Joseph Telfener (1836-1898)
Count Giuseppe Telfener, of "Villa Ada" Rome, Italy.
In 1877, he was created a Count by Victor Emmanuel II for his achievements as an engineer. Born at Naples, he married his wife in Rome, 1879. His father-in-law tipped him off about the opportunities for building railroads in Texas, so he came to America where he adopted the name "Joseph". He already had experience in the railroad industry having financed railroads in South America. He and his father-in-law, Daniel Hungerford, planned a railroad that would link New York to Mexico City, financed by his wife's brother-in-law, John W. Mackay. It was only partially completed before being soldo. Nonetheless, the towns (Telferner, Hungerford etc.) that they established along the line still exist today. They leased a mansion in Victoria, Texas, but their principal residence was the "Villa Ada" outside the Porta Salaria in Rome, a palace that the Count had purchased from King Victor Emmanuel and renamed in honor of his bride. From 1946, it became the residence of the deposed Italian Royal family.
