A Tale of Two Cities: The Roots of the Maddalena Family

By Kathy Folweiler

As in any family, you start from the beginning—and everyone has their own story. Whether good, bad, or indifferent, we all share something in common: roots.

For my family, those roots stretch back to two neighboring towns in Sicily: Lentini and Carlentini.

On March 26, 1889, in Lentini, my grandfather—my Nanno—Salvatore Maddalena was born to Alfio Maddalena and Sebastiana Maddalena, cousins from a long line of farmers. For at least two generations, the Maddalenas had worked the land in this small agricultural community. Salvatore grew up with eight siblings and, like many boys of his time, often skipped school.

When he came of age, Salvatore was obligated to serve in the Italian military. He joined the artillery and trained with cannons. After his service in 1911,

he found himself under pressure from Arab-Berbers, who urged him to use his military specialty to fight against his own people. Fearing this path, Salvatore reached out to his cousin, another Alfio Maddalena, born in 1883 to Sebastino Maddalena and Palma LaFerla.

By then, Alfio was already in Omaha, Nebraska, working for the Union Pacific Railroad under the Salerno brothers. His role was not only labor but also recruitment—bringing Sicilian men across the ocean to work for the railroad and settle in Omaha or nearby towns.

Alfio sent Salvatore the funds and passage papers, arranging his departure from the port of Palermo. The documents were issued through the courthouse, a yellow building next to Palermo’s famous Pretoria Fountain—often called the Fountain of Shame. Today, a stone plaque still marks that courthouse, honoring the ship Red Italia, which carried countless Sicilian immigrants to America.

In April 1911, Salvatore left Sicily aboard that ship, bound for Ellis Island in New York. He traveled with Mariano Santos, who would later marry into the Maddalena family, and with relatives like Fannie Maddalena, who was married to Cappaletto. Just months after his departure, in August 1911, the Libyan War began—a conflict Salvatore narrowly avoided.

Upon arrival, Salvatore was given room and board, along with work papers, and sent to labor on a farm in Lexington, Nebraska. Many immigrant farmhands like him supported the food supply chain that kept the Union Pacific’s expansion alive. While Mariano Santos declined to work there,

Salvatore stayed. He saved what little he earned and began sending money home to his mother, Sebastiana, and his younger sisters—Theresa (born April 2, 1903) and Palma (born June 27, 1907)—who were struggling in Lentini.

At least twice, Salvatore’s name appeared with a simple “X” as his mark on draft records, a reminder of his limited schooling but steady resilience. By 1919, after years of farm work, he returned to Omaha. This time, he brought with him a new trade—he had trained as a butcher.

Salvatore soon found work at Swift Packing House in downtown Omaha. With that, he began building his life in the heart of the city’s Little Italy neighborhood, surrounded by a close-knit community and supported by the Sons of Italy and other immigrant organizations.

It was here, in Omaha, where the next chapter of his story—and our family’s American journey—truly began.