WI WI - Milwaukee, WhtFem 40-60, UP7792, MickeyMouse watch, wedd'g ring w/ 'Emiliano 28-1-1953', May'74

[necco]

This case seems SO very solvable.

https://identifyus.org/cases/7792

Unidentified woman, possibly Hispanic, Italian or Native American found floating in Lake Michigan. She was wearing a wedding ring inscribed with 28-1-1953.

*** Warning, post mortem picture ***
She's case #1 here:
http://county.milwaukee.gov/MedicalExaminer/Unidentified-Adults1.htm

 

[necco]

A few thoughts:
Judging by the way the date was inscribed on her ring, I'm inclined to think she was born and at least partially educated in Europe, so I'm leaning toward Spanish or Italian. I also think she was Roman Catholic judging by the religious medal.

I believe the religious medal is of Aloysius Gonzaga. He was an Italian Jesuit. He is the patron saint of Jesuit students and two towns in Italy. (As well as some other things, see link.)
http://saints.sqpn.com/saint-aloysius-gonzaga/

 

[CarlK90245]

That's what instantly came to my mind when I saw the date in d-m-yyyy format of the date on the ring. She must be from overseas.

 

[necco]

Thanks for the tidy up, Carl.

I've been poking around the Social Security Death Index for an Emiliano that would be the right age, I did find one that is the right age to be her son who died shortly before she did. If it was suicide, that could be why. (Born 2-10-1954, died January 1974)

 

[webrocket]

I assume Emiliano was her husband and the inscribed date was their wedding day.

my initial impression was that she was Italian, but I went to the SSDI for Emilianos and they almost all had Spanish last names.

Thanks for the tidy up, Carl.

I've been poking around the Social Security Death Index for an Emiliano that would be the right age, I did find one that is the right age to be her son who died shortly before she did. If it was suicide, that could be why. (Born 2-10-1954, died January 1974)

 

[necco]

I assume Emiliano was her husband and the inscribed date was their wedding day.

my initial impression was that she was Italian, but I went to the SSDI for Emilianos and they almost all had Spanish last names.

Yes, but many Catholic ethnic groups (especially back then) tend to name the first born son after the father. So, there's a decent shot if she had a son, his name was also Emiliano. Sorry if I wasn't clear about that.

By the way, St Aloysius is not all that common a saint to wear. This could be a huge clue to her life if we can figure out why she wore him.

 

[marycarney]

My two cents: There is a detective on The First 48 named Emiliano Tamayo - I believe he is Cuban. But the profile on the UIDs post-mortem photo just screams "Native American' to me.

 

[webrocket]

there was an Emiliano Velez who died in January 1971 in Milwaukee. he was born in Sept 1927, which would have made him 25 y.o. on a January 28, 1953 wedding date. his SS# was issued in Puerto Rico before 1951.

Velez was the only Emiliano from Wisconsin who died between 1970 and 1974.

I would venture a small wager that this was the husband who was on the ring.

 

[masnitram]

there was an Emiliano Velez who died in January 1971 in Milwaukee. he was born in Sept 1927, which would have made him 25 y.o. on a January 28, 1953 wedding date. his SS# was issued in Puerto Rico before 1951.

Velez was the only Emiliano from Wisconsin who died between 1970 and 1974.

I would venture a small wager that this was the husband who was on the ring.

I found an article that mentions Emiliano Velez. It appears he was a rather prominent figure in the Puerto Rican community of Milwaukee. I would assume that if his widow disappeared this case would have been solved a long time ago. He died from Leukemia FWIW.

http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1499&dat=19810812&id=TU4aAAAAIBAJ&sjid=uykEAAAAIBAJ&pg=3493,885237http://

 

[webrocket]

great find Masnitram. unfortunately the article did not identify who was receiving the award in his name.

can you access other archives from that paper such as his originall obituary? that should list next of kin. I'll see if I can find it.

 

[carbuff]

Yes, but many Catholic ethnic groups (especially back then) tend to name the first born son after the father. So, there's a decent shot if she had a son, his name was also Emiliano. Sorry if I wasn't clear about that.

By the way, St Aloysius is not all that common a saint to wear. This could be a huge clue to her life if we can figure out why she wore him.

He's the patron saint of students and by extension all Christian youth and of plague victims and by modern extension AIDS victims and their caretakers.

There's a high school in Missisagua ON named for him: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Aloysius_Gonzaga_Secondary_School. Also several in other countries There's a church dedicated to St. Aloysius in New York City, North Carolina, and possibly others.

I went through pages and pages of medals looking for one like this one, and only found two others where the saint was facing left. In the vast majority, he's facing right.

 

[masnitram]

great find Masnitram. unfortunately the article did not identify who was receiving the award in his name.

can you access other archives from that paper such as his originall obituary? that should list next of kin. I'll see if I can find it.

I'll see what I can find. So far...no luck finding the obituary.

 

[webrocket]

I tried with no luck. the actual date of death was January 27, 1971. some of the obits were on pages that were microfilmed sideways and hard to find.

 

[CarlK90245]

The day/month/year date format is the predominant format throughout Mexico, Central America, and South America, as well as most of Europe, Northern Africa, Southern Asia, and Australia.

The month/day/year and the day/month/year formats are both used in Canada, depending on the application.

Date format by country - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[necco]

He's the patron saint of students and by extension all Christian youth and of plague victims and by modern extension AIDS victims and their caretakers.

There's a high school in Missisagua ON named for him: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Aloysius_Gonzaga_Secondary_School. Also several in other countries There's a church dedicated to St. Aloysius in New York City, North Carolina, and possibly others.

I went through pages and pages of medals looking for one like this one, and only found two others where the saint was facing left. In the vast majority, he's facing right.

I saw the AIDS patronage, but I disregarded it due to the date the UID was found. The first recognized AIDS death in the US was in 1980, so I don't think that particular patronage is relevant.

I wish in these cases that they'd take pictures of the markings on the jewelry. If the religious medal is gold, the markings and the carats could give an idea where it was manufactured.

Gonzaga University is also named after St. Aloysius. While you are correct that he is the patron saint of teenagers, I'm far more inclined personally to think there is a Jesuit connection as there are several more popular saints that have teens and students as their patronage. I've never know anyone who wore a St. Aloysius medal and I spent more time than I care to acknowledge in Catholic school.

I agree that her profile screams Native American. The Jesuits were very active (and still are to a great extent) with the indigenous populations of the Americas and had settled in Wisconsin as early as 1667.

The thing that made me think she wasn't Native was the date on the ring, but doesn't the groom usually purchase the wife's ring? In which case, it could just indicate that her husband was from Europe.

 

[necco]

Oh, and there's a Western Engraving and Embossing Company in Chicago. (The black leather case is stamped with that.)

 

[Irish_Eyes]

There is another thread on this....I'll try to find it to bump to merge...been looking into this one because I too think it's solveable!

 

[necco]

Thanks, Irish_Eyes, I looked and couldn't find one. If you find it, that's be awesome.

 

[Irish_Eyes]

No I can't find it either, but I know there was one....this is so odd...I remember searching ancestry.com for guys named emiliano with this wedding date (no luck), and just emilianos from that part of the country in general. I noticed the ones who had a non-U.S. birthplace were more commonly from one area, but now I can't remember where that was. Dominican, maybe? I wish I could find it. Maybe I was discussing it in PM's with someone and not a thread....I'll search my PM's.

 

[Irish_Eyes]

There are St. Aloysius parishes in West Allis, WI (near Milwaukee) and Sauk City (a little farther away,) and Hillsboro, WI (don't know where that is.)

FWIW