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Of Italian Immigrants and Murder…
(From BCHS publication Stories in Stone Volume 1)
By Don Silvius
An Italian immigrant by the name of Thomas Cherrino, who later changed his name to Thomas Cherry, went to Canada to work for a mining company. Cherry was an exceptionally intelligent man and was able to draw and write down the complete operation of the entire Canadian plant from memory.
Cherry next came to America, where he met a businessman named Newton D. Baker. He presented his plans to Baker and persuaded him to open a mining company in Big Springs, West Virginia. Big Springs is just south of Martinsburg on Route 11 where the Big Springs Animal Hospital is located today.
Mr. Cherry assured Baker that manpower to operate the company would not be an issue. There were plenty of able-bodied young men in Italy who would come to America to work in those mines. Baker liked the idea and agreed to Cherry’s proposal.
Cherry traveled to Trisungo, Italy and several other nearby villages and recruited thirteen men to come to America. Baker paid for all transportation costs and built each man a house in which to live, free of charge, in exchange for working for the Standard Lime and Stone Company.
Baker built a grammar school for the children of the village of Big Springs. He encouraged single men to find a wife and settle down. The Italian community of Martinsburg and the surrounding area, which included the Big Springs families, had their own newspaper and there was an Italian-American Club in Martinsburg.
The Italian men of the surrounding area gathered together to play cards or bocce. In addition, there was always plenty of homemade wine for everyone. Some of the families who participated were the Quaglio, Ferro, Chirelli, Fierro, Cicone and others. These people were employed as shoemakers, tailors, barbers, bakers, butchers and grocery store workers.
The village of Big Springs, which was owned by the Standard Lime and Stone Company, had a peak population of eighty-eight. It consisted of fourteen seven-room wooden houses that were occupied by the Italians who came to America to work in the mines.
The houses were far from luxurious as they had no indoor plumbing and no insulation against the harsh winter weather. A wood burning potbellied stove in the kitchen was their only source of heat. To stay warm at night, bricks were heated, wrapped in cloth and laid at the foot of the bed. In addition, some of the families slept three to a bed to share the warmth.
As previously mentioned, these houses had no indoor plumbing, which meant they also had outhouses. There were three pumps located throughout the village and any time the families needed water, they had to haul it in buckets from these pumps.
The families who lived in Big Springs in its prime were the Chirelli, Saladini, Bigiarelli, Angelo, Piccolomini, Petrucci, Trenta, Orsini, Qualini, Rossi, De Stefano and Smith families. Oh yes, the Smiths, they were Irish. Three of the fourteen houses were inhabited by Saladini families – just in case you were counting.
The immigrant families were poor, to say the least, but to say they were unhappy would not be true. As previously mentioned, the men would gather and play cards and bocce, as well as horseshoes and other games.
Music was another popular activity in Big Springs. Once a month, a man from Hershey, Pennsylvania, Mr. Tony Marino, an accordion player, would visit the village to play an array of Italian songs. The men and women enjoyed dancing to their favorite Italian songs. Marino’s visits were all day events with plenty of food, drinks and laughter. A good time was had by all – always.
The families all made homemade wine in accordance with West Virginia laws, of course. They were allowed to make several hundred gallons. Wine was served to guests as a gesture of hospitality. It was also served at mealtime. One of their favorite wines was dandelion wine, but they also made wine from grapes and cherries.
The village of Big Springs was self-sustaining and self-reliant. They grew their own organic vegetables and raised hogs and chickens for meat. They raised cows and goats for dairy products. Some of the families made their own cheeses, mozzarella, ricotta and smoked cheeses. They also made ice cream and butter.
At butchering time, all the neighbors pitched in and helped each other. They all enjoyed sampling the various sausages and pork cuts for proper seasoning and taste.
Into this environment that sixteen-year-old Romeo Albensi came. He emigrated to the United States from Naples, Italy and arrived in New York on November 18, 1904. Romeo denounced his allegiance to Italy and became a naturalized American citizen on April 8, 1919.
Romeo was five foot seven inches tall, weighed about 155 pounds with brown hair, brown eyes and had a scar under his right ear. His official occupation for the Standard Lime and Stone Company was “Quarry Foreman.”
On Saturday, November 12, 1927, Romeo Albensi, the superintendent of the South Quarry of the Standard Lime and Stone Company, had sufficient reason to discharge an employee, Norman H. Barrett. Later in the afternoon, Barrett returned to the quarry, “more or less” under the influence of liquor.
He tried to get into an argument with Albensi. He turned and walked away from Barrett, when Barrett walked up behind him and “struck him a fearful blow in the head with a heavy piece of iron.” Albensi dropped in his tracks with a fractured skull. Barrett is said to have kicked him in the face at this point.
He was taken to the hospital where he died in a short time. Barrett was arrested some hours later and held in jail. Barrett’s own father had died in a quarry in Bakerton, Jefferson County, some eight years earlier.
In April of 1928, Barrett was found guilty of second-degree murder in connection with Albensi’s death. He was sentenced to eighteen years in the state penitentiary at Moundsville. He admitted that he struck Albensi with an iron bar following a quarrel, but said he acted in self-defense. Barrett was paroled in 1935. (Source: newspapers.com, the Charleston Daily Mail, Mar. 31, 1935)
Albensi left a wife, who lived at Berkeley Place in the 1930 census and on Eagle Run Road in the 1940 census. She is buried beside him at New Norborne Cemetery.
(From BCHS publication Stories in Stone Volume 1)
By Don Silvius
An Italian immigrant by the name of Thomas Cherrino, who later changed his name to Thomas Cherry, went to Canada to work for a mining company. Cherry was an exceptionally intelligent man and was able to draw and write down the complete operation of the entire Canadian plant from memory.
Cherry next came to America, where he met a businessman named Newton D. Baker. He presented his plans to Baker and persuaded him to open a mining company in Big Springs, West Virginia. Big Springs is just south of Martinsburg on Route 11 where the Big Springs Animal Hospital is located today.
Mr. Cherry assured Baker that manpower to operate the company would not be an issue. There were plenty of able-bodied young men in Italy who would come to America to work in those mines. Baker liked the idea and agreed to Cherry’s proposal.
Cherry traveled to Trisungo, Italy and several other nearby villages and recruited thirteen men to come to America. Baker paid for all transportation costs and built each man a house in which to live, free of charge, in exchange for working for the Standard Lime and Stone Company.
Baker built a grammar school for the children of the village of Big Springs. He encouraged single men to find a wife and settle down. The Italian community of Martinsburg and the surrounding area, which included the Big Springs families, had their own newspaper and there was an Italian-American Club in Martinsburg.
The Italian men of the surrounding area gathered together to play cards or bocce. In addition, there was always plenty of homemade wine for everyone. Some of the families who participated were the Quaglio, Ferro, Chirelli, Fierro, Cicone and others. These people were employed as shoemakers, tailors, barbers, bakers, butchers and grocery store workers.
The village of Big Springs, which was owned by the Standard Lime and Stone Company, had a peak population of eighty-eight. It consisted of fourteen seven-room wooden houses that were occupied by the Italians who came to America to work in the mines.
The houses were far from luxurious as they had no indoor plumbing and no insulation against the harsh winter weather. A wood burning potbellied stove in the kitchen was their only source of heat. To stay warm at night, bricks were heated, wrapped in cloth and laid at the foot of the bed. In addition, some of the families slept three to a bed to share the warmth.
As previously mentioned, these houses had no indoor plumbing, which meant they also had outhouses. There were three pumps located throughout the village and any time the families needed water, they had to haul it in buckets from these pumps.
The families who lived in Big Springs in its prime were the Chirelli, Saladini, Bigiarelli, Angelo, Piccolomini, Petrucci, Trenta, Orsini, Qualini, Rossi, De Stefano and Smith families. Oh yes, the Smiths, they were Irish. Three of the fourteen houses were inhabited by Saladini families – just in case you were counting.
The immigrant families were poor, to say the least, but to say they were unhappy would not be true. As previously mentioned, the men would gather and play cards and bocce, as well as horseshoes and other games.
Music was another popular activity in Big Springs. Once a month, a man from Hershey, Pennsylvania, Mr. Tony Marino, an accordion player, would visit the village to play an array of Italian songs. The men and women enjoyed dancing to their favorite Italian songs. Marino’s visits were all day events with plenty of food, drinks and laughter. A good time was had by all – always.
The families all made homemade wine in accordance with West Virginia laws, of course. They were allowed to make several hundred gallons. Wine was served to guests as a gesture of hospitality. It was also served at mealtime. One of their favorite wines was dandelion wine, but they also made wine from grapes and cherries.
The village of Big Springs was self-sustaining and self-reliant. They grew their own organic vegetables and raised hogs and chickens for meat. They raised cows and goats for dairy products. Some of the families made their own cheeses, mozzarella, ricotta and smoked cheeses. They also made ice cream and butter.
At butchering time, all the neighbors pitched in and helped each other. They all enjoyed sampling the various sausages and pork cuts for proper seasoning and taste.
Into this environment that sixteen-year-old Romeo Albensi came. He emigrated to the United States from Naples, Italy and arrived in New York on November 18, 1904. Romeo denounced his allegiance to Italy and became a naturalized American citizen on April 8, 1919.
Romeo was five foot seven inches tall, weighed about 155 pounds with brown hair, brown eyes and had a scar under his right ear. His official occupation for the Standard Lime and Stone Company was “Quarry Foreman.”
On Saturday, November 12, 1927, Romeo Albensi, the superintendent of the South Quarry of the Standard Lime and Stone Company, had sufficient reason to discharge an employee, Norman H. Barrett. Later in the afternoon, Barrett returned to the quarry, “more or less” under the influence of liquor.
He tried to get into an argument with Albensi. He turned and walked away from Barrett, when Barrett walked up behind him and “struck him a fearful blow in the head with a heavy piece of iron.” Albensi dropped in his tracks with a fractured skull. Barrett is said to have kicked him in the face at this point.
He was taken to the hospital where he died in a short time. Barrett was arrested some hours later and held in jail. Barrett’s own father had died in a quarry in Bakerton, Jefferson County, some eight years earlier.
In April of 1928, Barrett was found guilty of second-degree murder in connection with Albensi’s death. He was sentenced to eighteen years in the state penitentiary at Moundsville. He admitted that he struck Albensi with an iron bar following a quarrel, but said he acted in self-defense. Barrett was paroled in 1935. (Source: newspapers.com, the Charleston Daily Mail, Mar. 31, 1935)
Albensi left a wife, who lived at Berkeley Place in the 1930 census and on Eagle Run Road in the 1940 census. She is buried beside him at New Norborne Cemetery.