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Ray Coniglio
(born Raimondo, named after his father's eldest brother Raimondo Coniglio)

Born: 23 May. 1918 ~ Robertsdale, Pennsylvania
Baptized: 24 September 1918 ~ Church of the Immaculate Conception, Dudley, Pennsylvania
Married Marion Cappellano: 14 February, 1941 ~ Buffalo, New York
Died: 9 November, 2009 ~ Melbourne, Florida


and
Marion Cappellano

3
 

        Ray was the second Coniglio (after Leonard) to be born in the United States.  Our parents Gaetano and Rosa Alessi Coniglio and my eldest brother Gaetano (Guy), who was born in 1913, emigrated from Serradifalco, Sicily in 1913 and 1914.  Ray was born in Wood (Woodvale) or Robertsdale Pennsylvania on 23 May 1918.  The date was from family memory, as it was recorded in Altoona, Pennsylvania, and the record subsequently burned in an accidental fire.
        Robertsdale did not have a Catholic church at the time, and it's believed that Ray, his elder brother Leonard, and younger brother Phil were either baptized by a visiting priest, or taken to be baptized at Immaculate Conception Church in nearby Dudley, Pennsylvania.
         Ray's baptism record corroborates his birth date as 23 May 1918.

 

 
 

Dudley's Immaculate Conception church in 2018

Father Matt

 
 

        On 5 November 2018, a hundred years and several months after Ray was born in Robertsdale, Angie and I visited the Immaculate Conception Church in Dudley, Pennsylvania, and with Father Matt Baum's assistance, found the baptism records of Leonard, Ray and Felice. 

Robertsdale Post Office, Pennsylvania 16674

Dudley Station

to the church

 

        I sent  myself a postcard from the Robertsdale Post Office.  Serendipity that the card is imprinted with what looks like a 'family tree'!

 

        It's four miles from Robertsdale to Dudley.  The elevation goes from 1,785 feet above sea level in Robertsdale to 1,975 feet in Broad Top City, back down to 1,627 feet in Dudley.  It's very likely that the Coniglio's had to walk there and back when a child was to be baptized, which may explain why they delayed making the trek after a child was born, until weather permitted.

.

        One reason the records have been so hard to find is that the Immaculate Conception church had been burned down twice by the Ku Klux Klan because it served Sicilians and other Catholic immigrants.  Ray's record was in this worn volume.  The year is not specified in the record itself, but the record was found in the section for the baptisms of the year 1918.  It is at the bottom of the right-hand page shown below.

Register for Ray's baptism record

Year 1918

Last record on the page

Enhanced record

 

Baptism Record ~ Dudley Immaculate Conception Church - 1918

This record was written in a combination of Latin, with abbreviations, and English, with some mis-spelled names.
Below the reconstruction of the record are a Latin transcription and a translation, with the correct spelling of names.

Septembris 24 Baptizavit Raymundus natum Maii 23 ex Gaetano
                  Coniglio et Rosa Alessi       Sponsibus Franciscus
                  Lo Nobile et Uxor Francisci Lo Nobile
                                                           Joseph Carr

September24   I baptized Raymond born May 23 of Gaetano
                  Coniglio and Rosa Alessi     Godparents Francesco
                  Lo Nobile and Mrs Francesco Lo Nobile
                                                           Joseph Carr

 

Len, Rosa & Ray about 1930

Ray

Phil and Ray ~ P.S. #6 Graduation ~ 1933

 

Part of "Coxie's Army" in front of the La Stella factory, 314 Myrtle Avenue, about 1932.

Back row: Vito "Bugs" Maniscalco, Tony "Wickersham" Nigro, Santo Vitrano
Middle row: Felice "Felix the Cat" Coniglio, Joe "Coxie" Calcaterra, Ray Coniglio
Front: Tony Coniglio

 

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~ 1975 ~

Ray and Marion ~ 2002

February 14, 2002

.

CLICK HERE to go to Ray's Page 2 to see his service record

 

Generations:

Genesis

1 (Siblings)

2 3 4 5

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Gaetano & Rosina

1
Guy

2
Len

3
Ray

4
Phil

5
Millie

6
Connie

7
Mary

8
Tony

9
Ange

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