George A. Scigliano ( ; 1874–1906) was an influential leader in Boston's Italian-American community. As a member of the

Boston Common Council The Boston City Council is the legislative branch of government for the city of Boston, Massachusetts. It is made up of 13 members: 9 district representatives and 4 at-large members. Councillors are elected to two-year terms and there is no l ...

and

Massachusetts legislature The Massachusetts General Court (formally styled the General Court of Massachusetts) is the state legislature of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The name "General Court" is a hold-over from the earliest days of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, w ...

, he worked to improve the lives of Italian immigrants.

Biography

George A. Scigliano was born on August 26, 1874, in Boston's North End. His parents were immigrants from the town of

Scigliano Scigliano is a small town and ''comune located in the hills'' in the province of Cosenza in the Calabria region of southern Italy. It is the birthplace of 16th century Italian humanist Giovanni Valentino Gentile. See also * Savuto river * Geo ...

in the

Cosenza Cosenza (; local dialect: ''Cusenza'', ) is a city in Calabria, Italy. The city centre has a population of approximately 70,000; the urban area counts more than 200,000 inhabitants. It is the capital of the Province of Cosenza, which has a populati ...

province of

Calabria , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...

southern Italy Southern Italy ( it, Sud Italia or ) also known as ''Meridione'' or ''Mezzogiorno'' (), is a macroregion of the Italian Republic consisting of its southern half. The term ''Mezzogiorno'' today refers to regions that are associated with the peop ...

. After attending the Eliot School and the

Boston University School of Law Boston University School of Law (Boston Law or BU Law) is the law school of Boston University, a private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. It is consistently ranked among the top law schools in the United States and considered an eli ...

he was admitted to the bar in 1899. In 1900 he was elected to the Boston Common Council, where he served three one-year terms. In 1903 he was elected to the Massachusetts legislature, where he served until his death in 1906. While in office he introduced legislation to regulate the loosely run "immigrant banks" which were notorious for cheating poorly educated Italian immigrants out of their savings. He also filed a bill to abolish the exploitative ''padrone'' system of employment, in which unsuspecting immigrants were charged exorbitant fees for jobs and housing and bilked out of most of their earnings. He founded the Italian Protective League of Boston, a benevolent society for new immigrants; helped form the first Italian labor union in the North End; worked to defeat a bill that would have required workers to be naturalized; helped establish a cemetery for Italians in Forest Hills; and established October 12 as

Columbus Day Columbus Day is a national holiday in many countries of the Americas and elsewhere, and a federal holiday in the United States, which officially celebrates the anniversary of Christopher Columbus's arrival in the Americas on October 12, 1492. ...

in Massachusetts. He also wrote and spoke eloquently in defense of Italians at a time when they were often characterized as an undesirable or criminal class. For example, in 1901, when Senator

George Frisbie Hoar George Frisbie Hoar (August 29, 1826 – September 30, 1904) was an American attorney and politician who represented Massachusetts in the United States Senate from 1877 to 1904. He belonged to an extended family that became politically prominen ...

stated publicly that Italian and Portuguese immigrants were "absolutely unfit" for U.S. citizenship, Scigliano's rebuttal was published in several Boston newspapers.

The Italian, a people descended from the ancient Roman dynasty which conquered all of the then known world and educated it; which entered and conquered England at a time when the ancestors of our able senator were roaming savages, opened up their country and taught them the meaning of citizenship as comprehended by a civilized people, has been violently attacked by him...

In recognition of his service to Italian Americans, Scigliano was made a cavalier of the crown by King

Victor Emmanuel III of Italy Victor Emmanuel III (Vittorio Emanuele Ferdinando Maria Gennaro di Savoia; 11 November 1869 – 28 December 1947) was King of Italy from 29 July 1900 until his abdication on 9 May 1946. He also reigned as Emperor of Ethiopia (1936–1941) and K ...

in 1905. He died of a kidney ailment in

Millbury, Massachusetts Millbury, officially the Town of Millbury, is a town in Worcester County, Massachusetts. Located within Blackstone Valley, the population in Millbury was 13,831 at the 2020 United States Census. History Millbury was first settled by Europeans ...

on June 17, 1906, at the age of 31. He was survived by his wife and three children. His funeral procession was one of the largest in the history of the North End. After his death, North End residents lobbied to build a monument to him in the historic

North Square ''North Square'' is a British television drama series written and created by Peter Moffat, and broadcast by Channel 4 from 18 October to 20 December 2000. Starring an ensemble cast, including Phil Davis, Rupert Penry-Jones, Helen McCrory and Ke ...

and rename it Scigliano Square. Instead, the North End Park near

Copp's Hill Copp's Hill is an elevation in the historic North End of Boston, Massachusetts. It is bordered by Hull Street, Charter Street and Snow Hill Street. The hill takes its name from William Copp, a shoemaker who lived nearby. Copp's Hill Burying G ...

was renamed Scigliano Park in his honor.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Scigliano, George A. People from North End, Boston American people of Italian descent Massachusetts Democrats Massachusetts lawyers Boston University School of Law alumni 1874 births 1906 deaths