On December 23, 1883, Andrea Iannucci, the son of Domenico Iannucci and Pasquanton Ligghio, was born in the rural, medieval hilltop town of Casalvieri, Italy. Located in Central Italy, Casalvieri is a Comune in the Province of Frosinone, in the Italian region Lazio.
Around 1910, Andrea Iannucci came to the U.S., settling first in New Mexico where his cousins Pietro and Onorio Iannucci were already established. All three men were employed by the Koehler Coal Mine and living in the Koehler company town (located near Raton, New Mexico). By 1907, about 1,000 people were living in Koehler. The camp included a post office, company general store, and a two-story school. A few years later, at its peak, the population grew to 1,800 with Koehler operating some 210 beehive coking ovens, a coal washing plant, an electrical generating plant, railroad station, company amusement hall/saloon and company meat market.
In the Koehler camp, the Iannucci men lived in the Italian section of the camp; the camp was predominately Austrian and Croatian. Next door to the brothers lived Giuseppe Rea and his family, who around 1906, had lived in Colorado, as did other Italian compatriots including the Donati and Graziosi families. It is possible that Andrea (known in America as Andrew) Iannucci learned of Colorado from these families.
Around 1913, Andrew Iannucci returned to Italy, where he married his first wife; in 1917 their son Domenico was born. In 1920, Andrew Iannucci returned to the U.S. and the Koehler mining camp. That same year, his brother Giuseppe “Joseph” Iannucci (born in 1892) joined him in America. After the Koehler camp closed in 1924, Joseph Iannucci relocated to Pueblo, Colorado; in 1925 he was living at 318 S. Union Avenue. A few years later, Joseph returned to Casalvieri where he married his wife Mary on June 2, 1927. On May 12, 1928, the couple’s son Calisto Iannucci was born. When Joseph returned to America a few years later, his wife and son remained in Italy.
By 1930, Andrew Iannucci, age 47, was living in Pueblo and working as a laborer doing concrete work. He then took a job in a grocery store. In 1933, his brother Joseph joined him in Pueblo; the brothers were living at 320 S Union Avenue. In August of 1934, Andrew Iannucci traveled back to Italy, where he married his second wife Loreta. The couple then returned to Pueblo where in 1939, Loreta Iannucci died.
Interestingly, according to Loreta Iannucci’s obituary, which appeared in the Denver Poston May 3, 1939, she was survived by her husband Andrew and a brother named Tony Yannick of Denver. It turns out that Tony Yannick’s given name was Emilio Iannucci! Emilio was the brother of Andrew and Joseph Iannucci, not Loreta. Born on December 3, 1896 in Casalvieri, Italy, he came to the United States around 1914, settling in Denver in 1915. In 1923, Emilio Iannucci married Bertha Porreca in Golden, Colorado. A year later their daughter Angelina was born followed by Florence and Mary. Emilio and his family lived for many years at 3425 Shoshone Street. For reasons not known, in 1938, Emilio Iannucci legally changed his name to Tony Yannick.
As for Andrew Iannucci, in 1943 he is listed in the Pueblo City Directory living at 308½ Union Ave and working at The Gold Label Bar at 308 Union Avenue; he remained at this job for the next 3 years. After 1945, it is unknown what happened to Andrew Iannucci. His wife Loreta is buried at Mount Olivet Cemetery in Wheat Ridge, Colorado; Andrew’s name is on the headstone with his birth year of 1883, however, no death date is listed.
Tony Yannick (Emilio Iannucci) died on July 31, 1962. He is buried at Mount Olivet Cemetery.
On October 6, 1962 Joseph Iannucci died in Pueblo. He is buried in the Roselawn Cemetery in Pueblo. By: Alisa DiGiacomo
