On Joey's grandfather's draft card it says that he came from "Portenzo," which might be Potenza.
Probably Potenza. Those Irish clerks at Ellis Island couldn't even spell when they were sober
.
That info was from his World War II draft registration card, not immigration records. He may have filled out his draft card himself.
If this is true, it's not even hard to believe. How many times in their lives had they ever written their town name? They pronounce it Portenzo, so that's how they spell it. You'd think anyone from their own hometown could spell it, but you'd be wrong. They really were that uneducated and ignorant. Even today I've seen some of the older ones that only made it thru 5th grade, make kindergarten mistakes with their own names and towns.
