Ancestry.com help

Are you looking for an Italian surname? Do you need more information about your family heritage?
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tfs985
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Ancestry.com help

Post by tfs985 »

I just subscribed to Ancestry.com and have a few questions.

How can I find maiden names and parents for my ancestors ?

and

How can I find out what part of Italy they came from?

Thanks.
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Ricky1016
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Re: Ancestry.com help

Post by Ricky1016 »

Hey!

I've bin a member of ancestry.com for almost a year now, and let me tell you, it can be quite frustrating at times! But when you finally find what you're looking for, it all pays off!

The best way to find parents for your ancestors is through the U.S. census. Let's say you want to find out who your great-grandfather's parents are. Well, insert everything you know about your great-grandfather, and so a search with the census year that would have him listed as a child. Like, if he was born in Let's say 1870, look for him in the 1880 census. He's be 10 years old, and probably living with his parents. The censuses list everyone living in that household and the later ones also list the relations. Different years provide different info. However, anything before 1850 will only provide the head of the household's name, so I never use anything before that.

As for maiden names, the best way to get those is through death certificates in which you'd order from the vital records department for whatever state your ancestor died in.

And finally, to find out where exactly your ancestors came from in Italy, you can search the passenger lists on ancestry.com. Many list the town of birth...but keep in mind, human beings kept all these records, and there will be mistakes in some...I guarantee it. Some may be hard to find because the recorder may have spelled your ancestor's name wrong.

Another great source for finding your town of origin are the naturalization records, if your ancestor was naturalized. The country was required by law to keep records after 1906. If they were naturalized after 1906, you would right to Philadelphia to obtain their records (if you need addressess just let me know, I will get them for you). However, if they were naturalized before 1906, the court in the county where they were naturalized would have the records.

This is the first time I've ever given advice, hope this helps!

Ricky
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vicwargo
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Re: Ancestry.com help

Post by vicwargo »

Ricky,
That is great info! Can you post the address of where we get the naturalization papers please. I think that is my next step to take and I know it woulod be very helpful to me. Thanks!
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Ricky1016
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Re: Ancestry.com help

Post by Ricky1016 »

The address is:

National Archives - Mid Atlantic Region
9th and Market Streets
Philadelphia, PA 19107

also, I do not have the blank form, but just make sure you provide them with the appropriate info such as:

*Petitioner's name (and spelling variations)

Naturalization petition number

*Date of naturalization and/or arrival in the United States (A search will be made of a ten year time period if exact date is unknown)

*Naturalization Court of place of residence (county), five years after arrival

Date of birth

County and Town (city, village, etc.) of origin

Port of entry into the U.S.

Spouse's name

Spouse's date of birth

Children (names and/or birth dates)


Fill as much in as you can and for everything you don't know, just write unknown. I didn't know a lot and I ended up getting my gg-grandfather's papers. But you have to fill in anything * (which is only like 3 things) Also, in the letter, you want to write where they are going to mail the papers to...so write:

Name

Address

City, State, & Zip

Then, send all that in to the address at the very top. They will send you a paper first saying if they found the record or not...(it takes abt. 3-4 weeks)
and if they did, they'll also send you an option to buy it...mine was $10.00 and there were 3 different papers. You can choose to send a check or whatever to buy it...they'll give you a reciept w/ all the billing instructions, but once they found it and you send a payment, it only takes abt. a week to arrive (so like 5 wks. total, which isn't bad)

Oh and remember, that's only for naturalizations after 1906

Good Luck!

Ricky
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tfs985
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Re: Ancestry.com help

Post by tfs985 »

Hey Ricky thanks for the help...I was born in Philly and my mom lives there so I can go there in person.
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Ricky1016
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Re: Ancestry.com help

Post by Ricky1016 »

Haha...lucky! I'm actually from Pittsburgh PA...but yeah, still too far for me, lol!
nuccia
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Re: Ancestry.com help

Post by nuccia »

Ricky,

I have family in Pittsburg as well! Haven't been there since I was your age but we're planning on driving down this summer again. It should be fun.

tfs985,

As for maiden names...your best best to start with is to try and locate ship manifests. What I do when I find the wifes name is look for either additional manifests for the husband..they sometimes list the wifes full name on them or if the records are before 1925 I check on www.stevemorse.org site. I use the Gold form and check by town only or by first name only and add either birth year or immigration year. You can play around with the options. It does however take time and patience.
nuccia - IG Moderator
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