Great and great-great nieces and nephews of Gabriel De Fabbio were at the Holland Land Office Museum this evening for a ceremony honoring De Fabbio and Paulo Busti.

De Fabbio was a resident of 38 Center St., Batavia, when he joined the Marines. He was killed in Vera Cruz during the Mexican-American War in 1914. One hundred years ago today De Fabbio was buried at the St. Joseph Cemetery in a huge public ceremony, the largest funeral in Batavia history (see the front page of the Buffalo Evening News from 1914 for photo depicting Downtown Batavia on that day).

Pictured are Joan Tresco, Kailyn Tresco, Peppi Palmer, Paul Tresco and Kay Emanuel.

A wreath was placed in front of the marker, erected in 1915, in the side yard of HLOM honoring De Fabbio, by Michelle Fuller, Jeff Donahue and Barb Toal. Assemblyman Steve Hawley presented a resolution honoring De Fabbio. HLOM board VP Garth Swanson gave a presentation on the life and military service of De Fabbio.

Paulo Busti was the principal agent of the Holland Land Office starting in 1800 and gave Batavia its name.

Frank Penepento played horn accompaniment just outside the museum while Anne Marie Starowitz inside read the lyrics to a song sung at De Fabbio's funeral.

Tom Cecere

The ceremony with military honor guard will recognize the contributions of these great men to our community. It will be held on the grounds of the beautiful Peace Garden.

Refreshments follow at the museum. Everyone is welcome. For more information call the museum at 343-4727 or check us out on Facebook.