Another day on the hunt, not without new problems

Over 25 million Italians have emigrated between 1861 and 1960 with a migration boom between 1871 and 1915 when over 13,5 million emigrants left the country for European and overseas destinations.
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beauac
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Another day on the hunt, not without new problems

Post by beauac »

Hello friends. Made my final trip to NYC today to get the last of my family documents there. Went first to the beautiful and sacred Our lady of Mt Carmel church at Italian east Harlem. I got the marriage certificate of my gggf there from 1899. The name of him was written on the document as something completely different and strange. The document was also written in latin. When I got home I typed in the best version of my interpretation of the name that I had written down and it turns out they put a latin version of his name. Aloysius apparently equals Luigi! Good thing though the lady there was nice and just wrote Luigi on the marriage certificate she gave me. They don't give out copies of the originals. I tried really hard as I was sitting there staring at the altar to imagine what it must have looked like in 1899 with my gggf standing there getting married to my gggm.

Also the death record I got today of Luigi has the wrong birthdate listed. They told me no chance to get it amended. Hopefully the embassy will understand or else tell me what to do. Many other things on the document prove its him. There is no chance at this point for me to fix every little error in every document I have, hopefully the authorities won't be hard asses and instead be human! Or else I will go back and tell them I searched the microfilm and it was not there and they will give me a no records found. I can make up a reasonable year. They did not ask any questions or look themselves when I told them I needed a no records found for my great grandfathers birth certificate.

Lastly I realized that every document I have for Luigi after his naturalization, he is referred to or writes his own name as Louis. Obviously he was just trying to assimilate better and embrace his new status as American. I hope the authorities can just accept this and not make a big deal out of it!

Nov 8th rapidly approaches!
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mler
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Re: Another day on the hunt, not without new problems

Post by mler »

Luigi/Louis should not be a problem. The other discrepancies may not be problems either, but you will have to wait and see. Good luck, and let us know how it goes.
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johnnyonthespot
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Re: Another day on the hunt, not without new problems

Post by johnnyonthespot »

Beau, it it sets your mind at ease -

I can imagine only two reasons for the consulate's requesting death certificates:

1) So that they can update the records in Italy with missing information for everyone between your Italian ancestor and yourself. This does not seem correct however, as if true they would probably want Italian translations for all of these certificates instead of just those pertaining directly to the applicant.

2) With your application, you are required to submit a sworn statement for each ancestor attesting that he/she did not renounce Italian citizenship (Forms 3 & 4, bottom of http://www.consnewyork.esteri.it/NR/exe ... =Published ). Living ancestors must complete and sign the form themselves; the applicant completes a form for each deceased ancestor. The death certificate proves an ancestor is deceased, thus permitting the applicant to submit Form 4 on his/her behalf. I would like to think that the consulate would be realistic and assume that your gggf is deceased, even without the certificate.

I consider it entirely possible that if, when asked for gggf's death certificate, you fumbled and said, "I can't seem to find it" - I think it is possible that you would be given a pass on the "missing" document.
Carmine

My hobby is finding things. Having found most of my own, I am happy to help others find theirs. PM me! :)
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beauac
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Re: Another day on the hunt, not without new problems

Post by beauac »

Thanks again guys. Like I said I am just going to go in there with what I have and see how merciful they are. By the way is this meeting all about the facts or do you they interview you at all about why you want to be Italian?
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johnnyonthespot
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Re: Another day on the hunt, not without new problems

Post by johnnyonthespot »

beauac wrote: By the way is this meeting all about the facts or do you they interview you at all about why you want to be Italian?
Beau - change your mindset. :D

You don't "want to be Italian" - you are providing proof that you are and always were Italian. There is no formal interview, no language skills test, no knowledge of Italy or Italian culture required (although all of these would certainly be nice to have).

Now, that is not to say that you might not have an opportunity to chat for a few moments and express a desire to move to Italy one day or whatever. But for the most part you will find the interview (especially in NYC) to be somewhat formal and centered around your documents; "May I have your gggf's birth certificate, please? Now, his marriage certificate... your father's death certifiacte... your own marriage license..." and so on.
Carmine

My hobby is finding things. Having found most of my own, I am happy to help others find theirs. PM me! :)
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ForzaItaliaPgh
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Re: Another day on the hunt, not without new problems

Post by ForzaItaliaPgh »

Johnny's right Beauac, I've gone through the same mind change as I've encountered problems with my application process here in PA. Remember (if you meet the requirements) you have a legal RIGHT to have your citizenship recognized!
Researching BARONTINI family from Tuscany
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