Gregorio Mannina A-file: Part 1 Alien Registration Form

Several weeks ago, a hint popped up on Gregorio Mannino on my FamilySearch online tree. I use both FamilySearch.org and Ancestry.com because both have unique algorithms for searching and produce varying results.  The particular hint that popped up was for a record in the "United States Index to Alien Case Files, 1940-2003." The hint lead me to the website of the National Archives, where I submitted a request for a copy of the file, mailed a check for $20, and a week later had a 9 page document in my possession that are the contents of my great grandfathers A-file.

An A-file, or Alien File, is a file containing a unique A-number which identifies non-citizens of the United States and was put into use by the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) in 1940. You can learn more about it by clicking on the above hyperlink.

Included in Gregrio's A File are the following documents:

1. Alien Registration Form dated Nov 7, 1940,
2.  An Application for Certificate of Identification dated Feb 11, 1942
3.  A request for a copy of Alien Registration Record to the US Department of Justice from INS dated December 16 1942 and returned Dec 30, 1942 with FBI records for Viola Mannina and Gregorio Mannina
4.  Letter to US Department of Justice requesting a criminal check of FBI records dated July 20, 1943 and returned with FBI fingerprint records on Aug 14, 1943

#1. Alien Registration Form was submitted to the United States Department of Justice Immigration and Naturalization Service and was assigned the number 3552191. This is Gregorio's A-number. According to the USCIS (United States Citizenship and Immigration Services) website:

Alien Registration Forms ("AR-2s") document the presence of non-citizens in the United States during the Second World War. The Immigration and Naturalization Service ("INS") used the Form AR-2 to make a record of all aliens residing in or entering the country between August 1940 and March 31, 1944. Although stamped with an Alien Registration Number ("A-number"), AR-2s are a distinct records series and are not Alien Files ("A-Files").

 From this document I was able to confirm that Gregorio did arrive on the S.S. Principe di Piemonte on October 30, 1913. If you read my last post, I detailed the record I located for "Gregorio Mandino".  He states on the form that his name is Gregorio Mannina, he entered the United States under the same name and has not been known by any other name. I emphasize the last part because this comes into play later in the file.
His address is 37 Starr St in Brooklyn, and his birthdate is listed as December 19, 1892 (Note - there is variation in the records I have seen from 1892-1894). He was born in Salaparuta, Trapani, Italy and is a citizen of Italy. He is a married, white, male, 5 feet 3 inches tall, weighed 150 lbs, had black-grey hair, and brown eyes. He arrived at Ellis Island on Oct 30, 1913 on the S.S. Principe di Piemonte. He came as a passenger and entered the United States as a permanent resident. He has lived in the United States for 27 years and expects to remain permanently. His usual occupation is laborer and present occupation is unemployed.  He is a member of the Wyckoff Heights Democratic Club, 53 Irving Avenue since September 1940. He has no military service. He has applied for first citizenship papers in the United States on April 15, 1940. He has the following relatives in the United States: wife, and 4 children. He has been arrested for the offense of "Sullivan Law" in 1938 in the 83rd precinct and his case was dismissed. In the past 5 years he has not been affiliated with or active in political activities of a foreign government. The form was signed on November 7, 1940 and the registering official that signed and took his fingerprint was Charles McCarthy.

Lots of information to soak in!  So - what is the Sullivan Law, you may ask yourself.  You can read all about it at the link, but here is a summary: It was a law passed in 1911 in New York City requiring licenses for New Yorkers to carry firearms small enough to conceal. What I found particularly interesting was the following:

Many believe the act was to discriminate against immigrants in New York, particularly Italians, as the first person convicted under the law was an Italian immigrant named Marino Rossi who was travelling to a job interview and carrying a revolver for fear of the "Black Hand".^[10] At sentencing the judge declared: "It is unfortunate that this is the custom with you and your kind, and that fact, combined with your irascible nature, furnishes much of the criminal business in this country".^[11] Prior to Marino's arrest, others had been arrested under the new law but were released without charges.^[12] Whether this was part of the law's intent, it was passed on a wave of anti-immigrant rhetoric as a measure to disarm an alleged criminal element.^[13] The police department who granted the licenses could easily discriminate against "undesirable" elements.^[13] Days before the law took effect the New York Times published an article saying "Low-browed foreigners bargained for weapons of every description and gloated over their good fortune in hearing of the drop in the gun market before it was too late".^[14] After Rossi's conviction the New York Times called this "warning to the Italian community" both "timely and exemplary".^[15]

Below are images of the Alien Registration Form. Stay tuned for future posts regarding the rest o fthe documents contained in his A-file.