Bio- Sawyers
SURNAMES:  SAVIO, GIRAUD,  SOLARI, STINGLEY,

Giacomo Peirano—A progressive and influential Italian-American who will long be remembered for his usefulness to his fellow-countrymen in the Golden State and his successful efforts to help develop this promising portion of the great Pacific commonwealth, was the late Giacomo Peirano, who was born near Genoa, Italy, on November 26, 1853, and when sixteen years old crossed the ocean to America.  He came on West, and in 1870 arrived at Sonora, in Tuolumne County.  There he joined his brother, who had come here some years before and was running a market garden for the miners, and for a couple of years he remained in his employ.

     In 1872 he came to San Jose and started a grocery at the corner of Market and Saint Augustine streets; and there he was in business for five years.  On November 25, 1877, he was married at San Jose to Miss Anna Savio, a native of Torino, Italy, whose father had died when she was a baby, so that she was adopted by a Mr. And Mrs. Giraud, with whom she came to America by way of the Horn when she was ten years old.  They stayed a short time in San Francisco, and then moved inland to San Jose, where Mr. Giraud was the gardener at the College of Notre Dame.  Miss Savio attended school at Notre Dame, but when she was twelve years old her adopted mother was taken ill, and after that she had to work to care for the invalid.  The old Giraud home was on South Market Street, opposite the Columbia Hospital, and there Mr. Giraud continued to live until he was eighty-two years of age.

     In 1880 Giacomo Peirano went into the commission business, and bought and sold grain, hay, fruit, and farm products.  His sons, Aldo and Paul Peirano, joined him, and they had a store at 73-75 North Market Street.  In 1907 he sold out and went to Seattle and there conducted a commission business until 1910, at which time he returned to San Jose, leaving Aldo and Paul to run the business.  In 1911 Aldo returned to San Jose and Paul took in a partner, but in 1914 he sold out and worked for other Seattle firms.  In 1919 Paul returned to San Jose and opened the Seattle Grocery at the corner of River and Santa Clara streets.  On December 8, 1919, Giacomo Peirano passed away, the father of six children: John died when he was eight years old;  Mary lived for only four months; Aldo is at home; Paul is the well known merchant; Joseph and Vera are both dead.  Mrs. Giacomo Peirano continued to live at the old family home- 31 South River Street, which they built about 1900.

     Paul Peirano attended the common schools in San Jose, and when old enough he began to help his father in business.  At San Jose, on Easter Sunday, 1908, he was married to Miss Clara Solari, a native of Murphy, Calaveras County, Cal., who passed away in 1911.  On June 6, 1915, Mr. Peirano was again married, this time to Miss Mildred Stingley, the daughter of William P. and Celia Anna Stingley, and a native of Kansas.  Her father came to California by way of the Reno route when she was a little girl, and in later years he and his faithful wife were farmer folk, although at first, as an emigrant traveling in a prairie schooner, he had the mining fever.  Mr. And Mrs. Paul Peirano and their family are all Democrats; and he is a member of Eagles No. 1. at Seattle.  His father, Giacomo Peirano, was president of the Italian-American Society for a number of years, and also head of the building of the Italian Church in San Jose.