Person Page - 442

     Gerald McClain was born circa 1957. He married Deborah Mizzi, daughter of Alfred Mizzi and Mary N. (?).

     John Vella was born circa 1917 in Malta.
     He was listed in the 1950 US Census age 43, cafeteria bus boy in San Francisco, CA, USA.

     Charles Chetcuti was born circa 1926 in Malta.
     He was listed in the 1940 US Census of Vincent Vella in 1950 at San Francisco, CA, USA; age 39, lock co. punch press operator and nephews Charles and Paul Chetcuti. Charles Chetcuti and Charles C. Chetcuti were possibly the same person.

     Paul Chetcuti was born circa 1927 in Malta.
     He was listed in the 1940 US Census of Vincent Vella in 1950 at San Francisco, CA, USA; age 39, lock co. punch press operator and nephews Charles and Paul Chetcuti.
Emmanuele Mizzi Best friends.

     Kathleen (?) was born circa 1922 in CA, USA. She married Joseph Pacific Vella, son of Pacifico Vella and Alma Solari.
     Her married name was Vella. Kathleen (?) and Joseph Pacific Vella were listed in the 1950 US Census age 26, wholesale carpet co. carpet layer in San Francisco, CA, USA.

     Sam Vella was born circa 1889 in Malta; age 61 in 1950 census.
     He was listed in the 1950 US Census age 61, single, office blg janitor in San Francisco, CA, USA.

     Alfred Zammit was born on 19 October 1907 in Malta. He died in December 1984 at San Francisco, CA, USA, at age 77.
     He emigrated from Malta on 7 December 1933 to New York, NY, USA. He was listed in the 1950 US Census age 43, single, no occupation in San Francisco, CA, USA. He was naturalized on 3 October 1967 at San Francisco, CA, USA.

     Josephine (?) was born in Malta. She married Joseph Falzon, son of Salvatore Falzon and Constance Tabone, circa 1911.
     Josephine (?) was also known as Giuseppa (?) As of circa 1911,her married name was Falzon. She was living in 1922 in Malta.

     Liboria Lopresti was born circa 1894 in Italy. She married Vincent Falzon, son of Salvatore Falzon and Constance Tabone, on 12 October 1912 at Boston, MA, USA; both born "Italy"; but parents correct.
     As of 12 October 1912,her married name was Falzon.

     Vincenzo Borg was born in Malta.
     Vincenzo Borg Descendants in Australia. He and Joshua Sultana were related to I am the great-great-grandson of Tony's brother, Vincent/Vincenzo Borg in 2022.

     Joshua Sultana and Vincenzo Borg were related to I am the great-great-grandson of Tony's brother, Vincent/Vincenzo Borg in 2022.

     Father Antonio Sammut was born in 1881 in Birkirkara (B’Kara), Malta. He died on 11 December 1935 at Sacramento, CA, USA.
     He emigrated from Malta on 10 March 1911 to New York, NY, USA. He and Gioacchina Grech were a By 1913 she was Fr. Anthony Sammut’s housekeeper in the town of Blairmore to the northwest of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan in 1913. Father Antonio Sammut and Gioacchina Grech immigrated on 5 May 1913 to Neche, ND, USA; crossed the border into the United States from Blairmore, Saskatchewan by way of Neche, North Dakota. Father Antonio Sammut emigrated from in 1923 to Seattle, WA, USA. He and Gioacchina Grech were listed in the 1930 US Census age 48, priest in Center, Sacramento Co., CA, USA.
Obituary: on 13 December 1935: Father Anthony Sammut Of Ben Ali Is Dead - Father Anthony Sammut 55 died Wednesday night in his home at Ben Ali as the result of a heart attack. Father Sammut was reading and suddenly slumped over in his chair. His brother Charles Sammut called a physician who pronounced the pastor dead upon hia arrival. Father Sammut formerly was the pastor of the Catholic Church in Broderick. Funeral services will be held Monday morning in St Joseph’s Church of North Sacramento The burial will be in St Mary's Cemetery. Father Sammut was a native of Malta. He came to California in 1923.
Father Antonio Sammut.

     Gioacchina Grech was born on 11 August 1885 in Birkirkara (B’Kara), Malta. She died on 14 September 1934 at Sacramento, CA, USA, at age 49. Biography Dan Brock, Maltese Presence in America, 2022: IN SEARCH OF GIOACCHINA GRECH by Dan Brock and Mark Caruana
Some months ago, Mark Caruana sent an email to Dan Brock stating: “Hi Dan, I cannot find much on Gioacchina Grech from ancestry.com. Can you?” Attached was Mark’s abstract from two Canada-United States border crossings as seen below.
On checking out ancestry.com, Dan was, at first, able to find but one reference to Gioacchina Grech, namely that for the May 5, 1913 border crossing into the United States from Blairmore, Saskatchewan by way of Neche, North Dakota. (See border crossing abstract for 05.05.1913.)
In examining the actual manifest, Dan saw that Gioacchina had arrived at the City of Quebec, Canada on June 22, 1912, on board the Royal George.
No entry, however, was found on Ancestry for Gioacchina’s arrival in 1912. A search was then made of the passenger list for the Royal George. It was found that the vessel had actually arrived on June 19th from Avonmounth, near Bristol, England. An examination of that list revealed that there were three passengers from Malta aboard, all with the surname “Gerch.” Michael, age 25, was listed as having been a clerk back in Malta; Andrichata, age 23, was listed as a housewife; and Jochan [Joanne?], age 27 as a domestic. All three intended to occupy these same positions in Canada and were headed for Frank, Alberta.
A check of our database for persons of Maltese birth or blood immigrating to Canada revealed that
Gioacchina Grech and her younger brother, Michael, had been issued passports in Malta on March 28, 1912, that Gioacchina was born on August 11, 1885 and Michael on September 4, 1887 in Birkirkara (B’Kara) and were living at Strada Fleur-de-Lys, 38 and that their father was Michele Grech.
This led us to believe that two of the three “Gerch” passengers on board the Royal George in June 1912 were indeed Gioacchina and Michael Grech. In fact, it was Gioacchina who should have been listed as age 27 and a domestic and “Jochan Gerch/Grech as age 23 and the housewife. Presumably, she was the wife of Michael Grech and that the couple were married sometime after passports were issued to Michael and Gioacchina.
As for the destination of the Grechs being Frank, Alberta, it’s possible that Michael Grech may have already been promised employment as a clerk with the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) which passed through that village. A portion of this village, 15.7 rail miles east of the Crowsnest Past in the Rocky Mountains, had been obliterated on April 29, 1903, when a large section of Turtle Mountain had slid into the valley. As well as between 70 and 90 villagers being killed within seconds, a portion of the CPR line was also buried by the landslide.
A motivation for immigrating to Alberta and possibly even to this area, as subsequent research would show, was undoubtedly the fact that Fr. Antonio Sammut, who had arrived in New York Harbor on March 10, 1911, on board the König Albert, had given his destination as St. Albert, Alberta and the contact person as Émile-Joseph Legal, the bishop of that province whose see was then in this town, several miles to the northwest of Edmonton at the time.
Like the Grechs, Fr. Sammut, was a native of B’Kara, He was also their cousin. On latter documents, both Fr. Sammut and Gioacchina Grech listed M. Grech of B’Kara as their contact person in Malta.
Gioacchina, no doubt, had made arrangements to become her cousin’s housekeeper before leaving Malta, as she was described as a domestic on that island and was intending to continue as one in Canada, according to Royal George’s passenger list for June 1912. By 1913 she was Fr. Anthony Sammut’s housekeeper in the town of Blairmore to the northwest of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.
In May of that year the cousins crossed over into the United States at Neche, en route for the parish in Bottineau, North Dakota.
The whereabouts of Michael Grech is unknown for the next couple of years. By August 1916, however, he is back in Malta and living in Hamrun. Employed as a commission agent, he was successful in obtaining a passport to travel to Marseille, France, to open an agency. All this in the midst of World War I!
As for his sister, Gioacchina, the 1916 Canada census for Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta finds her employed as a housekeeper for Fr. Anthony Sammut in Maple Creek, in the Cypress Hills, in the southwest corner of Saskatchewan. Gioacchina will continue as her cousin’s housekeeper for the rest of her life.
No record of either Fr. Sammut or Gioacchina has been found in the 1920 census for the United States or the 1921 census for Canada.
By 1923, however, they were living in Shaunavon, SK, some 50 miles (80 km) to the southeast of Maple Creek. On September 24th, Fr. Sammut and Gioacchina crossed over into Seattle, Washington from Vancouver, British Columbia en route to Los Angeles, California. Gioacchina was described as a “house keeper” and stated that her mother, Mary Ann Grech, was living in Vancouver, BC at the time. Fr. Sammut is listed as a clergyman and noted that his mother, Rose Sammut, was then living in the province of Ontario. It’s most probable that both mothers were widows at the time.
We next encounter Fr. Sammut and Gioacchina in the 1930 US Federal census on Edison Avenue in Sacramento, CA. It stated that they both arrived in the United States in 1923, that Anthony Sammut was a priest and that Gioachina [sic.] Grech was his servant. The last mention we have for Gioacchina appeared in The Sacramento Bee on Saturday, September 15, 1934. There it was noted that “Miss Gioachina Grech, a cousin of Rev. Father A. Sammut of North Sacramento” and of Charles Sammut of San Francisco, had died the previous day in Mercy Hospital. Her funeral was to be on Monday, September 17th and her interment in St. Mary’s Lawn Cemetery. No mention is made of her mother, Mary Ann Grech, or her brother Michael Grech.
This then is all we know of Gioacchina Grech who had dedicated most of her comparatively short life—she was only 49 years old when she died—in the service of her cousin the priest. As Toronto-based actress and film director Valerie Buhagiar notes (see pages 16) such a life-style was not uncommon in Malta, especially if a priest had a younger sister. As for Fr. Anthony Sammut, he may have ended up in the Sacramento area as early as late 1923 and celebrated Mass at the church in Broderick until the arrival of a permanent paster in 1926. He is said to have been the former pastor of the Catholic Church in Davis prior to his retirement, probably owing to poor health. He was living near Ben Ali a suburb of Sacramento when he died of a heart attack on Wednesday, December 11, 1935, at the age of 55. His brother, Charles, found him slumped over in his chair, where he had been reading. In addition to Charles, Fr. Sammut was survived by his mother, Rose Sammut. A solemn Requiem High Mass was celebrated on Monday, December 16th, and his remains too were interred in St. Mary’s Lawn Cemetery, but, in his case, in the priests’ plot.
Any further information on Gioacchina Grech, her brother Michael and their cousin, Fr. Anthony Sammut, would be most welcomed.
     She emigrated from Malta on board the Royal George. on 22 June 1912 to Quebec, Canada. By 1913 she was Fr. Anthony Sammut’s housekeeper in the town of Blairmore to the northwest of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. She and Father Antonio Sammut on 5 May 1913 crossed the border into the United States from Blairmore, Saskatchewan by way of Neche, North Dakota. Gioacchina Grech and Father Antonio Sammut were listed in the 1930 US Census age 48, priest in Center, Sacramento Co., CA, USA.
Obituary: on 15 September 1934: Obituary: Funeral Of Miss Grech Will Be Held Monday, North Sacramento. Sept. 15.—The funeral of Miss Gioachina Grech, a cousin of Rev. Father A. Sammut of North Sacramento, will be held Monday morning in the St. Francis Church of Sacramento. Miss Grech, a native of the Isle of Malta and a Californian for fifteen years, died yesterdav in the Mercy Hospital. Another cousin. Charles Sammut, lives in San Francisco. The Interment will he in St. Mary’s Lawn Cemetery. The Sacramento Bee, Sacramento, California, Saturday, September 15, 1934.
Father Antonio Sammut.

     Michael Grech was born on 4 September 1887 in Birkirkara (B’Kara), Malta.

     Charles Sammut was born in Birkirkara (B’Kara), Malta.
     He and Charles Sammut were possibly the same person.

     Valentino Falzon was born on 20 November 1870 in Balzon, Malta. Biography THE FAMILY OF VALENTINE FALZON OF DETROIT AND LEXINGTON, MICHIGAN*

Dan Brock Issue 43, The Maltese Presence in North America October 2022

Valentino or Valentine Falzon was the Maltese mason or stone cutter who oversaw the construction of the family’s unique “summer cottage” in Lexington, MI, beginning in the summer of 1930. He is said to have been unemployed at the time, owing to the Great Depression.
Valentino was born in Balzan, Malta, on November 20, 1870, a son of Salvatore Falzon and his wife, the former Saveria “Sare” Micallef.
According to the late Fr. Lawrence E. Attard, “During the middle years of the nineteenth century, Constantinople had began opening its gates to European traders. The Ottoman Empire was in decline and the Sultan depended largely on Christian traders to replenish his depleted coffers. Constantinople attracted small businessmen form Malta. There were also some sailors and labourers recruited by other Europeans who had visited Malta” (The Great Exodus (1918-1939, 22).
It is not presently known whether Valentino’s father was a merchant or a labour. In any case, the family appears to have moved to Constantinople sometime after Valentino’s birth as his brother Paolo was born there on November 11, 1884, and another brother Angelo, on June 13, 1887.
Sometime after June 1887, the Falzon family returned to Malta. By 1892, Valentino was married to Giuseppa “Josephine” Bonett, born on June 28, 1868, most likely in Birkirkara. In contrast to Valentino, Giuseppa was illiterate.
Valentino and Giuseppa had a least seven children all believed have been born in Sliema, namely Carmela (b. May 12, 1892), Salvatore (b. Oct. 28, 1893), Saveria (b. March 12, 1897), Louis Annunziato (b. April 26, 1902), Vincent (b. Jan. 17, 1904), Felix (b. Oct. 28, 1906) and Maria Anna (b. May 16, 1909), and who were to immigrate to North America.
Valentino came to San Francisco by way of Palermo, Italy and New York City in April 1911. He was living at 1156 61st Avenue when joined by his son, Salvatore in April 1912. By 1915, Valentino was living in Point Molate, Richmond City, to the northwest of San Francisco and working as a labour, presumably in the quarry for the Healy-Tibbitts Construction Co. Sometime after this, Valentino returned to Malta. On September 2, 1916, he applied to return to the United States, and take his 14-year-old son, Annunziato (Louis A.) with him.
It was not until 1917, however, that Valentino was able to sail from Malta and, by this time immigration from Eastern and Southern Europe was all but stopped by the American Government. Consequently, Valentino was forced to make Canada his second choice. He disembarked from the Espagne at New York, on April 24th, and would have proceeded by train to Toronto where he had a friend, Joseph Spiteri. Annunziato Falzon did not emigrate from Malta at this time.
Valentino’s brother, Paolo, may also have been living in Toronto by this time. He had arrived in New York Harbour, on board the Europa, on September 10, 1915, en route to Montreal where a friend, Francisco Cortino, lived. By December of 1917, Paolo Falzon was indeed in Toronto where he enlisted in the Canadian army on December 4, but deserted on May 1, 1918.
Meanwhile, Annunziato Falzon was able to join his father, having disembarked from the California, at Quebec, on July 31, 1919 Giuseppa Falzon, Valentino’s wife, and their remaining five children, Carmela, Saveria, Vincent, Felix and Maria, arrived in New York Harbor, on board the Lafayette, on November 7, 1919.
Their destination was 394 5th Street, Detroit, where their husband and father were said to be. The only problem was Valentino was still in Canada. It would appear, however, that Salvatore or Sam Falzon was the one then living in Detroit. He must have moved there, from San Francisco, a short while before, as his sister Carmela had initially stated that she was going to San Francisco. Some irregularity must have been detected as all six were at first detained but eventually allowed to proceed to Detroit.
As for Valentino, we find him crossing into the United States, at Buffalo, New York, for what was to be a day, on Christmas Day, 1919.
In any case, the family, with the exception of Carmela and Saveria, were living at 394 5th Street in “Corktown”, Detroit at the time of the Federal Census of 1920. Valentino, now Valentine, was working as a machinist at a machine shop and Salvatore, now Samuel, was working as an automobile repairman at Ford.
The whereabouts of Carmela and Saveria in 1920 is not presently known.
Sometime between 1918 and 1920, Paolo “Paul” Falzon, Valentino’s brother, had crossed into the United States and was living at 2202 Mascher Street, in Philadelphia as a modeler/sculpturer.
In late June 1920, he was joined by his brother, Angelo, Angelo’s wife Giuseppa, their son Carmelo and Rosaria Falzon, a sister to Valentino, Paul and Angelo.
Like Paul, Angelo was born in Constantinople, whereas, like Valentino, Rosaria was born in Balzan.
Angelo and his family were to return to Malta, but Rosaria chose to remain with her brother Paul.
On March 15, 1922, Paul Falzon and his sister Rosaria “Rose” moved to 9323 Pratt Avenue in Cleveland, Ohio. Rose was listed as a dressmaker in 1925 and Paul as a molder in 1927.
Paul had changed his surname to Falson by the time of the 1930 US federal census. He and Rose were still living in Cleveland. Interestingly, it was stated that they had been born in England, that their father was born in England and their mother in Austria and that their first language was French. Rose was a stenographer by 1930. Paul listed himself as an artist for architects.
With his background as a sculptor, modeler, molder and artist, there can be little doubt that Paul was the brother who did all the ceilings for Valentine Falzon’s “summer cottage” in the early 1930s in Lexington, Michigan. (See pages 7-9.)
At the time of the 1930 census, Valentine, his wife and four of their children—Carmela “Carrie’, Salvatore, Louis and Felix—were living at 2340 Fifth Street. Saveria “Sare” had married Joe Mizzi in 1922; Vincent married Mary Pitre Micallef in 1927 and Mary married Joseph Pace in 1929.
Valentine and the three sons at home were machine operators in an auto factory, although Felix was currently unemployed.
The Valentine Falzons had moved to 2210 Fifth Street by the time of the 1940 census. Valentino was an inspector at an automobile plant, while Salvatore “Samuel” was a laborer at such a plant. Interestingly, Josephine was listed as the owner of a gas station. Carrie, the only other child still had home, probably helped out at the station, as well as kept house for the family. Meanwhile, Louis had married Antonia Mifsud in November 1930 and Felix married Anna Barkett in 1933. The two eldest children, Samuel “Sam” and Carrie, appear to have never married.
Valentine Falzon died on October 29, 1942 and his wife, Giuseppa “Josephine”, on November 6, 1946. Both died in Detroit and were interred in Mount Olivet Cemetery.
*I wish to publicly thank Mark Caruana of NSW, Australia for his assistance in uncovering members of the Falzon family and providing documentation.

     Gerald Berkson was born circa 1969 in CA, USA. He married Ericka L. Cauchi, daughter of Nicholas Salvino Cauchi and Rosalie Ann Havig.
     Gerald Berkson was a Vice Principal, Palo Alto USD. Gerald Berkson was also known as Jerry.

     Jimmy McCarthy was born on 4 March 1990. He married Laura Grech, daughter of Paul Grech and Christine Luffel, on 4 June 2022.

     Atley Bre McCarthy was born on 1 May 2020.

     Joey Marcellino was born on 16 January 1983. Heand Sabrina Grech are partners., daughter of Paul Grech and Christine Luffel.

     Maddison Rose Marcellino was born on 3 November 2021.

     Michael Tribolet was born in October 1978. He married Jenifer Lyn Martinelli, daughter of James S Martinelli and Lori A. Grech, on 27 August 2019.

     Delilah Calhoun was born on 30 July 1987 in San Mateo Co., CA, USA.
     She was educated at McNary High School, Keizer, OR, USA. She was a I work with the Department of Community Justice in victim and survivor services. We assist victims who have been harmed by people that are on parole or probation in the county I live in. in December 2022. She contributed their family genealogy to Maltese Immigration Project on 11 December 2022. As of 11 December 2022, Delilah Calhoun lived at Portland, OR, USA; Delilah Calhoun. She was a correspondent with the author of the Maltese Immigration Project on 11 December 2022.

     Nicole Calhoun was born on 5 June 1982 in San Mateo Co., CA, USA.

     Noelle Calhoun was born on 13 March 1986 in San Mateo Co., CA, USA.

     Dennis W Aguayo was born in March 1961. He married Kim D. Darmanin, daughter of Joseph L. Darmanin and Mary D. Borg.
     Dennis W Aguayo and Kim D. Darmanin were living in 2022 in Nikiski, AK, USA.

     Patricia Joan Flading was born on 11 March 1944 in Los Angeles, CA, USA. She married John Laurence Darmanin, son of Joseph Darmanin and Mary Meli, on 7 June 1969 at Santa Clara Co., CA, USA. Patricia Joan Flading died in January 1993 at San Mateo Co., CA, USA, at age 48.
     Her married name was Darmanin.