Italian Genealogy

Genealogist Dan Niemiec recently gave us some good hints on how to research Italian ancestors. I do not have any Italian ancestors so I learned a lot about Italian records.

However, some things are the same no matter what your ethnic background. First, do your research in the United States. Second, you must know the immigrant ancestor's home village or parish before you can research in Italy. Third, set up a free account at FamilySearch if you do not already have one.

As far as Italian research goes, here are some new tips I learned:

• Use the catalog at FamilySearch.org. Not may records have been digitized.
• Italy has helpful records beyond birth, marriage, and death. Marriage banns (Pubblicazioni, Notificazioni) are useful if no marriage record is found. Supporting documents (Allegati) are a wealth of information in addition to the marriage record. A death elsewhere might be recorded in Annotazioni de Morti, and births of foundlings were recorded in Atti Diversi.
• Marriage records, because they include the names of the parents, will help you go back through generation after generation.

Remember that you can order LDS microfilm from the FamilySearch website and have it sent to the Cook Park library in Libertyville to view there. If you need help, stop by and ask for me.

Buona fortuna!
~Sonia