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
John Russo - Giovanni - was born in Italy on 10 August 1863 Confirmed, a son of Anthony Russo and Maria Ocsaro Confirmed. He immigrated to the United States in 1897 Confirmed and married Rose Lo Cascio at Chicago's Assumption church in February 1901 Confirmed. A photographer by trade Confirmed, he raised six children in Chicago and later Melrose Park, and lived to the age of 100, dying on 19 March 1964 Confirmed. His exact Sicilian town is not yet confirmed Inherited.
Confidence of each fact: Confirmed primary record · Probable strong but unproven · Inherited family knowledge · Conflict sources disagree · Hypothesis working theory
Full Name & Name Variations
John Russo
John Russo - Americanised form, US recordsInherited
Giovanni Russo - presumed Italian originalInherited
_Provenance:_ 'John' is very likely an Americanised form of Giovanni.
Birth & Death
Born: 10 August 1863 Confirmed
Place: Italy (chart says Palermo, Sicily - town still unverified)
CONFIRMED - 1950 US Census, Melrose Park, Cook County, Illinois, house 1513, ED 16-289, page 8 line 27: JOHN RUSSO, Head of household, male, age 86, born Italy, married, citizenship status NO.Confirmed
His stated age of 86 in April 1950 RESOLVES the chart's illegible '186?' to approximately 1864.Inherited
Still NOT a naturalised US citizen at age 86. Consequence: there may be no naturalisation file for him, which removes one of the usual routes to an Italian birth town.Inherited
Head of a three-generation household in 1950: himself, wife Rose, daughter Mary, son Carl, and English-born daughter-in-law Vera.Inherited
Census records his birthplace only as 'Italy'. The chart's 'Palermo' is still Inherited, unconfirmed.Inherited
CONFIRMED - 1910 US Census, Chicago Ward 4, Cook County (household 199, sheet 11A): JOHN RUSSO, head, age 44 (b. c.1866), born Italy, married. ARRIVAL DATE 1897 - his year of immigration to the USA. This is the anchor for the passenger manifest, which would name his Italian town of origin.Confirmed
1910 household: wife Rosie (age 29, b. c.1881 Italy), and children Mary (8, b. c.1902), Marianne (5, b. c.1905), Carlo (1y6m, our Carl). Living Chicago Ward 4 in 1910; by 1950 the household was at Melrose Park.Inherited
NOTE: the 1910 age (44 -> b.1866) differs from the 1950-census-derived c.1864 by two years - normal census age drift. Both are approximate; his exact birth year still needs an Italian record.Inherited
NEW SIBLING for Carl: MARIANNE RUSSO, b. c.1905 Illinois - a second sister alongside Mary. Not on the original chart.Inherited
NEXT: search 1897 passenger manifests (Ellis Island / NY passenger lists) for Giovanni Russo to obtain the town of last residence - the record that would finally place this line in Italy.Inherited
CONFIRMED - Illinois, Cook County Deaths 1871-1998 (entry 17884): JOHN RUSSO, male, age 100, BORN 10 AUGUST 1863 in Italy; DIED 19 MARCH 1964; buried 21 March 1964, Queen of Heaven Catholic Cemetery, Hillside, Township of Proviso, Cook County. Funeral home: Gillmeister Funeral Service.Confirmed
IDENTITY IS CERTAIN. The record gives his address as 1513 NORTH 37TH AVE, MELROSE PARK - the identical house number 1513 recorded in the 1950 census - and CARL J RUSSO appears on the record (his son, almost certainly the informant). Two independent identifiers on one document.Inherited
EXACT BIRTH DATE RESOLVED: 10 August 1863. This finally settles the chart's illegible '186?'. It also cross-checks perfectly: born 10 Aug 1863, he was exactly 86 at the April 1950 census, as recorded.Inherited
OCCUPATION: PHOTOGRAPHER. Entirely new - no previous record gave his trade.Inherited
MARITAL STATUS AT DEATH: WIDOWED. Therefore his wife ROSE LOCASCIO died BEFORE 19 March 1964.Inherited
FATHER NAMED: ANTHONY RUSSO (see RUS-005). A NEW GENERATION, not on the original family chart.Inherited
He lived to 100 years old.Inherited
LIMITATION: the death INDEX gives his birthplace only as 'Italy' - no town, and no mother's name. The full death CERTIFICATE (orderable with entry number 17884) may supply both.Inherited
IMAGE STATUS (checked 22 Jul 2026): the actual DEATH CERTIFICATE has been digitised - FamilySearch reports 'Image Available' for this record - but online viewing is RESTRICTED to a FamilySearch Center or a FamilySearch AFFILIATE LIBRARY (many public libraries qualify). At such a library it is FREE to view. Collection: Illinois, Cook County Deaths 1871-1998 (id 1463134); entry number 17884.Inherited
WHAT THE ONLINE INDEX GIVES vs WHAT THE IMAGE SHOULD ADD. The free online index names only his FATHER (Anthony Russo) and his birthplace only as 'Italy'. It does NOT name his MOTHER and does NOT give a town. The full certificate image almost certainly carries both - the informant fields for mother's maiden name and exact birthplace. Viewing the image (free at an affiliate library, or the $10 ordered copy) is the way to get John's mother - a whole new person - and possibly the Sicilian TOWN.Inherited
NEW DETAIL from the fuller index read: funeral director GILLMEISTER FUNERAL SERVICE. Everything else matches what was already recorded (age 100, b. 10 Aug 1863, d. 19 Mar 1964, widowed, photographer, buried Queen of Heaven, Hillside).Inherited
IMPORTANT FOR THE BLACK HAND LEAD: this is JOHN's certificate, so it names JOHN's parents, NOT Rose's. It cannot confirm the Locascio murder story. The document that names Rose's mother (the presumed victim) is ROSE's OWN death certificate - see her page and V-29.Inherited
MOTHER FOUND: his 1901 marriage record (to Rose Lo Cascio) names his father ANTONINI (Antonio/Anthony Russo - re-confirming RUS-005 from a SECOND independent record) AND his mother MARIA OCSARO (as transcribed; a Latinised/garbled surname - possibly Oscaro/Ossaro/Cesaro). Maria Ocsaro is a new person, Anthony Russo's wife and John's mother.Inherited
MARRIAGE: married Rose Lo Cascio 16 Feb 1901, Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary church, Chicago (civil record 10 Feb 1901).Inherited
CHILDREN FULLY WORKED (22 Jul 2026, from the 1910/1920/1930 censuses + Cook County births/deaths). John & Rose had SIX children: Mary (Maria Filomena, b.3 Dec 1901); Marianne (Marion, b.3 Feb 1905, m. a SALVITTI - 'Marion Salvitti' by the 1930 census); CARL (1908, our line); ANTHONY (Antonino/Tony, b.12 Sep 1910, d.16 Feb 1990, buried Queen of Heaven, Hillside - Carl's brother, birth cert confirms parents Giovanni Russo & Rosina Locascio); ANTOINETTE ('Nina', b.25 Feb 1916); and ROSE (b.21 Jul 1918, died a toddler 8 Jan 1921).Inherited
NAMING CONFIRMS THE NEW GRANDPARENTS: son ANTHONY is named for John's father Anthony Russo, and daughter ANTOINETTE/NINA for Rose's mother Antonina Lo Verde - exactly the two 2x-great-grandparents the 1901 marriage record just revealed. Remaining gaps: spouses/deaths for Mary (likely never married - with her parents at 48 in 1950), Anthony, Antoinette; and Marianne's husband's given name.Inherited
SIBLING SPOUSES/DEATHS (22 Jul 2026): MARY (Maria Filomena, b.1901) NEVER MARRIED (family knowledge; confirmed by her living with her parents at 48 in 1950). MARIANNE (Marion, b.3 Feb 1905) married a SALVITTI and died 18 January 1992 as Marian Salvitti, buried Queen of Heaven, Hillside (her husband's given name is still to be found). STILL OPEN: spouses for ANTHONY (b.1910, d.1990) and ANTOINETTE/NINA (b.1916), and the Salvitti husband's first name.Inherited
[REMAINING SPOUSE GAPS - free records exhausted, 22 Jul 2026] Find a Grave has no memorial for Marian Salvitti (only an unrelated Australian), and 'Anthony Russo' is too common to isolate; FamilySearch spouse/marriage filters returned empty. So Anthony's wife, Antoinette/Nina's husband, and the Salvitti husband's given name are not obtainable from the free indexes right now. Best routes: their death certificates (name the spouse; image-restricted/orderable) or FAMILY KNOWLEDGE - which has been the most reliable source for this generation's spouses throughout.Inherited
Sources & Documents (6 sources)
Chicago marriage - John Russo & Rose Lo Cascio, 16 February 1901 (names both couples' parents) ↗"Illinois, Marriages, 1815-1935", marriage of Joannem (John) Russo and Rosinam (Rosa) Lo Cascio, 16 February 1901, Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary church, Chicago (civil record 10 Feb 1901). Groom's parents: Antonini (Anthony Russo) and Maria Ocsaro. Bride's parents: Caroli (Carlo Lo Cascio) and Antoninae Lo Verde.FamilySearch / Illinois Marriages
Cook County death record — John Russo, 1964 (entry 17884) ↗Illinois, Cook County Deaths, 1871-1998, entry for John Russo and Anthony Russo, 19 March 1964. Age 100; born 10 August 1863, Italy; address 1513 North 37th Ave, Melrose Park; widowed; occupation Photographer; buried 21 March 1964, Queen of Heaven Catholic Cemetery, Hillside, Township of Proviso, Cook County. Father: Anthony Russo. Carl J Russo also named on the record. (FamilySearch / Cook County (index; certificate image exists but is restricted to FamilySearch centers / affiliate libraries - collection 1463134, entry 17884))
1910 US Census — John Russo, arrival 1897 ↗United States Census, 1910, entry for John Russo and Rosie Russo, Chicago Ward 4, Cook, Illinois; household 199, sheet 11A. States arrival year 1897.FamilySearch
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
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