Willden Family--- HUDDLESTON Colonists

Low Ellington, Yorkshire, England

1690's home of Henry Huddleston Sr.

Not the cereal...the religion

Christ Church, Philadelphia

Ben Franklin's newspaper 1754

In 1685, the new King of England was James II, a Catholic ruler in a mostly Protestant country. The result of his attempts to put Catholics in high English positions created dissent, rebellions, and the departure of many families from England. Many of these persecuted Protestants fled to America, one being Henry HUDDLESTON Sr., the 6th great grandfather of Tonya WILLDEN via her mothers's side of the family, in 1685. Henry, about 25 years old in 1685, left his home in the village of Snapt in Low Ellington, Yorkshire, England, and came to an area of Pennsylvania settled only 3 years earlier by William Penn and his Quaker religion followers. Although not a Quaker, the Anglican Church member sought the same freedom of religion they had not found under a Catholic King.
In December of 1688, Henry HUDDLESTON bought 100 acres of land at the junction of two major Indian trails, ...a place that would be known as "Four Lanes End" (later the village would be named Attleboro, and today Langhorne), in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. In 1699, he bought another 80 acres to add to this holdings, where he built a home in 1690 that still remains standing in 2010. The home at 154 West Marshall Avenue in Langhorne, Bucks Co., Pennsylvania included two ponds behind the house for keeping the milk containers cold until they could get to market.
In 1701, at about age 41, Henry HUDDLESTON met and married Elizabeth COOPER, the 28 year old daughter of a Quaker family who had only been in America for 3 years, coming from Henry's hometown of Snapt, in England. With the marriage came 200 acres of land that Elizabeth had inherited at the deaths of her father and sister. Around 1705, Henry and Elizabeth HUDDLESTON built a new home at 303 Maple Street in Langhorne, and it also remains today.
Unfortunately for Elizabeth, after only 5 years of marriage, Henry HUDDLESTON made his will on May 17, 1706, and died soon after at age 46. Elizabeth, now 33 and pregnant, was left with a 3 year old son, a 2 year old daughter, and her unborn baby she would name Henry Jr., and Elizabeth herself died in 1720, at only age 47.
Henry HUDDLESTON Jr. never met his father, and his mother died when he was 14, but he remained in Four Lanes End until he met and married Mary WILKINSON in the Anglican Christ Church in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the same church attended by Benjamin Franklin.
Mary had inherited 200 acres near Middletown in Plumstead Township in Bucks County, and that is where Henry and Mary HUDDLESTON settled. In 1739, Henry HUDDLESTON Jr. went to the office of Benjamin Franklin's newspaper, the Pennsylvania Gazette, and entered the following ad:
"Run away on the 5th Inst from Henry Huddelston, of Plumsted Township, Bucks County, an Irish Servant Man, named Charles Cambell, aged about 24 Years, indifferent tall and well set, with long blackish Hair, and long visag'd: had on when he went away, a homespun Coat and Jacket of a yellowish colour mix'd with black, and brass Buttons on both; took with him a pair of old leather Breeches, and white linnen Drawers, two new felt Hats, two pair of new Shoes with peeked Toes, and steel Buckles in one of the pair, two homespun Shirts much worn, white thread Stockings, a Barcelona silk Handkerchief, and a small Gun. N.B. He is suppos'd to be in Company with one Martha Bostuck, a short well set Woman, with red Hair, and pockbroken; and has a Child with her of about 5 Years old, who has red Hair also. Whoever secures the said Servant, so that his Master may have him again, shall have Three Pounds Reward, and reasonable Charges, paid by HENRY HUDDLESTON."
In 1770, Henry Jr. and Mary were saddened when 3 of their 4 sons, including direct ancestor Abraham HUDDLESTON, moved about 400 miles away to Bedford County, Virginia. For the next ten years, Henry and Mary remained on their 300 acre farm, with its 3 horses, 3 cows, and 10 sheep. In December, 1776, General George Washington's Army was in and around Bucks County before and after the crossing of the Delaware River to surprise the enemy at Trenton, New Jersey. Henry and Mary must have observed the American Revolution from very close up, as General Washington even buried 166 of his soldiers in a small cemetery across the street from the old HUDDLESTON home in Four Lanes End.
It is not known whether the young HUDDLESTON men, who were in their 30's and 40's, went to Virginia during the Revolution because of their Quaker heritage, or for other reasons, but we can find no HUDDLESTON soldiers in that period. On February 21, 1780, Henry HUDDLESTON Jr. wrote his last Will and Testament, the first paragraph of which is a pleasure to read:
"In the name of God Amen. I, HENRY HUDDLESTON of Plumstead in the County of Bucks in the Province State or Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, yeoman, being weak in body but of sound and perfect mind and memory. Thanks be given to Almighty God for the same and considering that is appointed for all men once to die, do make, ordain, and publish this my last Will and Testament, in manner and form following. First and principally I commend my soul to God who gave it, and my body to the earth, to be buried in Christian like and decent manner, at the discretion of my executors hereafter named and as touching such worldly estate as lands, goods, chattles and effects whatsoever wherewith it has pleased God to bless me in this life. I do give, devise, bequeath and dispose of the same in the following manner, that is to say;"
Here is the end of the HUDDLESTON line in Pennsylvania, from religious refugees to colonial landowners, to be continued in Virginia at a later time.

WILLDEN Family--HOLLOWAY Patriot of 1776

Crossing the Delaware

Valley Forge, PA

Six-Mile Cemetery, TN

Billy Holloway headstone, TN

We will start the WILLDEN history in this blog at with the gravesite of a Revolutionary War veteran named Billy HOLLOWAY. Only 22 miles from our house, Tonya and I stood in the Six Mile Baptist Church Cemetery in Blount County, Tennessee, and marvelled at the upright unmarked fieldstones that had survived the Smoky Mountain winters for almost two centuries.
There is more than one Patriot of the American Revolution in this little cemetery, but our interest is William "Billy" HOLLOWAY, Tonya Willden's 1st cousin, five times removed...or, more directly, the nephew of Tonya's maternal 4th great-grandmother, Agnes HOLLOWAY.
Billy was born in 1754 Virginia, at a time when conflicts with native Americans seemed more important than Independence from the British. Growing to manhood in these exciting and dangerous times was a battle with the odds, but Billy met and married Nancy Senter around 1774, and two years later found himself 22 years old at the start of a Revolution. In Cumberland Co., Virginia, Billy enlisted on February 14, 1776 into the Continental Army, led by General George Washington. Billy was assigned to the 7th Virginia Regiment commanded by Colonel William Dangerfield, in Capt. Fleming's Company. In September, he was transferred to the 5th Virginia Regiment commanded by Colonel Charles Scott, in Capt. Gross Scruggs' Company.
Billy HOLLOWAY was about to embark on a great and memorable journey.
On a cold and windy Christmas night in Pennsylavania, 1776, Billy Holloway boarded a boat and crossed the Delaware River with the rest of General Washington's troops, and participated in a complete surprise attack on the Hessian troops at Trenton, New Jersey. It was a total one-sided victory for the Patriots, and a badly needed boost for the young nation-to-be. The celebration would have to last awhile, as Billy and the Continental Army would be bottled up by the British in Pennsylvania for the next 9 months. On September 11, 1777, Billy Holloway found his back facing Philadelphia, and his rifle facing the British coming from Chesapeake Bay toward Brandywine Creek. When the smoke cleared from the battlefield, Gen. Washington and his troops were in retreat as the victory went to the British, who marched into the revolutionary capitol of Philadelphia, shortly after the Patriot leaders had abandoned the city.
On October 4, 1777, Billy Holloway was part of General Washington's attempted surprise attack on the British at Germantown, Pennsylvania, which failed due to delays while marching in the fog, and the Patriots were forced to retreat once again. Billy and the others avoided the British for the next few weeks, and finally settled down for the winter at a place called Valley Forge. Billy remained through that difficult winter of disease and hunger at Valley Forge, and was discharged from the Army on June 19, 1778. He would return to fight for a brief period with the Continental Army again in 1781, the year the British would be defeated.
After the War, Billy Holloway and his family moved into what would become Tennessee, and were among the first settlers in Blount County, south of Knoxville. In 1811 he was a founder of the Six Mile Baptist Church, and in 1812 became an ordained Baptist Minister for the remainder of his life. When he died, his will stated that he left "to my wife Nancy, 1/3 of all I have of all kinds, to my son Barnes Holloway the remaining 2/3, and my pension if any due me after September, 4, 1829, to be divided as my friends see best". Patriot, Pioneer, Minister....a good story from the Willden family past. Comments/questions to graveyardgossip@gmail.com

MARTINI FAMILY--VITALONE FAMILIA

Reggio Calabria, Italy

Utica, NY

Domenico Vitalone birth certificate

Vincenzina Villella Vitalone

the Vitalone home in Sinopoli

Domenico Vitalone

Princess Irene to America

Italian Cross of War

Ellis Island Processing

In the last blog entry, we left when Vincenzina Villella married Domenico Vitalone....the grandparents of Tony Martini...but who was this Vitalone clan and where did they come from? According to the family oral history, when ancient Rome took over the Calabrian area...which was then Greek owned....the Romans sent families and soldiers in mass to the area to "filter out" the Greek influence, thus creating a more friendly and easier to control population. Our Vitalone ancestors were among these early Calabrian infiltrators from the north. We can document back to Francesco Vitalone, born about 1800 in Sinopoli, Reggio Calabria, Italy. His son Pasquale Vitalone married Lucia Francesca Antonia Alvaro in 1847 Sinopoli, and one of their sons was Francesco Fortunato Vitalone, born in 1857. Francesco Vitalone married 17 year old Giulia Camillo in 1875 Sinopoli, and their children were Pasquale, Carmelo, Rosa, Antonio, Giorgio, and Domenico Vitalone...yes, the one who married Vincenzina Villella from our last blog entry. Let's take a look at this couple.
Domenico Vitalone boarded the "Princess Irene" in Naples on the 22nd of April, 1904, and sailed to America. At the Ellis island processing facility, the 16 year old with $10.00 cash in his pockets listed his destination as Utica, New York, to see his cousin Carmelo Vitalone. In June of 1910, when Domenico Vitalone and Vincenzina Villella were working in a textile factory in Herkimer, New York, "Jennie" Villella's mother died, leaving Jennie with her brothers and stepfather. Most likely Domenico and Jennie met at work, and they were married on March 25, 1911 in Herkimer by a Justice of the Peace. On the Marriage License, Domenico lists his occupation as "knitter", and Jennie's as "mill hand".
On July 10, 1912, Domenico Vitalone and Vincenzina Villella became the parents of my father, Frank Vitalone, born in Herkimer. More about him later. As for Domenico and Vincenzina Vitalone, a second child, Julia, was born before 1916, and she died young without marrying. With World War I taking place in Europe, all Italian young men were called home by the Italian government to come back and defend the homeland. Domenico responded, and the little family packed up and returned to Sinopoli, Italy. Domenico Vitalone joined the Italian Army, and was unfortunately killed in action fighting the Austrians with the Italian Third Army in the Ninth Battle of the Isonzo River in the Carso Plateau area, November 1, 1916...my father, Frank Vitalone, was 4 years old. Vincenzina Vitalone received a memorial certificate signed by Vittorio Emanuele III, King of Italy, for her husband who "died for his native land". Later, in 1918, Domenico Vitalone was posthumously awarded the Italian war Cross of Merit, for service to his country. Today, there is a monument in Sinopoli to the soldiers who died in WWI, with Domenico Vitalone's name alone at the top. With her 28 year old husband gone, Vincenzina married years later to Giorgio Vitalone, and raised Giorgio's daughter Maria Vitalone in Sinopoli. Vincenzina Villella Vitalone died on March 5, 1981, at the age of 84. Her death marked the end of the immediate Italian Connection to our family in America. Comments/questions to graveyardgossip@gmail.com

Martini Family---the VILLELLA connection

S. S. Principedi di Piemonte

St. Francis de Sales Cath Ch

St. Mary of Mt. Carmel Cath. Ch

Nicastro in Catanzaro, Italy

southern Italy homeland

Calvary Cemetery in Herkimer NY

Vincenzina Villella Vitalone

In the last blog we learned that Fortunato and Anna ZUBBA had a daughter named Anna born 1868 in Nicastro, Italy, who married Antonio VILLELLA in Italy. Thus ends the ZUBBA name in our direct line, and the VILLELLA name is carried forward for exactly one (1) generation before it comes to an end. We know nothing about Antonio VILLELLA, other than that he must have married Anna ZUBBA around 1885-1888, and he died between 1905-1907. It is possible that Antonio had come to America ahead of his family, and died before they came over....but there is no evidence one way or the other. At any rate, the 4' 11" widow Anna ZUBBA VILLELLA boarded the S. S. Principe di Piemonte (see photo) on August 1, 1907 in Naples, Italy...bound for America.
Anna VILLELLA left her oldest son Michele (Michael) in Nicastro, but brought her other three children on the ship. There was Giovanni (John S.), born January 31, 1892 in Nicastro; Vincenzina (Vincenza, Jennie), born September 12, 1896 in Nicastro; and Salvatore, born December 12, 1904 in Nicastro. The ship's record states that their destination in America was Utica, Oneida County, New York,(see photo) where they would find Anna's mother, Anna, and stepfather Angelo Pina. The S. S. Principe di Piemonte landed at New York City on August 16, 1907, where Anna Zubba VILLELLA and her 3 children would be held for "special inquiry" until they were admitted to the United States at 11:30 a.m., August 19, 1907.
The next year, 1908, the widow Anna Zubba VILLELLA met and married Tony Daniele, an Italian immigrant twelve years her junior. In April of 1910, the family lived on William Street in Herkimer with Anna's sister Antonetta George and her husband Nicholas George. Son John worked as a laborer on a barge canal, and young Vincenzina (Jennie) worked in a textile mill, but this was all about to change.
In late June, 1910, Anna Zubba VILLELLA died at the home of her sister Antonetta George, leaving her new husband Tony Daniele with the three children, John, Vincenza, and Salvatore. A mass was held for Anna VILLELLA at St. Frances de Sales Catholic Church (see photo), and she was buried at Calvary Cemetery in Herkimer. She was 42 years old, and had been in America for only 34 months.
What happened to the three kids you say? For one thing, the spelling of the last name changed in America to VILLELO, which it remains today in our direct line. It remained VILLELLA in Italy, and we have no idea why they were different.
At any rate, John S. VILLELO's 1917 WWI draft card states that he was the caretaker of his brother Salvatore that year, as Sal was only 12. John married the Brazil-born Italian Mary Suppa on July 27, 1918, and continued to work as a knitter in the James Lynch Knitting Mill in Herkimer until his retirement. John S. VILLELLO died April 8, 1958, and was buried in Calvary Cemetery. Mary died in 1983. Their children are Anthony J., Anna Rita (Stanley Dorozynski), Frank, Rose (Peter Grico), Ellen Marie (Albert S. Macera), and Raymond J. (Rose Marie Genovice).
Salvatore VILLELO married Grace Rita Fiore in 1926, and ran a barber shop on Bleeker Street in Utica for many years before moving to Oneida Square, and he was active in the Barbers Union until his retirement in 1969. Grace died in 1964, and Salvatore VILLELO died January 5, 1981. They were members of St. Mary of Mount Carmel Catholic Church, and are buried in St. Agnes Cemetery. The children of Salvatore and Grace VILLELLO are Anna Lucy (Arthur Trozzi), Mary Felicia (Frank Wojnas), and Grace Rita (Thomas De Crescenzo).
Vincenzina (Jennie) VILLELLA married Domenico VITALONE.....the grandparents of Tony Martini.....more on her next time.
Thus, the VILLELLA line ended with my grandmother Vincenzina marrying into the VITALONE clan, but left us tons of cousins in and around Utica and Herkimer, New York, as well as those in Nicastro, Italy. Comments/questions to graveyardgossip@gmail.com