My grandfather, Santo Antonio Rumore, was born on Nov. 2, 1861 in Bisacquino, Sicily. This is the same village where Frank Capra, the movie director, was born. My grandfather was the oldest of 12. He left Sicily in 1884 and arrived in New Orleans on Nov. 10 of that year. He had just turned 23. According to his naturalization papers, he lived in St. John Parish, Louisiana and worked on a sugar cane plantation, then moved to Alabama and worked in the mills, then moved to Virginia to work on a railroad, then moved to St. Martin Parish, Louisiana to again work in agriculture.
After years of working and saving he returned to Sicily and married my grandmother in 1898. My father, who was the oldest of 7, was born in Bisacquino on Nov. 7, 1899.
My grandfather returned to America with his wife and infant son in 1900. They first settled in Louisiana and then moved to Bessemer, Alabama in 1904. Five of his brothers eventually came over to this country and settled in Louisiana and Alabama. Four sisters and two brothers, who were priests, remained in Sicily. My grandparents opened a grocery store and eventually had seven children. My grandfather died in 1931. My grandmother died in 1954. The family has propspered. I have many cousins who are doctors, lawyers, accountants, business owners, and we have one priest and one lay deacon. The opportunities for us in this country have been phenomenal. In 2000, I became President of the Alabama State Bar, exactly 100 years after my grandfather came back to the U.S. with his little family. We have been blessed.
Pictured: The Rumore grandparents: My dad is in the lower left and an uncle is lower right. The photo was taken around 1905.