January 1, 1900, rang in a new year and a new century.
Josie and Will Riley were in their forties. They had a lovely home and three children. They had a telephone, and perhaps electric lights.
William Riley celebrated his 18th year working for E.G. Cassidy.
It seemed like a long time ago and a world away when Josie Pensa arrived from Italy with her family forty-one years ago. And Will had been born on his family’s Missouri farm during the Civil War.
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It’s 1891. We’ve met Will Riley’s family. Josie Pensa is spending a lot of time in Sedalia. They’re an item.
They want to get married.
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It’s 1890. Sedalia remained a railroad hub, although the cattle trailhead had moved on.
There were still seedy joints and houses of ill-repute, but they were now localized along West Main Street. Downtown Sedalia was safe and respectable.
Continue readingThe Civil War was over. John Riley had been ordered to active service for a short time, perhaps even multiple times. But for the most part, he was home. And busy.
Two years after the Rileys settled in Pettis County, Missouri, war broke out between North and South in 1861. Sedalia had been founded in October 1860, just six months earlier.
Border states like Missouri allowed slavery but did not secede from the Union.
Continue readingWilliam Joseph Riley was born September 9, 1863, on his parents’ farm in Pettis County, Missouri. The farm was just three miles north of Sedalia, Missouri, near the small settlement of Georgetown.
His parents were John Riley and Ann McMurrough Riley.
After Antonio Pensa left for Italy in 1888, Josie spent a lot of time at her sister Kate Gardella’s in Sedalia. It’s there that she met Will Riley.
The Gardellas were well known in Sedalia. Andy Gardella had opened a small fruit and produce stand there in 1875.
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It’s 1890. Josie Pensa has been staying at her sister Kate Gardella’s in Sedalia. She’s met William Riley, and they’re going to get married. We’ll meet Will and his family.
But we can’t leave St. Louis without a word about the Pensa saloons and the beginnings of “yellow journalism.”
Continue readingIn 1880, the Pensas and Gardellas had been in St. Louis for ten years. The population was 350,000, up from 310,000 in 1870. Irish and Eastern Europeans were the largest immigrant communities. The number of Italians had grown to thousands, and would increase dramatically in the next 20 years.
Here’s an amazing fact. In 1880, our Pensas, all the way from Roccatagliata, were the only Pensas in the United States.
The past stories have brought the Teplys and Jarvises up to the 1930s. Mel Jarvis and Don Teply are coming of age. Their lives will soon be disrupted by World War II. After the war, they will marry and raise families.
Family Nibbles 