EARLY IMMIGRATION Businessman assisted new arrivals

The businessman left his mark on the Brier Hill section of Youngstown.
By MARY ELLEN PELLEGRINI
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
YOUNGSTOWN -- In 1898, Vincenzo DePascale, a graduate of the Naples Grand Arts School in Italy, came to Youngstown for a vacation, met the love of his life, Mary Gagliardi, and soon became an American citizen.
What distinguishes DePascale's story from similar narratives is the helping hand he extended to other immigrants.
Through his business endeavors and 14 ocean voyages to Italy, DePascale, fluent in Italian and English, enabled hundreds of Italians to enter the United States, find jobs, housing and attain citizenship.
"My dad always wanted to help people," said DePascale's son, John, of Ashtabula.
In the 1890s and early 1900s, the booming steel industry lured fathers, husbands and sons to Youngstown's Brier Hill neighborhood, where DePascale and his wife lived with their seven children.
Welsh and German immigrants who had settled there in the mid-1800s were joined by Hungarians, Slovaks and Italians.
Poland businessman Tony Trolio, author of "Brier Hill USA" and "Brier Hill, USA The Sequel," said ethnic neighborhoods allowed immigrants to band together.
"They had their own stores and were close to the mills so they could walk to work," he said.
DePascale's successful enterprises offered Brier Hill's Italian-born population places to shop and bank in their native language.
How he reached out
The entrepreneur, born May 13, 1875, in Vitulazio, Italy, near Naples, operated a steamship agency and the Foreign Exchange Bank, both on Federal Hill. Later, he opened an Italian grocery store on Calvin Street and a bar near the Brier Hill Works of Youngstown Sheet & amp; Tube.
John Fortunato of Boardman, DePascale's great-nephew, remembers his relative as well-liked, respected and a terrific businessman.
"Whatever problem someone had, he could find a solution," Fortunato said.
At the Foreign Exchange Bank, DePascale walked customers through the process of opening savings accounts and converting cash from Italian to American currency. He also assisted immigrants in buying tickets to bring other family members to Youngstown.
About his voyages
Between the early 1900s and 1930, DePascale traveled to Italy 13 times, accompanying those relatives to the U.S. on his return boat trips, normally an eight- or nine-day trek each way.
He helped groups of 25 to 30 Italians navigate customs and language barriers at Ellis Island.
DePascale also arranged transportation from New York City to Youngstown, often reserving a Pennsylvania Railroad passenger coach for the journey.
"He was one of the only steamship agents at the time who went to meet people coming into the country," John DePascale said.
DePascale's 14th and final voyage across the Atlantic occurred in 1946.
To ease the transition for newcomers, he and his wife wrote and published an Italian newspaper, Il Voce del Popolo (The Voice of the People), distributed by the Youngstown Telegraph.
DePascale also wrote letters for immigrants to keep their families in Italy abreast of news here.
"He looked after them once they got here," said John DePascale of his father.
The younger DePascale remembers his father teaching foreigners to write their names and recite the Pledge of Allegiance in preparation for citizenship.
"When they were ready, he would get a group together and go to city hall," he said.
His other talents
While living in Brier Hill, DePascale became the first Italian-born Notary Public in Ohio and brought the first railroad carload of California grapes into Youngstown.
In addition to his business acumen, DePascale was an award-winning musician and artist.
In 1929, he moved his family to Ashtabula but returned to the Mahoning Valley frequently. DePascale maintained a close bond with the Brier Hill neighborhood until his death in 1952 at age 77.
Today the only local descendants of DePascale are a grandson, Bart DePascale, an optometrist in Youngstown and a granddaughter, Kathy Spess, a nurse in Niles.
Extended family members include Luigi and Maria Fortunato, James and Rose Pomponio and Patrick and Elizabeth DeMar.
At its peak in the 1950s, the Brier Hill neighborhood counted 24,000 residents of Italian descent, according to Trolio.
Few of the original families live there today but ties remain strong.
The annual Brier Hill Italian festival was attended by 15,000 in August, and St. Anthony Church draws 1,000 people every Friday for its famous Brier Hill pizza.