Italians & The Portland Water Works

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This photo was one of the many wonderful one shared with me by the Baldrica family. It shows Joseph Marco Parisi standing in front of one of the Portland reservoirs with some of his family in 1925. From left to right: Pietro Parisi (Uncle Pete), Henry (Hank), Joe Baldrica (Mary's husband), Mary Parisi Baldrica (Joseph's daughter), Marina (his wife) and Joseph Parisi. Notice how jaunty Mary looks in her jodphurs and boots (quite daring and modern in 1925).

The reservoirs and the Portland Water Works were a huge part of the Parisi family history, and Joseph Marco, along with countless other Italians, were a huge part of the early Water Works history. I wanted to explore some of that history in this blog entry.

Portland began construction of 24 miles of pipeline from Bull Run to the city in 1893. This was a HUGE public work project, made larger because the Water Committee also began constructing reservoirs at Mt. Tabor and City (Washington) Park, as well as expanding the water distribution system in the city. Keep in mind that the brush clearing, ditch digging, road building and everything else was done largely by hand. The modern machinery we are used to seeing on our public works projects had not yet been invented. The City of Portland needed labor, and they needed it quick.

At the same time, many events were occurring in Italy that caused the people there to think about looking elsewhere for a better place to live. I'll discuss these in a future blog soon when the topic will be immigration of the Parisi family. By the time these Italians arrived in America, the vast tracts of usable land had been or were being homesteaded. Even though they were farmers in the old country, most Italians did not move to the small farming communities because discrimination was high and they didn't want to be isolated or ignored. The Italians mostly moved into cities and became urbanized, providing the labor for jobs that no one else wanted. Because there were so many of them, discrimination against them was rampant and the wages poor.

I believe Constante Albertini was one of the first from Premione to immigrate to Portland, and secured employment with the Water Works. He probably wrote home about the opportunities he found and encouraged others to follow him. Joseph Marco was one that took him up on the offer, coming to Portland around 1890. According to Anthony Parisi, Joseph Marco's son, the Albertini's were relatives, although he wasn't sure how. My current research does not extend back far enough to show the link (but I'm working on it!). As shown in the previous blog entry, both Constante and Joseph would eventually become foremen leading the Italian crews on Water works projects.

The Parisi Family -- 1894

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The Parisi Family from left to right: Marina holding baby Cecilia, Joseph Marco (in back), Anthony Parisi (middle front), and Mary Parisi (seated). This is the earliest photo I have of the Parisi side of my family. Since Cecilia is still a baby, and was born 16 Nov 1893, I estimate that this picture was taken about March 1894.
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The photo was given to Ed Bjore by the Albertini sisters - family friends who came over from Italy with the Parisi's (more on that later!). The Original Photo was taken by Davies Studio, N.W. Cor. Third and Morrison Sts., Portland, Oregon. I've zoomed in for more detail on the photo posted above, and cleaned it up a little in Photoshop.

Death Certificate for Marina Parisi

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Marina Parisi was Anthony Parisi's mother. I don't have any photographs of my great-grandmother, but I do have her death certificate, posted here. My translation:

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Oregon State Board of Health

Division of Vital Statistics

STANDARD CERTIFICATE OF DEATH

State of Oregon

State File No. #3956

Local Registrar's No. #3957

Other Misc. Numbers at top of certificate [purpose not stated]:

84-7506 [handwritten in top left corner]

12062 [stamped at top of certificate]

102 [handwritten under local registrar's no.]

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Left Hand Column:

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1. Place of Death:

[Date of Dec. 9 1947 stamped at top of this section]

(a) County: Multnomah

(b) City: Portland

(c) Name of hospital or institution: 2435 S.W. 5th Ave.

[printed in small letters underneath: if not in hospital or institution write street number or location]

(d) Length of stay: In hospital or institution [left blank]

In this community: 56 yrs.

In state: 56 yrs.

3. (a) Full Name: MARINA PARISI

(b) if veteran, name war [dashes to indicate n/a]

(c) Social Security No. [dashes to indicate n/a]

4. Sex: F

5. Color: W [for white]

6. (a) Single, widowed, married or divorced: Widow

(b) name of husband or wife: Joseph

(c) age of husband or wife if alive [left blank]

7. Birth date of deceased: July 21, 1862

8. Age: 85 years, 3 mos, 26 days

9. Birthplace: Austria

10. Usual occupation: Housewife

11. Industry or business: [left blank]

12. Father's Name: Anthony Morelli

13. Father's Birthplace: Austria

14. Mother's Maiden Name: No Record

15. Mother's Birthplace: Austria

16. (a) Informant's own signature: Mrs. Mary Balerica [signature underneath]

(b) Address: 2435 S.W. 5th Ave.

17. (a) Burial, cremation or removal: Burial

(b) Date: 11/20/47

(c) Place: Mt. Calvary Cemetery

18. (a) Signature of Funeral Director: Hennessey, Goetsch & McGee

(b) Address: Portland, Oregon [signature]

19. (a) Date form received by registrar: Stamped Nov. 18 1947 [possibly 19th]

(b) Registrar's signature: [Stamped, unreadable]

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Right Hand Column:

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2. Usual Residence of Deceased:

(a) State: Oregon

(b) County: Mult. [Multnomah]

(c) City: Portland

(d) Street No: 2435 S.W. 5th Ave.

(e) how long in USA? 56 yrs

[the number 102 is handwritten under this line with no explanation]

MEDICAL CERTIFICATION:

20. Date of Death:

Month: November day: 17 year: 1947 hour: 8 minute: 40

21. I hereby certify that I attended the deceased from Nov. 17th [unclear, possibly other date], 1947

to Nov. 17, 1947 and that death occurred on the date.

[the number 16-1947 is handwritten here with no explanation]

Immediate cause of death: Heart. A few days only.

Due to: Hypertension

Due to: Senile

Other Conditions: Advanced Age

Major findings of operations: None

of autopsy: None

22. If death is due to external causes, fill in the following: [the following was left blank and is omitted here]

23. Signature: Alan Welch Smith, MD [typed]

Address: Medical Dental Bldg

[Signature below address]

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A death certificate contains a number of genealogical clues. Most obviously is the name listed of the parents, although Marina's mother is listed as "No Record" so we do not have this important piece of information. However, we do have her father's name (and thus Marina's maiden name) so we can start looking there. We also have information about Marina's residence and know how long she'd been in Portland and at this address. The certificate also tells us where she is buried.

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The informant is also important. Usually this is a family member or close friend of either the deceased or the family. In this case it is Marina's daughter, who lives with her at the time of her death. I will have to look up whether Marina's son-in-law or grandchildren are also living with her at this time.

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The informant is important because that tells you the accuracy of the information. Because a death certificate is at the end of a person's life (hopefully long), many of the birth details may not have been passed down. This is the case with Marina's mother's name and information. Also, birth dates may not be accurate, either because the date wasn't known (before birth certificates were required, an illiterate family, or other errors) or on purpose (women lying about their age, men changing theirs to enlist or get jobs, or simply to receive a pension or social security).

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There are also transcription issues, such as Mary Baldrica's name being misspelled as Balerica by the person who filled out the certificate. Since a death certificate is usually completed at the worst time -- someone close to the deceased has just lost them -- many things may not be corrected or overlooked.

Who's Who -- The family of Joseph Marco Parisi and Marina Morelli

I'm going to go up a generation and talk about Anthony's parents and their children in the next several blogs. As I am still working on documenting many events in this line of my family, and am in the process of blending others' research into my own. To keep things straight, items marked with an asterisk (*) have not been documented by me (but I'm working on it).
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Joseph Marco Parisi married Marina Morelli in a small village (Premione) near Trento (now Italy), around 1885. They then immigrated to the United States and settled in Portland, OR. Like many immigrants, the family did not all move at once, but moved in stages. Joseph came first, secured a job and housing, then moved his family over. I will be discussing this and the area they came from in future posts.

They had the following children:

Anthony Peter Parisi -- "Tony" (10 Jan 1886 - 8 Nov 981); born in Premione
-- married Amelia Godskesen (see previous blog)

*Armida Maria Parisi -- (6 Nov 1888 - 13 Nov 1888); born in Premione

Mary Parisi -- (22 Feb 1892 - 13 Jan 1982); born Portland, OR
-- married Joseph A. Baldrica

Cecilia Parisi -- (16 Nov 1893 -- 2 Jul 1974); born Portland, OR

Rosa Parisi -- (Jul 1897 -- ???); born Portland, OR
-- *married John Cook

Alice Parisi -- (abt. 1901 - ???); born Portland, OR
-- *married William Raymond Jefferis

Henry William Parisi (15 Mar 1903 - 13 Mar 1987); born Portland, OR

George Parisi (17 Mar 1907 - 19 Jul 1981); born Portland, OR
-- * married Ellen Mallon


Just by looking at the place of birth for the children, you can narrow down the immigration date for the family, and see who would have come over. This is helpful in looking at ships' passenger lists, etc.