No. 13137 Anthony Macaluso
Photograph of Anthony Macaluso. Contained in an album at the Dorchester Historical Society of about 150 photos kept by Nathaniel R. Perkins, MD, who examined thousands of men who were going into the war, 1914-1918. Given by Mrs N. R. Perkins in accordance with instructions from her late husband, Dr. Nathaniel P. Perkins of 1122 Adams St, Dorchester. Index catalog has entries for the individuals.
Anthony Macaluso Lieut Norfolk St Graduate High School Palermo Italy Boston University School of Medicine May 1918. Independent induction Dec 1917 M.R.C. enlistment. Transferred to N.R.C. commissioned July 24, 1918 U.S.N.
Anthony Macaluso. Researched and written by Camille Arbogast
Anthony Macaluso was born on October 18, 1892, in Vicari, Palermo, Sicily, Italy, to Salvatore and Francesca (Costa) Macaluso. On his notecard for Anthony Macaluso, Dr. Perkins noted that Anthony attended high school in Palermo. Anthony immigrated to the United States in March 1910, sailing from Naples on the White Star Line’s RMS Celtic. After arriving in New York City, he immediately continued on to Boston. He paid his own passage and arrived with $20.
In Boston, Anthony joined his older brother Emmanuele, who had come to the United States in 1904 and became a citizen in 1909. Emmanuele had a drug store at 270 Hanover Street in the North End, where Anthony worked alongside Emmanuele and his wife, Marianna (Sapienza), known as Anna. In 1911, Anthony lived at 26 Salem Street in the North End. By 1913, Emmanuele and Anthony had purchased 93 Norfolk Street in Dorchester.
On April 22, 1911, Anthony married Carmela Maria Sapienza, Anna’s sister. Born in Monreale, Palermo, Carmela immigrated to the United States in September 1904. Anthony and Carmela were wed by Justice of the Peace Charles A. Feyhl of 449 Shawmut Avenue. They would have three children: Americo, known as Arthur, born in 1911, Lilianna born in 1912, and Janet born in 1927.
While working at the drugstore, Anthony attended the Boston University School of Medicine, entering in the autumn of 1912, and graduating with the class of 1918. While in college, he began the citizenship process, filing a petition of intention in 1913. Anthony became an American citizen in December 1916.
After his graduation from medical school, on July 21, 1918, Anthony was commissioned a lieutenant (junior grade) in the Navy Medical Corps, and on November 25, 1918, he was sent to the Naval Medical School in Washington, D.C. In February 1919, he was stationed on a receiving ship in New York City. By March 1919, he was serving on the troop ship USS Plattsburg, a schooner-rigged steamship that had seen service during the Spanish American War. On June 17, 1919, he was relieved while stationed on a receiving ship in the New York City Navy Yard and was given an honorable discharge on July 23, 1922.
After the war, Anthony continued to serve in the Naval Reserve at the Squantum Air Station in Quincy. According to his Newton Graphic obituary, while at Squantum, Anthony “pioneered in flight surgery and the change to one of the first naval air bases.” In 1939, a Boston Globe article reported that the squadron Anthony was attached to, VS-2R, “was awarded the Noel Davis trophy for being the most efficient unit in the country.”
Anthony opened a medical practice in the North End at 11 Parmenter Street. In 1935, he was appointed an assistant professor in ophthalmology at the Boston University School of Medicine. The Macalusos continued to live in their home at 93 Norfolk Street until 1934, when they moved to 28 Chesterfield Road in West Newton. Emmanuele and Anna lived with Anthony and his family until their deaths; it appears Emmanuele died around 1940 and Anna in 1951.
According to the Newton Graphic, “At the beginning of World War II, Dr. Macaluso underwent Sea-Bee training at the age of 50 and was commissioned a full commander, seeing four years of action in the South Pacific.” Navy directories from 1941 and 1942, list Anthony still stationed at the Squantum Naval Aviation Station. In a photograph taken at Squantum in 1941, Anthony examines Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr., who was about to begin flight training. According to a Veterans Benefits Administration database, Anthony entered service on December 12, 1940 and was released on November 3, 1945.
After the Second World War, Anthony had a general practice in Kenmore Square, first at 636 Beacon Street, then at 510 Commonwealth Avenue. He was also on the staff at Carney, Kenmore, and Boston University Hospitals. Anthony was active with the Newton’s Daley Post, VFW, in the 1950s, serving as post surgeon, vice commander, and post commander. In 1957, the Macalusos moved to 18 Grey Birch Terrace in the Newtonville section of Newton. Anthony retired in 1972.
Anthony died of influenza at his home on January 14, 1978. A funeral mass was celebrated for him at Our Lady Help of Christians on Washington Street in Newton and he was buried in Newton Cemetery. When Carmela died at 100 in 1987, she was buried beside him.
Sources:
Naturalization Records. National Archives at Boston, Waltham, MA; Ancestry.com
Massachusetts Vital Records, 1840–1911. New England Historic Genealogical Society, Boston, MA; Ancestry.com
Passenger and Crew Lists of Vessels Arriving at New York, New York, 1897-1957, Records of the Immigration and Naturalization Service; National Archives at Washington, D.C.; Ancestry.com
“Dr. Anthony Macaluso,” Boston Globe, 15 January 1978: 47; Newspapers.com
“Obituaries: Dr. Anthony Macaluso,” Newton Graphic, 26 January, 1978: 18; Archive.org
Family Tree, Ancestry.com
Boston University Year Book 1912-1913. Boston: The University Council, 1912; Archive.org
World War I Selective Service System Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration; Ancestry.com
Dearborn, Frederick M., ed. American Homeopathy in the World War. Chicago: The American Institute of Homeopathy, 1923: 431; Archive.org
Navy Directory: Officers of the United States Navy, March 1, 1919. Washington, DC: Government Printing Office: 1919; Ancestry.com
“USS Harvard (1888).” Wikipedia.org. Last edited 12 June 2018. <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Harvard_(1888)>
“Two Trophies for Squantum Air Station,” Boston Globe, 18 August 1939: 9; Newspapers.com
1920, 1930, 1940 U.S. Federal Census; Ancestry.com
Selected Passports, National Archives, Washington, D.C.; Ancestry.com
“11 Appointed to B.U. Faculty Positions,” Boston Globe, 5 August 1935: 3; Newspapers.com
Deaths, Boston Globe, 8 May 1951: 48; Newspapers.com
Navy Directories, 1941, 1942; Ancestry.com
Bettmann, “Joseph P. Kennedy Jr. Getting Physical Examination,” July 01, 1941, Getty Images, 2020; GettyImages.com
Beneficiary Identification Records Locator Subsystem (BIRLS) Death File. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs; Ancestry.com
“Daley Post Plans Cancer Film for Public Monday,” Newton Graphic, 19 April 1965: 2; Archive.org
“Announcements,” New England Journal of Medicine, July 22, 1965: 273:228; NEJM.org
Standard Certificate of Death, Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Newton, Middlesex County, 14 January 1978, Middlesex Registry of Deeds Book 20174, Page 273, 1 November 1989; MassLandRecords.com