Help: 2 ancestors from Italian orphanage

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ray25990
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Help: 2 ancestors from Italian orphanage

Post by ray25990 »

Hi,

My great-grandparents on my paternal grandmother's side both came from an orphanage in Introdacqua, L'Aquila, Abruzzo. Their names were Aldo Aldini and Colomba Merichini. According to the records I have, they were born in 1891 and 1893. Aldo immigrated to the United States, then sent for Colomba, whom he already knew from the orphanage. They married in New York City upon her arrival.

When I started doing research on the surname Aldini, I quickly found out that this is not a "real" Italian surname, but one of a list of fictitious surnames that the Italian government assigned to orphans. I do not know if this is the case for Merichini, but I assume it is -- I have not researched this yet.

I do not know the circumstances of the orphanings, but given the time period and the fictitious names, these may be simple cases of illegitimate births entrusted to either the church or the state.

Anyhow, I do not know the name of the orphanage in Introdacqua, nor do I have any idea where to start. I want to find the distant ancestors that run back through these two. What it the best way to go about this? Is there any hope of finding out any of this information?

Thanks,
Ray Mangini
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Tessa78
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Joined: 07 Sep 2009, 18:09

Re: Help: 2 ancestors from Italian orphanage

Post by Tessa78 »

You find this article informative regarding your search.

http://italiangenealogy.com/articles/it ... e-marriage

T.
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