Cortazzo autograph collection (RLC.Ms.027)

Biographical note

Emma Cullum Huidekoper Cortazzo (1842-1918) was born on January 1, 1842, in Meadville, Pennsylvania, to Alfred (1810-1892) and Catharine Cullum Huidekoper (1812-1888). She married Italian artist, Oreste Antonio Nicolo Cortazzo (1836-1896) in 1866, but they later divorced in 1876. Together, they had one child, Katherine Renee Cortazzo (1868-1963), who was born on May 1, 1868, in Paris, France. The Cortazzos traveled extensively throughout Europe until the came to Newport, Rhode Island, in 1912, where they lived in a house on Sea View Avenue inherited from their relative, General George W. Cullum. They lived in this house until Emma Cortazzo's death on February 18, 1918. Following her mother's death, Katherine Cortazzo sold the Sea View Avenue house and took up residence at the Hotel Viking and other locations throughout Newport and Middletown, while still traveling to Europe often. Katherine Cortazzo died on January 18, 1963.