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Emil's War and Two Marriages, 1917 to 1966

Emil was born at Sarno on 24 September 1895, the son of Alexandro and Filomena. He crossed with his mother and brothers in 1903, at the age of eight. The record of his second marriage, in 1937, names his parents as Alexander Squitiere and Philomena “Juliano,” and his place in his parents’ household in 1910 and 1920 makes him almost certainly their son. A handwritten family chart records him as “Emilio Squitiere” and says that he married twice.

Like his brother Ralph, Emil went into the clothing trade. On 5 June 1917, aged 21, he registered for the draft at Philadelphia. He gave his address as 1635 South 19th Street and his work as a tailor for N. Snellenburg & Co., at 12th and Market Streets. He was single and claimed exemption because his mother and father depended on him.

He served anyway. Emil enlisted on 18 July 1918 and served as a private in the Headquarters Company of the 54th Pioneer Infantry, service number 3,353,926. Pioneer infantry regiments were Army units trained both to fight and to build, and they repaired roads, bridges and railways close behind the front. His Pennsylvania service card shows that he served first in the 57th Pioneer Infantry and then in the 54th, and that he was overseas from 29 August 1918 to 26 June 1919. The 54th had been formed at Camp Wadsworth, South Carolina, on 4 January 1918, from the 71st New York Infantry. It left camp on 20 August 1918, sailed from Newport News on 29 August and landed at Brest, in France, on 12 September. It served in the Meuse-Argonne offensive from 25 September until the Armistice, and in December went on to occupation duty near Coblenz, in Germany. The Army’s monthly rosters carry Emil from July 1918 through May 1919. He was discharged at Camp Dix on 1 July 1919.

Fifteen days later, on 16 July 1919, Emil became an American citizen (certificate 32771). His witnesses were Frank Felici, a tailor, and Salvatore Pirolo, who had both known him since July 1914. The timing fits the quicker naturalization then open to soldiers, though the record does not say so. In 1934 he applied for Pennsylvania’s bonus for veterans of the war, asking $110 for eleven months’ service. The application gives his address as Lancaster Avenue, possibly number 324 West, the house his brother Louis gave in 1929, and names his wife, Rose, his children, Anthony and Gloria, his mother, Philomena, and his father, Alexander, though Alexandro had died in December 1930.

Emil’s first wife was Rose Ross. By the family’s account she was born Rose Ross. The handwritten chart gives her fuller maiden name as “Rose Mastro di Archangelo,” with the note that “Rose’s family changed their last name to Ross”. Read together, the two accounts put the change of name in her parents’ generation. Rose was born in Pennsylvania to Italian-born parents. The ages that she and Emil gave in 1930 for their first marriage, 15 and 22, put the wedding in 1917 or 1918. In January 1920 Rose, 18, was in his parents’ household at Wayne as their married daughter-in-law.

Their son, Anthony Benedict Squitiere, was born at Wayne on 19 October 1920, and their daughter, Gloria Marie, on 5 February 1922, also at Wayne. Gloria’s Social Security application, which she supplied herself, names her parents as Emil Squitiere and Rose “Ross[i]”. By 1930 Emil owned the rowhouse at 2226 Pierce Street, South Philadelphia, and was a tailor in a shop. Rose, 27, Anthony, 9, and Gloria, 8, lived with him. That census, which lists Rose as Emil’s wife and Anthony and Gloria as their children in one household, makes her the mother of both.

The marriage did not last. The Court of Common Pleas No. 1 granted Emil a divorce from Rose on 30 November 1936, on his petition, for adultery. The decree forbade Rose, during her lifetime, to marry the man with whom it found she had committed adultery, printed as “ANDY”. By the family’s account, Rose left Philadelphia for New York in 1936 with the man who became known as Albert Rossi, and from then on both used the surname Rossi. She worked at a hospital, possibly Presbyterian Hospital in New York, and lived in New York until at least the early 1990s. A granddaughter, one of Anthony’s daughters with Catherine Hanlon, was the executor of Rose’s estate and remembers many “also known as” names in its papers.

The couple are probably the Albert and Rose Rossi of Washington Heights, in Manhattan. In April 1940 Albert Rossi, 39, born in Delaware, and his wife, indexed as “Ross” Rossi, 37, lived in the apartments at 708 West 171st Street and 105 Haven Avenue. Albert worked seventy hours a week as an elevator operator in an apartment house, and Rose forty-four hours a week in a hospital linen room. Their lodger, Regina Hera, 20, single and born in Pennsylvania, worked in a hospital laundry. The Haven Avenue block between West 168th and West 171st Streets is the site of the Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center, home of Presbyterian Hospital. On 15 February 1942 Albert Rossi of 105 Haven Avenue registered for the draft. He gave his birth as 31 March 1901 at Wilmington, Delaware, his employer as the Darling Estate, 23 East 21st Street, and his contact as “Mrs. Rose Rossi.” The registrar noted burn scars on his left arm and tattoos on both arms. In April 1950 Albert, 49, an elevator operator, and Rose C. Rossi, 47, born in Pennsylvania, still lived in Manhattan, again with Regina Hera.

Rose C. Rossi was born on 7 June 1902 and died in February 1990, aged 88. Her Social Security number was issued in New York, and she filed for Social Security benefits on 20 April 1967. She is buried with Albert at Saint Joseph’s Cemetery and Mausoleum, Hackensack, in Bergen County, New Jersey, under a granite upright stone with two crosses and ivy that reads “ROSSI / ALBERT 1901–1953 / ROSE C. 1902–1990”. Albert probably died in 1953; a residence record for an Albert Rossi born in March 1901 is dated February 1953.

Much points to Rose Ross. The names Rose and Albert, the surname the family gives, the hospital work beside Presbyterian Hospital and the Pennsylvania birth of 1950 all fit. Rose C. Rossi’s birth in June 1902 fits every age Emil’s wife gave: 18 in January 1920, 27 in April 1930, 37 in April 1940 and 47 in April 1950. Her death in 1990 fits the family’s memory of her death about 1990 to 1993. Against it, the 1940 census gives her birthplace as Delaware and says the couple were at the same address in 1935, before the family’s date for Rose’s leaving. No record names Rose C. Rossi as Emil’s former wife, and if Albert took the name Rossi, his birth name is not known.

On 10 September 1937 Emil took out a license to marry Lucy Barlafante, a widow. She was born Lucy Pitetti at Philadelphia on 28 December 1904, the daughter of Vincent Pitetti and Theresa Rossi, and Barlafante was the name of her first husband, who had died on 14 August 1931. Vincent J. Girard, a Minister of the Gospel, married them. By the family’s account, the Rossi surname of Lucy’s mother is a coincidence and has nothing to do with the Rossi name Rose later used.

Lucy brought two daughters into the house, and in 1939 she and Emil had a son, Emilio. In 1940 the household at 2226 Pierce Street held Emil and Lucy, Anthony, 19, Gloria, 18, their son Emil, under a year old, and Lucy’s daughters, 13 and 11. They had been in the same house in 1935. In 1950 the younger daughter, 20, used the surname Squitiere and worked as a service clerk in a department store.

ChildBirthDeathMarried
Anthony Benedict19 October 1920, WayneNovember 1974Teresa Marie McCafferty, 6 December 1941; Catherine Theresa (“Kitty”) Hanlon, 1953
Gloria Marie5 February 1922, WayneNovember 1983Anthony Prosperi, 1942
Emilio1939probably 22 February 2023, Philadelphiaprobably Marie D’Agostino

Emilio, Anthony’s half-brother, was entered as Emil in 1940 and as “Emilo,” 10, in 1950. He is probably the Emilio Squitiere, entered as “Emilio Squitieri, Jr.” in a residence record, who was born on 27 June 1939 and died at Philadelphia on 22 February 2023. His obituary, which uses the Italian spelling of the surname, names his late wife, Marie (née D’Agostino), and his four children. His funeral Mass was at the Epiphany of Our Lord, 11th and Jackson Streets. The obituary does not name his parents, but his name, birth year, the “Jr.” and the South Philadelphia parish all fit.

Pierce Street remained Emil’s home through 1950. When he registered for the draft in 1942, he worked at John Wanamaker’s Men’s Store, at Broad and Chestnut Streets, and named Lucy Squitiere, at the same address, as his contact. The card describes him as six feet tall and 190 pounds, with gray eyes, brown hair and a ruddy complexion. In 1950 he was a fitter in a clothing factory.

Emil died at Philadelphia on 17 August 1966. He is buried at Holy Cross Cemetery, Yeadon, with Lucy, who died in 1994. His memorial marks him as a veteran, for his Army service of 1918 and 1919. It names only Anthony among his children, as its maker knew the family, and does not mention Rose or Gloria.

References

  • FamilySearch. “Italia, Salerno, Stato Civile (Archivio di Stato), 1809-1949.” familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:6YZM-TXGC. Sarno birth of Emilio Squitieri, 24 Sept. 1895, cert. 470. Index only.
  • FamilySearch. “Pennsylvania, County Marriages, 1775-1991,” familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:Q28P-PPQT (Emilio Squitiere and Lucy Barlafante, 10 Sept. 1937; parents Alexander Squitiere and Philomena Juliano, and Vincent Pitetti and Theresa Rossi) and 1:1:Q28P-PG5C (18 Sept. 1937). Index only.
  • FamilySearch. “United States, Census, 1910,” familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MG7C-X6D. Alexander Squidieri, 48, with Philomena and children Ralph, Emilian, Joseph, Salvatore, Philomena and Luigi, Philadelphia Ward 26, ED 575, sheet 8B. Index only; image not viewed. Image filed as Read the record
  • FamilySearch. “United States, Census, 1920,” familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M6B1-YFB (Emila Squitiere) and 1:1:M6B1-YN3 (Rose Squitiere, daughter-in-law); household of Alexander Squitiere, ED 190, Delaware County, Pa., sheet 19B. Index only; image not viewed.
  • Ancestry.com LifeStory printout, Emil Squitiere (paywalled; cited as record location), family archive scan.
  • FamilySearch. “United States, World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918” (NARA M1509), Pennsylvania: familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:WRYN-J63Z (Joseph Aloysius Squitiere, Delaware County Local Board 3, registered 12 Sept. 1918, image 1089), 1:1:WRYN-J6ZM (Salvador Squitiere, image 1090) and 1:1:44V5-RYW2 (Emilio Squitiere, Philadelphia precinct 12-36, registered 5 June 1917, image 906). All three card images read 24 Sept. 2026. Original. Image filed as Read the record
  • FamilySearch. “United States, Veterans Administration Master Index, 1917-1940,” familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:W3R8-1CW2 (Emilio Squitiere: Pvt, Co Hq, 54 Pioneer Inf; 2226 Pierce St; service no. 3 353 926; enlisted 7/18/18; discharged 7-1-19; died 8-17-66). Card image read 24 Sept. 2026. Original. With “United States, Enlisted and Officer Muster Rolls and Rosters, 1916-1939,” entries for Emilio Squitiere, 31 July 1918 to 31 May 1919 (for example 1:1:DSRJ-KLW2), index only. Image filed as Read the record
  • Monthly roster, Emilio Squitiere, December 1918, family archive transcript Read the record
  • Ancestry, “Pennsylvania, U.S., World War I Veterans Service and Compensation Files, 1917–1919, 1934–1948,” Emilio Squitiere: the Adjutant General’s service card and the 1934 application. Read on the images.
  • New York State Military Museum. “54th Pioneer Infantry Regiment.” museum.dmna.ny.gov/unit-history/54th-pioneer-infantry. Accessed 24 Sept. 2026. [reference]
  • FamilySearch. “Pennsylvania, Eastern District Naturalization Records, 1795-1952,” familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QGB1-LJBK (Emilio Squitiere, born 24 Sept. 1895, Sarno; 16 July 1919, certificate 32771); “New York, Passenger Arrival Lists (Ellis Island), 1892-1925,” 1:1:JFTK-P62 (11 Sept. 1903); “United States, Social Security Death Index,” 1:1:JP8N-5N1 (died Aug. 1966); Find a Grave Index, 1:1:X7B8-YLT6. Index only.
  • Naturalization record, Emilio Squitiere, Philadelphia, 1919, family archive transcript Read the record
  • The Suburban and Wayne Times (Wayne, Pa.), 26 April 1929, p. 4 (the notice of Louis Squitere) and p. 6 (the card of R. Pizzi, Devon), Villanova University Digital Library, vudl:1144875. Read on the page images.
  • Facts supplied directly by the family.
  • FamilySearch. “United States, Census, 1930,” familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XHW2-5C8. Emil Squitiere, 34, Rose, 27, Anthony, 9, and Gloria, 8, 2226 Pierce Street, Philadelphia, sheet 23A, lines 35–38 (image 1069). Image read 24 Sept. 2026: owned home, tailor in a shop, ages at first marriage 22 and 15. Original. Image filed as Read the record
  • FamilySearch. “Pennsylvania, World War II Draft Registration Cards, 1940-1945,” familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:Q2SB-3PBG (Anthony Benedict Squitiere, 16 Feb. 1942, born 19 Oct. 1920, Wayne, Pa.; employer Maytag Washing Machine Co.; contact Theresa Squitiere) and 1:1:Q2SB-35WR (Louis [name withheld], 16 Oct. 1940, wife Rose); “United States, Social Security Death Index,” 1:1:JBB2-BQQ ([name withheld], died Nov. 1974). Index only.
  • FamilySearch. “Delaware, Marriage Records, 1913-1954,” familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:F3SG-VYM and 1:1:F3SG-VT1 (Anthony Prosperi and Gloria T. Squitiere, Wilmington, 1942; Emil Squitiere and Rose Ross named as her parents); and “United States, Social Security Numerical Identification Files (NUMIDENT), 1936-2007,” 1:1:6K9K-SX64 (Gloria Marie Squitiere, born 5 Feb. 1922, Wayne, Pa.; parents Rose Ross and Emil Squitiere) and 1:1:6K9K-372K (Rose Ross). Index only.
  • U.S. Social Security Administration records (SS-5 applications; Death Master File/SSDI), via index aggregators.
  • Certified divorce decree, Court of Common Pleas No. 1, Philadelphia County, December Term 1935, No. 3410, Emilio Squitiere v. Rose Squitiere, 30 November 1936, family archive transcript Read the record
  • FamilySearch. “Pennsylvania, County Marriages, 1775-1991,” familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:Q28P-PP9Q (Emilio Squitiere) and 1:1:Q28P-PP97 (Rose Squitiere, bride), 30 Nov. 1936, Philadelphia. Index only.
  • FamilySearch. “United States, Census, 1940,” familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:K3YY-DP2 (Albert Rossi, 39, and Ross [Rose] Rossi, 37, with lodger Regina Hera, Manhattan, Assembly District 23, ED 31-2130, 708 W. 171st St. and 105 Haven Ave., sheet 15B, lines 47–49; image 987 read 24 Sept. 2026); and “United States, Census, 1950,” 1:1:6XYM-TYX2 (Albert Rossi, 49, elevator operator, and Rose C. Rossi, 47, born Pennsylvania, with Regina Hera, Manhattan, ED 31-2276, p. 73, lines 2–4; index only). Image filed as Read the record Read the record
  • Family archive transcripts of the Squitiere-line census entries, 1910–1950 Read the record Read the record Read the record
  • FamilySearch. “New York, New York City, World War II Draft Registration Cards, 1940-1947,” familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:WH5K-T63Z. Albert Rossi, serial T328, 105 Haven Avenue, born 31 Mar. 1901 at Wilmington, Del.; contact Mrs. Rose Rossi; employer Darling Estate, 23 East 21st St.; registered 15 Feb. 1942, Local Board 65. Card image read 24 Sept. 2026. Original. Image filed as Read the record
  • Draft registration (WWII), Albert Rossi, Manhattan, 1942, family archive transcript Read the record
  • FamilySearch. “United States, Social Security Death Index,” familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:JP41-CPF (Rose C Rossi, born 7 June 1902, died Feb. 1990, age 88, number issued New York); “United States, Social Security Numerical Identification Files (NUMIDENT), 1936-2007,” 1:1:6K99-NSC8 (claim 20 Apr. 1967); “United States, Residence Database, 1970-2024,” 1:1:6YNK-XLG8 (Albert Rossi, born March 1901, Feb. 1953). Find a Grave, memorials 215844503 (Rose C Rossi, 1902–1990) and 215844193 (Albert Rossi, 1901–1953), Saint Joseph’s Cemetery and Mausoleum, Hackensack, Bergen County, N.J.; shared headstone photograph read 24 Sept. 2026. Index and photograph. Photograph filed as
  • Photograph of the Rossi headstone, Saint Joseph’s Cemetery, Hackensack, family archive transcript
  • Marriage license application and certificate, Emilio Squitiere and Lucy Barlafante, Philadelphia, 1937, family archive transcript Read the record
  • FamilySearch. “United States, Census, 1940.” familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:KQZ6-XV1. [name withheld] with Emil and Lucy Squitiere, Philadelphia. Index only.
  • FamilySearch. “United States, Census, 1940,” familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:KQZ6-XVY. Emil Squitiere household, Philadelphia Ward 36, ED 51-1347, sheet 7A, line 36; same house in 1935. Index only. Supplements [109].
  • FamilySearch. “Delaware, Marriage Records, 1913-1954.” familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:F3SF-NS5; and “Delaware, Vital Records, 1650-1974,” familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QPQJ-QQQG. Anthony B. Squitiere and Theresa M. McCafferty, Wilmington, 6 Dec. 1941, certificate file no. 6606. Image 679 of 1,164 in “Marriages: Delaware. Marriage Records 1941” read on 20 Sept. 2026. Original. The certificate copy is filed as
  • FamilySearch. “United States, Census, 1950,” familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:6XBK-16B1. Emilo Squitiere, 55, fitter, clothing factory, house number 2226, with Lucy, Emilo, 10, and Reta, Philadelphia, ED 51-1801, p. 11, line 20. Index only. Image filed as
  • FamilySearch. “United States, Obituary Records, 2014-2023,” familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XM2T-LG2S (obituary of Emilio Squitieri, born 27 June 1939, died 22 Feb. 2023, Philadelphia, published 24 Feb. 2023); and “United States, Residence Database, 1970-2024,” entry for Emilio Squitieri, Jr, born June 1939, Philadelphia, 1969. Index and obituary text.
  • FamilySearch. “United States, World War II Draft Registration Cards, 1942” (NARA M1951, fourth registration), familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VQN8-3NN. Emilio Squitiere, 2226 Pierce St., born 24 Sept. 1895, employer John Wanamaker Men’s Store, Broad and Chestnut Sts., contact Lucy Squitiere. Card image read 24 Sept. 2026. Original. The index’s employer entry (“Emilio/Squitiere”) is an indexing error. Image filed as Read the record
  • Draft registration (WWII), Emilio Squitiere, Philadelphia, 1942, family archive transcript Read the record
  • Find A Grave memorials.