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| My dad, Sebastian Sylvester Angelo Normandy
always had a cigar in his mouth! He was the oldest child, born April 7,
1899, at 538 Driggs Ave., Brooklyn, Kings County, New York. He was
baptized on May 15, 1899, at Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Roman Catholic Church
certicate shows his name as Sebastiano Angelo Normandia. His godmother
was Maria (Maimee) Cristina Cambia, the wife of dad's uncle Alfonso
Normandia, whom we called "Zi Funz." Dad's godfather was Vergilia Amato.
The only Vergilia/Virgilia I found married Saveria Bonacura, though I have
no way of knowing if this is the same Vergilia.
Everyone called my dad "Jack" because he was a "jack of all trades." Uncle George said his brother Jack attended college at Coopers Union to study fine arts. He wanted to be an artist or an architect and was willing to walk four miles to the college every day. However, his father said he needed Sebastiano in the family painting business and so my dad became a house painter and decorator. Uncle George also said my dad was a carpenter and did "tin knocking." He was Executive Secretary of Local Union 798 in NY. He died in Queens County, New York, on March 1, 1966. This page has pictures of all his siblings. I wish their children and grandchildren would send me better pictures to post here. The 1910 Federal Census of New York, Brooklyn, shows dad's family living at 289 or 291 North 8th Street, very close to the Shrine of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel which the family attended. During World War I, Dad spent from August 30 to December 3, 1918, in the U.S. Navy. He went to France on the transport U.S.S. St. Louis. When they arrived they were told the war had ended so they picked up people going back to the states and headed home. I was told Dad never even got to see France. The 1920 Census shows Dad living with his parents and siblings at 588 Lorimer Street, Brooklyn. On July 28, 1921, Dad married my mother, Olympia Lucille (Ida) Simonetti, at (where else?) Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Church. More about them in Mom's autobiography, "Ida: A True Story" on this website. A Tuorto cousin told me that two stillborn babies were born to Grandmpa Michael and Grandma "Jennie" Normandia. Grandma's brother, Andrew Tuorto, had them buried in his lot in Calvary Cemetery in Queens, New York. There are no first names listed for these babies. |
Uncle Tony (Antonio Alfonso Maria Normandia)
and I were born on the same day, August 20th. He was born in 1900 in Brooklyn.
He was baptized December 9, 1900, at the Shrine of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel,
275 North 8th St., Brooklyn. His godparents were Dr. Riccardo Mascolo and
Saveria D'Amato. Tony was an altar boy for Father Peter Sopanaro at the
6 a.m. mass at Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Church.
Uncle Tony registered for the draft in 1918. His Draft Board 51 was on Devoe Street. He is listed as Anthony Normandy, 20, clerk and interpreter for Nichols Copper Co., Laurel Hill, NY. His address was 588 Lorimer St., Brooklyn, and he was "native born." On the 1920 Census Tony said he was employed as an office clerk at the Copper Company in New York. Uncle Tony had a girlfriend named Elizabeth DiFazio. She was the maid-of-honor at my parents' wedding in 1921. Tony also worked for Western Union delivering telegrams. Later he
took a job as a runner at the stock exchange. One day he took a bad fall
on cobblestones and had a nosebleed that wouldn't stop. An unsuccessful
operation left him in a coma-like state. When he came out of it, he never
fully recovered and was disabled for the rest of his life. He never married.
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| Uncle George (Giuseppe Biagio) Normandia was
born January 3, 1903, in Brooklyn, New York. He was baptized at Our Lady
of Mt. Carmel Church. He attended P.S. 20 on Union Avenue.
George met Mary DiGaetano when she was only twelve. It was love at first sight. Mary was born August 24, 1905. On the 1920 Census, George was listed with his parents and said he was an apprentice at an auto supply company. He married his Mary on May 19, 1923. The 1930 Census shows them living at 64 Conselyea Street, Brooklyn. It lists Normandy, George, 27, painter; wife Mary, 24; daughter Jennie, 7; and son Michael, 3. Their neighbors were Pete and Amelia Napolitano. After awhile the family moved away, to what seemed like the country at the time, Westbury, Long Island, NY. They lived there for a long time with their two children, Genevieve and Michael. George was a volunteer fireman most of his life. He joined the Navy during World War II. He volunteered for the Seabees. George and Mary moved to Florida in the 1950s. Mom and I left New York and moved into their brand new housebefore they ever lived in it, in Hollywood, Florida. Aunt Mary died in May, 1983. Uncle George died in Boca Raton, Florida, on May 12, 1996. They are buried at Holy Rood Cemetery in Westbury, NY. The picture above was taken in Hollywood, Florida, in 1956. |
Grandma Giovannina "Jennie" (Tuorto) and her
daughter, Angelina Carmela Normandia. Angelina was born in Brooklyn,
New York, on May 29, 1905. She was baptized on October 1, 1905, at Our
Lady of Mt. Carmel Roman Catholic Church. Her godparents were Giuseppe
Corcione and Felicia Mazzarella. Their names are not familiar to me.
Angelina died on September 18, 1921, when she was only sixteen years old. Angelina was bitten or stung by an insect while she was asleep in her own bed. She died from the poison a few days later. My mother's sister, Aunt Sue (Asunta) Simonetti, was around the same age as Aunt Angelina and was spending the night with her. Sue slept in the same bed with Angelina the night Angelina was fatally stung. My sister, Jean, was born seven months later and was named Angelina after our dead aunt, but she always preferred to be called Jean. Angelina is buried at Calvary Cemetery, in Woodside, Queens, New York. |
![Albert [Humberto] Normandia Wedding 1928](NormandiaAlbertWedding-1928.jpg)  |
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| Albert (Humberto) and Aunt Beatrice (Gallo)
Normandia. Uncle Al was born August 12, 1907, in Brooklyn. Beatrice was
born in Verona, Italy, on February 25, 1907. They were married in Brooklyn
on April 29, 1928.
The 1930 Census finds them living at 1830 63rd Street in Brooklyn. They had two children then, Michael (Sonny) and Beatrice (Baby). Uncle Al was my godfather when I was baptized at Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Church in Brooklyn on May 10, 1936. Later they lived at 1759 65th Street, also in Brooklyn. They had two more sons, Joseph Albert (Buddy) and Albert, Jr. Junior was close to my age and we had fun playing together when he visited Grandma's house. Uncle Al was a house painter like most of the Normandia sons. I remember "Aunt Beatty" had pretty, curly hair which she wore long, unheard of in our family at that time. I always loved her for not bowing to tradition. Uncle Al was one of the few brothers who legally changed his surname to Normandy. Beatrice died in New York in December, 1992. Al died in July, 1973. |
Uncle Henry (Anniello) and Aunt Theresa (Tess)
Normandia, with my first nephew, Peter Anthony Lomuto. Uncle Henry was
born October 3, 1909, in Brooklyn.
On the 1930 Census, Henry was listed as Annello, 21, electrical, clerk. He was living with his parents at 54 Conselyea Street, Brooklyn. He was living with them when we all lived at 37 Conselyea Street where I moved when I was four in 1939. Henry joined the Army in World War II. I believe Theresa was born April 4, 1910. She and Henry (sometimes called Neil) were married soon after Grandma Normandia died, which was December, 1950. It might have been early in 1951. They lived at 1703 Himrod Street, Ridgewood, Queens, at one time. Aunt Tess had two children from her first marriage, Joan and Joseph Barone. I'll bet they have some great pictures and stories to tell. Henry and Tess had no children together. Henry died on May 19, 1980. His funeral card says Normandia, not Normandy. Theresa died June 8, 1997. They are buried at Linden Hill United Methodist Cemetery in Ridgewood, Queens, New York, across from from my high school, Grover Cleveland High. |