Joseph and Raffaela Tarone Salvagna photographs and papers

Joseph Salvagna and Raffaela Tarone were both born in the southern Italian town of Monteleone di Puglia on September 1, 1905 and June 17, 1917, respectively.

In 1922, Joseph and his older sister, Marie Antoinette, immigrated to New York. On a return visit to his family in 1936, Joseph met Raffaela and the two were married in a civil ceremony in Italy. Joseph returned to New York and Raffaela joined him in 1938. They wed in a church ceremony on October 2, 1938 and settled in Brooklyn, New York, among other Italian immigrants, including Raffaela's sister, Josephine.

The couple had two children, Phyllis and Michael, on October 24, 1939 and November 18, 1940, respectively. In 1942, the family moved to the Bronx to be close to the couples' two sisters. There they attended services at Our Lady of Mount Carmel on 187th Street and Joseph worked as a fur dresser and dyer, with Raffaela performing factory work when the children became full-time students.

Phyllis Salvagna graduated from Franklin Roosevelt High School and worked in a local hospital. In 1963, Phyllis married Anthony Kerzmann. They had one child, Anthony Kerzmann, Jr. He married Lindsay Ponsonby and they had two children, Holden Lee and Juliet Louise.

Michael Salvagna graduated from Cardinal Hayes High School and attended Manhattan College for two years before going to the seminary with the Passionists. He was ordained in 1969 and, as of 2016, was residing at St. Paul of the Cross Monastery in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Joseph Salvagna died on July 15, 1989. After a few years, Raffaela moved to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. She took part in local parish activities and volunteered at the senior citizens complex at the Market House in South Side. As of 2016, Raffaela was residing in a nursing home operated by the Little Sisters of the Poor in the Brighton Heights neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.