Should I give up hope?

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typeogirl
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Should I give up hope?

Post by typeogirl »

On May 15, I sent two letters requesting birth and marriage information to Schio, and to Ragusa.

A week ago, I had an dialogue (several email exchanges) with a professional genealogist from England-long story short, I had contacted him following a lead I got from an elderly aunt in regards to my great-great-grandmother from Schio. He basically put me in my place and set me straight; he made it quite clear I would never get a response back from Italy--that even if I went in person, they might find me highly amusing, but ultimately I would get nowhere and leave with no information. He could have been joking - I may have missed the sarcasm, but I don't really think he was joking.

So many of you here have had successes sending requests thru the mai, so I thought I might be successful too.

Should I give up hope? I feel a little crushed.

Thank you everyone!!!!
carubia
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Re: Should I give up hope?

Post by carubia »

What sort of requests did you make? Did you request a specific record? Or did you at least specify someone's name and the year of the event that you're interested in? What kind of identifying information did you provide? Were your letters in Italian?
typeogirl
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Re: Should I give up hope?

Post by typeogirl »

Yes, my letters were in Italian, I provided names and dates, and I used the templates provided on both familysearch.org and http://www.angelfire.com/ok3/pearlsofwi ... tters.html. I asked for my g-g-g-grandfather's birth certificate, my g-g-g-grandmother's birth certificate, and their marriage certificate. And then I asked if they felt willing and able, to provide me with names of siblings, etc. only if they felt they wanted to. Something to that effect.
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johnnyonthespot
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Re: Should I give up hope?

Post by johnnyonthespot »

No, you most certainly should not give up hope. Many, many people here and on other similar forums can attest to having received documents from comuni using, in many cases, the exact same form letters you prepared. Response times will vary greatly, but you are not even one month out so I would not give up the ship just yet.

That is not to say that some comuni will not be very difficult. The comune of my paternal grandparents is quite difficult to work with as I and others have learned; it is truly one of those places where only a personal visit will do and, even then, success is not easy. On the other hand, the comune of my maternal grandparents is just the opposite, responding quickly and completely to each request I have made.
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adelfio
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Re: Should I give up hope?

Post by adelfio »

Did you ever try the Family History Library films of Registri dello stato civile di Schio (Vicenza), 1806-1905? I have waited as long as 3 months for a response for records. Did you send a photo id with your request?

Marty
Researching Trabia, Palermo surnames Adelfio, Bondi, Butera, Scardino,Rinella, Scardamaglia

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carmenvalenziano
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Re: Should I give up hope?

Post by carmenvalenziano »

marty

what it the purpose of a photo id?

thanks

carmen
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adelfio
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Re: Should I give up hope?

Post by adelfio »

To verify who you are. Some places require a application for records that has notarized signatures such as military records from Rome.

Marty
Researching Trabia, Palermo surnames Adelfio, Bondi, Butera, Scardino,Rinella, Scardamaglia

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typeogirl
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Re: Should I give up hope?

Post by typeogirl »

Hi, thanks for the replies!

Now that you asked, I absolutely forgot to add ID in the envelope. I think I meant to, then I got sidetracked and sealed the envelopes and took them to the post office.

I did not consult the LDS records for Schio, since the years that my great-great-grandfather was born (1858), there seems to be a gap in time with no microfiche available. So I have to rely on the civil records.

But I am pleased to report, that I DID GET A REPLY from Schio! I was so happy when I saw my brown envelope in the mail!

I was able to get the extract of the birth certificate for my great-grandfather, and the extract of the marriage certificate for my great-great-grandfather and great-great-grandmother. From the marriage certificate, I was able confirm each of my great-great-grandparents parent's names.

I was also informed that my great-great-grandmother was born in Valli Del Pasubio -which I did not know! - to ask for her birth records there. I was also told to write to "Parrocchia di San Pietro Apostolo di Schio" for birth records on my great-great-grandfather, since Schio's records do not go any further back then 1871.

Does anyone have any advice on writing to churches in Italy for copies of records?

If I do not get a response from Ragusa, I will resend ,my request again with a copy of my ID - maybe that is the issue, but I will give it more time.
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Tessa78
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Re: Should I give up hope?

Post by Tessa78 »

typeogirl wrote:Hi, thanks for the replies!

Now that you asked, I absolutely forgot to add ID in the envelope. I think I meant to, then I got sidetracked and sealed the envelopes and took them to the post office.

I did not consult the LDS records for Schio, since the years that my great-great-grandfather was born (1858), there seems to be a gap in time with no microfiche available. So I have to rely on the civil records.

But I am pleased to report, that I DID GET A REPLY from Schio! I was so happy when I saw my brown envelope in the mail!

I was able to get the extract of the birth certificate for my great-grandfather, and the extract of the marriage certificate for my great-great-grandfather and great-great-grandmother. From the marriage certificate, I was able confirm each of my great-great-grandparents parent's names.

I was also informed that my great-great-grandmother was born in Valli Del Pasubio -which I did not know! - to ask for her birth records there. I was also told to write to "Parrocchia di San Pietro Apostolo di Schio" for birth records on my great-great-grandfather, since Schio's records do not go any further back then 1871.

Does anyone have any advice on writing to churches in Italy for copies of records?

If I do not get a response from Ragusa, I will resend ,my request again with a copy of my ID - maybe that is the issue, but I will give it more time.
Help with letters and some information about Church Records...
http://www.angelfire.com/ok3/pearlsofwi ... tter4.html
http://www.angelfire.com/ok3/pearlsofwi ... rishpriest
http://www.angelfire.com/ok3/pearlsofwi ... cords.html

T.
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Re: Should I give up hope?

Post by monke »

Be persistant. Send them a letter every 2 months. I had same experience, tehy would not answer to me but i was persistant and they had to gave in.
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carmenvalenziano
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Re: Should I give up hope?

Post by carmenvalenziano »

typogirl

how long did it take to get a reply from Schio?

carmen
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Re: Should I give up hope?

Post by typeogirl »

Carmen, I mailed the letter 5/19, the postmark from Schio was dated 6/6, and it arrived in my mailbox a week later.
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Re: Should I give up hope?

Post by carmenvalenziano »

hi typogirl

i mailed a letter to trani last wednesday june 11 giving them 3 specific marriage dates

previously they have completely unanswered my letters over the years

two years ago i enclosed $20.00 and they kept the money

i was wondering how long places would take to answer

thanks

carmen

typeogirl
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Re: Should I give up hope?

Post by typeogirl »

Wow, that really stinks. Ugh, so sorry. It sounds like from reading all the different posts, every comune handles things differently. I am waiting for something back from Ragusa, Sicily - who knows if I will or not.

So sorry to hear about your experience. At this point you may want to have someone in Italy do the research for you......
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Re: Should I give up hope?

Post by adelfio »

I keep saying don't send money to comune's its not required. By italian civil law to receive records they are free
Archivio di Stato's do charge they will let you know the charge usually around 12 euro and they will send a account or person to send it too

Marty
Researching Trabia, Palermo surnames Adelfio, Bondi, Butera, Scardino,Rinella, Scardamaglia

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