Pietraperzia, Sicily → New York City
Six generations from a Sicilian hilltop
to the streets of Brooklyn
Our surname was originally Arcadipane. In 1969, Tony's father — Antony Cosmo Arcadipane — legally changed the family name to Arcadi, and dropped the H from his own first name (Anthony became Antony). The family came from Pietraperzia, a small hilltop town in the Province of Enna, in the interior of Sicily.
Every firstborn son's name follows strict Sicilian tradition: named for the paternal grandfather. Filippo named his son Cosimo (after his own father). Cosimo named his son Phillip (Filippo, after his father). Anthony Cosmo carries his grandfather Cosimo's name as his middle name. And Tony — Antony Philip — carries his grandfather Phillip's name.
In Pietraperzia, trades passed through families. Filippo Arcadipane became a shoemaker and passed the trade to his son Cosimo — though Filippo's own father (also named Cosimo) had been a farmer. On the Di Dio side, Antonino was a barber. These were artisan trades — a step above the landless laborers who worked the wheat estates, but not wealthy. You had a shop, tools, and customers. It was enough to live on in Sicily, but not enough to build on — which is why they left.
Cosimo Arcadipane left Pietraperzia at 23 years old. He sailed aboard the SS Algeria from Palermo, arriving at Ellis Island on June 3, 1907. He settled in Hell's Kitchen, Manhattan — 413 West 40th Street — and continued his trade as a shoemaker.
Maria Calogera Di Dio crossed alone at thirteen years old. She sailed on the SS Sant'Anna from Naples, arriving November 28, 1911. Her father Antonino had died when she was an infant. The ship manifest listed her destination as her mother, Rosaria Carieri, at 229 Elizabeth Street — the heart of Manhattan's Sicilian enclave.
One year after arriving alone at 13, Maria married Cosimo at NYC City Hall. She was 14. He was 28. It was December 18, 1912. Civil ceremony, Certificate #30838.
Maria's mother Rosaria Carieri must have emigrated before November 1911 — she was already living at 229 Elizabeth Street when Maria arrived. Her ship and exact date are unknown, but she made the journey first and then sent for her daughter.
Cosimo and Maria had a large family. Besides Phillip Salvatore, who continues the direct line above, they had at least four other confirmed children — and possibly more. These are Phillip's brothers and sisters, Tony's great-aunts and great-uncles.
Seraphina and Phyllis do not appear in the Social Security records search ‐ they likely married and filed under their married names. A woman named Sadie Arcadipane (b. 1918, d. 1979) also appears in the NUMIDENT death files; her relationship to the family is unclear.
Cosimo and Maria are buried together at Saint Charles Cemetery in East Farmingdale, Suffolk County, New York — Section 32, Row W, Grave 108. Cosimo was interred on June 12, 1962. Mary joined him on April 30, 1980.
Phillip Salvatore lived his final years in Brooklyn, ZIP 11236 (Canarsie/Mill Basin area), and died December 29, 2001.
Antony Cosmo Arcadi died March 2, 2002, at age 59 — just over two months after his father Phillip.
This page is a work in progress. Research is ongoing using free federal databases (NARA, Ellis Island, FindAGrave, Social Security records) and Italian civil records obtained from the State Archive of Enna through genealogist Marcello D'Aleo.
NYC death certificates for Cosimo and Mary — these would provide exact addresses and causes of death. Census records from 1920 and 1930 are linked on FindAGrave but behind the Ancestry.com paywall. Rosaria Carieri's immigration record — her ship and exact date are still unknown.
The Arcadipane siblings section above is incomplete. Seraphina and Phyllis have no Social Security records under their maiden names. Carmela, Ralph, and Beatrice appear in SSA records with the Arcadipane surname but have not been confirmed by family. Sadie Arcadipane's relationship to the family is unclear.
Antony Cosmo's death date of March 2, 2002 is from family knowledge and has not yet been verified against public records.