham never married, nor had children. Sadly, in 2002 he passed away in northern WI where he had lived most of his life. We all miss him dearly.

(4) Cecilia (Celia) Cavosi(e) (1917-2002). Celia married Harry Clark in 1941, and had four children. They settled in Ohio. She also sadly passed away last year (2002) and will be missed.

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If you find that I have information that is incorrect, please forgive me, and contact me at the email below. I will keep adding to this page as I find out more.

Links:
Part I- The Roots: Cavosi in the Old World
Part II- A Scattering of Seeds: Cavosie in the New World
Cavosie genealogy home page
Email me info here
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