Tewksbury Woman Trying to Unearth the Mystery of Federico Alleva

TEWKSBURY, MA -- What began as a project for her son's Cub Scout badge has morphed into a mission for Lori Hewett of Tewksbury and her daughter to find out: Who was Federico Alleva?

Alleva's granite cross grave marker with medallion below is located on a walking path off Livington Street, Hewett says. To the left of the path are portable bathrooms and to the right is Alleva's grave.

"I don't know why, but I felt drawn to this headstone,'' Hewitt wrote. "Could someone please help me find some information about this man?'' she asks.

Alleva was born Sept. 25, 1876 and died three days after his 24th birthday on Sept. 26, 1900, based on the inscription on his marker. A records index shows that Alleva, a laborer from Italy, was single when he died of "Phthisis" or pulmonary tuberculosis.

Others buried in the cemetery died of such things as: senility, heart disease, cancer, tuberculosis, meningitis and old age.

In searching for Alleva's name, little information is available, but a history of the Pines Cemetery in Tewksbury pops up. The cemetery is one of several in the town that is part of the Tewksbury State Hospital legacy, a former almshouse, tuberculosis and polio infirmary, as well as a medical facility for the poor, according to www.findagrave.com.

There are more than 10,000 bodies buried in the cemetery, a two-acre site. The cemetery operated from 1854-1930, though the records for the first 30 years have not been located, the website states.

Many of the poor Irish are in the cemetery, as are infants and those who died of contagious diseases. An occasional headstone or granite marker can still be found, but the primary marker is the metal medallion of a cross encircled in leaves as is seen beneath Alleva's granite cross.