People, South Napa County
The Braghetta Family
Nov
By Evan Darlington
Isadore C. Braghetta and his family seem to have been important figures in the Napa Valley. Braghetta was born in Switzerland in 1861 and came to the Napa Valley in 1881.
On November 26, 1888 at the Superior Court of the County of Napa, Isadore become a citizen of the United States of America. Four years after Isadore become a citizen, Guiseppina his wife, who also went by Josephine, came to Napa. We do not know if they got married here in the United States or if they were married before Isadore left Switzerland.
Isador Braghetta Naturalization Records
After working on Holly Oak Ranch together, they both retired in 1912 and moved to 2105 Main Street. From what I can gather, they moved the house from another location to 2105 Main Street. A funny aspect of this story is that a person who owned property down the street, a man named LaFayette Tunison, was a house mover. I am wondering, did the Braghettas hire Tunison to move their house?
The Braghettas had three daughters: Elizabeth, Olga, and Mary. The family seems to have been very popular in and about town. In 1932, Elizabeth was thrown a farewell party for her many years of service working at PG&E. On February 15, 1932, The Napa Daily Register did a write-up about the party. That same year Elizabeth was again written about in the newspaper about entertaining Miss Alice McKenzie and Mr. Lawrence Morrison at the Main Street house, as the newspaper describes them as a very well-known Napa pair. In February 1922, the Napa Daily Register described Olga as a popular young lady with a write up about being honored by her friends for her birthday.
Napa Daily Register, February 15, 1932.
Isadore and Guiseppina lived in the 2105 Main Street house for over 50 years. Elizabeth and Olga got married and moved out, but Mary and her husband Thomas Jessiman, Jr. lived with them. The four lived in the house together until 1957. Guiseppina passed away first and couple of months later, Isadore passed. Mary and Thomas lived at the house for a couple more years until they moved.