Anthony Martin Sinatra (born Saverio Antonino Martino Sinatra;[1]:22Italian pronunciation:[saˈvɛːrjoantoˈniːnomarˈtiːnosiˈnaːtra]; May 4, 1892 – January 24, 1969) was an Italian-American Hoboken city fireman, professional boxer, and bar owner. He was the father of entertainer Frank Sinatra.
Biography
The ancestral house of the Sinatra Family
Sinatra was born on 4 May 1892 at Catania, to Francesco Sinatra (1857–1947) and Rosa Saglimbeni (1857–1928). He was their 6th child.[2]
On December 21, 1903, he emigrated to New York City from Catania, Sicily, on the SS Città di Milano with his mother Rosa Saglimbeni Sinatra, his sisters Angela and Dorotea, and his brother. His father, Francesco, born in Lercara Friddi,[3] was already in the city working in a pencil factory earning eleven dollars a week, and his mother went on to own and operate a small grocery shop. Sinatra himself apprenticed as a shoemaker, until he started prize-fighting, calling himself Marty O'Brien, because Italians were not welcomed in boxing.[4][5][bettersourceneeded]
On February 14, 1913, Sinatra eloped with Natalie Garaventa[1]:25 (also known as "Dolly"), in Jersey City, New Jersey, as Dolly's parents refused to host a wedding and did not approve of Marty, as he was illiterate, inferior at boxing, and was a Sicilian, whereas the Garaventa family were Ligurian.[citation needed]
Sinatra continued his boxing career until he broke his wrists after 30 professional fights. He then attempted to find marine work but was rejected due to asthma. Dolly helped him find work as a fireman, and he was eventually appointed to the Hoboken Fire Department in 1927, where he attained the rank of Captain without having to take any formal exams.[citation needed]
While still a captain in the fire department, Sinatra and his wife opened a tavern, called Marty O'Brien's. With sufficient income, the family of three moved to a three-bedroom apartment, only a few blocks away from Monroe Street, but well out of Little Italy, at 703 Park Avenue.[citation needed]
↑Brooks, Patricia; Brooks, Jonathan (2006). "Chapter 8: East L.A. and the Desert". Laid to Rest in California: a guide to the cemeteries and grave sites of the rich and famous. Guilford, CT: Globe Pequot Press. p.245. ISBN978-0762741014. OCLC70284362.
