#MeetMyImmigrants: Raffaela (Napoli) Piro D'Amato

Raffaela (Napoli) Piro D'Amato, another of my ancestors who was considered an "Enemy Alien" during WWII. She is one of my thirteen foreign-born 2x-great-grandparents.

Raffaela was born 8 March 1864 in Baronissi, Italy. She worked as a weaver and married Giovanni Piro in 1882 in Italy. They had at least five children before immigrating to the USA in 1904. She and her family lived in Italian Harlem. She was widowed in 1907, with a young daughter (my great-grandmother) to raise. She remarried Michele D'Amato, a widow, in 1909, and they moved to Jersey City. She raised a number of his children. She buried one of her daughters in 1933, but was blessed with many grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Because she never became a US citizen, she was considered an "Enemy Alien" during World War II, and carried around identification papers with her. She died in 1947. She is pictured here with my grandmother.

Are you ready to meet your immigrants? Let's work together to find your roots.

View Raffaela's original post on Facebook.