Tony Guiffre: Business Man

During the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, Italian immigrants traveled to the United States in search of work. Many of these immigrants found jobs as manual laborers in mines and on railroads.[1] However, as time progressed, many of these immigrants became artisans, craftsmen, and professionals. When looking at records such as the 1920 and 1940 U.S. Censuses, you can see how many Italian immigrants transitioned to better paying, more stable jobs and established families.[2] Such is the case with Tony Guiffre, a beer distributor in Alexandria, Virginia. Tony was born January 17, 1882 in Italy. According to the Kelly Long family tree on Ancestry.com, Gaetano Antonio Guiffre or “Tony” was born in Palermo, Sicily to Gaetano and Giuseppa Guiffre.[3] Tony is listed as “Tony Queffra” in the 1920 U.S. Census and he stated he immigrated to the U.S. in 1887.[4] However, according to the 1930 U.S. Census, he immigrated to the United States in 1883.[5] Unfortunately I could not find any travel documents on when his family came the America. Nevertheless, after looking at the Kelly Long’s family tree, I believe the Guiffre family migrated sometime around 1887 because his sister Agostina was born in Italy in 1884 and his brother, Michael, was born in 1888 in Washington, D.C.[6]

It appears that Tony resided in the Washington Metropolitan Area for much of his life. Tony married U.S. citizen Theresa Casassa on July 22, 1902 in Washington D.C.[7] She was born on July 22, 1882, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.[8] In the 1920 U.S. Census in the column “Naturalization” Tony is listed as “Un” or not naturalized.[9] In both the 1930 and 1940 U.S. Censuses, he is listed as being naturalized [10] so I presume he was naturalized sometime in the years between 1920-1930, though I could not find any naturalization papers to support this claim. Later, he registered for the draft in Montgomery County, Maryland, on September 11, 1918.[11]

Unlike other Italian immigrants in Alexandria, he was not a laborer on the railroad like many others did in Alexandria during this period. One explanation for this occurrence is the fact that Tony arrived in the United States as a very young child and was educated in the U.S. and could pursue different skills.  In 1905, the Washington, D.C. City directory listed Tony as a carpenter.[12] However, only a few years later, he and his wife moved to Alexandria where Tony worked as a shoemaker. All throughout the year of 1912, ads for his shoe making and repair business in Alexandria can be found in the Washington Herald.[13] Tony was apparently successful in the shoemaking and repair business because, as seen in the Alexandria city directories from 1928-1934, he progressed from being a shoe maker to a department store owner.[14] What I found to be most intriguing about Tony Guiffre is that in the 1934 Alexandria City Directory he was listed as store owner of Del Ray Department Store.[15] However, two years later, in the 1936 Alexandria City Directory, Tony is listed as a beer distributor. According to later records such as the 1940 U.S. Census and the 1942 Alexandria City Directory, he was a beer distributor for the remainder of his life. It is possible, with the end of Prohibition, that Tony found a niche market in beer, although the exact reason is not known.[16] What is interesting about Tony is that on the 1940 U.S. Census, he is listed as owning a home valued at $3,000 yet he has no income or salary.[17] It is probable that since he owned his own business at the time he did not give himself a yearly salary but instead just kept the profits from his business.

The Guiffre family did not move much around the city. In the 1938 Alexandria City Directory, Tony was listed as residing at 101 West Peyton Avenue.[19] Two years later Guiffre family are listed as living at 116 East Peyton Avenue, which was later renamed Del Ray Avenue.[20] Tony lived the remainder of his life at this residence, where he passed away on June 25, 1943, from coronary thrombosis (blood clot in the heart).[21] He is buried next to his wife in Saint Mary’s Catholic Church Cemetery.[22]

By studying archival records such as U.S. censuses and city directories, one can gain a better insight into the individual lives of immigrants. These documents demonstrate that some immigrants are able to move beyond the low wage manual labor jobs of their parents and become successful professionals, artisans, and businessmen.

 

1. Donna R. Gabaccia, Italy’s Many Diasporas, (New York: Routledge, Taylor and Francis Group, 2003), 61.
2. Ibid., 64-65.
3. Gaetano Antonio Guiffre, Kelly Long family tree, accessed October 23, 2016, Ancestry.com.
4. 1920 U. S. Census (Population Schedule), Alexandria, Virginia, Tony Queffra, digital image, accessed October 23, 2016, Ancestry.com.
5. 1930 U. S. Census (Population Schedule), Alexandria, Virginia, Tony Guiffre, digital image, accessed October 8, 2016, Ancestry.com.
6. Gaetano Antonio Guiffre, Kelly Long family tree, accessed October 23, 2016, Ancestry.com.
7. Tony Guiffre, District of Columbia, Select Marriages, 1830-1921, digital image, accessed October 8, 2016, Ancestry.com.
8. Theresa Guiffre, Virginia, Death Records, 1912-2014, digital image, accessed October 8, 2016, Ancestry.com.
9. 1920 U. S. Census (Population Schedule), Alexandria, Virginia, Tony Queffra, digital image, accessed October 23, 2016, Ancestry.com.
10. 1930 U. S. Census (Population Schedule), Alexandria, Virginia, Tony Guiffre, digital image, accessed October 8, 2016, Ancestry.com. and 1940 U. S. Census (Population Schedule), Alexandria, Virginia, Tony Guiffre, digital image, accessed October 8, 2016, Ancestry.com.
11. Tony Guiffre, S., World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918, digital image, accessed October 8, 2016, Ancestry.com.
12. 1905 Washington D.C. City Directory, Tony Guiffre, digital image, accessed October 8, 2016, Ancestry.com.
13. The Washington Herald. (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, January through August 1912, images provided by Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.   loc.gov.
14. 1928, 1932, 1934 Alexandria City Directory, Tony Guiffre, digital image, accessed October 8, 2016, Ancestry.com.
15. 1934 Alexandria City Directory, Tony Guiffre, digital image, accessed October 8, 2016, com.
16. 1940 U. S. Census (Population Schedule), Alexandria, Virginia, Tony Guiffre, digital image, accessed October 8, 2016, Ancestry.com.
17. 1940 U. S. Census (Population Schedule), Alexandria, Virginia, Tony Guiffre, digital image, accessed October 8, 2016, Ancestry.com.
18. 1936 Alexandria City Directory, Tony Guiffre, digital image, accessed October 8, 2016, Ancestry.com.
19. 1938 Alexandria City Directory, Tony Guiffre, digital image, accessed October 8, 2016, Ancestry.com.
20. 1942 Alexandria City Directory, Tony Guiffre, digital image, accessed October 8, 2016, com; Tony Guiffre, Virginia, Death Records, 1912-2014.
21. Tony Guiffre, Virginia, Death Records, 1912-2014, digital image, accessed October 8, 2016, Ancestry.com.
22. Tony Guiffre, S., Find A Grave Index, 1600s-Current, accessed October 8, 2016, Ancestry.com.
23. Tony Guiffre, image provided findagrave.com, accessed October 8, 2016.