Giuseppe (Joseph) Buzzelli

Frazzini	Emiliano Frazzini	Lucrezia Carlini	Benilda Frazzini	DiVecchia	Site Home
Dawson, NM	Ely, NV	Ogden, UT	Raton, NM	Aurora, MN	San Pietro Avellana

This Page last updated on .

From reading this page, you will realize that I know very little about Giuseppe and his family. My mother remembers visiting him and his second wife both when they lived in CdS (Castel di Sangro, Italy) and when they lived in Cleveland, OH on East 105th Street. When Giuseppe married his second wife, my mother's aunt, my mother called him zio.

I've been able to find out a little more about his daughter Angelina and I received two photos - they are below. I don't have any photos of Giuseppe, either of his wives or his other daughter, Helen.

I now have a photo of who we think is Giuseppe.

Tony Buzzella is researching the very large Buzzelli family. Here is his family tree.

1883 Birth in Castel di Sangro

Giuseppe Buzzelli, born 18 Sep 1883 in Castel di Sangro (CdS), son of Achille and Giuliana Berenice Salvatore, was a first cousin of my grandfather, Emiliano Frazzini.

Here is as photo of Achille and Giuliana, sent to me by Darlene Weir, Jan 2007. They were married on 25 Oct 1875 in San Pietro Avellana but lived in CdS after that. Giuliana is my great grandaunt. Achille looks to be about 50y so this photo must have been taken about 1900.

1911 Marriage to Maria diMenna

Giuseppe married first to Maria diMenna most likely in CdS. diMenna is a family name from that town. From the 1930 census and the fact that he stated he was 28y at his first marriage, would date this marriage to 1911.

1913 Birth of First Daughter

Giuseppe and Maria had a daughter, Angelina, born 14 Jan 1913, in CdS.

About 1919 Marriage to Rosa Frazzini

By 1920 Giuseppe had married my mother's aunt, Rosa Frazzini, so Maria diMenna must have died by then.

1920 Ellis Island Arrival

I found an Ellis Island entry for Giuseppe:
Ellis Island: 8 Jan 1920, Giuseppe Buzzelli, 36y (puts his birth about 1884), wife Rosa Frazzini in Castel di Sangro, going to 161 Niple (?) St, Akron, OH, brother Amico, Previously in US 1909 to 1914. I'm guessing that this was his return from Italy after getting married. His brother Amico is also mentioned in Giuseppe's obituary.

1924 Birth of Second Daughter

His second daughter, with Rosa Frazzini, Helen, was born about 1924. She was born in Cleveland, OH.

1926 Naturalization

Naturalized 10 Dec 1926 in Cleveland, OH (2240 E 105th St). References daughter, Angela, 13y, resides in Italy (She became a US citizen with these papers). Naturalization papers sent to me by Marlene Hazeltine who was the god-daughter of Giuseppe's oldest daughter Angelina.

1930 Census

1930 Census, Rosa Buzzelli, 37y, age at first marriage 27y, Cleveland OH, living with husband Joe (Giuseppe) and children Angelina and Helen. Immigration 1927.
1930 Census, Giuseppe Buzzelli, 49y, age at first marriage 28y, immigrated in 1920, 2244 E. 105th St, Cleveland OH, living with wife Rosa and children Angelina and Helen.

1940 Death of Second Wife and Second Daughter

Rosa Frazzini and Helen Buzzelli both died about 1940, probably from tuberculous.

Recently, Ohio death certificates were made available at the LDS Record Search Web Site. These are great source of information since so many people from SPA and CdS ended up in Ohio. In particular, I found the death certificates for Rosa and Helen. That changes some of the family history that I had.

1940 Death of Second Wife

From the Ohio death certificate, Rosa Frazzini died on 22 Nov 1940. She was 47 years and 17 days old. I can't read the cause of death but she had apparently been sick for almost a year. Her address was given as 2642 E 112 Street in Cleveland. Her husband, Joseph, reported the death. She was buried in Calvary Cemetery. The DC says she was born in Italy to Ippoloito Frazzini and Albina Salvatore - my great grandparents. Her date of birth was shown as 5 Nov 1893.

1945 Death of Second Daughter

Our family memory of the death of Helen Julia Buzzelli was off by five years. From the Ohio death certificate, Helen died on 20 Apr 1945 of tuberculosis after being sick for about 6 weeks. She was a "school girl". Her address was shown as 11114 Woodland Ave, Cleveland. Her father, Joe Buzelli, reported the death. She was buried in Calvary Cemetery.

1961 Death

Death Certificate received Aug 2005: September 13, 1961 Vol.16634 Cert.61754 SSN 271-09-8688 DOB 18 Sep 1883, 77y at death, US citizen, 11118 Woodland Ave, father: Achille, mother: Julia (Giuliana). It was from this death certificate that I found the names of his parents for the first time. His mother Giuliana Salvatore was the sister of my great-grandmother, Albina Salvatore. So he was my grandfather's first cousin. That made Giuseppe and his second wife, Rosa, first cousins.

His obituary from the Cleveland Plain Dealer (which was from 1961):

Id#: 0447495
Name: Buzzelli, Joseph A.
Date: Sep 15 1?
Source: Plain Dealer; Cleveland Necrology File, Reel #097.
Notes: Of 11118 Woodland Ave.; beloved husband of the late Rose (nee Frazzini); father of Angeline, Helen (deceased), brother of Marietta of Italy, Mr. Lorenzo Amico of Akron, O., Mrs. Chiara Sansonetti of Akron, John (deceased) and Martino (deceased); entered into rest Wednesday, Sept. 13. Family will receive friends at P. Coreno New East Side Funeral Home, 10514 Kinsman Rd. Services Saturday at Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Church at 10 a. m. Interment Calvary Cemetery. Visiting Hours 2-10 P. M.

Giuseppe's wives and children:

Maria diMenna

Maria was Giuseppe's first wife. They were married about 1911 in CdS. They had a daughter, Angelina, about 1913. Maria must have died before about 1919-1920 as Giuseppe was remarried by then.

Rosa Frazzini Buzzelli

My mother's aunt Rosina Frazzini married Giuseppe (Joseph) Buzzelli. I have an old address for Buzzelli on E 105th Street in Cleveland, OH. Her death certificate showed she was born on 5 Nov 1893. There are no birth records available for 1891 to 1893.

She was thought to have died of tuberculous. Year of death, about 1940, a guess by Benilda Frazzini. I have found out this year is correct (from her death certificate). I found this obituary:

Cleveland Public Library Archive: Cleveland Necrology File
Id#: 0045826
Name: Buzzelli, Rosina Farazzinl
Date: ?
Source: Source unknown; Cleveland Necrology File, Reel #012.
Notes: Buzzelli: Rosina Farazzinl, beloved wife of Joseph, mother of Angelina and Helen, passed away Nov. 22. Funeral from P. Coreno Funeral Home, 10514 Kinsman rd. Services from Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church, 10 a. m. Tuesday.

Information from Bina Frazzini Bozzi, Apr 2005: "I knew Rosina and her daughter Pierina before they went to America."

Angelina Buzzelli

Angelina was Giuseppe's daughter with his first wife, Maria diMenna. Angelina was born in CdS. I have a copy of her birth registration.

1930 Census, 16y, Cleveland OH, living with parents and sister Helen. Immigration 1927.

Photo of Angelina Buzzelli, on the right, daughter of Giuseppe and his first wife Maria diMenna.
This photo was taken on 9 Nov 1949 at the wedding of my parents.
My grandmothers are on the left (DiVecchio and Frazzini).

Angelina never married and died 11 Jul 1985:

Cleveland News Index
BUZZELLI, ANGELA : Daughter of late Joseph (Obit.).

Title:   * BUZZELLI, ANGELA : Daughter of late Joseph (Obit.).
In:      * Plain Dealer 15 Jul, 1985, pg. 08 sec. D
Subject:   * BUZZELLI, ANGELA
         * Obituaries --1985 --B
System ID no:   * ABN-6183

Angela Buzzelli, beloved daughter of the late Joseph and Mary (nee Di Menna). Died July 11. All services to held Tuesday, July 16 at St. Michael's Church (3114 Scranton Rd.) at 11 a.m. Friends will be received at the the Salerno Funeral Home, 1622 Broadway, Maple Hts., (between Libby and Lee), 662-8222. Visiting Hours Monday 2-4 only. Contributions to St. Michael's Church Restoration Fund would be appreciated.

SSDI: ANGELA BUZZELLI 14 Jan 1913 Jul 1985 44113 (Cleveland, Cuyahoga, OH) 276-16-9357 Ohio

I found Angela's record from the Probate Court of Cuyahoga County, Ohio:
http://probate.cuyahogacounty.us/pa/pa.urd/pamw2000.o_case_sum?44869608

This record pointed me to Marlene Hazeltine. I wrote Marlene and she wrote me back. Marlene was a neighbor of Angelina and was the executrix of her estate after she died. Angelina was Marlene's god-mother (commare). One item Marlene sent was a birth certificate which confirmed Angela's birth date as 14 Jan 1913 and the names of her parents. She also sent me a copy of Angelina's father's naturalization certificate.

Marlene sent me the following email:

"Angie was not related to us, but was a close friend of my mother, Anna Rinaldi. She was also my godmother. We lived on east 110th St in Cleveland until I was 12 years old and Angie lived about two blocks from us. She would come over our house for all the holidays and to celebrate our birthdays. She had no relatives in the area after her father past away. She worked all her adult life at the Peterson Nut factory in downtown Cleveland. She loved baseball and especially the Cleveland Indians. She listened to them on the radio, or TV and went to the ball park. She was a true fan. She also loved the Cleveland Zoo and went there with us many times.
Unfortunately the neigborhood that she had lived in most of her life changed and she had to move. She moved to the near west side of Cleveland but was never happy there. I wish I could tell you more about her and her family, but I didn't know any facts about them. I will try and find a picture of her and send it to you. Good luck in your family research!"

Marlene also wrote:

"Hi Mark, Angie is buried at Calvary Cemetary in Cleveland, OH. My mother was not a baseball fan but when my parents were first married, they lived on E. 111th St in cleveland. They rented the house in front and Angie and her father rented the house in the back of the lot. They shared a common backyard and that's how my mom got to know her. I knew she had cousins in Akron, but they never saw each other and did not come to her funeral. I always called her commare, which means godmother, and my parents and brothers called her that also. We were like family to her. I'm sorry that I don't know more about her family, but when you're young, you don't think to ask questions and now no one is alive now with the answers. I found some pictures of her that I will send to you.
Marlene"

1955 Marlene Hazeltine and Angela Buzzelli

1984 Angela, photo taken at the Cleveland Zoo

Helen Buzzelli

In a newspaper article about Angelina dated Nov 1929, it says she is caring for her year old baby sister. That would put the birth of Helen at about 1828. From her death certificate, I found that Helen was born on 23 Sep 1928 in Cleveland.

1930 Census, 1y, Cleveland OH, living with parents and sister Angelina. Born in US.

Benilda Frazzini remembered she was 16y at death.From her death certificate, I found that Helen died of tuberculous in Cleveland in 1945.

2007 Some Buzzelli emails

I was contacted by a Buzzelli descendant in Jan of 2007:

Date: Tue, 02 Jan 2007 22:44:37 -0500
From: Ed & Darlene Weir <dweir734

comcast.net>
Subject: I'm Giuseppe Buzzelli's Family

Hi I'm very happy I finally found you, my name is Darlene Buzzelli of Troy Michigan, my dad's name is Achille Buzzelli born in Glassport Penna in 1910, my dad's parent's name are Lorenzo and Filomena Buzzelli lived in Akron Ohio, Lorenzo's parent's names are Achille Buzzelli and Guiliana (Julia) Salvatore of Castel di Sangro, Italy, their children's name are Lorenzo (my grandpa) Amico, Philip, Giuseppe, I can't remember the names of 2 or 3 more brothers and 1 or 2 sisters, one sister is partly blind lived in Castel di Sangro, Lorenzo, Amico lived in Akron Ohio, Giuseppe lived in Cleveland, I can't remember which one of brothers moved back to Italy from Akron, so my grandparent's Lorenzo and Filomena bore 4 children. Names are Achille (my dad), Arthur, Mary and Anthony in Akron Ohio.

My aunt Mary Buzzelli is still alive. She will be 91 years old in Jan 23. Mary is doing fine she said she remembers Angela Buzzelli of Cleveland Ohio, she have some pictures of Giuseppe Buzzelli and I'll find them. Do you want me send them to you? My youngest daughter's name is Lorelei she said she will contact you by email tonight. We were so thrilled we finally found you,

I have a big picture of Achille Buzzelli and Guilana Salvatore, do you need me to get a copy for you?

If you need anything please contact my daughter Lorelei. My aunt Mary Buzzelli moved and lives with us. Mary still remembers all of her parent's families.

We hope to hear from you real soon.

thank you very much
Darlene Buzzelli Weir

I wrote back:

Dear Darlene,

I've been trying to find your family since I started my genealogy research about four years ago.

My mother, Benilda (or Betty) Frazzini, told me about Giuseppe Buzzelli along with his second wife Rosa Frazzini and their two daughters, Angelina and Helen. Rosa Frazzini is my great aunt.

I know that Angelina was Giuseppe's daughter from his first marriage to Maria diMenna. My mother (who is now 94 years old) remembers Angelina and I have photos of Angelina at my parent's wedding in 1948. These photos got me started looking for the Buzzelli's.

You probably read on my web site about Angelina and the emails from her god-daughter, Marlene. I was able to learn a lot about Angelina from her.

My mother also remembered Giuseppe. She said that she visited the family many times in Ohio back in the 1930's and 40's. I never
met any of the family. I know that Rosa Frazini and daughter Helen both died around 1940 possibly from tuberculous. Angelina took care of her father until he died in 1961.

I was able to find Giuseppe's obituary and that told me a lot about his brothers and sisters. I wrote a bunch of letters to Buzzelli and Sansonetti families in Ohio.

About six months ago, I heard from Adelia "Lu" Sansonetti. She married Joseph Sansonetti who is the son of Chiara Buzzelli, the sister of Lorenzo and Giuseppe. She just happened to call me today again on the phone and I asked her about you and she remembered that you lived in Michigan. Lu lives near Akron. She didn't, though, have any information about Giuseppe or Maria.
Lu was not a direct Buzzelli descendant, her late husband was.

You are the first direct Buzzelli descendant to contact me.

So what would I like to learn about the Buzelli's?

Everything...

Well to start, I'd like to learn more about my great-aunt, Rosa Frazzini, Giuseppe's second wife. Then also about Helen, who would be my mother's first cousin.

I'd love to have photos of Giuseppe's family and of any Buzzelli's as far back as possible. If you have some, I don't really need the original photos if you can get the photos scanned by a computer. Maybe your daughter can do that and email them to me.

As far as my family goes, my mother, Betty, just had her 94th birthday. My father is 89 years young. I have two sisters, one lives with my parents in Aliquippa.

I never knew my grandfather, Emiliano Frazzini, Rosa's brother. He died in 1942 and is buried in Beaver Falls. There were 8 children in all in Emiliano and Rosa's family. Four died very young. One daughter never got married. The last son, lived in Italy and I am in contact with his granddaughter.

I'm looking forward to learning more.

ciao.
Mark

Darlene wrote:

My aunt Mary finally found an old photo of Giusseppi Buzzelli, please check it to see if that's him, I'll send you more.

Picture of Achille & Julia Buzzelli we'll pick them up at kinko copies on friday. Did my daughter Lorelei contact you?

Please let me know
Thank you
Darlene Buzzelli/Weir

Here is the photo she sent. I am trying to get confirmation that this is Giuseppe and if the woman is Maria diMenna or my great-aunt Rosa Frazzini.

Here is as photo of Giuseppe's brother Lorenzo and and his wife Filomena at their weldding in Castel di Sangro, sent to me by Darlene Weir, Jan 2007. From US census records, they were married about 1908.