The Marzos

The Marzo home, Iselle Trasquera, Italy. Built about 1630
Fortunata, Adolfo and Camillo were born here. Fortunata was stillborn.

These stone houses are high up in the Italian Alps. The tiny windows are necessary to keep out the bitter cold, but they also make the rooms very dark. This area is near the borders with Italy, France and Switzerland. The men would sell their cheese in France. Illegal, but they would get a better price

Rosa Marzo b. 1857 - Eugene Marzo - b. 1854

The people of Rosa and Eugene's little alpine village were noted artists. In spring, Eugene, who was a marvelous painter, went down to the French villages, along with the rest of the Italian artists, where the inhabitants eagerly awaited the arrival of the Italians, who painted the houses with beautiful frescoes. Eugene did wonderful cherubs which graced the archways and walls of the French homes. As a young child, Dolph's daughter,Agnes, remembers seeing his work, and also remembers people coming to their home in Placentia to have fine furniture repaired and repainted. And, at that time, Eugene was up in years, too.

Uncle Antoine

Antoine Marzo, my dad's uncle, was educated in France. He remained there the rest of his life and became an artist, specializing in still life. He became a member of the French Academy of Fine Arts. He gave a still life of cherries and roses as a wedding gift to Ferdinando and Athleen. That picture still hangs in my home.

In 1883, Rosa and Eugene came to America with their two boys, Camillo and Adolfo, a baby. On the way over, one of the mothers on the ship became ill so, during the rest of the trip, Rosa nursed her child along with Adolph. The two families settled in or near San Francisco and became life-long friends.

Granny was ahead of her times. She went to school in France, had an inquisitive mind and a love of sharing her knowledge. She loved to sit outside at night with the family and point out the different heavenly bodies. She and Aunt Tillie used to listen to the USC football games over the kitchen radio. They marked a shirt board like a football field and kept track of the game using buttons. She had a quick wit and a good sense of humor. In San Francisco, she taught Italian for many years. She always had a flower garden and roses were her favorites.

Matilda and Ferdinando Caesar were born in San Francisco. The family moved to Sonoma in 1904 and they operated the Garibaldi Hotel for three or four years. Then they bought a 7 acre ranch on the Sonoma Creek. When Dolph's friend, Jim Modini, returned home after a visit to Italy, as a surprise, he brought Eugene's mother back with him. And what a surprise it was She was one of the reasons Rosa and Eugene left for America.

Sonoma, California. 1908

At the ranch and on the banks of the Sonoma Creek.

At one time 6 adults lived in this house, my grandparents, their three grown sons and the mother-in-law It is not a large house. I have been by there often. Tom and I have even gone thru the backyard, down the steep slope to the Sonoma Creek. It is lovely down there, like in another world.

At the time of the earthquake, Daddy was living with Granny and Grandpa in Sonoma. Granny sent him into San Francisco to look for his two older brothers who had their business in the city and also lived in the family home on Green Street. On the way to the city, Daddy saw streams of people pouring out of the city, carrying what possessions they had left. He feared for his brothers and when he got to the house on Green Street his fears were confirmed; the house was burned to the ground. Daddy searched around to see if anyone had seen his brothers. Sadly, he returned to Sonoma to tell the awful news to his mother, only to find her happily waiting for his return as his brothers had escaped, unharmed. They had unknowingly passed each other in the melee of people fleeing the ravages of The Great San Francisco Earthquake and Fire of 1906

The remains of the Green Street home and San Francisco in ruins.

Camillo .. Nandi .. Tillie .. Dolf, second from the left, in Muir Woods, San Francisco, CA.

The family moves to Los Angeles. Here at Lincoln Park
Grandpa with Leo, Dolf with Adele, Joe, Tillie with Betty, Granny
around 1916

In 2012 I met a man on Facebook because we played the same game. His name is Gianfranco Baudin and is from around Turin. He started posting some of his old photos and I was shocked to see a man that looked very much like Grandpa Marzo ... well it was.... Here are three of the photos he posted.

Back: Camillo Front: Dolf, Nandi, and Tillie around 1894.

Left: Grannie and Grandpa with friends they had made when they came over on the boat in 1883 or so. Right: Adele, Grannie, Betty, Leo and Bobby. I don't recognize the girl on the left. Can you believe this?

Around 1980, Gianfranco went to the old family homes and collected all the old photos. Thirty years later he is starting to post them on facebook. He knows who most of the people are. He wrote down what was written down on the backs of the photos. He wanted to see those who had emigrated from Italy and to see how they were doing. I was shocked when I saw these! I think we may be related but so far haven't been able to find out for sure.

Granny and Grandpa Marzo

1928

This picture, taken in the late 1920s, is in front of their house in Placentia, California. In the back there was an alley and across the alley was the home of Aunt Tillie and her family. When Granny became ill, Tilllie tended to her, with her daughter, Adele spending the nights there. Grannie had cancer of the esophagus and couldn't eat so she had a feeding tube inserted into her throat. Soft, mush-like foods would pass thru this tube, but it would become stopped up often. It would have to be removed, cleaned and re-inserted.

Granny died in 1930. Grandpa died in 1935

Click back arrow to return

The Marzo Family