Frank Sinatra, Joe Pesci's NJ Roots Found In Unsealed Census Data

NEW JERSEY — Frank Sinatra's father put in 40 hours a week as a fireman in 1950, the same year Joe Pesci's brewery worker dad declared he "worked with bottles," according to handwritten U.S. Census data locked up for more than 70 years.

U.S. Census records from 1950 became searchable online this year because of a provision making them open to the public after 72 years. Not only can anyone look up their relatives who lived in the U.S. in the 1950s, they can also view the Census cards of celebrities who were around.

In the 1950s, the Census Bureau and National Archives leadership agreed to keep the records confidential to the general public for 72 years — possibly choosing that time span because it was longer than the average lifespan.

"I've looked at it myself, for my own family," said Joseph Klett, the executive director of the New Jersey State Archives in Trenton. "I found some of my family, and that was great. I'm not old enough to be in there myself. My parents were in there, and grandparents."

Crooner Son Buys Home For Hoboken Housewife And Firefighter

Besides researching one's family tree, the records allow you to look up any family if you have a rough idea of they lived in 1950, including political leaders and other famous Jerseyans.

For instance, here are Sinatra's parents, Anthony Martin and wife Natalia ("Dolly"), listed at the home their crooner son purchased for them in the 1940s at 909 Hudson St. in Hoboken.

The couple finally left that Hoboken home (seen below) in 1953 to move to a house Frank bought for them in Fort Lee.

The right side of the form lists household members' jobs. Anthony is listed as a fireman in the city, while Dolly's job is left mysteriously blank.

The Pesci family — whose Oscar-winning son became the star of such iconic films as "My Cousin Vinny" and "Goodfellas" — can be traced back to a home in Newark that same year.

The family file notes Angelo "worked with bottles" while Pesci's mother Mary "operates sewing machine" at a "ladies house" and dress factory.

Mother Mary says she worked 40 hours the previous week — a reminder that even in 1950, raising three kids was not cheap.

American Dream

A closer look also shows how young people were when they started their families.

Ten years earlier, in the 1940 Census, dad Angelo Pesci, then 23, shows up as living with his wife's parents.

But by 1950, the couple was raising three kids in their own space, including Joe, the youngest.

'Powerful Tools'

New Jersey-based historian Al Frazza, whose new book — State of Revolution: My Seven-And-A-Half Year Journey Through The Revolutionary War In New Jersey — includes a section about historical research, said original documents like the newly released Census files are "powerful tools" in understanding the past.

"Valuable insights into earlier times can be found in government records, correspondence, and legal paperwork," Frazza said. "Best of all are the moments where you discover things that you didn’t even know you were looking for."

Klett, of the New Jersey State Archives, said that Garden State residents seeking to find out more than what's in U.S. Census records can turn to his agency's website, which has searchable records related to military service, estates, and marriages.

He also noted that New Jersey conducted its own Census from 1855 through 1915.

"The state archives holds a lot of highly valuable genealogical material compared to other states," Klett said. "Lots of things were filed centrally, marriage records, land records, estate records. In neighboring colonies and states, you often have to go to the county courthouse. You can go to our website to see the databases that were digitized, based on the time period."

How To Search

With the 1950 Census records, personal information was handwritten by the Census taker, so names may come up with incorrect spellings or be tough to find at first.

To look at the newly released federal Census records from 1950, see: 1950census.archives.gov.

To find out more information about the 1950 Census, go here.

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