Bolivian Americans have had to overcome many obstacles, such as low income, unemployment, language barriers, and lack of medical insurance.[i] Playing soccer is one way many Bolivian Americans de-stress and forget the difficulties that they faced for a few hours. Since 1999, there are more than 450 Latino soccer teams in the Washington Metropolitan area, many of whom cater to the Bolivian immigrant community.  Many teams play on Sunday because Bolivian immigrants are usually working Monday to Saturday, using whatever fields are available.[ii] Soccer has brought Bolivian Americans together and created a sense of community in the area.

 Photo Courtesy of the World Fact book-Central Intelligence Agency

During the 1990s and into the early 2000, these soccer games had become an event; whole families would go and spend the day watching soccer games, traveling all over the region. As the games are played, you will find children playing soccer on the sidelines, shouting and laughing the whole time. Bolivian food, such as peanut soup (shredded dried beef and dried corn topped with a based salsa), are served at games.[iii]

 Photo Courtesy of vegrecipes- Live Journal

Professional soccer players from Bolivia, who give local immigrants much pride, also impact the Bolivian immigrant community in D.C. For example, immigrants follow Bolivian players on the D.C. United soccer team, most notably Marco Etcheverry who played in the late 1990s and early 2000s.[iv] Any appearances that Etcheverry made, hundreds of Bolivians who lived in the D.C. area were there to see him. Etcheverry’s low key nature did not stop him from signing autographs and taking photographs with fans. The longer that Etcheverry played for D.C. United, the more he became involved in the community. He donated jerseys to local soccer teams, and money to local schools to teach Spanish speakers English. Etcheverry and other Bolivian players who have played for D.C. United were easy for other Bolivian immigrants to relate to because they experienced some of the same difficulties.[v]

 Photo Courtesy of youtube.com

[i] Tom Gjelten, A Nations of Nations: A Great American Immigrant Story (New York: Simon & Schuster, 2015), 50-52.

[ii]Gabriel Escobar, “The Other Pro Soccer; In Area’s Latino Leagues, Part of the Game Is Profit, and the Best Players Are Paid,” The Washington Post, November 29, 1998, accessed on November 10, 2016.

[iii]Matthew Levine, “A Place to Bring Bolivia Home,” The Washington Post, October 24, 2002, accessed on November 10, 2016; Gjelten, 50-52.

[iv] Levine, “A Place to Bring Bolivia Home;” Emily Wax, “National Pride Leaves D.C. United Fans Divided” The Washington Post, October 31, 1999, accessed on November 10, 2016.

[v]Pamela Constable, “The Pride Of All Hispanics: United Etcheverry is Bolivia’s Shining Star,” The Washington Post, October 21, 1998.

Ethiopian immigrants are a newer immigrant group that began migrating to the United States at the end of the twentieth century because of political and economic unrest.[i] As a result, many Ethiopians sought asylum in the United States.[ii]

 (Picture of Ethiopia Courtesy of BBC)

The Ethiopian Civil war began with the Marxist Derg government overthrowing the emperor of Ethiopia, Haile Selassie, in September 1974 and lasted until May 1990. The Civil War in Ethiopia affected both the upper and lower classes. In November 1974, two months after the Derg government took power, the new government executed all high-ranking officials from Emperor Haile Selassie’s government. In response to the violence, the U.S. government granted the Ethiopians who came to the United States on tourist or student visas permission to stay in the country indefinitely, through “extended voluntary departure” or asylum.[iii] An example of an Ethiopian immigrant who came to the United States on a tourist visa and requested asylum was Rhoda Worku. The Ethiopian Civil War affected Rhoda Worku directly; her parents, brothers, and uncles were in Haile Selassie’s cabinet, and were executed in 1974 with the other officials when the Derg government came to power. Once Worku was given the chance, she left Ethiopia and immigrated to the United States. When she first arrived in the United States she stayed with Presbyterian missionary family in California. Soon after she arrived, Worku applied for asylum. It took years but she was eventually granted asylum by the United States government. Today, Worku lives in Alexandria, Virginia and owns a successful restaurant, the Caboose Cafe.[iv]

Throughout the many years of warfare that Ethiopian Civil war created, more and more Ethiopians immigrated to the United States. The number of immigrants coming to the United States from Ethiopia, doubled every ten years from 1980 to 2000. Many Ethiopian decided to settle down in D.C. Metropolitan area. [v]

[i] Elizabeth Chacko, “Ethiopian Ethos and the Making of Ethnic Places in the Washington Metropolitan Area,” Journal of Cultural Geography, 20, no. 2 (2003): 21-42.

[ii] Jill H. Wilson and Shelly Habecker, “The Lure of the Capital City: An Anthro-geographical Analysis of Recent African Immigration to Washington, DC” The Brookings Institution, (April 2008), 443-448.

[iii] Caryley Murphy, “Top Ethiopian Diplomat Here Requests Asylum,” Washington Post, May 8, 1984.

[iv] Rhoda Worku, “Interview with Rhoda Worku,” Interview by Krystyn Moon, Alexandria.gov (May 20, 2015), 5-7.

[v] Wilson and Habecker, 443-448.

In Italy’s Many Diasporas, Donna R. Gabaccia states that historically Italian immigrants often returned home to Italy after working for a certain amount of time. Italian immigrants that immigrated to a country, like the United States, were mainly men who sent money back to their families in Italy. It was a rare occurrence for a whole family to immigrate.[i] One of the Italian immigrant family that did come to the United States and decided to stay was the Pulzone family of Alexandria, Virginia.

Felix A. Pulzone, the patriarch of the family, was the first member of the family to enter the country in 1911, leaving his wife, Maria, and eldest daughter, Rosena, in Italy. Unlike other Italian immigrants, Pulzone did not return to Italy. Instead, his wife and daughter immigrated to the United States in 1913. Three years later, the family relocated to Alexandria, Virginia. He got a job with a local railroad company as a car repairer. The Pulzones had eight children in Alexandria–Edgar, Orlando, Geraldine, Marian, Raymond, Joseph, Cecilia and Paul–and lived at 837 North Columbus Street near other Italian immigrants.[ii]

Alexandria, Virginia Directory. The image courtesy of Ancestry.com

On September 29, 1933, Pulzone passed away. He was buried at the Saint Mary’s Catholic Church Cemetery.[iii] By the 1940 U.S. Census, the rest of the Pulzone family lived together on East Peyton Avenue.[iv]

Maria Pulzone was not employed outside of the home, but three of her sons supported the household. The eldest son, Edgar, was a mail clerk, making $1,170 a year. Orlando, the second eldest, worked for the federal government as messenger, making $1,245 a year. Marion, who worked as a messenger for a private company, only made $650.[v] They probably continued to support her until her death in 1953.

As the years passed, the Pulzone family expanded. Three of the four eldest Pulzone brothers (Edgar, Marion, and Raymond) decided to stay in Alexandria. Edgar Pulzone married Dorothy Didlake in 1940.[vi] In 1958, Edgar died of carcinoma of the kidneys.[vii] The second eldest Pulzone brother, Orlando, left Alexandria to join the U.S. Army in 1941 and served for four years.[viii] While in the army, he married Ruth Fitzpatrick and they later settled down in Maryland.[ix] Orlando lived in Maryland until his death in 1978.[x] Marion, the third Pulzone brother, followed his brother into the U.S. Army in 1943 and was released from service in 1944.[xi] After his release from the army, he married Gertrude McDonald and returned to Alexandria.[xii] Marion lived in Alexandria until the day he died in 1989.[xiii] Raymond worked on the Alexandria railroad board.[xiv] Later in life, at age 46, he married Carrie Altizer.[xv] Pulzone lived in Alexandria with his wife until he the day that he died in 1985.  It is unclear what happened to other members of the Pulzone family.

The Death Certificate of Edgar Pulzone. The image is courtesy of Ancestry.com

 

[i] Donna R. Gabaccia, Italy’s Many Diasporas (London: UCL Press, 2000), 1-14

[ii] 1920 Federal Census (Population Schedule) Alexandria, Virginia, sheet number 45, line 37-47, digital image, accessed on October 10, 2016, htt://ancestry.com/; 1916 U.S. City Directories, Alexandria Virginia, page 272, Felix Pulzone, line 31, digital image, accessed October 17, 2016, htt://ancestry.com/.

[iii] Find a Grave Index In the U.S., 1600s-Current, 1933, Felix Pulzone, digital image accessed October 18, 2016, htt://ancestry.com/. http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi.

[iv] 1938 U.S. City Directories, Alexandria Virginia, page 329, line 8-12, digital image accessed October 18, 2016, htt://ancestry.com/.

[v] 1940 Federal Census (Population Schedule) Alexandria, Virginia, sheet number 10, line 73-79, digital image, accessed on October 10, 2016, htt://ancestry.com/.

[vi] Virginia Marriage Records 1936-2014, Edgar Pulzone, accessed on 10/20/16, htt://ancestry.com/.

[vii] Virginia Death Records, 1912-2014, Edgar Pulzone, page 346, accessed on 10/26/2016, htt://ancestry.com/.

[viii] U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs BIRLS Death File, Orlando Pulzone, accessed on 10/20/16, htt://ancestry.com/.

[ix] Virginia Marriage Records 1936-2014, Orlando Pulzone, accessed on 10/20/16, htt://ancestry.com/.

[x] Find a Grave Index In the U.S., 1600s-Current, 1933, Orlando Pulzone, digital image accessed October 20, 2016, htt://ancestry.com/. http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi.

[xi]U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs BIRLS Death File, Marion Pulzone, accessed on 10/20/16, htt://ancestry.com/.

[xii] Virginia Marriage Records 1936-2014, Marion Pulzone, accessed on 10/20/16, htt://ancestry.com/.

[xiii] Find a Grave Index In the U.S., 1600s-Current, 1933, Marion Pulzone, digital image accessed October 20, 2016, htt://ancestry.com/. http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi.

[xiv] Social Security Death Index, 1935-2014, Raymond Pulzone, accessed on 10/20/16, htt://ancestry.com/.

[xv] Virginia Marriage Records 1936-2014, Raymond Pulzone, accessed on 10/20/16, htt://ancestry.com/.

 

Out of all the immigrant groups that came to the United States in the nineteenth century, English immigrants are often overlooked. Unlike other immigrant groups, the English were able to adjust to life in the U.S. with fewer problems–including anti-immigrant persecution and language acquisition. As a result, historians frequently ignored their experiences.[1]

English immigrants have often been over looked but that did not mean that they did not find success. In 1859, Edward Green of Alexandria, Virginia, for example, worked for the Manassas Gap railroad in Alexandria.[2] He started out as an accountant and worked his way up.[3] By the time of the 1860 U.S. Census, Green had been promoted to treasurer of the Manassas Gap Railroad.[4] Whenever the railroad announced when different trains were leaving, his name was attached to it.[5] Green having his name constantly in the paper would have elevated his social standing in the community. Green was worth $3,000 in 1860. Green was married to Ann, and they had five kids together.[6] By the time he died on January 25, 1864, Green had prospered.[7]

[1] Charlotte Erickson, Invisible Immigrants: The Adaption of English and Scottish Immigrants in the Nineteenth- Century America (Coral Gables Florida: University of Miami Press, 1972), 1-10

[2] Edward Green, “Manassas Gap Railroad,” Alexandria Gazette, March 11, 1859.

[3] 1850 Federal Census (Population Schedule) Alexandria, Virginia, sheet number 15, line 22, digital image, accessed on September 20, 2016, http://www.ancestry.com/.

[4] 1860 Federal Census (Population Schedule) Alexandria, Virginia, sheet number 203, line 27, digital image accessed on September 20, 2016, http://www.ancestry.com/.

[5] Green, “Manassas Gap Railroad.”

[6] 1860 Federal Census (Population Schedule) Alexandria, Virginia, sheet number 203-204, line 27-30 on page 203, line 1-3 on page 204, digital image, accessed on September 20, 2016, http://www.ancestry.com/.

[7] “Died,” Alexandria Gazette, January 26, 1864.