Table of Contents
John J. Casale papers
A Guide to the collection at the Connecticut Historical Society
Collection Overview |
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| Repository: | Connecticut Historical Society, Hartford, Connecticut |
| Creator : | Casale, John J. |
| Title : | John J. Casale Papers |
| Dates : | 1937-1954 |
| Extent : | 1 linear foot (2 boxes) |
| Location: | Ms 100623 |
| Language: | English |
| Language: | Italian |
Biographical Sketch
John J. Casale was born in 1905 in New York City to Gerardo and Catherine Casale. He earned his law degree in 1928 at Fordham Law School and opened a law office in Torrington in 1929. He married Catherine L. Sagarino (date unknown) and the couple had at least three children: Bebe (this may have been a nickname for a daughter named Ann), Louise and Gerard, who was born in 1943. The family lived in Torrington.
John served as judge of the Torrington City Court for ten years before being appointed to the Circuit Court in 1960. In 1972 he became judge of the Court of Common Pleas and in February of 1974 he became Superior Court judge before retiring in September of 1974. He also served as Litchfield County coroner from 1953 to 1960 and for a period in 1956 he took over as state attorney temporarily while the current State Attorney was sick.
He was active in Torrington society and politics and served as president of the Torrington Lions and Unico Clubs, was a member of the Order of Elks, an honorary member of the Italian American Society Club, president of the Litchfield County Bar Association, director of the Torrington Community Chest, and a member of the Republican Town Committee. He died in 1975 at the age of 70.
John had at least four brothers: Nick (born circa 1903), Michael (born 1908), Frank (born 1910) and Daniel (born 1917). There may have been another brother named Joe. He also had at least two sisters: Lillian, who may have gone by Susan (born 1911) and Anna (born 1913). Susan may have been a third sister.
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Scope and Content
The bulk of the collection falls into two categories: letters to John J. Casale and his personal desk diaries/day journals. The collection arrived in several plastic bags and has been organized chronologically, with the letters organized by sender. There is very little in the collection pertaining to Casale’s law career aside from one of his business cards and two advertisements for legal books. The letters occasionally mention Casale and his family but primarily contain news from his brothers and their families. Thus, in many respects the collection deals more with Casale’s brothers than it does with him.
The letters, either addressed to both John J. Casale and his wife Catherine or only to Casale, were written by four of Casale’s brothers and a friend of the family named Sal Mauro. Most of the letters were written between 1942 and 1945 during World War II (Mauro and three of Casale’s brothers served in the military, two overseas):
Frank Casale – 19 Letters (April 1942 to November 1947)
Daniel Casale – 15 Letters (December 1942 to July 1944; one undated)
Mike Casale – 13 Letters (December 1942 to November 1944)
Nick Casale – 6 Letters (November 1942 to April 1945)
Sal Mauro – 5 Letters (May 1943 to March 1945)
Many of the letters mention events that occurred in Casale’s family, including the birth of his son Gerard and his daughter Louise’s accident. Frank, who was unable to join the military due to problems with his eyes and ears, worked for Bowser Inc. and later the Eagle Lock Company. He often wrote asking why he hasn’t heard from anyone in the family and whether anything is wrong. A letter from Frank in March of 1947 congratulates Casale on a judge appointment.
Daniel, who was in the Army Air Force and served overseas in England and France, married shortly before leaving for England. He managed to meet up with his brother-in-law in England as well as his brother Mike. The birth of his son in 1944 was mentioned in his letters and letters from his brothers.
Mike, a member of the 74th Service Squadron, saw Bob Hope and Burgess Meredith filming in England in September of 1943 and wrote to his nieces and nephew thanking them for a Christmas gift in December of that year. He mentioned that things would be moving along on the invasion front “any time now” on July 29th, 1944. After getting out of the Army, Mike moved to Utica, New York and at least twice had to write to John asking for money while he looked for work.
Nick, according to his letters, never saw action. He had a hernia operation in 1944 and was discharged in May of 1945 due to his age (he was at least 42 at the time).
Included in the collection are Casale’s desk diaries/day books from 1938/1939, 1942-1945 and 1948. Entries are often sparse and cover cases he was involved with, telephone numbers of clients and money he received for his work. The 1943 book includes a letter from a husband begging his wife to take him back; an entry in the 1945 book shows that the wife eventually divorced the husband after he beat her.
In addition to the desk diaries/day books and letters, the collection contains a lengthy series of letters between Casale and members of Congress attempting to get an honorable discharge for his brother-in-law Dominicki (Donald) Sagarino. There are also documents involving the Order of the Elks and the Lions Club, financial papers (including several of Casale’s bank books), newspaper clippings (one in Italian), cards inviting Casale to dinners and social functions, and an assortment of miscellaneous letters and papers that include a letter about the Cub Scouts.
Miscellaneous artifacts in the collection include two of Casale’s car registrations, a package of adhesive bandages from the Prudential Insurance Co., an identification card for the Italian Labor Society Club (Casale was an honorary member), and an envelope containing five photographic negatives depicting an unidentified family that may be Casale’s. Papers and minutes from the Highland Lake Park Corporation (1947-1954), of which Casale was treasurer, are also included.
There is also a large envelope and letter from Gustav Kahler of “Danmark” that does not appear to have any connection to Casale.
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Restrictions
Access Restrictions
There are no restrictions on access to the collection.
Use Restrictions
Use of the material requires compliance with the Connecticut Historical Society's Research Center regulations.
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Subject Headings
Personal Names
Corporate Names
Subjects
Geographic Names
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Administrative Information
Preferred Citation
Item, Collection Title, Collection number (Box #, Folder #). Connecticut Historical Society, Hartford, Connecticut.
Processing Details
Collection was processed by Robert Johnston in 2008.
EAD Finding Aid created September 2014.
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Contents:
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Return to the Table of Contents Papers |
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| Box | Folder | ||||||||||
| 1 | 1 | Frank Casale Letters | |||||||||
| 1 | 2 | Daniel Casale Letters | |||||||||
| 1 | 3 | Mike Casale Letters | |||||||||
| 1 | 4 | Nick Casale Letters | |||||||||
| 1 | 5 | General Family Letters | |||||||||
| 1 | 6 | Sal Mauro Letters | |||||||||
| 1 | 7 | Dominicki (Donald) Sagarino Discharge Petition Letters | |||||||||
| 1 | 8 | Financial Papers | |||||||||
| 1 | 9 | Miscellaneous Letters and Papers | |||||||||
| 1 | 10 | Order of the Elks and Lions Club Documents | |||||||||
| 1 | 11 | Social Engagement Papers | |||||||||
| 1 | 12 | Newspaper Clippings | |||||||||
| 1 | 13 | Miscellaneous Artifacts | |||||||||
| 1 | 14 | Danmark Letter | |||||||||
| 1 | 15 | Highland Lake Park Corporation | |||||||||
| Box | Folder | ||||||||||
| 2 | 1 | General Assembly of Connecticut Pocket Manual, 1937 | |||||||||
| 2 | 2 | Desk Diary and Law Directory, 1939-1939 | |||||||||
| 2 | 3 | Desk Diary, 1942 | |||||||||
| 2 | 4 | Desk Diary, 1943 | |||||||||
| 2 | 5 | Desk Diary, 1944 | |||||||||
| 2 | 6 | Desk Diary, 1945 | |||||||||
| 2 | 7 | Desk Diary, 1948 | |||||||||