The Twelve Italian Families who first migrated to League City came from the Piedmont region of Italy. Bordering France and Switzerland, this region sits at the foot of the Alps. Summers in Italy are quite different from League City, with typical July high temperatures being in the lower 80° F range. The immigrants faced much higher temperatures, stifling humidity, and swarms of mosquitos in their new Galveston County homes.
As all of the original twelve Italian migrants became farmers, life in League City was, to say the least, challenging. Without electricity or any type of powered mechanized farm equipment, farming was brutal, demanding work. Although, when compared to the economic conditions they were living under in Italy, Texas was seen as a true land of opportunity. Here, Italians could grow their wealth and become rich (relatively speaking), something considered impossible in their homeland.
Ultimately though, the weather, bugs, and work turned out to be the least of these families’ worries. The Italians had no ready means of communication. The immigrants were cut off from everything they knew, losing touch with family or friends in Italy. Some Italians were illiterate and therefore could not write letters, and there was no telephone service in League City when they arrived. Further, The Piedmontese dialect was spoken by all of the original Italians that came to League City. Many did not speak English well or at all, leaving a bitter rift between them and the rest of their new community.
Poor communication and lack of interaction with the Italians created false impressions in the minds of some League City residents. Unfortunately, these impressions resulted in worse things than a lack of conversation. There is a story about an Italian child walking along the railroad track home from school. Soon after he set off on his journey home, he was attacked by three young boys and beaten, simply for being Italian. The outcome could have been deadly, had another Italian farmer not heard the commotion and intervened.
With that being said, some residents understood the problems the Italians faced: At a community meeting where someone made a derogatory comment about the Italians, a store owner responded: “Many of you dislike Italians, but they are some of my best customers and always pay me in full and in cash. They work hard, are trustworthy and honest, and cause no troubles. Many of the non-Italians in town cannot afford to pay me at times, so I have to give them credit — And, then, I often have a lot of difficulty in getting them to pay me later!”
Of course, the issue of assimilation ran deeper than just learning a language. The second generation learned English at school. When the emigrants’ children began to attend American schools, they were encouraged to use English inside and outside the home, even when communicating with Piedmontese speakers. In fact, many Piedmontese women learned their first words in English, with difficulty and reluctance, from their children. For example, Teresa Sola Daro, the mother of Margherita Darò, used to say to her daughter: “You send them to school and then you no longer understand them when they speak; they answer you in English and are ashamed to use Piedmontese. I’m not going to send you anymore.” In order to become accepted members of League City, Italians were being asked to sacrifice parts of their heritage.
The remarkable journey that these twelve families embarked on is serving as our inspiration for the Italian Family Heritage Farmhouse at the Butler Longhorn Museum. Learn more about how our project is going by checking out our Renovations page and go to our Get Involved section to find out how you can help.
The Twelve Family Portraits
Special thanks to Mariagrazia Alliaudi and Silvio Genero, authors of “From Cercenasco to the World (2014),” for their help in keeping this history alive.