Antonio Marella Villavicencio

Dr. Antonio Marella Villavicencio was the youngest child of Gliceria Marella and Eulalio Villavicencio. He was born in Taal, Batangas on Feb 7, 1894 and died on Feb 6, 1920.

At the age of 22 years old, Antonio applied for a passport with the United States of America (The Philippines was a colony of the USA at that time) for the purpose of going to Japan to study for 2 years. He indicated in the application that his occupation was a Physician. It is interesting to note that his Cedula with no. 126659 was issued in Davao, Mindanao on Jan 21, 1916. It appears that some family members lived in Davao during 1915 - 1916. My father, Edgardo Ilagan Villavicencio was born in Davao on Nov 27, 1915 to Sixto Villavicencio and Delfina Ilagan. Antonio is the youngest brother of Sixto and they have an age gap of 7 years. Below is a digital copy of his application for a passport.

Antonio's Application for a passport - April 3, 1916
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The image below shows the affidavits of Manuel Villavicencio and Antonio de las Alas in connection with the application for a passport of Antonio. Included in the application is the picture of Antonio.

Affidavit Included with Application for Passport
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Antonio applied for another passport on August 16, 1917 for the purpose of going to Spain or the Argentine Republic for a month to study medicine. The digital image below indicates Antonio's occupation as a Doctor of Medicine. .

Antonio's Application for a passport - Aug 16, 1917
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The next image contains the affidavits of F.L.Brigham of Washington D.C. and Jose Africa of New Haven , Connecticut in connection with Antonio's application for a passport. It also shows the request for the passport to be sent to 156 West 24th St., New York City which could be the address where Antonio held his medical practice. I visited this address in April 2011 but unfortunately the location is now occupied by the parking driveway of the Marriott Hotel.

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The next image is still part of the passport application of Antonio. It originated from the Office of the Provost Marshal General, War Department and which states that it has no objection for the issuance of a passport to Antonio.

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Antonio left the port of Buenos Aires on March 18, 1918 aboard the SS "Crofton Hall" where he was employed as a Doctor as indicated in the manifest shown below. The ship arrived in New York on April 16, 1918 where he was paid off and discharged. At that time he was 24 years old with a weight of 130 lbs. The manifest indicates his race and nationality as "Philippines".

Manifest of the SS "Crofton Hall" indicating Antonio as Doctor of the Ship
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The next image is a digital copy of the World War I Draft Registration Card of Antonio with serial no. 4409 and dated May 7, 1918. As indicated in the card, Antonio's position on the SS "Crofton Hall" was a Ship Surgeon. At that time he was 24 years old, single, 5 ft 6 inches tall and weighing 110 lbs. The address -11 Broadway, NY, NY could possibly be the location of the office of the ship company.

Antonio's World War I Draft Registration Card Serial No. 4409.

On June 24, 1918 Antonio was issued an emergency passport by the American Embassy in Buenos Aires to enable him to proceed to the United States. The image below shows the digital copy of the passport. It indicates that Antonio left the Philippines on April 15, 1916 and he had been temporarily residing in Buenos Aires. It also indicates that he was a bearer of Insular Passport No. 390 issued by the Secretary of State on August 17, 1917.

Emergency Passport of Antonio Issued in Buenos Aires on June 24, 1918
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 The next page of Antonio's Emergency Passport states that his Seaman's Identification Card No. 21741 was issued by the Collector of Customs on May 3, 1918. His passport permit was issued by Arthur J. M. Helly, member of the local Board, War Department, New York City on May 7, 1918 and his registration certificate  was issued by Precinct 14, New York City on May 7, 1918.

Emergency Passport Page 2
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On June 27, 1918, Antonio left the port of Buenos Aires aboard the SS "Crofton Hall" and arrived in New York on July 26, 1918. As stated in the manifest below, his services as a surgeon was engaged from New York from the time it departed on May 5, 1918 until he was discharged and paid off upon arrival at the port of New York. It may be interesting to note in the manifest that his race is listed as a US citizen while his nationality is the Philippines.

Ship Manifest of SS "Crofton Hall" from Buenos Aires to New York  (June 27, 1918 to July 26, 1918)
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The next image is a another World War I Draft registration card with serial no. 5252 dated Nov 20 1918 under local board no. 100.  It also shows the name of Gliceria Marella on the card..

World War I Draft Registration Card

The next image is another manifest of the SS "Crofton Hall" where Antonio was employed as a surgeon from the time it departed New York on Dec 12, 1918. The vessel returned to New York from the port of Buenos Aires on May 6, 1919. The list shows his weight as 120 lbs and his race as a US citizen.

SS "Crofton" Manifest - May 6, 1919
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The next image is a manifest of aliens employed as members of the crew of the vessel SS "Crofton Hall". Antonio was employed as a surgeon of the vessel when it departed New York on May 29, 1919. From the port of Buenos Aires, the vessel returned to New York on August 22, 1919 where he was paid off for his services and discharged. Antonio's name was no. 20 on the manifest. The list shows his age as 25 years old, 5'6" in height, belonging to the Spanish race and of Filipino nationality.

Antonio employed as a surgeon on the SS "Crofton Hall" from May 29, 1919 to Aug 22, 1919
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The next image is another application for a passport dated Aug 30 1919. It indicates that he left the Philippines on April 15, 1916 and was temporarily living in New York. His passport with no. 4590 was issued on Nov 21, 1918. The purpose of his application was to return to the Philippines within 2 months. He expected to sail out of New York on Sept 8, 1919. While enroute to the Philippines, he intended to visit Canada, Japan, Hongkong and China.

Passport Application - Aug 30, 1919
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This page 3 of his passport application indicates Antonio's residence as the Willard Hotel located at 252 West 76th St., New York City. This hotel still exists today - April 15, 2011.

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The next image is a digital copy of the 1920 Census of the USA done on Jan 9, 1920 for the county of Manhattan, NY. Antonio appears on no. 34 in the list and his place of abode was at West 95th St. It shows his age as 25 years old, single, with year of immigration to the USA in 1917 and place of birth in the Philippines. It shows that he could read and write, spoke English and his mother tongue as well as his parents' were all Spanish. His profession was listed as a doctor in the medical industry.

1920 USA Census for Manhattan with Antonio listed as no. 34
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It is unfortunate that Dr. Antonio Marella Villavicencio died at a young age of 25 years old on Feb 6, 1920, a day before his 26th birthday on Feb 7. He is currently buried at the La Loma Cemetery. It is interesting to note that his gravestone marker states he was born on Feb 18, 1895.