George A. Scigliano

George A. Scigliano (/ʃiːliːˈɑːnoʊ/ shee-lee-AH-noh; 1874–1906) was an influential leader in Boston's Italian-American community. As a member of the Boston Common Council and a Massachusetts state legislator, he worked to improve the lives of Italian immigrants.

George A. Scigliano
Member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives
from the 6th Suffolk district
In office
November 1903 – June 1906
Member of the Boston Common Council
In office
1901–1903
Personal details
BornAugust 26, 1874
Boston, U.S.
DiedJune 17, 1906
Millbury, Massachusetts, U.S.
Resting placeSt. John's Cemetery, Worcester, Massachusetts
NationalityAmerican
Political partyDemocratic
Spouse(s)Florence
ChildrenFlorence, Jessica, George Jr.
Alma materBoston University School of Law

Biography

George A. Scigliano was born on August 26, 1874, in Boston's North End. His parents were immigrants from the town of Scigliano in the Cosenza province of Calabria, southern Italy. After attending the Eliot School and the Boston University School of Law he was admitted to the bar in 1899.[1][2]

In 1900 he was elected to the Boston Common Council, where he served three one-year terms. In 1903 he was elected to the Massachusetts legislature, where he served until his death in 1906. While in office he introduced legislation to regulate the loosely run "immigrant banks" which were notorious for cheating poorly educated Italian immigrants out of their savings.[3] He also filed a bill to abolish the exploitative padrone system of employment, in which unsuspecting immigrants were charged exorbitant fees for jobs and housing and bilked out of most of their earnings.[4] He founded the Italian Protective League of Boston, a benevolent society for new immigrants; helped form the first Italian labor union in the North End; worked to defeat a bill that would have required workers to be naturalized; helped establish a cemetery for Italians in Forest Hills; and established October 12 as Columbus Day in Massachusetts.[5] He also wrote and spoke eloquently in defense of Italians at a time when they were often characterized as an undesirable or criminal class. For example, in 1901, when Senator George Frisbie Hoar stated publicly that Italian and Portuguese immigrants were "absolutely unfit" for U.S. citizenship, Scigliano's rebuttal was published in several Boston newspapers.[6]

The Italian, a people descended from the ancient Roman dynasty which conquered all of the then known world and educated it; which entered and conquered England at a time when the ancestors of our able senator were roaming savages, opened up their country and taught them the meaning of citizenship as comprehended by a civilized people, has been violently attacked by him...[7]

In recognition of his service to Italian Americans, Scigliano was made a cavalier of the crown by King Victor Emmanuel III of Italy in 1905. He died of a kidney ailment in Millbury, Massachusetts on June 17, 1906, at the age of 31. He was survived by his wife and three children.[2] His funeral procession was one of the largest in the history of the North End.[8][9]

After his death, North End residents lobbied to build a monument to him in the historic North Square and rename it Scigliano Square. Instead, the North End Park near Copp's Hill was renamed Scigliano Park in his honor.[10][11]

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References
  1. Puleo, Steve (2007). The Boston Italians: A Story of Pride, Perseverance, and Paesani, from the Years of the Great Immigration to the Present Day. Boston: Beacon Press. pp. 6, 19-20. ISBN 9780807050361.
  2. "Death Claims Three Noted Men: North End Loses Leader". The Boston Globe. June 18, 1906. Archived from the original on February 16, 2017. Retrieved July 6, 2017.
  3. Puleo (2007), pp. 20-21.
  4. Puleo (2007), pp. 22-25.
  5. Puleo (2007), p. 26
  6. Puleo (2007), p. 27
  7. Scigliano, George A. (December 5, 1901). "Replies to Hoar: Councilman Scigliano Defends Italians and Portuguese Against Senator's Recent Criticism". The Boston Daily Globe. Archived from the original on February 18, 2017. Retrieved July 6, 2017.
  8. Puleo (2007), p. 3.
  9. "HAD THE RESPECT OF ALL: Funeral of Representative George A. Scigliano at the North End- State and City Officials Attend". The Boston Globe. June 21, 1906. Archived from the original on February 18, 2017. Retrieved July 6, 2017.
  10. Puleo (2007), pp. 30-38.
  11. "ALDERMEN SAY SCIGLIANO PARK: Change Name of North End Park Without Debate". The Boston Globe. December 31, 1907. Archived from the original on February 18, 2017. Retrieved July 6, 2017.
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