Pellerano Family

The Pellerano Family was one of the first Italian American families to make their way to the West Coast after their journey to America. Nicholas Pellerano attended Santa Clara University between 1888 and 1891. At the time, Santa Clara was an all-male Jesuit school. According to Brokers of Culture: Italian Jesuits in the American West, “Who Could Have Done Anything Like This in Italy'', “Of all the western colleges, Santa Clara offered the most elaborate commercial program in a distinctive hall fabricated expressly for that purpose” (McKevitt 220). The Pellerano Family was already wealthy, due to their generational wealth, so the Pellerano children and family members all had the opportunity to be educated in Jesuit institutions. 

Nicholas Pellerano was already one of the owners of the family business, Pellerano Pharmacy in Santa Clara, however, he decided after graduating that he wanted to go into the banking business. He got a job at the Bank of Italy, now called the Bank of America. The Bank of Italy as a whole was surrounded by the stigma and discrimination against Italian Americans. Many did not like the idea of supporting immigration and the Bank of Italy was doing just that. However, the founders of the bank, such as Nicholas, saw an opportunity to help their community. He, along with business partners, used their wealth to help support Italians who were struggling financially. The “Pellerano Papers” from the Santa Clara University Archives show record that, “Nicholas was at one point the vice-president of Bank of America in San Jose and when he died, he was on the advisory board of the San Jose office of Bank of America” (“Pellerano Family Papers”).  Nicholas had great success in his field after earning his degree. It was not common for Italian Americans to work in banking, but the Bank of Italy and its founders broke into the industry. 

Women at the time followed the tradition of being the homemakers. When the men of the families started immigrating to the United States, the women usually stayed behind in their home country. There, they took care of the families and helped with the men’s usual jobs since they were away. Then when the men had either found success in the New World or thought it was the best time for the family to come over, the mothers and children would make the treacherous journey overseas. Because of these traditions, the men were the ones with occupations. However, the women of the Pellerano Family were different. 

The women of the Pellerano Family had their own successes. The Pellerano Family was unique in the way the women were granted similar opportunities for success as the men were. Nicholas attended Santa Clara University when it was an all-male institution until “women were accepted as undergraduates and Santa Clara University became the first coeducational Catholic university in California” in 1961 (“Pellerano Family Papers”). Therefore, the women, such as his sisters, attended Notre Dame High School. Women’s education was not popular at the time but because of the wealth of the family, they had the opportunity to be educated. One of the most successful women in the family was Pedrina Pellerano. Pedrina followed in her brother’s footsteps and took over the family pharmacy business. She became one of the owners of the business and also helped her sisters get into the family business. It was rare for a business to be run by a woman so not only did she pave the way as an Italian American in pharmaceuticals, but she also helped the progression of women. Unlike Nicolas Pellerano, there is little documentation on Pedrina and the sisters of the Pellerano family. This was common at the time that only the men of the family had success, therefore their lives were recorded. Despite these injustices towards women, she set an example of how women could have just as much of an impact on the workforce as men.