Giovanna Fontana first appears in the Painesville, Ohio, area about 1915. In America, Giovanna Fontana was known as Jennie Fontana, then after she married, by her married name, Jennie Casanova.
Giovanna Fontana, daughter of Antonino Fontana and Antonina Riccobono, was born on October 24, 1900, at Palermo, Sicily. She married Lorenzo Casanova, son of Biaggio Casanova and Maria Giancola, on December 10, 1918 at St. Mary Catholic Church, Painesville, Lake County, Ohio.
Giovanna Fontana immigrated to the United States on July 24, 1913, at age 12. She was traveling to Cumberland, Maryland, to join her father, Antonio Fontana. She was accompanied by her mother and siblings, Salvatore Fontana and Francesco Fontana. The family migrated to Painesville about 1915.
Giovanna Fontana’s father, Antonino Fontana, was shot to death (murdered) in 1921, in Painesville.
Giovanna, and her husband, moved from Painesville sometime after 1927.