Guiglielmin Peraldo immigrated to America to earn money for his family back home in Piedicavallo, Italy. He was one of several stonemasons in his hometown in Piedmont, on the Swiss border. Unfortunately, he lost his life July 27, 1892, in a fall from a high stone column while working on a railroad trestle at Gauley Bridge, W.Va.

Peraldo’s death left his large family in Italy with no breadwinner. His son, 9-year-old Mauro, followed his father’s footsteps and learned the stonemason trade, along with many of his relatives in the small community. Mauro and his family arrived in this country in January 1910, shortly after the devastating fire that destroyed Bramwell’s downtown on January 7 of that year. There was much work as the town rebuilt.