Category Archives: Del Negro

Curcio, Del Negro, Laurence [Di Lorenzo]

1924: Tony Laurence’s Del Negro Cousins

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Sepia Saturday 599. Twenty-first in a photo blog series on my maternal Italian ancestors from Gloversville, Fulton Co., N.Y.

Letting my ancestor’s photos frame their story has led to some interesting revelations about them. My maternal ancestors, in particular, passed down a significant photo archive — with every week bringing new discoveries.

So I was delighted this week to find a series of photos showing my maternal grandfather Antonio W. “Tony” Laurence and some of the Del Negro cousins he grew up with.

1924: My maternal grandfather Tony Laurence, 22, with his cousin Frances Del Negro, 20. This photo appears to have been taken outside the Del Negro home at 72 1/2 E. Fulton St., Gloversville, N.Y. Scan by Molly Charboneau

An extended Italian family

Previous posts have described the crowded home of my Italian great-grandparents Antonio and Antoinette (Del Negro) Curcio — located at 128 E. Fulton Street in Gloversville, Fulton Co., N.Y.

My grandfather Tony and his younger brother Joe lived there until their teens with his parents, Peter and Mary (Curcio) Laurence/di Lorenzo — and Mary’s many siblings.

Also in the household were Antoinette’s brother Michael Del Negro, his wife and their large family until they moved circa 1920 to their own home down the block at 72 1/2 E. Fulton Street — which appears at the bottom of a previous post about the Del Negro family.

1924: Reverse side of photo of Tony Laurence, 22, and his cousin Frances Del Negro, 20. The other photos are similarly labeled. Hats off to my grandfather for taking the time to identify these photos. Scan by Molly Charboneau

First cousins one removed

The Del Negro children were my grandfather’s first cousins once removed. Yet many of them were close in age to Tony and Joe — and when they were children, it may have been like having extra siblings in the house.

So what a treat to find photos of my grandfather at age 22 with some of his Del Negro cousins. And hats off to my grandfather for taking the time to label the photos!

1924: George Del Negro, 12, with his sister Frances, 20. Across the bottom border the year 1924 is written in pencil. Another photo has “E. Fulton St.” written on the back. From the size of the driveway, this is probably the Del Negro’s home at 72 1/2 E. Fulton St. Scan by Molly Charboneau

Time and place

The photo above of George and Frances Del Negro has the year 1924 penciled across the bottom border. Using this year and federal census data for the Del Negro family, I was able to determine everyone’s approximate age.

Figuring out the location was a bit trickier. One of the photos has “E. Fulton St.” written on the back — but both the Curcio’s and the Del Negros lived on that street.

1924: Del Negro siblings George, 12, Carmela (aka Millie), 15, and Frances, 20. They seem to be having so much fun posing for this photo. Scan by Molly Charboneau

However — looking at the number of cars parked in the driveway, the porch detail in some of the photos, and the fact that the house appears to be set back from other homes in the background — the location was most likely the Del Negro home at 72 1/2 E. Fulton Street.

1924: Del Negro siblings James, 22, and Ann, 27. James was the same age as my grandfather Tony. Ann was the oldest of the eight Del Negro siblings. Scan by Molly Charboneau

Tony the newlywed

One last item of interest about these photos is that they were taken just a few months after my maternal grandparents Tony and Elizabeth (Stoutner) Laurence were married.

Tony and Lisbeth eloped in January 1924 and were married in Detroit, Michigan, where he was studying auto mechanics — which may explain why he looks so happy in the first photo.

Up next, more photos of my Italian extended family. Meanwhile, please visit the blogs of this week’s other Sepia Saturday participants.

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