917 LaFarge Ave Historic Survey - Laserfiche WebLink

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Resource Number: 5BL 7998 Temporary Resource Number: 157508405008 Damiana family do not appear in the Louisville directories for 1916 or 1918, which are the only residential directories for Louisville for the period between 1910 and 1920. A Damiana cousin, Carlo Damiana, also settled in Louisville. He stayed in the town, as did his descendants. By 1921, and perhaps earlier, Damiana sold 917 La Farge to "Tony" Porta. Antonio Porta was the owner of 928 La Farge and resident of that house with his wife, Libra. Like the Damiana family, the Portas were among Louisville's earliest Italian residents. More can be read about them in the report on 928 La Farge. Antonio and Libra Porta had four sons, and evidence suggests that Porta purchased both 917 La Farge and 925 La Farge for one of his sons and his son's descendants. At least two other sons would also live nearby, but not in Jefferson Place and not as close as across the street from where the parents lived. Many current area residents of the Louisville area are descended from the Antonio and Libra Porta family and in particular from the Henry Sr. and Edith Porta family that was associated with 917 and 925 La Farge. This property was inherited by Antonio and Libra Porta's son, Henry Porta Sr. This Henry Porta (1873-1954), married Edith (Ida) Zarini (1878-1960) in 1897. Both had been born in Italy. Like his father, Henry worked as a coal miner. Edith Zarini grew up just down the street at 824 La Farge (5BL7992) in Jefferson Place as the daughter of Joseph and Virginia Zarini. At the time of the 1900 census, Henry Jr. and Edith Zarini and their first two children were living with her family at 824 La Farge. An obituary from 1937 shows that Henry's mother, Libra Porta, and Edith's mother, Virginia Zarini, died close in time to one another, and there was a double funeral for them at the St. Louis Church, which at the time was located close to their homes, at 833 La Farge. The obituary goes on to state: "Both the Zarini and Porta families are very popular in the Louisville district where they had been residents for years." The following photo from the Louisville Historical Museum shows Henry Porta Sr. on the left in the back row with his brother, John Porta, next to him and Santino Biella (owner of 825 La Farge in Jefferson Place) on the right in the back row (the two seated men are Nick DiFrancia and Celeste Romano): Listings in the 1900 census indicate that the Henry and Edith Porta family was living at 925 La Farge, next to the Damiana family at 917 La Farge. It is believed that later, however, this branch of the Porta family also lived at 917 La Farge. By 1920, Henry and Edith had a number of children, but it cannot be determined which of the two houses they were living in; they could have lived in both. 3