No doubt that at age 104, Carmelia Gates Costa of St Louis Missouri claims the esteemed title of oldest living Usticesi descendant. And doesn’t she look great! The surname Gates is a variation of the Usticesi surname Caezza, and Carmelia is the daughter of Tommaso Caezza (Gaezzo/Gates) who was born in Ustica on April 3, 1854. Tommaso came to New Orleans with his parents, Giuseppe Caezza and Caterina Picone, and at some point in the late 1800’s, he resttled in St Louis and raised a family. The grainy photo is of Giuseppe Caezza and Caterina Picone, taken sometime before Caterina’s death in New Orleans in 1895. CSBA member, Kerry Byrne, posted it to the CSBA facebook page in 2010. I sent both of these photos on to Vito Ailara in Ustica and he returned another of the large group of women taken in 1906. The woman to the left seated with child is Vito’s grandmother Cristina Rando, and the woman at her shoulder is her mother Maria Caezza Rando, the sister of Carmelia’s dad, Tommaso Caezza. That makes Vito and Carmelia 2nd cousins once removed. As Vito put it – what a small world! And I’ll add – how great it is that our community can pull together such a great archive of our families. Best wishes to Carmelia as she approaches her 105th birthday on February 19th and to her care givers, her daughters Madalene Costa and Josie Costa Bieler and her grandaughter Sister Carmen Koch.
Chris Caravella
President of San Bartolomeo Society, Descendants of Ustica, Italy
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COMMENTO
Dalla California Marlene Robershaw Manfrè
A very happy birthday to Carmela, and at 104, yes, she looks great !!! God has certainly blessed her !!
About that group picture from Vito. I have that picture also, from Vito, but I thought it was older than 1906. He had sent it to me because he said that the young girl seated on the ground on the right, was a Manfre, possibly one of my Manfre’s. Of course the Manfre family was part of the Rando family also.
Like I always say, if you are Usticesi, you have a whole Island of Cousins !!!!!
