Italian Roots and Genealogy
This podcast is dedicated to Italian Genealogy, finding your Italian Roots and how to navigate through Italian records. Your host has over 12 years of experience and we will have excellent guests that will discuss a variety of genealogy topics. Please subscribe!
Italian Roots and Genealogy
How a Jewish couple Solomon and Esther Ueberall saved St. Lucy's in Brooklyn
How can one family's compassion and resolve shape the destiny of an entire community? Join us as we sit down with Vincent Magano to uncover the awe-inspiring tale of Solomon and Esther Ueberall, whose extraordinary acts of kindness not only saved St. Lucy's Church but also saved lives during the darkest days of World War II. Through Vincent's vivid recollections and his compelling book, "The Third Attic," we journey back to mid-20th century Brooklyn and explore how the Uberalls' generosity in 1913 paved the way for the rescue of 24 relatives from Austria, with the indispensable help of Father Caruana.
This episode is more than a historical account; it's a moving chronicle of faith, community, and the enduring power of human goodness. We delve into the lasting legacy of the Uberall family's acts of kindness, immortalized by the symbolic Star of David grates in St. Lucy's ceiling. These poignant gestures by the Italian community serve as timeless reminders of unity and compassion. Tune in for a conversation that bridges history and heartfelt memories, and discover how acts of kindness can transcend time and continue to inspire.
Vincent Manago reminisces on a boyhood in 1950s and 1960s Brooklyn.
Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.
Hi, this is Bob Sorrentino, from Italian Roots and Genealogy. I'm here today with Vincent Magano and we're going to talk about his growing up in Brooklyn in the, I guess, the 40s, 50s and 60s, and his great book about Brooklyn, the Third Attic. So welcome, Vincent. Thanks for being here, Hi, Bob.
Speaker 2:Thank you for having me. I really appreciate it. Bob, these were the Uberalls. Okay, Solomon and Esther. This is their picture, Bob. Can you see it? Am I doing that right?
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:Solomon and Esther Uberall when St Lucy's was being built. Okay, the Italians still wanted a place to go to church. So they rented or bought a you know nearby storefront so that they could have mass on Sunday there. Okay, a priest was assigned to the parish, he, he had a place to live but there was no church. So they had mess in this storefront. Uh, they had to buy it, okay, and they put down a small amount of money because they were spending their money on the church and they uh, got a huge mortgage for them at the time, huge to be paid in 1913. Now this is 1904. They presumed by 1913 the place would be built. You know, we could sell the building and then satisfy the mortgage. By 1913, they hadn't got the marble from Italy yet for the main altar, so the church couldn't be built. The mortgage was due and a father, caruana, from Malta, was assigned as the pastor. He had to pay the mortgage or they would lose the storefront. You know, just to make it quick, he went for a walk in the neighborhood trying to raise money. He went into the Uberall store. Now the Uber.
Speaker 2:Esther and and solomon were a newly married couple and they had an ocean store on myrtle avenue, bob, myrtle, and between kent and franklin. And uh, again, this is, this is 1913. And uh, he went in and Solomon said to Father George, father, why are you so sad? And he explained to him he needed $500, which to them was a lot of money at the time. Bob, he said, or we're going to lose the place where we say mass on Sunday. Solomon says I'll take care of it, father.
Speaker 2:Father George just says, ok, okay, you know, assuming that you know that Solomon was just being nice, esther said to him where are we going to get the money? But they did. Solomon went from, you know, went from family member to family member and he hocked their wedding gifts. He got the $500. He lent it to Father George. He paid off the mortgage and every Sunday, I mean every Monday morning, after Sunday collection, father George would go and pay off part of that $500 debt to Solomon and Esther. Now, st Lucy's was built in 1914. Father George was transferred to St Leo up in Corona. I think you know Corona.
Speaker 1:Bob, yes, that's where we're from.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, I heard that on one of your podcasts. And Solomon and Esther stayed at the store. Now, solomon unfortunately died around 1920, right at the end of World War I. He had a heart attack as a young man and died. Esther continued with the store, the auction store. Her family helped her. Her children got older, but she and Father Caruanaolina, of course, never saw each other again in 1939 and 1940.
Speaker 2:In that era, esther was getting many letters from solomon's family in austria. Solomon was from austria, she was from russia and and pleading with her to try to get them into America, because there was this mad man talking about gas chambers and things. So they had to get out of Austria. She didn't know what to do. She tried, she tried, tried, but all the cords were filled. She goes to Washington DC. She was very determined to get her family here, his family here, and she got no place. As she was about to leave, somebody told her if you could get your family into Cuba, okay, cuba will take refugees, but you need someone there who can provide for them, house them, clothe them, feed them, because they cannot be wards of the state. Cuba will not allow that. So she was elated for a while. She gets on the train to come back to Brooklyn and realizes she doesn't know anybody from Cuba. She went directly to St Lucie's Church then and she spoke to Father de Liberty. He was the new pastor Now this is 1940-ish. He said I'll write a letter to the Papal Nuncio down in Cuba, I'll cable him and I'll let you know. A few days later he says to her get on the plane and go down. They're ready to meet with you.
Speaker 2:She gets a plane, goes down to cuba. As she gets off the plane, bob, she sees an altar boy dressed in in his alter attire, approaching her with a bouquet of flowers, and she's a little puzzled. So, quizzically, she looks up and she sees an ecclesiastically bold, you know man, dressed in red, with his arms stretched out, and he says Esther, you were all, don't you remember me? And it was Father Caruana. She broke down into tears. This is Father Caruana. He is now an archbishop. Okay, he's an archbishop and he is the Papal Nuncio in Cuba, with a direct link, obviously, to Rome. But even better than that, as the Papal Nuncio he was working for the Secretary of State, who happened to be Eugenio Pacelli, who in 1939 became Pope Pius XII. So he had a direct link right to the Pope, the 12th. So he had a direct link right to the Pope and they were able to get 24 of Solomon's relatives out of Austria into Cuba and Father Caruana provided for them, has them, he gave them kosher food and Esther was elated In 1951, 52, as I recall. He became very ill and came back to America and he died here and she went to visit him, I think down at Pittsburgh, philadelphia, someplace like that, I think it was Philadelphia in a hospital there and he gave her a relic of St Francis, st Francis de Sales, and she wrote an article on that area where I come from, about three or four square miles.
Speaker 2:Everybody knew of the Uberall story, everybody. We were raised on this story. That's how important it was to our grandparents that the Uberalls were so kind to them. And I don't know if you remember the book in the ceiling of the church. They have these grates, these In the ceiling of the church. They have these grates Again, what you see there are the skylights in the ceiling which is the floor of the second attic. Remember that we had a first attic, a second attic and we were searching for the third attic. That's the story In the middle you'll see these grates. These are air grates. If you could look very, very closely I didn't realize this when I was a kid, but I just did now that I was writing the book in the middle of the grate they put the Star of David as a commemoration to the Uberols for their kindness. The Italians never forgot that and I just see that as such a kind, kind thing that they did. We really need more of that today. As you know, bob, that was really a wonderful thing that the Ubrals did.
Speaker 1:Well, yeah, and I mean, the incredible part of the whole story is that, you know, 25 years later, yeah, world War II, right, you know, I'm a true believer in it. There aren't War II, right? Yes, you know, you know, I'm a true believer in that. There aren't coincidences like that. There's. There's some kind of force.
