Carmela DeVITIS and her Grandparents
Giovanni ESPOSITO and Palma DeINNO
| The following story was told to us by Bruce's Aunt Faye and his 93-year-old Greataunt Julia DeVITIS MAIENZET, during our visit Memorial Day weekend 1999. Aunt Julia is the last surviving DeVitis child. Bruce's Grandmother, Carmela DeVITIS SANDLER, was Julia's eldest sister. At age 93, Aunt Julia was just as sharp as can be. It was a great honor to meet her. | |
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Below is a picture of Carmela with her maternal grandparents in Italy. 
Carmela DeVitis was born October 31, 1900 in Palombaro, Italy.
From the age of 1 year, until she was about 12 years old, Carmela was
raised by her maternal grandparents, Giovanni ESPOSITO and Palma DeINNO,
in Italy. Carmela's mother, Maria, was an only child. When Maria and
her husband Bernardo decided to immigrate to the United States, Carmela
was left behind with her Grandparents. This was partly so that Maria's
parents would not be alone. However, this was also an incentive for
Maria to return to Italy to visit her parents.
Maria and Bernardo DeVITIS settled in southeast Pennsylvania around the Philadelphia area. After their arrival in the United States, Maria and Bernardo had three more children: Joseph, born March 7, 1902; John, born July 15, 1904; and Julia, born May 20, 1906. In 1907 Maria took two of her three children, Joseph and Julia, back to Italy to visit her parents with the intention of bringing Carmela back to the United States with her. Each time Maria tried to leave, her father-in-law and mother-in-law would hide Joseph. According to Aunt Julia, they would hide him in the chimney. This went on for several years. What started out to be a visit home, turned into a five year stay! Finally, in 1912 Maria decided she was going back to the United States, even if it meant leaving Joseph behind. Maria returned to the U.S. with her daughters Carmela and Julia. Joseph was left with his paternal Grandparents. In the meantime back in the United States, Bernardo had become involved with another woman and fathered a daughter. Upon Maria's return, however, she and Bernardo were back together long enough for another child to be born to them. Palmena (Polly) was born September 21, 1913. The reunion did not last long, however. As Aunt Julia put it: "Bernardo had too many women problems" and left the country to live in Sao Paulo, Brazil. He left both Maria and the other woman to fend for themselves. After Bernardo's departure, Maria became ill and was not able to take care of her children. Carmela and John were placed in one orphanage; Julia and Polly were placed in another. Aunt Julia remembers many hungry and unpleasant times in the orphanage. Julia and Polly were eventually put in a foster home, where food was plentiful and the living conditions much better than the orphanage. The foster parents wanted to adopt Julia and Polly, but when Maria recovered from her illness, she wanted her children back with her. Son Joseph, who was left behind in Italy in 1912, grew to adulthood, married, and had four children. At some point, Joseph came to the United States without his family. He met and married another woman in the U.S. and they had a son, Joseph. |
Created June 6, 1999 by Bruce and Marge Sandlier
Updated January 2009