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John Pellillo (1884-1971) came to the United States from the province of Campobasso in Italy in <br />1912, leaving his wife Ersilia (1888-1981), their son Mansueto, and their daughter Adalgisa <br />(Ada). He came to Louisville a few years later through the encouragement of Italian friends, the <br />Perrellas, who were already here. A skilled shoemaker, he opened a shoe shop in the Jacoe <br />Store that is now the main building of the Historical Museum at 1001 Main Street and boarded <br />with the Tomeo family next door, according to Pellillo's daughter Ada. <br />John Pellillo acquired the house and store on Lot 10 in preparation for his family joining him in <br />the United States. Ersilia and their son Mansueto were able to come in 1922. A third child, <br />Evelyn, was born in 1923. In 1927, after some delays, Ada arrived in Louisville at the age of 15. <br />The following photo shows the Pellillo family in 1926, before Ada joined them from Italy: <br />(Ada's recollections of her family's house in 1927 were that the second story was being rented <br />out to the telephone company at the time. The telephone building, located a little south on the <br />same side of the street, had burned in a fire in 1926. After a new telephone building was built, <br />Ada and her brother were each given a bedroom on the second floor.) <br />John Pellillo operated a shoe store (the "Pellillo Shoe Shop") in the building on the south third <br />of Lot 10 that had been the restaurant. The store building had been built in such a way that it <br />came up to the south side of the house, but unlike the house it abutted directly on the <br />sidewalk. Pellillo sold and repaired men's shoes, including hard -toed miners' boots; mining <br />supplies; and children's shoes. <br />10 <br />