Elizabeth had a reputation for being mean-spirited. During the final years of her life, she lived with her son, Lee, at his home on the corner of Harrison Grade and DuPont Roads, Occidental.

Elizabeth and Joseph had 5 children (4 boys and one girl). The oldest, a boy born in 1864 (one year before their marriage), lived only two years. The youngest, a girl born in 1874, lived only 6 years. The number of children is confirmed by the US census of 1900 in which she declares that she is the mother of 5 children, 3 of which were living in 1900.

Elizabeth and Joseph lived at the southwesterly edge of Gordevio in a small house located a short distance west of the main highway, between the highway and the Maggia River. As of 2005, the house was owned by Dario Chiesa, son of Eri Berguglia Chiesa.


According to the records of Enrico Maddalena, the great grandson of Maddalena Ottolini Maddalena (Elisabetta’s older sister), Elisabetta and her son, Gaudenzio Morelli, wrote about their trip from Gordevio asking to let them know when her nephew, Celestino, would arrive at California.

Occidental Jun 20, 1886: Elisabetta and Antonio Morelli wrote to their aunts to greet everyone and to give them Feedback.
Occidental Jun 14, 1887: Unfortunately, the relationship between the two sisters Elisabetta and Maddalena was ruined by a discussion of 100 francs - demanded by both. The relationship between the Morelli family and their nephew Aquilino and his father Antonio became also rather difficult and worsened, but they remained good with their nephew Celestino.

Elisabetta wrote a letter to her sister regarding the money dispute:

Occidental, June 16, 1887 Elisabetta Morelli to Madalena Ottolini Maddalena

Dear sister
Today it is two years since I left Gordevio. Last year about this time I sent you my letter, but never received confirmation. Today I receive a direct letter from your son to me in which I note that your husband's executor wants a statement from me on the one hundred franc account I have given you, and to give him a declaration of what I have done with the bank note, and that I received the money of the late Laloli and you did not owe me anything. So you have had to pay two hundred francs for a hundred francs with 5% interest.

But tell me a little, my dear sister, do you not remember when you came in my home with tears in your eyes and begging me to help you with an expired note that you did not know how to handle. I went to take my money from the Franzoni bank and gave it to you with a receipt from you, not the bank you paid. I know it's true because I did not see anything in thanks for the whole favor when I asked you for my money. I sent the curator to ask him and he paid the 100 francs, but not the interest, and in the act you came to my house to make me give you the receipt you gave me when I gave you the money with claims that I would be made to pay twice and I still keep the interest on said money and then you are not ashamed to say that you owed me nothing. Know that I am very displeased by this fact and please do a little better and do not dishonor the fame of our good and dead Parents who gave me a good education.

I can not tell you anything else other than to send you my weak regards and please, although mine is not very welcome, give me a brief feedback and if you do not love to give me feedback, maybe you think I'm unworthy of your feedback. I leave you not with a goodbye, but with a "go with God."

I am your sister Elisabetta Morelli - Occidental the 16th of June, 1887.

As a result of this dispute, all communications between the Morelli family and the Maddalena family ceased in about 1891.

Joe Morelli, Sr. was born on the eastern shore of Lake Como in the town of Lierna, Italy (N 45º57'37.62", E 9º18'24.24"). His godparents were Joseph Carri and Martha Conca. According to family legend, his father, Giovanni Battista, was married several times and Joe had more than 10 siblings (in fact, he had 17 siblings).

As a young man, Joe gathered trees in the local woods and used a special process to convert them to charcoal that he would sell to local residents. This profession was called a carbonaio (charcoal burner). He supplemented his income as a carbonaio by smuggling contraband between Italy and Switzerland. He was about 20 years old when he fled to Gordevio, Switzerland to escape military service, even though he was declared exempt from the draft in 1862 because his brother, Giovanni, was already serving in the infantry at that time. Giuseppe probably chose Gordevio as his destination since Pietro Morelli, one of Giuseppe’s older brothers, had relocated to Gordevio from Vogorno, Switzerland. Giuseppe married a Swiss woman, and they started raising a family. Jobs were scarce and times were hard in Switzerland, but the life of a smuggler was not what he wanted for his family, so he decided to go to the USA to seek a better life. On September 25, 1874 he received a passport, and he arrived in New York in October, 1874. He then went to Eureka, Nevada where he joined his nephew, Aquilino Maddalena, and they obtained a contract for furnishing charcoal to the miners. Then, in 1879, after a violent strike among the charcoal makers, he moved on to Healdsburg in Sonoma County, California, where he worked at various farm jobs, and finally as a lumberjack along the tributaries of the lower Russian River from Guerneville to Duncan’s Mills. He became a US citizen in Sonoma County on December 21, 1891.

Giuseppe Morelli was not known for writing very many letters to his family back home in Switzerland, so his exact activities after arriving in the USA are not well known. However in 1884, after 10 years away from his family, he was financially able to send for his eldest son, Joe Morelli, Jr., who came from Switzerland to join his father in Healdsburg, California. The rest of the family followed one year later on May 5, 1885. They sailed from Le Havre, France on the ship Normandie and arrived in New York on June 29, 1885. They stayed at the Ticino Hotel in New York and the next day at 7 pm they boarded the train for San Francisco. By 1892, the family had saved $3,100 to buy an 80-acre parcel of land located about two miles north of Occidental on what is now Morelli Lane. The small house located on the property was built in 1878. During the 8 years from 1892 to 1900, the usable farmland (about 40 acres) was cleared of tan oak and redwoods, and vineyard was planted. The house was enlarged to a 10 bedroom, two-story structure built nearly entirely of redwood, and, to accommodate their expanding family, a second large home was constructed about 100 feet southwest of the main structure. A three-story winery was constructed about 150 feet north of the main house, and a cow barn was constructed about 300 feet northwest of the main house. In about 1912, a large wine celler was added underneath the main house, and in 1921 the house was remodeled.

In order to plant more vineyard, in 1906 they bought a 43 acre parcel located on Harrison Grade Road, about a mile away from the main ranch. A large house and winery were built on the property in 1908. In January, 1910, the Morelli property was apportioned among the three sons by drawing straws. The 43 acre parcel was drawn by Lee Morelli, while Joe Jr. and Tony Morelli each received half of the original 80-acre parcel.

Joe died at age 68 from complications following goring by a cow.

Information on Joseph Morelli and Maria Elizabeth Ottolini was obtained from baptism, marriage, & death records on file at the Mormon Church in Salt Lake City, Utah, Film #1751150, 1751151, & 2144266.