Santina Pritti Lagana, age 51 of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, died on Monday, December 21, 1931. She was born on January 11, 1880 in Reggio Calabria, Italy, where she was raised with her parents, Gaetano Pritti and Nicolina "Evelyn" Brancati Pritti. Santina was their oldest child, and she had two brothers Salvatore and Bruno.

Santina worked as a seamstress. At age 21, on October 17, 1901, she married Orazio Lagana in Reggio Calabria, Italy. He was about 36 years old. On Nov 12, 1903 their first child, Antionette (Netty) was born, followed by four sons Charles, Gaetano, Thomas, and Joseph. They also had four more daughters, Lucia, Evelyn, Frances, and Nora.

Her son, Gaetano, died at only 4 months old. He was named after Santina's father and was the first child in the family to be born in the United States. Lucia died at four years old. Their oldest children, Antionette and Charles, were born in Reggio Calabria, Italy. Based on where and when Charles and Gaetano were born, the family moved to Philadelphia in 1905 or 1906 and lived at 1330 South Ringgold Street.

When Santina died, her youngest child, Nora, was only 11 years old. Antionette, being the oldest child at 28 years old, still lived at home and was the main caregiver for the family. Antionette remained unmarried until after her mother's death.

Santina's husband, Orazio, and the children worked to support the family. All the children were expected to learn English but spoke Italian at home. Santina's son, Charles, was the only child to marry before her death. At the time of her death, Santina had no grandchildren.

Santina was not well mentally and was placed in an institution, Byberry Hospital, where she died supposedly from falling in a bathtub resulting in a fractured skull and lobar pneumonia. Family members didn't talk much about family issues in those days, so many of the details were never revealed.

Several factors likely contributed to her mental state. Her youngest daughter was hit by a car and had permanent damage to her legs. Also Santina's father, Gaetano, according to The Philadelphia Inquirer on Wednesday Morning, July 15, 1931 (page 5) was suffering from cancer for several years and fired a bullet into his temple while his wife pleaded with him. This happened five months prior to Santina's death.