The Search

Family matters

I’m totally excited. Arnetta and her family have been really interested in all my research and have begun diving in to their history for their family. They’re holding another reunion this August and want me to bring all my research to help them fill things in.

I’ve looked up a few things on the Brenckles, of course, because it was easy to do in all the other searching. When I found them, I sent them along. But all my questions have got them thinking about their own questions. That’s why they want me to bring all my research. We can compare notes.

That’s one of the best things, I think, about genealogy. It’s incredibly healing. At least, it has been for me. Maybe the things you find aren’t excuses for whatever behavior, hang-ups, habits or passions your family has, but they are explanations. And sometimes even knowing WHY can help you at least understand. You start realizing that you’re not just dealing with the things you carry, but that there are echos of the things your parents, grandparents, heck, even great-grandparents carried, too. Whether you had the perfect family or one that’s, well, not, we’re all the sum total of all the parts that came before us. And understanding how those parts came to be can free you from a lot of negative thoughts. I think that’s probably why people — and the celebrities — are addicted to ‘Who Do You Think You Are?’

So, now I have to focus on the essential questions for the family. What did they know about Howard Lager? Had they ever heard whether people thought he was innocent or got away with murder?

And there’s a trickier question that’s been playing on my mind. What if the Brenckles’ motives to adopt my grandfather and his brother were not so pure? What if they did it to buy their silence?

My initial thought is no, and here’s why. Phil and Joe were in county custody, according to all the news reports, from the morning of the fire until, it seems, sometime after the coroner’s jury returned its verdict in January 1923. They were definitely still in custody during the trial.There would be no way for the Brenckles to make some kind of promise or arrangement in exchange for testimony.

I went back to my original research and realized that the trust documents, and the subsequent payout forms, indicate that Phil and Joe were adopted in October of 1923. That’s only 10 months.

Now, I’m not sure what the county would have done. Phil was 16 and in most cases, the county turned you out on your own. Joe was 15, so his status is ambiguous. I could say that the county wouldn’t put them back with people they were calling murderers a few weeks previous, but one never knows.

Which brings up another very, very incongruous bit of information. One that might indicate where they were between January and October 1923.

Ohio.

I’ve maligned Pasquale as the evil uncle who’s carelessness altered my grandfather’s existence. But what if it wasn’t him? What if it was Ottavio? He’s the only other logical choice since he was actively involved in the trust issue.

The story I’d memorized from childhood included a memory that Grandpa and Joe had gone to Ohio to live with this bad uncle. And, they’d run away. They showed up on the Brenckles’ doorstep and that’s how they ended up being adopted.

Is that really what happened, or did my over-active imagination make it up — either in childhood or now? I won’t know until I ask the Brenckles.

July 13, 2011 0

The Stepfather

Since I discovered his existence, I’ve been curious about Mike Natale. I wondered about the man he was, what motivated him and, most importantly, what compelled him to walk away from three children who’d just lost their mother.

There are plenty of good men out there who step up to the plate and raise other people’s children — whether they’re uncles, stepfathers, grandfathers or good friends. Why was Mike Natale not among them? Heck, even Pasquale, such as he was, took his niece and nephews in.

I’ve found no indication that the siblings remained with Mike after their mother died. And if she was in the hospital for a month, it could be possible they were shipped to Pasquale’s before that.

Natale is a hard name to trace because there are many, many, many Natales. With a first name like Michele (Mike), it’s is even harder. I at least have his birthdate from the marriage record in 1916.

So, I do what so often ends up working for me. I Google and Ancestry until I come up with … something.

What I found tonight could offer an enormous explanation. Once again, it was a variation of the name (which you can set filters for on Ancestry) that brought up the hit.

If it’s true, it adds a whole new dimension to my grandfather’s brief life with his stepfather.

You see, the Mike Nataley I found, who was Italian, the correct age, was a widower and living in Allegheny County was, in 1920, living in an insane asylum.

If this is indeed the same man who for a year was Phil’s stepfather, it would go a long way to explaining why he didn’t, or perhaps couldn’t, take care of the siblings. It also creates a very sobering picture of what life might have been like for my grandfather in his home.

And it becomes even harder to judge “what kind of man” this stepfather was in light of this information. He could have been undone by grief and been dealing with a variant of depression. Mental illness was so incredibly misunderstood in this era people were locked up for things we treat successfully with talk therapy and medication today. He also truly could have had something very serious such as schizophrenia or bipolar disorder, which even today can require hospitalization. He could have been an addict. I don’t know. And what’s more, I don’t know if this Mike Natale(y) is our Mike.

So I’m Shoeboxing it until I find further supporting evidence.

And I’m left to wonder. Not just about Mike, but one of the perpetual questions of my search. What happened to Mike and Saverina’s baby?

February 20, 2011 0

In which I hit the information motherlode

All I can say is I freakin’ LOVE you, Ancestry!!

In the intervening months, I also circled in on the exact town where we are from. Sorbo San Basile. I cracked up when I found out they had their own website. There were pictures of people at local festivals and daggoneit if every single person didn’t look somewhat like me and my dad. Here’s the site.

It’s a speck on the map, really. So, if Catanzaro Province is like Pennsylvania and Catanzaro the city is like Harrisburg, then Sorbo San Basile is like Newburg. Someone from Newburg isn’t truly from Harrisburg. And when you start talking researching records, you’ve got to be specific.

Ancestry has message boards where you can post questions to see if you can connect. Well, I figure I might as well get on the Italy boards and see what’s what. There’s actually a forum for people searching Catanzaro, so I post there with Francesco and Saverina’s information.

I wait awhile and get a few responses. Then one guy tells me I need to check out a woman by the name of Dina. She’s apparently the person I want to connect with.

When we finally do connect, she combs through her extensive catalog of research and comes up with gold. This is our town, all right, and we go back a long way.

The name Venezia is not a “real” last name, per se. Italians would give orphaned babies the last name Esposito (meaning exposed. aw.) or the name of a large city in Italy. Based on the records in her tree, Francesco’s father Filippo Aristodemo Esposito Venezia (that’s a mouthful), was an orphan.

And get this. In the old days, churches in Italy had these things called “ruta.” They were little wheels that were in the exterior walls. There was a basket on the wheel. You can probably see where this is going. People put babies in the basket, turned the wheel so the baby was inside, rang a bell and ran. The nuns and priests took in the child.

It’s crazy how history repeats itself. Filippo was an orphan. Phil, who was likely named for his grandfather in the traditional Italian way, was an orphan. I realize that if my dad lives to see his grandchildren, he will be the first Venezia man in more than 100 years to do so. But, you know, no pressure. 🙂

That’s Francesco’s father. But it turns out Filippo Aristodemo married pretty well. Maria Giuseppa Gagliardi was from Sorbo’s upper class. The men in her family, Dina said, would have had the honorific Don Gagliardi, meaning landowner. OK, so it’s no castle in Italy, but it’s still pretty cool.

In hooking my tree up to Dina’s, I’ve discovered lines that go all the way back to the 1500s. I’ll probably never know exactly what we were before Venezia, but I’m still pretty proud to claim them. Dina’s not found much of anything on Severina, so there’s still that angle to pursue.

In the meantime, I’m savoring the thrill of truly, finally finding home for my dad and our family.

September 1, 2010 0

What we learned at the inquest

The Coroner’s Inquest has arrived and it left me feeling a little empty. There was some good stuff, for sure, but what was missing was the transcript. Surely, somewhere in the bowels of the Allegheny County archives, there must the record of what was said during the hearing over whether the fire was intentionally set.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m really happy to have it. It’s part of my general research on the case itself and it fills in a few details.

** WARNING: GRUESOME DISCUSSION AHEAD.**

So, anyway, the details of the kids’ deaths are pretty horrible. And the autopsy records are the stuff of nightmares.They were incinerated virtually beyond recognition. All that was left of poor Cecilia was the middle of her body. Poor little John was a head, upper torso and part of a femur. What’s interesting, and frankly odd, is that the coroner DUG UP THE BODIES to autopsy them. Uh, wait. What? Doesn’t a coroner hold a body and then release it for burial after a cause of death is decided? The bodies were buried shortly after Dec. 13th. The autopsy was conducted on the 30th. Both autopsy reports note the putrid odor of the remains.

I missed that little, about the hasty burial, when I read that article about the funeral services. I’d presumed the autopsy had been performed before the burial.

All that was left of both children was bones wrapped in a tarp. My heart broke for them. And for their parents. Yes, parents. In re-reading that funeral article, I also saw that the Drost kids father was still alive, as was John Orlowski’s father. Both are mentioned as having either attended the service or were being sought for contact. Phil and Joe were the only “true” orphans in this equation.

It was interesting to see that the Coroner’s office provided a Press Report, which contained the verdict, all the witnesses and general information about the deceased.

There was also a Proof of Identity document for Cecilia and John. Each contains critical information, such as when they were remanded to care and when they came to live at the Brenckles. I note that Camilla Barr, whose name appears in conjunction with Mary Venezia’s petition to have South Side Trust named as guardian of the money Pasquale left her, was the person in charge of Cecilia.

The cause of death, obviously, was incineration. Nothing further could be determined by the remains, including the sex of each body, according to the doctor who performed the autopsy — DeWayne Ritchey of Mercy Hospital. That fact was probably what made it hard for the jury to indict Howard Lager.

** OK TO RESUME READING IF YOU SKIPPED THE LAST PART **

Another interesting find was that Walter Black was indeed the person who oversaw the cases of all the children at the Brenckles. So, he was Phil and Joe’s caseworker. Interesting that the head of the department was the person overseeing them.

The documents also show that John had come to the farm roughly the same time as the Drosts. All things being equal, I’m going to go ahead and just figure Phil and Joe did as well. It looks as if the Brenckles were purposefully taking in sibling groups. Some people may quibble with me on this, but I think it’s at least a little kind-hearted. It’s pretty meaningful for kids who face the kinds of trauma all of them faced to have their siblings.

But what I really need is that transcript! If I’m going to really find the truth, I’m going to have to know exactly what was said by whom and when. I think my next stop is probably the State Archives.

June 5, 2010 0

Francesco Venezia, citizen

OK. This is super-cool.

Turns out Francesco actually undertook the Naturalization process and became a citizen.That ship manifest marking page told me that the stamp I’d seen all those years ago over his name “US Citizen Discharge on Pier” was meant for US citizens returning from abroad.

Now, I know that two years before he got married, Francesco gave up on old Victor Emanuel of Italy in favor of Teddy Roosevelt. Well, who wouldn’t right?

Ancestry has an awesome set of Naturalization records and it was there that I found Francesco. In addition, I now know that he came to the US through Ellis Island in April 1891.

The document shows that a buddy of his vouched for his character and honor. Even more interesting, it shows both of them lived in Fleming Park. Ring a bell? Yup. Pittock.

In marrying Francesco, Saverina would have gotten a “citizen discharge” on the pier, too.

There’s a lot of affirmation and a little bit of new material here. Mostly, though, it just shows me that Francesco was probably a pretty stand-up guy.

April 12, 2010 0

While I wait

I’ve filled out my request for the Coroner’s Inquest. It’s times like this I’m so happy I work in news. I feel like what I do for a living prepared me for tackling this big mystery.

I think, though, that I need to get back to Pittsburgh and see if there are any other newspaper accounts of the fire. And anything else that might be relevant.

To bide my time, I’ve been following some of the threads from my 2006 search.

I start fishing Ancestry for information on the Brescia brothers. I find a manifest from one of the trips that brought Pasquale back over from Italy. This one was in 1905. It’s an addendum to the regular manifest called “Aliens Held for Special Inquiry.”

It looks like Pasquale was detained at Ellis Island. The reason says “LPC.” What’s LPC stand for? It looks like a lot of people on this roster fell into that category. And thanks to this handy little website, which I found in Google, now I know. It means “likely public charge.”

Oh Pasquale. Buddy. You’re not doing yourself any favors.

I also find a record card for a Cesare Brescia, from the “old man” draft during World War II. I can’t be sure this is him, though, because when I check the associated World War I card, it comes up with a name of a town in Italy I don’t recognize and the fact that he’s married and living in Sewickley. None of it rings a bell. Ancestry’s got this handy “shoebox” feature that lets you save stuff without sticking it to people’s profiles, so I file it there.

I don’t know if I can stand the wait for the coroner records.

April 3, 2010 0

Collecting evidence

The more deeply I go into this story, the more I see how important it was. This clip is from the Reading Eagle, a newspaper that publishes in the suburbs between Harrisburg and Philadelphia. News of the fire made it all the way out here.

I’ve spent hours on the Google news archive.

The fire took place Dec. 13, 1922 in Mount Troy, Reserve Township.

Pittsburgh Press Dec. 14, 1922 edition: John and Cecilia’s burial. And here another revelation. There were more Drosts. Marion Drost, 16, Frank, 11, Joseph, 10, and Thomas, 7. There was a Coroner’s Inquest, which must mean there’s a record somewhere. I’ll give them a call on Monday and see how to access them.

Pittsburgh Press Dec. 16, 1922 edition: The headline says it all “Sordid Sensation Born of Tragedy at Brenckle Home.” Oh man. It looks like they’re starting to make the case to arrest Howard Lager on suspicion of starting the fire and on the accusations made by Marion Drost, Cecilia’s older sister.

We also meet a new cast of Allegheny County characters:

W.J. McGregor, the county coroner.

Samuel Triplett, the deputy county coroner.

County Detectives Joseph Dye, W.O. Alexander, Harry Barker and T.A. Sidenstricker.

Chief Probation Officer Walter Black. It looks like Walter had charge over the Drosts. What’s sad is that Marion and the rest of the kids (I presume Phil and Joe are among them) are sent to “the detention rooms.” Sounds ominous. And completely unfair. You’re essentially locking up the victim of a potential crime and all the witnesses. I’m enraged on their behalf.

Thomas Pfarr, the county fire marshal. The article quotes him as saying he believed the fire was set using gas.

Pittsburgh Press Dec. 17, 1922. It just keeps getting worse. Howard’s been arrested, and it looks like he has all but admitted to “relations” (shudder) with Marion. But he adamantly denies setting the house on fire. Marion’s apparently told the court that he’d abused her since she came to the farm three years ago. So, about 1919-1920. Hmmm. Makes me wonder if Phil and Joe were also there that long.

The next few days are silent on the case and it dawns on me that if Phil and Joe did indeed go to the detention rooms, they very likely spent Christmas there. My heart breaks for them all over again. How much more are these poor boys going to go through?

March 28, 2010 0

Shocked

I’m still shaking.

I’m shocked. I’m stunned. And I am also now completely obsessed.

One of the last searches I did before bed the other night brought up a strand of information I’d never seen before. I found it using a variation of Phil’s name.

There was a fire. Remember how I’d said the old Brenckle farmhouse burned down? Well, let me tell you, there’s a whole lot more to it than that.

Because it seems during the same year Ottavio was seeking the trust for the siblings, Phil and his brother were embroiled in a scandalous, front-page saga as Allegheny County investigated the cause of Brenckle farm fire.

Two children, apparently other wards of Allegheny County, died in the blaze. Grandpa and Joe had to take the stand and testify about what happened that night.

“Others who testified yesterday were Philip Venezia [hooray to the reporter who got his name spelled right], another ward of the court wards who made his home with the Brenckles. Philip said that after the fire had started, he saw John, the child whose body afterwards was found in the ruins of the house, with the other children. No one though saw Cecilia at any time.

Philip told how Lager had helped the children from the house. Joseph Venezia, another court ward, also living with the Brenckles, gave about the same testimony as his brother Philip about seeing John after the fire started. The supposition is that John went back into the burning house and could not get out. Lager is being held without bail.”

Cecilia is Cecilia Drost, 13, and John is John Orlowski, 9. Both of them were wards of Allegheny County, just as Phil and Joe were. Lager is Howard Lager, Myrtle’s brother, who apparently lived at the farm, too. From what I gather from other articles, it seems that Howard was suspected of not only starting the fire, but of starting it to cover up the fact he was sexually abusing Cecilia.

Their death was enough to raise serious questions about how the Juvenile Court was overseeing its wards (terminology at the time for foster children). So much so that the Press wrote a strongly-worded editorial condemning them and the practice of “farming out.”

The whole thing leaves me feeling sick. Sick, too, because more than 80 years later, nothing’s changed. Kids still die and get abused by the people the state says should take care of them.

I’ve been on the phone with my parents on and off all day as I uncover a new article. My dad is as shocked as I am.

“Never,” he said. “I never, ever heard about this. Neither did Mary Ann. I called her to ask. This is incredible.”

It seems, from what I found so far, no charges were leveled in the blaze. I haven’t found anything on whether Howard Lager was convicted of sexual assault or similar charges.

Even with the news articles, there are so many unanswered questions. Looks like I have a new mystery.

March 27, 2010 0

Well, that took a while

OK, so four years’ hiatus wasn’t exactly what I had in mind when I last posted.

Buuuut, there’s been some major upheavals. Most of them pretty darn good. I moved back to the Harrisburg area and got a job with the main newspaper here, the Patriot-News. Jason got a job at the Sentinel in Carlisle. And oh yeah. We got married. 🙂

On the downside, my dad was seriously ill last year and hospitalized for some time. His being sick made me glad I’d done so much work on the family history. But it also made me realize that there was so much more to uncover.

I’d filled in the big blanks, but I want them all. Or, at least as many as I can.

Which is why, home alone tonight while Jason was on night shift, I started googling. I suppose February always gets me thinking about Grandpa. The anniversary of his death is this week. And with so many stones still unturned, I figured poking around wouldn’t hurt.

It’s not much, but it was so cool. Google has this amazing project where they’re scanning in old newspapers and you can search them. So, instead of microfiching it for hours, you can just google.

This is a news article about a produce strike in 1945. It was taking place in Pittsburgh right around the time my dad was born, actually. And Grandpa’s quoted because he was the only guy who’d thought ahead and ordered enough to get the store (Donahoe’s) through Tuesday.

February 5, 2010 0

findingphilblog

In search of my grandfather's past … and maybe a book deal

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