Charles DeMarc &
Mary DeMatteo

Marcellino “Charles” Di Marco (later DeMarc), born August 28, 1881, and Domenica “Mary” Di Matteo (later DeMatteo), born July 23, 1886, began life in the Volturno Valley in Italy ’s Caserta Province, Campania Region, a thriving agricultural area to the north of Naples. Charles was born in the town of Alife (current population approx 7,300) and Mary about twelve miles southwest in the much smaller town of Roccaromano. Their paths would not cross until years later in western Pennsylvania.

Mary was born to Luigi Di Matteo and Rose (Di Georgio) Di Matteo and had at least three sisters: Maria J. (the “J” may have stood for Josephine or Julia) (born 1883), Giovannina “Jennie” (born 1884), and Carolina (born 1896). I am guessing there were other siblings - especially in the time gap between Jennie and Carolina.

Charles’ father was Raffaele “Ralph” Di Marco. His biological mother died when he was about three years old and its possible Charles was an only child at this time (but not a certainty). His father remarried and he was apparently raised by his stepmother. One of them, either his biological mother or his step-mother, was named Madeline (Oratos) Di Marco.

Charles had at least two step-brothers that his step-mother brought into the marriage. Charles would recount have his step-mother felt sorry for him and would always cater to him. She was apparently a very caring person. She would send her own boys outside and give Charles extra treats of little blocks of chocolate.

Based on how Charles said his step-mother favored him it would seem to support the idea that he was an only child at the time of his biological mother’s death. I believe he had a brother named Pietro “Peter” Di Marco - whether it’s a full brother, a step-brother who took the Di Marco surname, or a half-brother from his dad’s second marriage is unknown.

The region of southern Italy was rampant with extreme poverty and lack of opportunity and the families of Charles and Mary were no different. While growing up they worked very hard to help support their families. Mary said she picked figs and other fruits for low pay, while Charles said he spent time working as a sheepherder.

When Charles was twenty-two years old he immigrated to the United States to seek better economic opportunity. He departed Naples on April 8, 1903, aboard the steamship California and arrived at Ellis Island in New York Harbor on April 25. He indicated his “brother” (name not listed) had paid for his passage, that he had $10 in his possession, and that he was headed to stay with a cousin named “Gabriel Avello” in Hudson, New York.

It is said that Charles had a brother who lived in Boston, Massachusetts, and if that is true Peter Di Marco is probably that brother. It seems likely that Peter lived in the United States, but whether he stayed here for good or returned to Italy is not known. It is possible that he returned home and fought for the Italian Army during the Great War (World War I).

Sometime later Charles made his way to the town of Grafton, Taylor County, West Virginia, just south of Morgantown. He met up with an Italian teenager named Raffaele “Ralph” Papa (pronounced “Pay-pa”). Grafton was well known for its thriving glass factories, but I believe they both worked as laborers on the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad (B&O) that ran nearby.

Ralph Papa convinced Charles to move up north to the area around New Castle, Lawrence County, Pennsylvania, to work as laborers on the railroad. Whether it was the B&O or the rival Pennsylvania Railroad Company (PRR) is unknown, however years later Charles was employed by the PRR. Both of them took up residence just south of New Castle in the small town of West Pittsburg in Taylor Township.

Three of the Di Matteo sisters, including Mary, immigrated to the New Castle area as well. Maria, at the age of 20, was first. She departed from Naples aboard the steamship Nord America on June 10, 1903, and arrived at Ellis Island in New York Harbor on June 24. She indicated that her uncle “Filippo Georgio” (Di Georgia) had paid for her passage and her destination was his residence in Mahoningtown in Lawrence County, Pennsylvania. Mahoningtown, with a high percentage of Italian immigrants, was an independent municipality but was later incorporated into the adjoining city of New Castle. Filippo, or “Phillip” in Americanized form, was most likely the brother of Maria’s mother, Rosa (Di Georgia) Di Marco. Maria married fellow Italian Raffaele “Ralph” Panella in 1904 and they made their home in nearby West Pittsburg.

Sister Jennie was next and immigrated to the Mahoningtown area in 1906 when she was age 22. She married fellow Italian Salvatore (aka Sylvester) Russo on October 24, 1906, and they lived in a house at #109 South Liberty Ave in Mahoningtown.

Mary followed her two older sisters to America soon after. She departed Naples aboard the steamship Konig Albert on June 7, 1907, and arrived at Ellis Island, New York Harbor, on June 20, at 4:55pm. The ship’s manifest describes her as 4’11” in height, with brown hair, grey eyes, and a “scar at forehead.” She indicates her passage was paid by her uncle “Filippo Georgia” (Di Georgia) and she is headed to his residence in Lowellville, Ohio. Lowellville, in Mahoning County, is only about ten miles west of New Castle, Pennsylvania. Mary would have made her way to Manhattan’s Penn Station and traveled on various trains - probably via Philadelphia and Pittsburgh - to the New Castle area.

Mary must have lived with (or at least visited) her sister Maria in West Pittsburg, because she meet Charles DeMarc soon after. In fact, on August 29, 1907, less than three months after she arrived from Italy, Charles and Mary filed for a marriage license in the Lawrence County courthouse in New Castle.

They were married about two months later on October 24, 1907, at the new St. Vitus Catholic Church in New Castle. The Reverend Nicholas DeMita, the Italian-born pastor of the church, presided over their service. At the time of their marriage Mary was a few weeks pregnant with their first child, while at the same time her sister Jennie was also about two months pregnant. Mary was fond of telling the story how they took a romantic ride in a horse and buggy as part of the wedding ceremony.

Charles and Mary initially rented houses at several locations in and around West Pittsburg and Moravia. One house they lived in later burned down when ashes from the locomotives traveling on the nearby railroad caught the roof on fire. They finally settled on Canal Street on the southern edge of West Pittsburg. They initially rented a home from John Leslie, but sometime after 1910 they took over the mortgage. Charles and Mary would reside in this house for the rest of their lives.

Canal Street, at the foot of the West Pittsburg Bridge and alongside the Beaver River, was a short, dead-end street with a total of about seven houses that were all stores at one time. On the other side of the house was a dry creek bed that was once the Beaver Division of the Beaver & Erie Canal, where horses pulled barges along the 136-mile canal connecting the major city of Pittsburgh with Lake Erie. The few houses along Canal Street were all stores at one time. At the beginning of the short street was the Pitzer/Vukovich house, followed by the old Lutton Saloon building, the DeMarc house, the German (later Reed/Fandozzi) house, the Giese house, the Braykovich house, and the Borko house at the end. Charles later expanded his holdings when he purchased several of the adjoining properties. George Vukovich, the Croatian-speaking neighbor, was undergoing some hard times and asked Charles to buy his property so he would not lose it outright. Charles did so and graciously agreed to allow Vukovich to continue to reside there.

The DeMarc home had a brightly-lit large kitchen and a smaller living room where Mary had a lot of knick-knacks on tables or cabinets. Her collection of knick-knacks, mostly gifts that friends and family had given to her, grew over the years. The house had only two regular bedrooms and was quite cramped with all the children. Behind their house was a small bake oven house, with a small front room and a large oven area in back. In the back of the house the family maintained several large vegetable gardens and a small grape arbor. They also tended to several milking cows and made their own cheese.

Mary had close family support as her sister Maria lived a few houses away in West Pittsburg, while her other sister Jennie was relatively close by in Mahoningtown. Unfortunately, Maria, who had given birth to four children (one died at or just after birth) since marrying Ralph Panella, passed away in approximately 1911.

The first of Charles and Mary’s children (they had a total of ten or eleven), Madeline “Mary” DeMarc, was born on July 9, 1908, in West Pittsburg. The DeMarc family expanded quickly: Ralph was born in 1910, Josephine in 1911, Lou in 1913, Julia in 1915, Peter in 1916, and Rose in 1918.

Both Charles and Mary never learned to speak or read/write English very well. Their children, all of which could speak Italian and English, would often serve as their translators. Charles was a gentle and soft-spoken man and very well admired. Most people say he was a wonderful person to be around and he made his children a big priority in his life. Mary, while still soft spoken, had a tougher personality and was the one that disciplined the children.

Mary stayed at home and primarily raised the children, cleaned the house, and cooked the meals. The kids all attended grammar and middle school at the West Pittsburg Public School right off Center Avenue. The family attended the St. Vitus Catholic Church in New Castle, where Charles and Mary had been married. Charles worked long days as a laborer with a section gang along the railroad tracks. He would generally walk (sometimes hitching a ride) to different spots along the railroad, helping lay new track or replacing old railroad ties. His crew occasionally went as far south as Beaver Falls.

Back in late 1914 the monumental “Great War” (later known as World War I) erupted in Europe, but the isolationist-minded United States managed to remain officially neutral for the some time. In April 1917, prodded on by the threat of German U-boat (submarine) attacks off the Eastern Seaboard, the U.S. government was drawn in and declared war on Germany. Charles, at age thirty-seven, had to register for the military draft, probably during the third and final draft registration day in September 1918. Charles was never called to service as hostilities in Europe mercifully came to a close soon after in November 1918.

All was probably well during the post-war period as the 1920’s ushered in a new era. The Roaring Twenties was the era of the golden age of radio, Jazz music, Flappers, large dance halls, Art Deco, Model T’s, Prohibition, and a time of great economic prosperity. Despite having a daughter named Vera, born circa October 1919, die young, Charles and Mary had three more boys: Mike in 1921, George in 1923, and Charles Jr. in 1926.

Sometime in the coming years the spelling of the Di Marco family surname was generally altered to “DeMarc” (occasionally given as DeMark). Son Mike was the only one that kept the traditional DiMarco spelling, though son George used it occasionally. The Di Matteo surname was also changed to “DeMatteo.”

One day Charles grew worried as he was summoned to the office of his supervisor. He thought he was in some sort of trouble. Well, it turns out Charles was such an extremely capable worker that his boss wanted to promote him to serve as a train conductor. Charles was happy with is work and politely turned it down. By the time he eventually stopped working in late 1944 he had worked on the railroad as a laborer for about forty years.

Back at home the family suffered a tragedy in April 1928. Son Ralph, at age seventeen and extremely popular, became severely ill with the flu and died after spending a few weeks in the hospital. The family was poor and Marshall Funeral Home in Wampum provided the funeral arrangements for free. Officials at St. Vitus Catholic Church, including Reverend DeMita, decided to provide only a basic mass service, because the story goes they thought the DeMarc family did not contribute enough financially to the parish coffers to deserve a High Mass. This hypocritical stance so angered Mary that she stopped going to church for the rest of her life. Charles Sr. continued to attend church from time to time, but at some point to started going to St. Michael’s Catholic Church in New Castle. Ralph was buried in St. Vitus Cemetery in Shenango Township, New Castle.

In the late 1920’s, the two oldest daughters, Madeline and Josephine, both got married, moved away, and started their own families. Madeline soon settled in Canton, Ohio, while Josephine moved further west to Detroit, Michigan. I know at least Lou worked on the railroad with his father beginning around 1929. Also in April 1929 daughter Julia (who had married Mike Pennachio) had a son named Albert “Humpie” Pennachio, and due to some personal issues Charles and Mary took him in and raised him as their own son.

The good times of the 1920’s came to an end with the catastrophic Stock Market Crash of October 1929 and the subsequent Great Depression, a long and painful period of economic decline. Between the Crash and the end of 1932 the income of the average American family was reduced by over 40%, from about $2,300 to $1,500. The national unemployment rate jumped to almost 25% in 1933 and those that still worked did so at reduced wages.

I am not sure how Charles was affected for most of the 1930’s, but I know he worked fulltime from 1937 onward. In 1937, when the Social Security Administration was stood up, Charles listed his occupation as “track laborer” and his employer as “The Pennsylvania Railroad.” A record of his employment reveals his yearly earnings fluctuated greatly between 1937 and 1944. For example he made $975.01 in 1937, $1,684.74 in 1938, $932.38 in 1940, and $1,572.68 in 1943. For the eight-year period from 1937 until 1944, Charles earned an average yearly salary of approximately $1205.25.

Throughout the tough times of the 1930’s the other DeMarc children slowly but surely grew up. Most of them did not attend high school but instead found work to help support the family financially. On occasion the family would have to deal with severe spring floods, as was the case in March 1936 when the Beaver River spilled its banks and completely inundated Canal Street.

Eventually, by the early 1940’s, Lou, Pete, Mike, and George had followed older sister Josephine out to Detroit and Rose settled in Canton. Julia generally stayed close by in the New Castle area, while Charles Jr. stayed with his parents in West Pittsburg. The DeMarc family grew roots in the Canton and Detroit areas and future generations were concentrated in those areas. Lou sent money home every home and the family was able to quickly pay off the remainder of the mortgage on the Canal Street house. Lou also sent money to pay back Marshall’s for providing Ralph’s funeral.

On December 7, 1941, Japanese forces attacked the American naval and air fortress at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. As a result the United States declared war on the Axis Powers of Germany, Italy, and Japan. Charles and Mary grew concerned as they knew their sons would be called upon to defend their country in battle.

Within the next few years Lou, George, and Mike would enlist in the U.S. Army and Charles Jr. joined the Navy. George, a machine gunner, went into action at Normandy in June 1944 (Operation OVERLORD) and Lou, a combat engineer, took part in the invasion of southern France in August 1944 (Operation DRAGOON). It was a very nerve-wracking time in the DeMarc household. Charles Sr. continued working as usual except for some reason he did not go to work during the month of March 1942. During the evenings Mary would sit in the living room and cry a lot, while Charles would hide away quietly upstairs. Charles Jr. said he would bring his mother a cup of coffee and it would usually calm her down.

On August 4, 1944, Charles and Mary received a Western Union telegram informing them that George had been seriously wounded in action on July 7. George would thankfully recover but about a month later another telegram informed them that their son Lou had been killed in action on August 20 in southern France.

Of his sons Charles adored Lou the most and he was utterly devastated by the loss. He never recovered from the shock. In the weeks after Lou’s death Charles grew depressed, stopped eating, and developed heart problems due to having “fat around the heart.” He suffered a heart attack in October 1944, did not return to work, and was bedridden off and on for most of the next few years.

Lou’s death allowed the family to withdraw one of its sons from service and Charles Jr., then in training in New York, was discharged from service and came home soon after. Mike served stateside with the military police and never left for an overseas assignment. George, who was wounded a second time in October 1944, returned home in January 1946, but was forever haunted by the terrible things he witnessed during the war. Lou’s remains were interred in southern France pending post-war repatriation efforts.

Gerald Zieve, a Jewish doctor from the nearby town of Wampum, began treating Charles Sr. on a regular basis beginning on October 3, 1946. He would have breathing problems and the doctor would come administer vitamin B-12 to help him. His condition continued to deteriorate throughout the winter on 1946-47. On the morning of Wednesday, May 21, 1947, Charles Jr. noticed his father’s condition had taken a sharp turn for the worse. Doctor Zieve was summoned but there was little he could do. Charles Sr. died of heart failure at 8:00am. His official cause of death was given as “chronic myocarditis” (an infection of the lining of the heart) and “congestive heart failure,” but everyone said he died of a broken heart due to Lou’s untimely death. Charles Sr. was sixty-six years old.

Marshall Funeral Home in Wampum handled the funeral arrangements. The family held a viewing and service at the family residence and afterwards he was buried at St. Vitus Cemetery on May 24, 1947. In a fitting tribute Charles Jr. purchased a three-grave plot and planned to bury son Lou between both of his parents. The grave site is close to where son Ralph was previously interred. Lou’s remains were later exhumed in southern France and returned home for permanent burial in January 1949. A service was held at St. Vitus Catholic Church, though for some reason not the High Mass of Requiem that Charles Jr. had paid for. Lou was buried right next to his father Charles and in the middle of the three-grave plot.

Mary, with Charles Jr. constantly at her side, lived at the West Pittsburg house another twelve years. She suffered further loss when her son George was killed in a tragic car accident in February 1953. She was often quite ill during the harsh winter months but always fought through it. Mary had a particularly bad cough in early October 1959 and Charles Jr. soon took her to the hospital in New Castle. Her condition rapidly worsened and she died a few days later at 10:50am on Sunday, October 4, 1959. She was seventy-three years old. Her official cause of death was listed as “Arteriosclerosis Heart Disease,” with “Thyrotoxicosis” as a contributing factor. Her children Rose, Julia, and Charles Jr. were with her at the hospital when she died. Rose tried to protect Charles Jr. and sent him out of the room before his dear mother passed away.

DeCarbo Funeral Home in New Castle handled the arrangements and a viewing was held on Monday evening. A mass was celebrated at St. Vitus Catholic Church at 9:00am on Wednesday, October 7, 1959, and afterwards she was interred in St. Vitus Cemetery. Unfortunately, controversy with officials at St. Vitus reared its ugly head once again. When the cemetery workers went to dig her grave they were surprised to discover a casket (with no marker to indicate such) already buried there. Embarrassed officials at St. Vitus gave the DeMarc family another plot for Mary, this one near her son George. (NOTE: It seems the DeMarc family had its share of issues with Reverend DeMita and St. Vitus).

Charles Jr. remained at the DeMarc property and bought up most of the neighboring lots. He eventually had most of the old houses along Canal Street, including the old DeMarc home, knocked down and built up a successful used car lot and auto salvage yard. He still lives on Canal Street to this day.