Antonio Modesto Cunico & Nathalina Bianchi

Antonio Modesto Cunico was born July 9 1865 and Nathalina Eleanora Bianchi was born 19 Jun 1864. Both were born in Asiago. Antonio was part of the mass exodus from Italia in the late 1800’s and he came to the United States in 1889. He arrived at Ellis Island and went to work in the mines in Hurley, Wisconsin. From there, he went to the Gogebic Plains of Michigan, and eventually settled in Illinois.

After Nathalina died, he married Helma Theolind Tillson. Both Antonio and Helma are buried in the Mt. Calvary Cemetery in St. Marguerites, Iowa.

Christopher Modesto Cunico was born on 15 Sep 1894 in Pana, Illinois. His parents were both born in Asiago, Vicenza in the Veneto Region of Italia.

Christopher Modesto Cunico

Christopher Modesto Cunico & Louella Elizabeth Barth

My name is Barth Cunico and I grew up in a small town called Marseilles, Illinois. It’s about 65 miles Southwest of Chicago. I lived in Denver, Colorado for almost 30 years but now I'm back in Marseilles.

I'm very interested in my lineage and my roots are Italian, German and English. My paternal grandfather was Italian (CUNICO), my paternal grandmother was German (BARTH), and my maternal grandparents were both from the Campbellsville area of Kentucky or English (COMBS, ADAMS/BAILEY).

Many of the Cunico's I write to think I'm looking for information about my own family.... not true. I'm interested in any and every Cunico in the world because I can tell you for a fact, anyone who spells their name C-U-N-I-C-O  has roots in the Asiago plateau (L'Altopiano).

Below are photos of me as a  19 year old grunt, point man, part-time tunnel rat, combat infantryman. I served with the 2nd platoon of Alpha Company (Alpha Avengers/Assasins), 2nd Battalion, 501st Brigade, 101st Airborne Infantry Division (Screaming Eagles) in Phu Bai, South Vietnam. I celebrated my 20th birthday there! Vietnam was truly a life altering experience, especially for a 19 year old kid from a small town. I saw a lot of action during my 1 year assignment, and am thankful that I returned from the war in one piece! I'm extremely proud of my military service!