Cosimo: What We Know and What We Think We Know

Facts

1. He was born January 6, 1889 (WWI draft, SSDI, obituaries) or January 7, 1889 (birth record on Coreggia microfilm)
2. His parents' names were Pietro Bini and Antonia Annese (birth, baptism, and marriage record)
3. He had an older brother named Giuseppe Bini (birth record on Coreggia microfilm) 
4. He had a younger brother named Francesco Bini (birth record on Alberobello microfilm)
5. He had a younger sister named Maria Addolorata Bini (birth record on Alberobello microfilm)
6. His paternal grandparents were Giuseppe Bini and Cosma Lippolis (Pietro and Antonia marriage record on microfilm)
7. His maternal grandparents were Giuseppe Annese and Maria De Leonardis (Pietro and Antonia marriage record on microfilm)
8. His paternal great grandparents were Pietro Bini (Cosma Laneve) and Michelangelo Lippolis (Apollonia Savino)
9. His maternal great grandparents were Francesco Annese (Palma Rosa Lippolis) and Emanuele De Leonardis (Antonia Pantaleo)
10. He was living in Utica by 1916 (Utica directory)
11. He married Angelina Giacovelli in Utica in 1917 (marriage record)
12. He moved to Johnstown in 1935 (Johnstown directory)

Stories

*names in parantheses indicate who the stories were told by (mainly my grandfather Joseph and his sister Betty)

1. He came over from Alberobello by himself when he was 16 years old (Joseph or Betty)
   -He may have been avoiding the draft (my assumption based on a section in Italian Genealogical Records by Trafford Cole)
2. He was born in 1885 (Joseph)
   *Disproved by birth and baptismal records
3. He and his father worked with horses, traveling frequently to Napoli (Joseph or Betty)
4. He had a brother who moved to Brazil (Joseph)
5. He had a sister who moved to California (Joseph)
   -Unlikely, as I am fairly certain now that Maria moved to and died in Endicott, NY
   -His son Phil has said that Maria moved to Endicott, NY with her husband and died during child birth
   -I did find Anthony Palmisano living in Endicott, a widower in 1925
   *Disproved in 2014 by Maria's death certificate in Barnesboro, PA
6. He had a sister who got pregnant on the ship to the US, upsetting a brother who was also on the ship...He then proceeded to kick her in the stomach, killing her? (Betty)
   -This story seems least likely, as my grandfather says Cosimo's sister moved to California with her husband (unless it is a different sister) and it doesn't seem possible that she could get pregnant and then find out she was pregnant on only a two week boat trip.
   -It's possible this sister is Maria Addolorata Bini who came over in 1921, however I did not find any other Binis traveling with her.
   -There may have been a brother Giuseppe who arrived in the US prior to 1906 and it is possible Cosimo had a sister who came over with Giuseppe but there is no record that Cosmo had an older sister.
   -I have speculated that there may be some truth to the story, as Maria Bini did come over at the same time as her future husband Antonio Palmisano. It is curious that they were married only 2 months after coming to the US. Did they already know each other? Did she get pregnant by him on the ship and married him shortly after because of this? Why not get married in Italy before coming to the US?
   *As of 7/10/21: I have found no evidence of any other siblings born between 1895-1900 (when online records cease), and assume this is a story made up/misinterpreted. Maria died during childbirth in June 1922, 11 months after her marriage, so there is no evidence she was pregnant when she came to the US (unless she miscarried and got pregnant again, but no way to confirm this)
7. He disliked his sister's husband, saying he was a mean, rotten man and blaming this on his sister's early death. (Joseph)
   -Seems to fit Maria Bini, as she appears to have died before 1925