Nicholas Sabatino was born in 1871 in Iloilo, Philippines. He went to Torres Strait and married Johanna Lohado. Johanna’s Filipino father, Antonio Lohado, was from Antique, Philippines, and her mother, Nancy Saki, was of Kaurareg ancestry and born in Burke Island. The Kaurareg are the traditional owners of the Inner Islands in the Torres Strait. Nicholas and Johanna had eight children, Francis, Lucio, Stanislaus, Tino, Monica, Lucy, Patranella, and Mary.

Mario Sabatino, the narrator, is a great grandson of Nicholas. His father, Lucio, was the second son of Stanislaus and Camilla Durante. His Filipino lineage can be traced to three Manilamen—Sabatino, Lohado and Durante. Sabatino was from Iloilo, Lohado from Antique, and Durante was from Samar, Philippines.