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Ricca-Quarelli Family Collection 1880s-2015 (bulk 1933-2015)

MSS-401

Biographical Note

Italian immigrant Tomasso Antonio Maria Quarelli (spelled Quarello in Italy) and his family were pioneering settlers, business owners, and community leaders in Winkelman, Arizona. Quarelli (1875-1958) was born in Rivara, Italy and immigrated to the United States in 1900, arriving in New York City on February 19. He settled in Morenci, Arizona, where he worked in the mines. Quarelli returned briefly to Italy in 1904, where he married Clotilde Rosa Sestia Ricca (1882-1955) on December 7 before returning to Arizona in 1905. According to family legend, Quarelli had planned to remain in Italy but returned to the United States in order to avoid serving in the Italian army.

Over the next four years, Quarelli worked as a brickmason in the mines of Globe, Arizona and on the construction of Roosevelt Dam. By 1908, he had saved enough money to send for his wife and young son, Carlo Dominic (1905-1983). Clotilde and Carlo Quarelli arrived in New York City on June 8, 1908. Because she spoke no English, Clotilde Quarelli wore a sign reading "Deliver me to Thomas Quarelli at Bowie, Arizona." With the help of American officials and friendly strangers, Clotilde and Carlo arrived safely at Bowie, were reunited with Tomasso, and settled in Globe. Tomasso and Clotilde Quarelli had seven more children: Lucia "Lucy" (Quarelli) Wilkins (1909-1995), Maria "Mary" (Quarelli) Adams Morris (1910-1984), Giovanna (1910-1911), Giovanna "Jay" (Quarelli) Peoble (1913-1962), Clotilde "Tillie" (Quarelli) Dougherty (1915-1985), Rosa "Rose" Quinta (Quarelli) Hanson (1918-2015), and Margarita "Margie" Delfina (Quarelli) Dalmolin (1922-2011).

In 1911, Tomasso Quarelli moved his family to Winkelman, Arizona. After working as partner in the Champion Store, he started his own mercantile business on Front Street. The market later expanded to include a bar, which Quarelli operated until Prohibition. He also added a 14-room hotel to the establishment's second story. His oldest son, who used the name Charles in the United States, occasionally helped him with the store but was more interested in reading. He went on to graduate as valedictorian of Hayden High School (1925) and to earn a degree in business administration from the University of Arizona (1931). When Tomasso Quarelli retired, two of his daughters, Mary Morris and Jay Peoble, took over the store's daily operations.

Charles Quarelli married Elma Ruth Collins (1913-1999) in 1937 and the couple reopened Tomasso Quarelli's bar as the Wagon Wheel in the same year. In 1948 the bar and two Quarelli family homes were destroyed by fire. The Quarellis purchased the building that had originally housed the Gila Valley Bank and the adjoining general store and rebuilt both of their enterprises. The fire led Charles Quarelli to advocate Winkelman's re-incorporation in order to improve emergency and public services. He eventually served three terms as the city's mayor. When Charles Quarelli retired from the Wagon Wheel, his sister, Margarita "Margie" Dalmolin, took it over. In 1978, Front Street was renamed Quarelli Street in the family's honor.

Clotilde Ricca di Quarelli was the youngest of nine children, including Giacomo (d. 1933), Giuseppi, Angelina Quinta Ricca in Obert (1865-1957), Maria Ricca in Vernetti (1869-1960), Matteo, Giovanna Ricca in Bertino (1871-1935), Quinta Petronilla Ricca in Cavallo (d. 1932), and Candido (1876-1932). Several of these siblings immigrated to the United States. Candido Ricca arrived in New York on October 31, 1900 and visited Arizona, Colorado, and California before settling in Illinois, where he worked in the mines. Giovanna Ricca in Bertino, along with her husband, Bert Bertino, and oldest son, arrived in New York in August of 1893. They settled in southern California, where Bert Bertino worked as a gardener for Luther Burbank. Maria Ricca in Vernetti, her husband, Charles Peter Vernetti, and their oldest daughter arrived at Ellis Island in 1892 and settled in Colorado.

Scope and Content Note

This collection houses genealogical charts, research correspondence, personal correspondence exchanged between members of the Ricca and Quarelli families, Italian and American vital records, immigration records, photographs, and other materials created and accumulated by Margaret Mary "Peggy" (Dougherty) Fleming, Tomasso and Clotilde Quarelli's granddaughter, during the course of her research into the genealogy of the Ricca and Quarelli families. These records document the family's origins in Rivara, Torino, Italy; migration to the United States; personal relationships; daily lives and activities; employment; travel; and reunions between the 1880s and 2015.

Series I: Genealogical Research and Writings includes information about Italy's Piedmont region (where the Ricca and Quarelli families originate), a genealogy of the Ricca and Quarielli families, notes, comments regarding the materials in the collection written by Peggy Fleming, photographs, and other materials pertaining to the Ricca and Quarelli families as a whole. The "short version" of the genealogy housed in Box 1, Folder 10 is available to researchers; the "long version" has been restricted until January 1, 2035 at the request of the donor in order to protect the privacy of living individuals.

Series II: Italian Trips and Gatherings consists of correspondence, photographs, and other materials documenting trips that Peggy Fleming took to Italy with her husband, Pat Fleming, and other family members in the 1990s and 2000s. Photographs and notes regarding Peggy Fleming's first trip to Italy in 1955 are also included.

Series III: Italian Siblings and Series IV: American Siblings contain research into members of the extended Ricca and Quarelli families. "Italian Siblings" refers to Clotilde Ricca di Quarelli's siblings; "American Siblings" refers to her children. Each folder in these two series documents one individual or nuclear family. Generally speaking, these folders contain a genealogical chart illustrating the person or family's relationship to the extended Ricca and/or Quarelli families, an inventory of the materials in the folder, comments by Peggy Fleming highlighting items of particular interest, research correspondence, personal correspondence written by or addressed to the relevant person or family, vital records, immigration records, and photographs. Translations are available for many letters and documents written in Italian. Rose Quarelli's folder (Box 3, Folder 2) also contains an oral history discussing Tomasso and Clotilde Quarelli's immigration to the United States, the Quarelli store, and early life in Winkelman.

Series V: Family Reunions houses correspondence, photographs, publications, and other materials documenting Ricca-Quarelli family reunions held in Arizona and Texas between 1980 and 2006. Series VI: Restricted Materials and Series VII: Oversized Materials contain restricted and oversized materials removed from Series I-Series V.

Arrangement

Restrictions

Access Restrictions

Access to the "long version" of the Ricca-Quarelli genealogy housed in Box 4, Folder 1 has been restricted until January 1, 2035 at the request of the donor in order to protect the privacy of living individuals. Contact Archives and Special Collections for more information.

To view this collection, make an appointment at least five business days prior to your visit by contacting Ask an Archivist or calling (480) 965-4932. Appointments in the Wurzburger Reading Room at Hayden Library (rm. 138) on the Tempe campus are available Monday through Friday. Check the ASU Library Hours page for current availability.

Copyright

The Arizona Board of Regents retains copyright to this collection for and on behalf of the Arizona State University Library. Requests to publish, display, or redistribute information from this collection must be submitted via our online application.

Access Terms

Administrative Information

Preferred Citation

[Identification of item], Ricca-Quarelli Family Collection, MSS-401, Arizona State University Library.

Provenance

Margaret Mary "Peggy" Fleming donated these materials to the Arizona Collection in 2015 (Accession #2015-04855).

Processing Note

This collection was traditionally processed and preservation photocopying undertaken as necessary to preserve affected information. With the exception of minor additions to folder and series titles in order improve clarity and the relocation of the materials in box 2, folders 10-11 from "Family Reunions" to "Italian Siblings," Fleming's original file structure and naming has been retained in full.

Container List