Hit brick wall - need expert advice, please!

[Nocta]

There have been some excellent exchanges in this forum and I'm hoping an expert can help with this one.

I have spent a year gathering all of the documents needed for the NY consulate. I just realized that my grandfather's mother's maiden name on his birth certificate from Italy is completely different from the name on his NY marriage license. (My grandmother's mother died when my grandmother was a child and her father remarried fairly quickly, so I'm going to assume the same scenario here.)

I called the NY Dept. of Health but they said forget it. However, I believe that in some cases documents can be modified by a court order. Since the US is part of the Hague Convention, shouldn't the court accept the information on the birth certificate as valid if I get an Apostille for the certificate? I don't know how to prove that the name on his marriage license was most likely his stepmother. Any ideas/precedents/suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

[mler]

Nocta, was your grandfather then adopted by his stepmother? If so, there may be adoption records to explain the reason the names don't match up.

There is a possibility, too, that the mother's name will not be an issue, but I do understand that your concern is that the consulate may question whether the man whose name appears on the birth certificate is the same person whose name appears on the marriage certificate.

Any adoption documents will do this for you, but you might also try to get first and second marriage certificates for your greatgrandfather. This will document that he was married two times and would explain the name discrepancy. I don't know if this would be an easier approach than the one you mention, but it's something to consider.

[Nocta]

mler - thanks for your input. The names on all documents must be identical, so this will definitely be an issue. I agree that getting the marriage certificates may help, but it took me six months to get my great grandfather's birth certificate, and I have have no information about his father. If you know of a way to get documents more quickly, please let me know.

[Cathynap]

I'm unclear as to weither the documents you refer to are US or Italian but have you tried the LDS records? I have obtained all my Italian records from them. It takes 2-3 weeks to get the microfilm once you order it.
Heres a link: http://www.familysearch.org/Eng/Library ... t_fhlc.asp
I hope this helps.

[nuccia]

Cathy..

For Italian Citizenship I believe you need to order the documents and then have them translated...copies of film will not do.

Nocta..

I believe changing the information in court is a very long and expensive procedure. You may want to look into this very carefully before proceeding. Meanwhile, I would do as mler suggests and follow up on any records you even think you might need. I don't know of any quicker way..sorry.

Good luck and let us know how it works out for you.

[Nocta]

It turned out that the mistake in my grandather's mother's name was made at the commune when they digitized the records. When the original document was checked, the names matched.

So, don't give up until you have exhausted every possibility. I also want to thank Suanj for her tremendous help!