Early Photos Of The Barufa Family

           

Possibly Ernesto Baruffa c.1884                                           Elizabetta "Elizabeth" (Groffani) Barufa
                                                                                                       wife of Ernesto  c. 1912
                            
 Possibly Giovanna Baruffa c.1884              Jean, Mary and Giovanni Barufa  c.1915                   John Groffani 
  Brother of Ernesto

Sermerio,Province of Brescia, Italy... Birthplace and hometown of Ernesto Barufa

UNIDENTIFIED INDIVIDUALS

The Barufa side of the family originates from north-central 
Italy, at the  foot of the Alps, in the Lombardy region. Here, 
from the town of Sermerio, one of the 18 small towns on the plateau 
overlooking Lake Garda (Lago di Garda) that make up the community 
of Tremosine, in the Province of Brescia, Ernest Barufa was born on 
the 22 of March in 1864. The town is located at base of the steep,
barren foothills of the Italian Alps, overlooking the plateau, and 
was quite small.It has changed little in the past hundred years.

The family spelling of the name is Baruffa, with two F', and 
one of the F's was dropped when the family was in America. His father,
Agostino died  in 1884. His mother, Giovannia (Dalo) passed away in 
1904. Ernesto had one sister, a Caterina Eccli and two brothers; Giovanni, 
who died in 1923, and Angelo, who died in 1909. (This may possibly be 
the brother who was supposedly murdered in California. There is a record 
of an Angelo Baruffa, close to the age of Angelo, dying in California in 
1909, the same year Angelo is known to have died.) 

Angelo was married to a Virginia Beretta and had four children; 
Giovannia, Silvio (April , 1895), Genna, and Agostino. Giovannia was married to a 
one Pietro Leonyio. Silvio came to the United States sometime prior to
1936. He lived in Groton, Connecticut and was employed at the Electric
Boat Company and later with General Dynamics. He died in Waterford,
Connecticut in 1984. His wife, Mary Rossetti, also of Italy, died in 1994.

All this information was garnered from a "certificatodi stato di famiglia." 
which is a certificate of family status. This is a distinctively 
Italian document (the Baruffa copy is seen in the background of this
page)that reflects the desire and effort of each town(commune)to keep an updated and on-going account of the status of 
each family in the town. This was often done by the recorder of vital 
information, usually the mayor of the town. The practice started 
around 1870, but was still quite rare prior to 1910. The Baruffa 
document was written by the town mayor and is dated from 1924. It was 
probably used to notify Ernest on the state of the family due to the 
recent death of his brother Giovanni. Also, when held up against a 
light, a watermark authenticating the document is visible. 
It consists of the emblem of Italy with "Regno D'Italia (Kingdom of 
Italy) 1922 CM" underneath.

When he was around 17, he emigrated to the United States. Ernest's 
"Declaration Of Intention" paper, which was the preliminary paperwork 
for naturalization, stated that this was around the 25 of April in the
year 1881. It also states that he came via Liverpool to New York City. 

When Ernest filled out this paperwork in January of 1907, he was living 
on Chesnut Street in Springfield and was working as a hod carrier, 
which was a person who carried a load of bricks on his back for the use 
of the masons. This is the earliest record found relating to Ernest and the span of years from when he entered the United States, which may not have been 1881, until 1907 is somewhat of a mystery. Supposedly he was somewhat of a vagabond, heading out west upon his arrival to America. 

  Between January on 1907 and March of 1908 he returned to Italy, most likely to arrange a marriage. He passed through Ellis Island on March 22, 1908 at the age of 43 on the ship La Touraine. In November of that year his future wife Elisabetta Groffani, age 25, arrived in America from Genoa, Italy on the ship Konig Albert.  
  Ernesto?s two nephews and niece, children of his brother Angelo, came to America on November 25, 1911 on the ship LaSavoie. Giovanna was 14 years of age, Silvio was 16 and Agostino was 10. This was two years after their father?s death. 
  
Elisabetta was from the same town as Ernesto, and  was born on May 13, 1884. She was a small women, being only 5'1" and had black hair and brown eyes. 
At this time she was twenty years Ernest's junior. It is told that Ernest was supposed to marry her sister, but for some reason ended up wed to Elizabeth. 

She entered through Ellis Island, and her name is now inscribed in the
"Immigrant Wall Of Honor" at the island.Her name is on Panel 489.  Upon arrival to Ellis Island,
Elizabeth was held for four days due to having one leg shorter than 
the other. Immigrants who were judged to have some physical disability
or medical problem were labeled with a chalk letter on their upper 
chest (such as 'E' for an eye problem or 'K' for a kidney aliment) and
held until doctors deemed them fit to remain in the country. This was 
the greatest fear of the newly arriving immigrants, the fear of being 
sent back to their country. Stories I have heard that explain this 
problem are that Elizabeth was injured as a child, either from being 
hit by a wagon or falling in the nearby Alp mountains,
and her broken hip was never set properly. There may be some truth to this
as she grew up in the rugged foothills of the Alps in northern Italy.

Ernest and Elizabeth were wed and by 1910 were in the West Springfield
area. Six children soon followed. The first Gio, or Giovanni, was born
on the 8th of July in 1909 in West Springfield. He would die in 
Westfield on the 30th of July in 1917at the age of eight. Giovannia, 
(Jean, or Jennie) was born on October 16, 1910. On April 6, 1912, 
Catherine arrived, only to pass away on January 14, 1913 of 
'Tuberculan Larynuitis' and was buried at St. Michael's Cemetery in 
Springfield. At this time the family was living at 56 Windsor Avenue,
where they would until 1916. In 1914, Marie, or Mary, was added to the
family. 

In 1916, the family was living at the corner of Bridge and River 
Streets in Agawam, Massachusetts, and by the following year had moved 
to Westfield. It is in Westfield that the last two children were
born, John in 1918 and Rose, or Rosa, on the first of July, 1924. 
Rose died on the third of February in 1927 from diphtheria, which her
brother John was also suffering from at the time, though he
survived. A little over a month prior, five days before Christmas, 
Ernest passed away after a long illness. 

One problem in tracing this family has been the name, which was 
shortened from the more popular Baruffa, with two F's. Under this 
spelling there is a one Angelo Baruffa entering the country in 1889,
though whether this is a relation or not is unclear. Another problem 
is other records are wrong. For instance, the family was living in 
Westfield at 7 Woodmont Street from 1918 until about late 1920,
when they moved 22 Cowles Court. In the 1920 census though, the 
family is entered under the surname "Ornizbar". It appears the census
taker had difficulty with the heavy Italian accent (the census record
shows Elizabeth still unable to speak English) and confused 
"Ernest Bar", the name Ernest often went by, as the surname 
"Ornizbar." 

At this time, Ernest was employed as a laborer in the Vitrified Wheel
Shop. Around 1923, he was sick enough to enter the hospital for an 
operation. His illness, supposedly a 'black lung' type of aliment, 
from the coal dust in the factories, was one from which he never 
recovered. Ernest was still sick when the money ran out and he was 
sent home from the hospital, and he passed away at home.
Elizabeth lived to be 78 years of age, passing away in January of 
1963. She left a brother John and a sister named Maria in Italy. 

There may have been other Baruffa's in the United States. 
Ernesto's brother Angelo had a son Silvio who it seems
moved to Connecticut sometime prior to 1936. According to Social
Security records, Silvio was born in the Province of Brescia on April
4, 1895 and died in Waterford, Connecticut in 1985. He last worked for 
General Dynamics and lived in Groton with his wife, Mary (Rossetti), also
of Italy
 
       

Elizabeth Barufa and Elizabeth Barry         John and Rita's Wedding
             1962

MORE FAMILY LINKS

                                         BARUFA FAMILY TREE
         Agositno Baruffa  --------------------------------Giovannia (Dalo) Baruffa
          died: 1884                            |                              died: 1904
                                                |
                                                |                                     |                                                          
                                                |                                     |                                                          
Giovanni --------------------------- Angelo   -------------------------------------  Ernesto  ---------------------------------------------------------Caterina (Eccli)                                                               
 d. 1923                            d. 1909                            b. August 25, 1866  Sermerio,Prov. of Brescia, Italy                    d.???
                           Married Virginia (Beretta)                      -Hod Carrier, Factory Worke
                           Children:                                   d.1926   Westfield, MA                            
                             Agostino                                        Married Elisabetta Groffani
                             Silvio=1895-1984 Wife= Mary Rossetti             Children:
                             Genna                                              Giovanni-b.July 8, 1909 d. July 30, 1917
                             Giovannia                                           Catherine- b. April 1912 d. Jan. 14, 1913
                                 Married Pietro Leongio                          Giovannia (Jean) October 16, 1910
                                                                                         Married Edward Barry Feb. 18, 1933
                                                                                 Marie (Mary) Rose b.May 3, 1914 d. Dec. 14, 1998
                                                                                 Rose b. August 1923 d. Feb. 2, 1927
                                                                                 John b. November 1918
                                                                              ELIZABETTA (ELIZABETH) GROFFANNI
                                                                               b. 1884 Prov. Of Brescia, Italy
                                                                               d. Jan. 6, 1963  Westfield, Massachusetts