Edoardo Chiarvesio

The year 2021 marks 110 years since my father’s uncle left his hometown of Fagagna, in the Friuli-Venezia-Giulia region of northeast Italy, to settle in Canada.

At 25 years of age, Edoardo Chiarvesio boarded the SS Chicago on March 19, 1911 in Le Havre, France. He arrived in New York City on March 29, 1911 and three days later, arrived in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario.

Edoardo worked as a miner in Sault Ste. Marie, Sudbury and finally settled in the town of Schumacher, Ontario in 1922 where he worked for Hollinger Mines, a gold mining company. In 1926, when he was 40 years of age, Edoardo decided to take his oath of allegiance and become a Canadian citizen. As a result of this decision, Edoardo was able to act as my father’s sponsor in Canada.

With a suitcase containing a few of his personal belongings, my dad – Mario Chiarvesio – arrived on board the MS Vulcania at Pier 21 in Halifax on October 21, 1951. From there, he boarded a train for Montreal and then another for his long journey to Timmins, Ontario where he met his uncle. In Timmins, my dad found a job shovelling snow at the local train station for 60 cents an hour.

This is how our family’s story in Canada began. Although Edoardo passed away in 1959 and never married or had any children, it was his pivotal decision more than 90 years ago to become a Canadian citizen that gave his nephew the opportunity to make a better life for himself and his family.

Thank you to the Canadian Museum of Immigration for not only helping us discover more information about Edoardo, but also providing us with a place to preserve his story.

Written by Linda Chiarvesio, Toronto, Ontario, June 2020