Ilario is Robin’s recorded great-grandfather. The other three people’s connections to her family remain under investigation.
Ilario: the strongest family identification
Ilario’s name and exact death date, June 11, 1955, agree with Robin’s recorded great-grandfather: Robin → Edward John Becker Sr. → Minerva Elsa Minero → Ilario. His card gives age 75 and Leber Funeral Home in Union City. The original 1950 census separately places Minerva, her husband Edward and their son in Ilario’s household with their relationships explicitly recorded. Together, the family context, date and census make this a very strong identification. The card does not name his parents, wife or Italian hometown.
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Why Ilario’s birthday is uncertain
What Ilario’s age changes
A person aged 75 on June 11, 1955 would have been born between June 12, 1879 and June 11, 1880, if the reported age is accurate. The inherited February 1879 birth would make Ilario 76. The August 1879 date found in a user tree is compatible with the card and his reported census age, but compatibility does not independently prove August 27 or the Italian birthplace. Both versions remain visible until a matched birth, draft, naturalization or death record resolves them.
Evidence: E182
Carlo: an exact date, an open relationship
Carlo’s card records February 19, 1942 and Bosetti Funeral Service in Union City. Its Italian prayer is a valuable part of the object’s history. It does not establish Carlo’s age, birthplace, parents, spouse or relationship to Ilario. He is not identified in Robin’s complete imported tree. The shared surname and funeral-home locality guide the next search; they cannot supply a missing family link.
Evidence: E179
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Read Carlo’s prayer in English
Carlo’s Italian prayer, in English
The opening reads: “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.” Prayer: O gentle Heart of Jesus, ever present in the Blessed Sacrament, ever consumed by the flame of love for those who suffer in Purgatory, have mercy on the departed soul. Do not be severe in Your judgment, but let a few drops of Your Precious Blood fall upon the devouring flames; and in Your mercy, O most compassionate Savior, send the angels to lead the departed soul to a place of joy, light and peace. Amen. This is an English translation prepared for this display; the Italian wording remains in the original photograph.
Evidence: E179
Carmelina: a daughter and a Haledon home
The card gives November 23, 1960 and DeLucia Funeral Home, 111 Belmont Avenue, Paterson. The original state index records Carmelina Minero, file 51288, November 1960; historical locality codes identify Paterson as the death place and Haledon as her residence. A probable April 4, 1950 Haledon household at 10 North 12th Street records Italy-born Carmelina, 74, and daughter Nellie, 33, born in New Jersey. Nellie was a telephone-company supervisor working forty hours; the occupation modifier is unclear. Carmelina’s naturalization field says No, a reported answer rather than a court-record search. Her marital-status handwriting is disputed, so widowhood is not asserted. The household supplies an approximate 1875–1876 birth range, not an exact birthday or a relationship to Ilario. No source read here establishes Carlo as her husband.
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Linda: a promising clue without a forced identity
Linda’s card records December 4, 1964. The original New Jersey index has Linda Becker, file 59449, December 1964, with Jersey City as both death place and residence. It names no relatives. Two consecutive 1950 Secaucus census sheets show a New Jersey-born widow Linda Becker, 66, as mother of Emma, 46, whose surname appears Ollenwetter.
Robin’s tree has Melinda Demedici Becker and a daughter Emma born in 1903, making this a plausible lead. The age differs by about a year, Linda’s parents are reported as Swiss, and inherited notes contain conflicting Italian/Swiss origins.
Melinda’s recorded death is about 1951; the inspected 1951 Becker index pages have no Linda, Melinda or Malinda, but that limited negative cannot disprove an approximate date. The 1950 Linda, the 1964 Linda and the imported Melinda remain three identities to correlate. Emma’s marriage or obituary and Linda’s certificate could join them. The census dwelling is number 810; the street is unresolved.
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Further findings, original records and sources
Louis F.: a promising later-life trail
The original 1990 New Jersey index records Louis F. Minero, file 0031709, born July 24, 1909 and died May 31, 1990, aged 80. Both locality fields read HUDS NOBET, interpreted as Hudson County / North Bergen township. Name, middle initial, age and locality strongly fit the forty-year-old Italy-born son Louis F. in Ilario’s 1950 home. The index gives no parents, spouse or birthplace, so it is a strong working candidate rather than a proved family link. The immediately preceding entry is a different Louis, without F, born in November 1913 and died in February 1990. The inherited John Louis profile also has a contradictory May/June 1990 death note: Louis F.’s May 31 death offers a possible explanation, not proof of how that note arose. No person was merged, renamed or added to the tree.
Display copies and original evidence
The optional comparison images are AI-enhanced display copies. They make the cards easier to view, but sharpening can reconstruct lettering and paper details. Each card is shown first in its original photograph, with the enhanced copy available for comparison. The transcribed names, dates, ages and funeral-home details were checked against those originals. The cards preserve the family’s remembrance of these people; they do not by themselves prove every family relationship.
The next records have names and numbers
The precise targets are Ilario’s 1955 death certificate 24401, Carmelina’s 1960 certificate 51288 and Linda’s 1964 certificate 59449. Carlo’s exact name and February 19, 1942 date guide a separate death-record, obituary and funeral-register search. The New Jersey State Archives’ current guidance says the Department of Health owns post-1950 deaths, while the Archives has 1951–1965 microfilm available for public in-person research. This is a practical retrieval route, not a claim that the certificates were read or are online. No certificates have been ordered.
The original record pages
Sources
- RB.CARD.ILARIO1955Ilario Minero — family-preserved memorial card
Family-supplied photograph of a printed memorial card; original photograph inspected, AI display derivative not independent evidence
1000020018.jpg; named memorial face; photography and printing dates not independently established
Retained family source - RB.CARD.CARLO1942Carlo Minero — family-preserved memorial card
Family-supplied photograph of a printed memorial card; original photograph inspected, AI display derivative not independent evidence
1000020020.jpg; named memorial face; photography and printing dates not independently established
Retained family source - RB.CARD.CARMELINA1960Carmelina Minero — family-preserved memorial card
Family-supplied photograph of a printed memorial card; original photograph inspected, AI display derivative not independent evidence
1000020017.jpg; named memorial face; photography and printing dates not independently established
Retained family source - RB.CARD.LINDA1964Linda Becker — family-preserved memorial card
Family-supplied photograph of a printed memorial card; original photograph inspected, AI display derivative not independent evidence
1000020019.jpg; named memorial face; photography and printing dates not independently established
Retained family source - RB.MINERO.CENSUS1950Minero–Becker household · 1950 North Bergen census
Contemporary original census image inspected
North Bergen, Hudson County, New Jersey; ED 9-147, sheet 41, April 20, 1950; serial 498, 1203 26th Street, lines 20–25; NARA schedule 3382720.
Open source - RB.MINERO.DEATH1955New Jersey death index: Ilario and John Minero, June 1955
Image of official state index inspected; certificate not obtained; strong candidate identity
Open source - RB.NJ.LOCALITYCODESNew Jersey historical locality-code key, 1949–1984
Historical locality-code key copied at the New Jersey State Archives; image inspected for locality decoding
Open source - RB.CARMELINA.DEATH1960New Jersey death index, 1960 — Carmelina Minero
Original government-produced state death index; selected original page visually inspected
H–N PDF page 278; MINERO CARMELINA; state file 51288; death locality 16401; residence 16154; November 1960.
Open source - RB.CARMELINA.CENSUS19501950 Haledon census — Carmelina and Nellie Minero
Original federal census; full page and selected native image regions inspected
April 4, 1950; ED 16-90, sheet 9, serial 89, lines 9–10; 10 North 12th Street, Haledon; NARA schedule 3273553.
Open source - RB.LINDA.DEATH1964New Jersey death index, 1964 — Linda Becker
Original government-produced state death-index page; visually inspected
A–F PDF page 60 / archive leaf n59; BECKER LINDA; state file 59449; death and residence 09301; December 1964.
Open source - RB.LINDA.CENSUS19501950 Secaucus census — Linda Becker and Emma household
Two consecutive original federal census sheets; identity with card and imported Melinda remains unproved
April 15, 1950; ED 9-157, sheet 24 line 30 and sheet 25 line 1; household 232, house number 810, Secaucus; street unresolved; NARA schedule 3383001 and preceding leaf.
Open source - RB.BECKER.DEATH1951.CHECKNew Jersey death index, 1951 — bounded Becker-name check
Two original government index pages inspected for a bounded negative result
A–K PDF pages 45–46 / archive leaves n44–n45; complete Becker entries on these two pages.
Open source - RB.LOUISF.DEATH1990New Jersey annual death index, 1990 — Louis F. Minero candidate
Original government index; selected original page inspected; no parentage established
Printed page 783, archive leaf n323, PDF page 324, row 11; file 0031709; Louis F. Minero; May 31, 1990, age 80; born July 24, 1909; death and residence HUDS NOBET.
Open source - RB.NJ.ARCHIVES.ACCESS2026New Jersey State Archives — current historical vital-record access
Current official archival custody/access guidance; page read 27 October 2026
Vital Records section: ownership after December 31, 1950 and reference-microfilm holdings for 1951–1965 deaths.
Open source