Ferruccio Coacci
Born: 1892, Ancona, Italy
Nationality: Italian
Ethnicity:
Occupation: Shoemaker
Migration: Immigrated to US 1911
Affiliation: Anarchist
An anarchist militant associated with Luigi Galleani and the newspaper Cronaca Sovversiva. He lived in Bridgewater, Massachusetts, with his wife and two children. Arrested in 1918 and subsequently became a suspect—though not regarded as such by most historians—in the robberies and murder for which Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti were later arrested. Deported on April 18, 1920, and was joined by his family in Italy.
According to journalist Eugene Lyons, at his home in Italy Coacci possessed anarchist literature on bomb-making and described himself as “a terrorist of the Galleani school.” In October 1921, he migrated to Argentina, where he became involved in anarchist “expropriations” and bombings and was associated with Severino Di Giovanni. In 1930, he was arrested in Buenos Aires with two other Italian anarchists in connection with the robbery of a bus company, but released for lack of evidence.
Sources: INS file 54379/396; FBI file OG 387205; CPC busta 1382; Eugene Lyons, Assignment in Utopia; Paul Avrich, Sacco and Vanzetti: The Anarchist Background.
Umberto Colarossi
Born: 1894, Carpineto, Italy
Nationality: Italian
Ethnicity:
Occupation: Bookkeeper
Migration: Immigrated to US 1913
Affiliation: Anarchist
Became an anarchist shortly after arriving in the United States; associated with Luigi Galleani and Cronaca Sovversiva. From 1917 to 1919, he resided in Mexico in order to avoid the U.S. military draft. He was arrested in Chicago in May 1919 and deported on July 15, 1920.
In September 1921, he wrote a letter to an Italian government representative renouncing his previous radicalism. He was inducted into the Italian military in 1922 and later became a manager for the Singer Corporation in Italy. In 1929, the Fascist government reported that he demonstrated loyalty to the regime.
Sources: INS file 54616/214; CPC busta 1400; Paul Avrich, Sacco and Vanzetti: The Anarchist Background.
Sam Colbus
Born: 1879, Russia
Nationality: Russian
Ethnicity:
Occupation: Miner
Migration: Immigrated to US 1910
Affiliation: Union of Russian Workers
His wife and two children remained in Russia when he emigrated to the US. Joined the Union of Russian Workers in 1919 and was arrested during the first Palmer Raids in November 1919 in Fairmont, West Virginia. Deported aboard the Buford on December 21, 1919.
Sources: INS file 54709/592.
Amy Colyer (née Withall)
Born: 1881, London, England
Nationality: British
Ethnicity: English
Occupation: Housewife
Migration: Immigrated to US 1915
Affiliation: Communist Party of America
A university-educated daughter of a dress manufacturer, she was active in the Independent Labour Party and married fellow ILP member William Thomas Colyer before the couple emigrated to the U.S. to escape the wartime British political atmosphere. Joined the Socialist Party of America in Boston in 1916 and became branch secretary in 1917. In 1919, she joined the Communist Party of America and served as secretary of its Boston branch. Arrested with her husband during the second Palmer Raids in January 1920 and detained at Deer Island Prison. During interrogation, she stated, “As a communist I am opposed to all capitalist governments,” and when asked “Do you understand the form of government that you are enjoying in the United States?” she replied “I am not enjoying it, but I think I understand it.” After losing an appeal before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit, she and her husband were deported on April 11, 1922.
After returning to England, she joined the Communist Party of Great Britain and the Labour Party, left for the CPGB in 1926, and later resumed activity in the Independent Labour Party. She anonymously collaborated on many of her husband’s writings.
Sources: INS file 54810/162; U.S. Congress, House Committee on Immigration and Naturalization, Deportation Cases of William T. and Amy Colyer (Government Printing Office, 1920).
William Thomas Colyer (a.k.a. Tom Colyer)
Born: 1883, London, England
Nationality: British
Ethnicity: English
Occupation: Writer
Migration: Immigrated to US 1915
Affiliation: Communist Party of America
Opposed the First World War as a member of the Independent Labour Party. Immigrated to the United States in 1915 with his wife and fellow ILP member, Amy Colyer. Joined the Socialist Party of America in Boston in 1916 and became a leading figure in the Massachusetts organization, which he helped transfer into the Communist Party of America in 1919. Wrote for several radical publications and served on the editorial staff of The Communist. Although he declared his intention to naturalize in 1916, he later abandoned the effort, citing disillusionment with U.S. political institutions. Arrested with his wife during the second Palmer Raids in January 1920 an detained at Deer Island Prison, where he helped organize a prisoners’ “soviet.” After losing their appeal, he and his wife were deported on April 11, 1922.
After returning to Britain, he joined the Communist Party of Great Britain and the Labour Party. Served as secretary of the Communist-affiliated Greater London Left-Wing Movement and the National Left-Wing Movement, but resigned amid conflicts with the CPGB in 1926. Published Americanism: A World Menace (1922) and The Worker’s Passport: A Study of the Legal Restrictions on Migrant Workers (1928). Ran unsuccessfully for Parliament in 1931 and 1935 as a Labour Party candidate. In 1942, he rejoined the Independent Labour Party and later served on its National Administrative Council. Died in 1956.
Sources: INS file 54810/209; U.S. Congress, House Committee on Immigration and Naturalization, Deportation Cases of William T. and Amy Colyer (Government Printing Office, 1920); Lawrence Parker, Communists and Labour: The National Left-Wing Movement, 1925–1929.
James Cully (a.k.a. Jimmy Cully)
Born: c. 1870, Ireland
Nationality: British
Ethnicity: Irish
Occupation: Laborer
Migration: Immigrated to US year unknown
Affiliation: IWW
As a member of the Industrial Workers of the World during the First World War, led a group of approximately 200 draft resisters in Rockford, Illinois. All were arrested, and 112 were convicted. Sentenced to two years in prison for conspiracy to interfere with military conscription and deported to England on June 21, 1919.
After deportation, he continued to be active as a street speaker for the Merseyside branch of the IWW in Liverpool. Also implicated in illegal activities on behalf of the Irish Republican Army.
Sources: Gerald E. Shenk, “Work or Fight!”: Race, Gender, and the Draft in World War One; Socialist Review (London), February 1, 1959; Liverpool Echo, June 28, 1923.
George Cyzyk (a.k.a. Paul Gigalko; Paul Zygaloff)
Born: 1896, Vilnius, Russia (present-day Lithuania)
Nationality: Russian
Ethnicity: Lithuanian
Occupation: Laborer
Migration: Immigrated to US 1912
Affiliation: Union of Russian Workers
A member and lecturer for the Union of Russian Workers. Arrested in Cleveland in February 1918 and again in New York during the first Palmer Raids in November 1919. Anarchist literature, including copies of The Anarchist Soviet Bulletin, was found in his home. Also suspected of involvement in a counterfeiting scheme. Deported aboard the Buford on December 21, 1919.
Sources: INS file 54379/125; FBI file OG 375385.
Jan Dalkovksy (or Dalkowsky)
Born: 1896, Płock Governorate, Russia (present-day Poland)
Nationality: Russian
Ethnicity: Polish
Occupation: Laborer
Migration: Immigrated to US 1913
Affiliation: Communist Party of America; IWW
Joined Polish Local No. 28 of the Socialist Party of America in Erie, Pennsylvania, in January 1918, and transferred into the Communist Party in 1919. He was also a member of the IWW. Arrested in January 1920 and deported to Poland on February 26, 1921.
Sources: INS file 54809/280.
Ivan Danilovich (a.k.a. John Danilovich)
Born: 1895, Grodno, Russia (present-day Belarus)
Nationality: Russian
Ethnicity: Belarusian
Occupation: Laborer
Migration: Immigrated to US 1914
Affiliation: Union of Russian Workers
His wife remained in Russia while he emigrated. Became a member of the Union of Russian Workers in Bridgeport, Connecticut. Arrested during the first Palmer Raids in November 1919 and deported aboard the Buford on December 21, 1919.
Sources: INS file 54709/390; FBI file OG 388677.
John Dardzinski
Born: c. 1905, Russia
Nationality: Russian
Ethnicity: Polish
Occupation: Shade maker
Migration: Immigrated to US 1912
Affiliation: Communist Party of America
A member of the Communist Party, he was arrested in Hamtramck, Michigan, in January 1920 and deported to Russia on March 18, 1921.
Sources: INS file 54859/574.
