Not yet fully verified. Facts are tagged with their confidence level; family-supplied details have not all been checked against a primary record.
Biographical Information
Carl Joseph Russo was born in Chicago on 26 April 1908 Confirmed, a son of the Sicilian immigrant John Russo and Rose Locascio Confirmed. He served in the United States Army Signal Corps during the Second World War Confirmed and worked as a postal employee Confirmed. Stationed in England, he married Vera Clarice Phillips of Bristol in 1945 Confirmed; their daughter Paula was born there before the family settled at Melrose Park, Illinois. His siblings included Mary, Marianne, Anthony, Antoinette and Rose.
Confidence of each fact: Confirmed primary record · Probable strong but unproven · Inherited family knowledge · Conflict sources disagree · Hypothesis working theory
Full Name & Name Variations
Carl Joseph Russo
Carl Joseph Russo - as used through life in the USInherited
Carlo Russo - presumed Italian form (Carl anglicises Carlo)Inherited
Birth & Death
Born: 26 April 1908 Confirmed
Place: Chicago, Cook County, Illinois, USA Confirmed
Died: 1967 (probable — FamilySearch tree GX67-PBX; a death record is still needed)
Places of Residence
Chicago (b. 1908)
Melrose Park, Cook Co. — 1513 N 37th Ave (1950)
Occupation(s)
Window clerk, US Post Office [CONFIRMED — 1950 census, Melrose Park]
Served in the US Army SIGNAL CORPS during the Second World War and was stationed in England. Family account.Inherited
Married Vera Clarice Phillips in England while stationed there.Inherited
CONFIRMED - GRO/FreeBMD marriage index: RUSSO, CARL J, spouse PHILLIPS - BRISTOL district, MARCH quarter (Jan-Mar) 1945, GRO Volume 6a, Page 335; cross-matched to PHILLIPS, VERA C at the identical reference. This DATES the marriage precisely and confirms it took place in the Bristol district.Confirmed
The Q1 1945 marriage sits neatly with his September 1942 enlistment as SINGLE - he married while stationed in England, exactly as the family account holds.Inherited
Would have been approximately 33-37 during US wartime service, older than the typical draftee.Inherited
The Signal Corps ran Army communications; its European Theatre units clustered around headquarters and communications hubs. A Bristol-area posting is consistent with the heavy US presence in the South West before D-Day.Inherited
RECORD FOUND (Probable) - NARA WWII Army Enlistment Records, serial 36369065: RUSSO CARL J, residence Illinois / Cook County, enlisted Chicago September 1942, Private, Selectee, nativity Illinois, year of birth 08, white citizen, 1 year of college, civilian occupation 'general industry clerks', marital status SINGLE WITHOUT DEPENDENTS, term: duration of war plus six months.Probable
A SECOND near-identical candidate exists and must not be ignored - serial 36351644: also RUSSO CARL J, Illinois / Cook, enlisted Chicago 19 June 1942, nativity Illinois, born 08 - but 2 years of high school, occupation 'skilled occupations in production of confections', and marital status MARRIED.Inherited
Why 36369065 is preferred: 'single without dependents' in September 1942 is consistent with marrying Vera in England in 1944-45. The other man was already married in June 1942. This is REASONING, not proof - a prior marriage ending in divorce or death would also explain it.Hypothesis
Neither record shows Signal Corps. Both read 'Branch Immaterial' - normal for selectees, whose branch was assigned after induction. So these records neither confirm nor contradict the Signal Corps account.Inherited
To settle it: the 1950 US Census should show Carl with Vera and Paula in Illinois. Whichever serial belongs to that household is the right man.Inherited
Caveat: NARA states this series does not contain records of all WWII Army enlistees - roughly 1.5 million records could not be scanned. It remains possible that neither man is Carl.Inherited
CONFIRMED - 1950 US Census, Melrose Park, Cook County, Illinois, house 1513, ED 16-289, page 8 line 30: CARL J RUSSO, male, age 40, born Illinois, MARRIED, relationship to head SON, occupation WINDOW CLERK, industry POST OFFICE, father and mother both born Italy.Confirmed
His wife Vera appears on the very next line - page 9 line 1, same house number, same enumeration district - recorded as DAUGHTER-IN-LAW. Carl and Vera are one household, living with his parents John and Rose.Inherited
OCCUPATION SUPPORTS the 36369065 identification: that record gives civilian occupation 'general industry clerks', matching a career as a postal window clerk. The rival record 36351644 gives 'production of confections'.Inherited
BUT NOT SETTLED: the census implies birth c.1910 (age 40), while 36369065 records birth year 08. A third AAD candidate - 36333542, Carl J Russo, Chicago 1942, birth year 10 - therefore cannot yet be excluded.Probable
LIKELY IDENTITY: FamilySearch links this census entry to a profile CARLOS JOSEPH RUSSO, 1908-1967 (ID GX67-PBX), already attached to the 1920, 1930 and 1940 censuses. Birth year 1908 matches the family chart exactly, and 'Carl J' resolves as Carlos Joseph. Note the recurrence of Joseph down the line to P.J.B..Probable
UNEXAMINED LEADS: Illinois, Cook County Birth Certificates 1871-1953, indexed as 'Carl Mario John or Carl Joseph Russo'; and Illinois, Archdiocese of Chicago Cemetery Records 1864-1989, Carl J Russo.Inherited
NEW SIBLING: Mary Russo, b. c.1902 Illinois, sister, in the same 1950 household. Not on the original chart.Inherited
CONFIRMED - Illinois, Cook County, Birth Certificates 1871-1953: indexed as 'CARL MARIO JOHN OR CARL JOSEPH RUSSO', born 26 APRIL 1908 at Chicago, Cook County, Illinois. Father JOHN RUSSO, born Italy. Mother ROSE LOCASCIO, born Italy.Confirmed
This is the strongest record in the project so far. It fixes his exact birth date, confirms Chicago as the birthplace, and confirms his parentage from a PRIMARY record rather than by census inference.Inherited
The doubled name in the index - 'Carl Mario John OR Carl Joseph' - is consistent with the family account that he was born at home. Home births were often registered late, by an informant, or amended afterwards, which is exactly how alternative given names end up recorded against one certificate. Basile confirms JOSEPH as the true middle name.Inherited
Birth date 26 April 1908 also explains the census discrepancy: enumerated 3 April 1950, three weeks before his 42nd birthday, he was 41 - recorded as 40. Household informants routinely misstate ages.Inherited
AAD SERIAL NOW RESOLVED to 36369065 [Probable, upgraded]. The birth certificate's 1908 EXCLUDES the third candidate 36333542 (birth year 10). Of the two remaining 1908 candidates, 36369065 records occupation 'general industry clerks', matching his career as a postal window clerk, and 'single without dependents' in September 1942, consistent with marrying Vera in England afterwards. Basile independently confirms he was a postal employee.Inherited
REJECTED - Illinois, Archdiocese of Chicago Cemetery Records: the Carl J Russo in that collection is 1911-1972, aged 61 at burial. That is NOT this man. Recorded here so the lead is not chased again. (The index entry is also internally inconsistent, giving an event date of 12 January 1872 against life dates of 1911-1972 - almost certainly a typo for 1972.)Rejected
PROBABLE death 1967: FamilySearch profile 'Carlos Joseph Russo, 1908-1967' (GX67-PBX). Treat with care - FamilySearch Tree profiles are user-contributed and are NOT evidence. A death record is still needed.Probable
Sources & Documents (5 sources)
Cook County birth certificate — Carl Joseph Russo, 1908Illinois, Cook County, Birth Certificates, 1871-1953, indexed as 'Carl Mario John or Carl Joseph Russo', born 26 April 1908, Chicago. Father John Russo; mother Rose Locascio.FamilySearch / Cook County
GRO marriage index — Carl J Russo & Vera C Phillips, 1945 ↗General Register Office / FreeBMD, England & Wales marriage index, March quarter 1945: RUSSO, Carl J, spouse Phillips — BRISTOL, Volume 6a, Page 335; and PHILLIPS, Vera C, spouse Russo — BRISTOL, Volume 6a, Page 335. Identical reference = married each other. (FreeBMD / GRO (index reference))
WWII Army Enlistment Record — Russo Carl J, serial 36369065 ↗NARA, Electronic Army Serial Number Merged File ca.1938-1946 (Enlistment Records), Record Group 64; RUSSO CARL J, Illinois/Cook, enlisted Chicago Sept 1942, birth year 08, single without dependents, civilian occupation 'general industry clerks'.NARA Access to Archival Databases
Family knowledge — supplied by BasileOral/handed-down family information supplied by P.J.B., July 2026, and the original family chart (Family Tree.rtf / FamilyTree.html).Family