(l) Giandomenico Gentile and Marianna Frasca; (c) Pietro Camilli and Maria Gentile; (r) Angelo Camilli, Pietro Camilli, Elisabetta Marinelli. 

Pietro Camilli was born in Calascio on June 29, 1882 to Angelo Camilli and Concetta Nacchio.  Pietro was the third child of Concetta and Angelo.  He immigrated to the United States around 1900 and settled in Riverton, Illinois to seek employment in the nearby coal mines, where he worked for many years.  On August 13, 1903, in Riverton, Pietro married Maria Gentile, daughter of Giandomenico Gentile and Marianna Frasca, who were also immigrants from Calascio.  At the time of their marriage, Pietro was 21 years old and Maria was 16.  Following their marriage, the couple moved into the house at 805 E. Kinzie in Riverton, next door to the bride’s parents.  Pietro and Maria continued with many Italian traditions.  For example, the couple grew grapes in their backyard that they made into wine using the wine press Pietro had built in their basement.  Many Calascio Italians immigrated to Riverton.  As a result of this clustering of immigrants, a small “Italyville” was formed on the east side of town.  In addition to being patrons of several Italian-owned businesses, Pietro and Maria were actively involved in the tight-knit community.  Pietro was a member of the Foresters of America and Circolo Giovanile Italiano, both Italian fraternal societies in Riverton and Maria belonged to the St. Anthony’s Guild, a women’s auxiliary club that was associated with St. James Catholic Church.Pietro and Maria had six children: William, Edith, Joseph, Angelo, Edmund and Albert.  Angelo, Edmund and Albert all fought in World War II.  Angelo served in the South Pacific, Albert was a bombardier, and Edmund participated in the D-Day invasion and received several medals of honor for his service.  Pietro Camilli died at his home in Riverton on November 12, 1957 at the age of 75 years.  Maria died on January 10, 1973 at St. John’s Hospital in Springfield, Illinois at the age of 85.  After the deaths of both Pietro and Maria, ownership of their home was passed to their sons Edmund and Albert.  Both brothers lived in the house until their deaths.  Pietro and Maria’s other children all married and had families of their own.   Edith and Joseph married other immigrants or children of immigrants from Calascio.  Angelo, however, married Anna Peregrin, the daughter of immigrants from Kosice, Czechoslovakia.  Eventually the name Camilli became the more Americanized Camille.  Many of the descendents of Pietro and Maria Camilli still live in Riverton and the surrounding area.

Submitted by Lindsay Camille-Schmitz great-grandaughter of Pietro Camilli