Benedetto John Bello Sr. ^{1 2}

   Other names for Benedetto were Bennie Bello Sr. ⁵ and Benny Bello Sr..^{3 4}

   FamilySearch ID: LDSW-5N2.

  Noted events in his life were:

1. He immigrated on 19 Mar 1914 to New York, New York, NY. ⁶ Name: Benedetto Bello (with wife Anna)
Arrival Date: 19 Mar 1914
Birth Date: abt 1897
Birth Location: Italy
Birth Location Other: meletelle
Age: 17
Gender: Male
Ethnicity/ Nationality: Italian (South) (Italian)
Port of Departure: Naples, Italy
Port of Arrival: New York, New York
Ship Name: America.

2. Military Draft: 12 Sep 1918, Norristown, Montgomery, PA. ³ From his World War I draft registration card on Sept 12, 1918:
Benny Bello
Residence: Norristown, Montg. Pa.
Age: 19 DOB: March 21 1899
Born in Italy.
Not a U.S. Citizen
Employed: iron worker at National Ironworks in Norristown, Pa.
Nearest relative: Theresa Bello, Montella, Italy.
Brown eyes, black hair.

3. Census in 1930 in Plymouth Twp., Montgomery, PA. ⁵ The 1930 Census recorded Bennie Bello, 33, living with wife Anna, 23; daughter Jeane, 4; and son John, 2. Everyone was born in Pennsylvania except Bennie in Italy. Both Bennie and Anna's parents were born in Italy. His occupation was displain in fireworks company.

4. Census in 1940 in Elkton, Cecil, MD. ⁷ The 1940 Census recorded in Elkton: Bennie Bello, occupation fireworks manufacturer own business, 43, living with wife Anna, 33; Jean, 13; John, 11; Dolores, 10; Theresa, 9; and Rose, 6. In 1935 everyone lived in Newcastle, Delaware. Everyone was born in Pennsylvania except Bennie in Italy, and Rose in Delaware. Bennie and Anna's parents were born in Italy.

5. He was employed in 1950 in Elkton, Cecil, MD. Benny owned the Mid State Fireworks factory.

6. Newspaper: Morning Herald: Three Injured in Fireworks Plant Blast, 26 May 1962, Hagerstown, Washington, MD. ⁸ Elkton, Md. (AP) -- Three employees were injured Friday, none seriously, in an explosion and fire which destroyed a small fireworks plant near Elkton.
John Bello of Elkton, who owns the Mid-State Fireworks Manufacturing Corp. with his father, said all 11 of the company's buildings were destroyed in a chain reaction like a string of giant firecrackers "one right after the other."
Bello estimated his loss at $25,000.
State and city police said the first explosion at 1:40 p.m. was set off by some fireworks which caught fire while drying outside in the sun. Bello said it was impossible to determine the cause.
The three employees injured -- the company employs only 10 altogether -- were taken to Union Hospital in Elkton.
State Police said Mildred Henrietta Paris, 54, was admitted with severe hand cuts, burns of the right hand and powder burns over her entire body, but her condition was not serious.

7. Newspaper: Daily Times: Safety Checks At Fireworks Plants Called, 29 Apr 1969, Salisbury, Wicomico, MD. ⁹ North East, Md. (AP) -- A special inspection team requested by Gov. Marvin Mandel will start checking safety standards today in the wake of three deaths at one of the five fireworks plants in Cecil County.
Three other persons were also injured Monday when a blast and fire leveled the main building of the Mid-State Fireworks Manufacturing Co.
Killed were Daphne Dorsey of Pleasant Hills, Md., Martha Paxton and Mae M. Wooten, both of Elkton. They were inside the building and burned so badly a county medical examiner called it a "partial cremation."
Injured in the blast were Benito Bello Sr., 71, owner of the plant, and his two sons, John and Benito Jr. John was listed in very serious condition with burns over much of his body. the father was recovering from a shoulder injury and Benito Jr. was in satisfactory condition with burns on the face and arms.
John H. Farrell, county fire investigator, said the plant was being closed for the time being and its manufacturing license suspended.
Mandel called on Henry Miller, director of the Department of Labor and Industry, to dispatch a safety team for an "immediate investigation" of procedures at the plants.
The explosion was the second fatal mishap at the Mid-State plant this year. Last January, two persons were killed and two injured.
The first marshal's office normally carries out safety inspections at fireworks plants, but Mandel called on the Department of Labor and Industry to carry out the extra check, which the governor said would be "beneficial."
The sale of fireworks is illegal in Maryland but the plants have continued to operate as manufacturers for out-of-state dealers and regulated fireworks displays which are allowed by special permit in Maryland.

8. Newspaper: Standard-Speaker: photo: Fireworks Blast, 29 Apr 1969, Hazleton, Luzerne, PA. ¹⁰ Explosion and fire left only concret blocks amid the rubble yesterday to mark the place where three women were killed at the Mid-State Fireworks Co. near Elkton, Md. Three months ago, two others died in a similar explosion in a building that stood near this same spot.

Benedetto married Anna Marie Labik, daughter of MIchael Labik and Unknown. (Anna Marie Labik was born on 24 Aug 1907 in , , PA ⁵ and died on 1 Jun 1976 in Elkton, Cecil, MD.)