Conditions Governing Use

Permission to publish or reproduce is required from the copyright holder. For more information, please see the Permissions and Copyright page on the West Virginia and Regional History Center website.

Conditions Governing Access

No special access restriction applies.

Preferred Citation

[Description and date of item], [Box/folder number], Thoney Pietro, Contractor, Papers, A&M 2836, West Virginia and Regional History Center, West Virginia University Libraries, Morgantown, West Virginia.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Initial gift from DelSardo, Mary (thru Sue Ann Hyer), 1982/08/13

Biographical / Historical

Thoney Pietro, born Ferdinando Pitassi in Ateleta, Italy on March 1, 1877, arrived at Ellis Island in 1896. First living in Pittsburgh, Pietro met and married his first wife, Josephine Bell, who also immigrated from Italy with her family. Upon moving to Morgantown, they had one daughter, Mary Virginia Pietro, born 1907. Josephine died in 1908. He married his second wife, Blanche, who died in 1909. He and his third wife, Mary, had one child, George Henry Pietro, born 1910.

Pietro is noted for his work in construction, pavement, and excavation in West Virginia, Pennsylvania, and Maryland. In his personal time, Pietro promoted Italian culture and language in the community- he was a founding member of the Junior Sons of Italy Organization in Morgantown and a key player in the enactment of Italian language classes in schools. In 1934, he was awarded a medal by the Italian government for what was translated to, "Diffusion of Italian Culture to Foreign," all of which is noted throughout the collection. Throughout his life in Morgantown, Pietro built two homes– including a castle, now belonging to the Good Counsel Friary, on Tyrone Road. Pietro died on July 21, 1972.

Scope and Contents

This collection holds the personal and business papers of Thoney Pietro, a Morgantown, WV contractor and president of the Thoney Pietro Company. This collection highlights the social and business aspects and built landscape of Morgantown, WV and its surrounding areas during the early to mid 20th century. The collection includes personal and business correspondence, legal documents, time books and checkbook ledgers from the Pietro Company, business cards, blueprints, stock certificates, photographs, documents pertaining to the Sons of Italy Organization, the WVU Libraries' Bust of Dante Alighieri, Thoney Pietro Company Stockholders, and the implementation of teaching the Italian language in schools, among others. Other items of interest include correspondence with Italian prisoners of war during the Second World War, to people of interest such as Jennings Randolph, and letters to friends and family in Italy.

The addendum of 2004/01, held in boxes 7 through 11 and 13 and oversize folders, includes mostly business papers of the Pietro Company, as well as some family papers of and historical documentations of Morgantown, WV. Notable items include the blueprints and specifications of the Construction of his Pennsylvania Avenue residence, business correspondence, and photographs of construction projects.

The addendum of 2013/01, held in box 12 and an oversize folder, includes an accounting ledger, which contains various financial documents, legal papers, and blueprints. Items of interest include drawings and blueprints for the Pietro Castle.

The addendum of 2021-2022, in box 14, includes envelopes, cards, and business material.

Arrangement

During reprocessing in 2022, the arrangement of the collection was altered to improve housing of the materials for long term preservation. In order to help users who have citations from prior to this reprocessing, we have below a list matching the new boxes with the previous ("old") box content.

Box 1: Old Box 1 and Old Box 5 (except folder 3 containing the State v. Pietro and other correspondence which is in Box 3 now).

Box 2: Old Box 2 (except the unfoldered hardback ledger, now in Box 5).

Box 3: Old Box 3, and Old box 5, folder 3.

Box 4: Old Box 4.

Box 5: Ledger from Old Box 2.

Box 6: Old Box 6.

Box 7: Old Box 1 ADD 2004 (except for the plans for Penn. Ave. House, now in oversized folders).

Box 8: Old Box 2 ADD 2004.

Box 9: Old Box 3 ADD 2004.

Box 10: Old Box 4 ADD 2004.

Box 11: Old Box 5 ADD 2004.

Box 12: Old Box 1 ADD 2013 (except one map moved to oversize folder), and content from unnumbered OS box (added as Folder 2).

Box 13: Castle Blueprints (ADD 2004)

Box 14: new addendum from 2021-2022

Oversize folders: Old Oversized Box with no number [from original accession], plus additions of oversized material from previous boxes.

Separated Material

The following books were forwarded to Harold Forbes for processing: Wheeling telephone directory (1934), Charleston telephone directory (1934-1935), Morgantown telephone directory (1955), West Virginia tourism report (1937), and "Italian-American Who's Who" (1935).

Subjects and Indexing Terms

• Account books
• Builders and contractors.
• Italian immigrants - Sons of Italy.
• Morgantown (W. Va.)
• Order Sons of Italy in America
• Pietro Brothers
• Pietro family
• Pietro, Thoney, 1877-1972