Casa Emigranti Italiani 

A leading advocate for Italian civil rights in hartford!

Mr De Feo apparently came to Hartford as the representative of a chain selling groceries to other stores. He stayed a few months but became very involved both with the Italian Republicans, of which he became chairman, as well as in fighting the Padrone system.  

The Padrone system would allow a boss or padrone to "hire" large groups of people to bring where the jobs were located. Each employee would pay a commission to the boss and it would be the boss that would collect from the final employer thus skimming some more money! Some bosses also forced the people in their groups to purchase supplies from them as well as arrange for the lodging again making more money!

Often the boss would collect a fee and then disappear as recounted in the 1888 article below!

Mr. De Feo fought hard against the system and was able to convince the State legislature to pass an anti padrone law in 1895!

I can trace Mr. De Feo to Waterbury and then NYC but I cannot find any information about his whereabouts past 1904!

The first mention of an Italian Policeman! Mr. De Feo may well have had a hand in this appointment!

1888

1894

1895

1896

1900

1901

 1904