Luigi Anthony Adduci
World War I Veteran
By Camille Arbogast
Luigi Anthony Adduci, known as Louis, was born on September 10, 1891, in Amendolara, Cosenza, Calabria, Italy, to Guiseppe and Clementina (Mazziottia). His siblings included Vincenzo James (who often went by James) born in 1882, and Emilio Attilio (known as Arthur) in 1899, as well as Carmella (Adduci) Montillo, who immigrated to Argentina.
Louis attended school through the fourth grade, according to the 1940 census. On November 14, 1907, he sailed from Naples, Italy, on the White Star Line’s SS Romanic arriving in Boston on November 27. He joined his brother James, who had already settled in Boston. In 1910, Louis lived with James, James’s wife Theresa, and their son at 258 Harrison Avenue in Boston. Louis and James were grocers. In 1912, Louis started the citizenship process. By 1917, the Adducis had moved to 26 Barry Street in Dorchester. The house was a two-family, and additional Adducis, possibly cousins, lived in the other unit. In June 1917, on his First World War draft registration, Louis reported that he was supporting his mother and father in Italy and claimed exemption from the draft on those grounds.
Louis was inducted into the Army on May 9, 1918. The next day, he was sent to Camp Devens in Ayer, Massachusetts. From there, on May 15, he travelled to Fort Ethan Allen, near Burlington, Vermont, where he served in I Troop, 310th Cavalry. In June, Louis became an American citizen. He was promoted to private first class on July 2. On October 15, Louis was transferred to Battery C, 59th Field Artillery. Louis was demobilized at Camp Devens and discharged on January 17, 1919.
After his First World War service, Louis returned to Dorchester, living at 26 Barry Street with James, Theresa, and their five children. The 1920 Boston directory listed Louis at both 26 Barry Street and 52 Elmo Street (today’s Ellington Street). Louis and James were running the Adduci Brothers groceries at 864 Blue Hill Avenue and 260 Broadway. The next year, the directory listed their shop at 254 Broadway. Arthur arrived in Massachusetts in 1921 and joined the household at 26 Barry Street. In 1922, all three brothers opened the Adduci Brothers Market at 226 Bowdoin Street in the Meeting House Hill section of Dorchester. Arthur quickly transitioned to working in the insurance industry; he attended Boston University and had a long career with the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company.
On October 2, 1922, Louis married Rachelina Trocini, in Manhattan, New York City, New York. Rachelina was a recent immigrant, originally from Cassano, all’Ionio, Cosanza, Calabria, Italy. They had three children: Mary Josephine, Clementina Vera, and Louisa.
In 1923, Louis and Rachelina lived at 42 Whitten Street Dorchester. The next year they moved to 56 Stockton Street. In 1926, Louis, Maria, and Clementina visited Italy.
By the end of the decade, James and Louis appear to have split their business interests: James remained at the Bowdoin Street market, while Louis was running a grocery at 710 Broadway in Somerville, Massachusetts. Louis and his family moved to Medford, Massachusetts, where, in 1930, they lived at 97 Bristol Road. Three years later, they were living in Somerville, at 33 Appleton Street, next to the grocery Louis was running at 31 Appleton. By 1940, they had purchased 119 Oakland Avenue in Arlington, Massachusetts. The 1940 census recorded that Louis was unable to work at that time. On his Second World War draft registration in 1942, Louis stated that he was employed at the Arlington Food Market on Park Avenue in Arlington. In the early 1950s, the Boston directory listed him at Arlington’s Summer Street Market.
By 1960, Louis and Rachelina had moved to Plymouth, Massachusetts, where Louis ran the Mayflower Market near White Horse Beach. Rachelina died on October 19, 1960. In July 1966, Louis’s daughter Mary “received a certificate signed by President Lyndon B. Johnson which honored the memory of Louis A. Adduci for his ‘devoted and selfless consecration to the service of our country [sic].’” Adduci served in both World War I and World War II— but was very much alive and well and busy … Adduci was quoted as saying, ‘This winter, when the store is closed, I’m going to Washington and see LBJ at the White House and ask him what’s the big idea.’” At the end of his life, Louis lived at 276 Pearl Street in the Manomet section of Plymouth.
Louis died in Plymouth on March 1, 1975. A funeral mass was held for him at Saint Bonaventure’s Church in Manomet. Louis was buried in Arlington’s Pleasant Cemetery beside Rachelina.
Sources
Military, Compiled Service Records. World War I. Carded Records. Records of the Military Division of the Adjutant General’s Office, Massachusetts National Guard.
Naturalization Records. National Archives at Boston, Waltham, MA; Ancestry.com
1910, 1920, 1930, 1940 U.S. Federal Census; Ancestry.com
World War I Selective Service System Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration; Ancestry.com
“Dorchester Sends 60 Men to Camp Devens,” Boston Globe, 10 May 1918: 2; Newspapers.com
Boston and Somerville, Massachusetts, directories; Ancestry.com
“Arthur Adduci,” Boston Globe, 20 August 1975: 19; Newspapers.com
“New York, New York City Marriage Records, 1829-1940,” database, citing Marriage, Manhattan, New York, NY, New York City Municipal Archives, NY; FamilySearch.org
“J.V. Adduci, 85,” Boston Globe, 3 May 1968: 26; Newspapers.com
“New York, New York Passenger and Crew Lists, 1909, 1925-1957,” database, citing Immigration, New York, NY, Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration; FamilySearch.org
United States, Selective Service System. Selective Service Registration Cards, World War II: Fourth Registration. Records of the Selective Service System, National Archives and Records Administration; Ancestry.com
“Morning Death Notices,” Boston Globe, 19 October 1960: 54; Newspapers.com
“Plymouth— a look back: July 9.” Old Colony Memorial (Plymouth MA) 10 July 2016; WickedLocal.com
Death Notices, Boston Globe, 3 March 1975: 23; Newspapers.com
Louis A. Adduci, FindAGrave.com