Nicodemo and Raffaela
Nick worked long, hard hours in America, saving all of his money so he could send for his little family and repay the money that his mother had loaned him. He became a miner and worked in West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Kentucky, and often mentioned the, times he was in
Steubenville, Ohio. It is possible that he even came to Colorado, lured we are sure, by the tales of gold and silver that were being discovered here. However, he returned to Now York when Raffaela and Dominick arrived. Nick had finally saved enough to bring them to the United States and they traveled under-much better conditions than he had. He was determined that they would not suffer the hardship of sailing in steerage as he
had
It is not known exactly when Raffaela and Dominick arrived but it was probably early in 1892. Raffaela's stepfather traveled with her and after the arrival they learned that Mother Jannelli
had died while they were in passage. Raffaela also became
separated from her step-father and they lost contact with one another in this country.
The family remained in the East for a time, but soon traveled to Colorado, by
train and settled in the Denver area. By this time Raffaela was pregnant again and she gave birth to a daughter, Angeline, in 1893. They remained in Denver
for at least a year and the two adults applied for their intention to become citizens on July 5, 1894 in Denver, Arapahoe, County. It is' possible that Nick worked as a minor in Cripple Creek during this time and also for the
railroad there. One of the mine owner that he worked for would never let him go home to Denver on the
weekends because he though Nick would not return in time for work on Monday. Nick put up with this for awhile, but he had been separated from his family for too many years already and he soon quit the job. He hopped a freight train bound for Denver, but the train stopped in Palmer Lake and his car was put on a
siding and he was left there. When he realized what had happened, he started the long
walk to Denver. Along the way, he purchased some cheese and crackers to stave off his hunger, but he would not spend the little. money that he had on anything more substantial
as Mamma needed the money for the babies and he would do without. This is
just an example of how Nick and Raffaela always made sacrifices for each other and
their family.
While Nick was working on the railroad in Cripple Creek, he and another man did a bit of prospecting on the side. They lucked out and found a good, rich vein of ore. As Nick did not read or write English (and often had difficulty understanding the language) it
was decided hat the other man would do the filing on the claims. For one reason or another, Nick was cheated out of his
half of the claim and, although he continued to prospect, he was never able to find another strike that was worth anything. The
Belluchie's were not to become one of the millionaires of Cripple Creek, worse luck for us all.
|