Carmine Cacace

Life

References for this account: [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10]

Work and occupation

• self-employed painter and contractor — 1950

  [RECORD] 35 — Painter — Contractor | O

  Citation: 1950 census, Brooklyn ED 24-1062, sheet 73 [2]

• Painting contractor

Where they lived

• 1950: Brooklyn, New York City, New York
• 1940: Brooklyn, New York City, New York

Use the place list first. The map below is optional.

The pins show approximate places. The line only joins them in time order; it does not prove the route travelled. 3 of the places listed above are recorded only as a county or country, so they are not pinned. Cemetery and burial places have red pins.

Historical context

These background articles explain the places, work, and events in this entry.

What we still don't know

• [THEY WERE NEIGHBOURS AS CHILDREN] In the 1940 census the **Spatarellas were in Brooklyn Assembly District 8, Enumeration District 24-883**, and the **Cacaces in the same Assembly District 8, Enumeration District 24-887** — tracts 125 and 131, a few streets apart. **Angelina Spatarella was nine and Frederick Cacace twelve**, and they would marry and become Gina Cacace's grandparents. Two enumeration districts is a short walk, not a coincidence to be marvelled at in a Brooklyn Italian neighbourhood — but it is the answer to how they met, and it is the closest this archive has come to catching two of its families before they joined.
• [TWO CHILDREN THIS ARCHIVE DID NOT HAVE] The 1940 census gives him and Ruth **three** children — Miholani 13, Fredrick 12 and Catherine 10 — where only Frederick was recorded here. The eldest daughter's name is the indexer's reading of something; **Nicolina** or **Michelina** are the likely originals, and Nicolina would follow the Italian custom of naming for the paternal grandfather, Nicola. Catherine is almost certainly **Caterina**, for the paternal grandmother Caterina Picone — which is the same custom and a small independent sign that Nicola and Caterina really are his parents.
• [CORRECTED] Carmine was born in Italy, not New York. Finding 61 read the 1950 census birthplace column as “N.Y.” and the archive built on that, treating him as the American-born son of an unknown immigrant couple. Four independent records contradict it: two naturalisation entries and his WWII draft registration all give Naples, Italy, and the 1940 and 1950 census indexes both give Italy. Decisively, he was naturalised at all — a man born in New York does not need to be. The 1950 handwritten entry should be re-examined, but the weight of evidence is not close.
• Obtain original birth, death, marriage and Pinelawn interment records; exact dates and plot remain compiled.
• [SEARCH SCOPE] Prior New Jersey-scoped searching returned nothing. Use Suffolk and Queens/NYC sources for this Long Island-centered branch; do not convert a New Jersey zero into evidence of absence.
• [CANDIDATE, NOT ASSERTED] Joseph F. Cacace (27 March 1905 – 14 February 1981) is buried at Pinelawn with Elizabeth Cacace (1910–1977) in Section 70, Block 5, Range 36, Plot L, Grave 60. A birth four years after Carmine's makes him a possible brother, but nothing beyond surname, cemetery and date supports that and no relationship is claimed.
• [NEGATIVE, CONTROLLED] No passenger manifest has been found for Carmine's 1916 arrival. A fuzzy search of the Ellis Island passenger lists, 1892–1925, for Carmine Cacace returns 24 results and none is his: the nearest are a Carmelo Cacase of 1906 and a Carmina Cassca of 1900. The manifest would be the cheapest route to his comune, since post-1906 forms name both the last place of residence and the nearest relative left behind. It is likely indexed under a mangled spelling; searching by ship and date once the naturalisation petition supplies them is the better path.
• [LOCATED, NOT YET READ] **Certificate 142652** is no longer a bare number. The index entry gives the court (Eastern District of New York), the date (21 October 1927) and the series (publication 576072, *Petitions for Naturalization, 1865-1991*). The index itself still says only "Naples", so the **comune** — the thing that would open Italian records — requires the petition document, which names the exact town of birth. That is now an order with a precise citation rather than a search.
• [CONFLICT] Birth date. This archive and his 1940s draft card give **10 February 1901**; the naturalisation index gives **12 February 1901**; his 1927 marriage record implies 1903 from an age of 24. All three are retained.
• [CONFLICT] The 1950 census enters his birthplace as **N.Y.** He was born at Naples — his 1927 naturalisation and his draft card both say so, and he was naturalised as an alien. A man twenty-three years an American citizen giving "New York" to an enumerator is unremarkable, but the discrepancy is recorded rather than smoothed away.
• [CONFLICT, MINOR] His birth is 10 February 1901 on his draft card and in this archive, and **12 February 1901** on his naturalisation. Two days, unexplained, and neither is a birth record.
• **His town.** Naples is a city of half a million and 'Naples, Italy' on an American form usually means the province or the port. His Declaration of Intention, certificate 142652, would give the comune — and so would a passenger list, which has not been found. This is the single most valuable document on the Italian side.

References

1. [1] Find a Grave memorial 275904320 for Carmine CacaceBack to citation 1a Back to citation 1b Back to citation 1c
2. [2] 1950 census, Brooklyn ED 24-1062, sheet 73Back to citation 2a Back to citation 2b Back to citation 2c
3. [3] Family-supplied correction to Fitzgerald and Cacace branch structureBack to citation 3
4. [4] Cacace branch search-scope correctionBack to citation 4
5. [5] Carmine Cacace naturalization, Eastern District of New York, 21 October 1927 (certificate 142652)Back to citation 5
6. [6] Carmine Cacace and Ruth Noga marriage, Brooklyn, 28 February 1927Back to citation 6
7. [7] Carmine Cacace memorial, Pinelawn Memorial ParkBack to citation 7
8. [8] Carmine Cacace household, 1940 census, Brooklyn Assembly District 8Back to citation 8
9. [9] Declaration of Intention for citizenship, Carmine Cacace, Eastern District of New York, 21 October 1927Back to citation 9
10. [10] World War II draft registration, Carmine Cacace, BrooklynBack to citation 10

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