birth discrepancy

[themilitantcatholic]

I will be applying at the Chicago Consulate through my father - grandfather. I have all the documents with Apostille's except for my paternal grandmother's birth certificate, Ellis Island website Ship's Manifest shows that my grandmother Theresa Dangoia at 10 months old was a passenger along with her 2 year old sister Carmina, father Vincenzo Dangoia and mother Antonia Dangoia. Antonia's maiden name was Laurenzano. The discrepancy is my grandmother's place of birth; on my father's "delayed record of birth" it states that she was born in the U.S., on my grandfather's Naturalization form it states that she was born in Italy. I tried getting her certificate from Cirigliano with no luck, I even tried to get her mother's Antonia Laurenzano birth and marriage record with no response. There has to be a birth or baptismal certificate for Theresa Dangoia. It is possible that Theresa was actually her middle name, her actual birth name may have been Maria Theresa Dangoia. Anyone have any idea's or suggestions. There has to be some record of her birth or baptism somewhere. Vincenzo Dangoia was from Basilicata, there must be some records there.

[johnnyonthespot]

Most consulates that we know of (in the US) do not actually ask for or review the birth or death certificates of persons not in the direct line - in your case, your mother and grandmother. Although the consulate web sites say these are required, applicant after applicant has gone to an appointment with these documents in hand only to have them completely ignored.

So, having said that, I would suggest that you not lose any sleep over the missing birth certificate.

However... I found the manifest you referred to ( http://www.ellisisland.org/EIFile/popup ... &line=0004 ) and see markings next to Teresa's name which tell me that she most likely became a naturalized US citizen in her own right, beginning the process in 1939. If you can seek out her naturalization papers, you may find an accurate place of birth for her. I suspect it was Cirigliano; what was the result of your inquiries there?

[johnnyonthespot]

If you really want to pursue this, you could rent the Cirigliano microfilm at your local Family History Center and find the birth record yourself.

See http://www.familysearch.org/eng/library ... +Ciriglian++ and http://www.familysearch.org/eng/library ... et_fhc.asp

[themilitantcatholic]

In 2009 I paid a company to retrieve the record for me in Cirigliano, they came up empty. Is there a micro-film for the entire region of Basilicata?

[themilitantcatholic]

There is a place nearby me for the microfilm, I'll let you know what happens. On another note: I don't want to come off as being prejudice, but in my life experiences; Italians on the east coast are more engaging, more helpful and more personable than the Italians here in Shytown. In Chicago, it's all about small-talk and "I got mine, how you making out?" Thanks again Carmine.

[johnnyonthespot]

There is a place nearby me for the microfilm, I'll let you know what happens. On another note: I don't want to come off as being prejudice, but in my life experiences; Italians on the east coast are more engaging, more helpful and more personable than the Italians here in Shytown. In Chicago, it's all about small-talk and "I got mine, how you making out?" Thanks again Carmine.

Interesting comment. As a lifelong east-coaster (born/raised in Westchester County, NY; lived 21 years in South Florida; now 16 years in Connecticut), I have little experience with Italians from other parts of the country. Other than those I meet here - who, for the most part - seem like very nice people!

I would do two things, a) check the microfilms at your local FHC and 2) see if you can come up with Teresa's naturalization papers. The National Archives is both an inexpensive and fast way to check for naturalization docs; unfortunately for most parts of the country, NARA only holds naturalization records from the federal courts. Start here https://eservices.archives.gov/orderonl ... chives.gov and click Order Reproductions, then Immigration & Naturalization Records. There is no charge unless they find a record.

Yet another option for place of birth info would be Teresa's Social Security Application form. If she died after 1966'ish, you should be able to find her in the online Social Security Death Index ( http://ssdi.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/ssdi.cgi ), though possibly under her married name (I came up empty on "teresa dangoia"); if you have her death certificate, the social security number may be there as well. Even without her SSN, you can order a copy of the application which contains lots of useful info. See http://genealogy.about.com/od/online_re ... equest.htm

[themilitantcatholic]

Carmine, You're like Peter Falk in "Columbo" and like Basil Rathbone in "Sherlock Holmes" - I checked the Social Security Death Index, her married name was Theresa Leo, it shows her birth date as May 10th 1902, on her tombstone it reads May 10th "1903" which is probably why I could not retrieve her birth record from Cirigliano, I was going by what was on her tombstone. I got her social security number: 327-56-2750, next I will try and get her Naturalization Papers.

[johnnyonthespot]

Carmine, You're like Peter Falk in "Columbo" and like Basil Rathbone in "Sherlock Holmes" - I checked the Social Security Death Index, her married name was Theresa Leo, it shows her birth date as May 10th 1902, on her tombstone it reads May 10th "1903" which is probably why I could not retrieve her birth record from Cirigliano, I was going by what was on her tombstone. I got her social security number: 327-56-2750, next I will try and get her Naturalization Papers.

Great job!

FWIW, I have never myself ordered a social security application. I have been told that some give exact birth place whereas others just say "Italy". I do feel the naturalization papers would definitely be worth the expense. You can also get them from USCIS, however costs a lot more than National Archives and takes much, much, longer. http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis/ ... 18190aRCRD

[themilitantcatholic]

I ordered the microfilm, they said it would take 2-3 weeks.

[themilitantcatholic]

Carmine, About the UCIS; I ordered my grandfather's from them, it only cost $20.00, it took about three months, because I gave them the serial number and they sent me two copies. I imagine without the serial number a search would take much longer.