Found Italian birth certificates, not sure the next step

[JPiedmont]

Hi, I'm looking for some advice. I've pretty thoroughly done my genealogy research stateside, and just recently started working overseas for my oldest ancestors. I've traced my paternal great-grandfather Ralph/Raffaele Martucci (August 18, 1889 - October 22, 1918) to Solofra, Avellino, Italy, and his wife Josephine/Maria Giuseppa Castellano (September 29, 1890 - December 25, 1987) to Positano, Salerno, Italy. Also included my step-great-grandfather Leonard/Leonardo Piedmont/Piedimonte (October 3, 1890 - July 8, 1964) since even though we're not blood-related, I bear his name and he pulled my grandfather and his siblings out of St. Joseph's Home for Children & poverty. I'm relatively certain I found their birth certificates on Il Portale Antenati... although there's a little doubt due to how Southern Italians named their children. I understand it's common to have cousins with identical names so you can't always take vital records at face value. Good news is all of the records I've found so far match each other, with the pretty standard problem of a variety of methods of spelling their names. This far back my ancestors were all illiterate so the spelling was writer-dependent. Anyway, the well-recommended translator Robert Palladino (avepally) did a fantastic job translating them (fast and high quality and reasonably priced!), so I have them in English, but now I'm a bit stuck.

Where should I go from here? Do I need a local Italian expert genealogist like Joe De Simone? (He was recommended here years ago but he's retired and passed the business on to his son Giovanni) I have no idea where my great-great grandparents were born or any way to differentiate them from other possible relatives with the same names. Don't know which church any of them frequented either. Due to a series of unfortunate events I just don't have much information about this branch of the family outside of public records. Should I just be methodically searching for any records with the Martucci and Castellano and Piedimonte surnames on Il Portale Antenati? Hopefully someone who's been down a similar path can share some wisdom. Thank you!

[Italysearcher]

Italian records are interlocking. Find one and most of the time it's like unravelling a sweater. Don't just look for surnames and expect them to interconnect. Use the information you have to find the next record. Lots of posts on my website that will help.
http://angelresearch.net/2020/02/06/how ... ne-images/
http://angelresearch.net/2020/01/21/how ... nati-site/
http://angelresearch.net/2006/09/05/italian-research/

[PippoM]

I don't think you need a genealogist. Read Ann's posts and try yourself.
Then, if you have issues, come back to the Forum.

[adelfio]

INDEX#21
1888 Aug 26 Marriage record of Michele Martucci age 21 farmer born in Solofra son of Raffaele Martucci and Domenica Vietra married Lucia Tirelli age 20 midwife born in Solofra daughter of Michele Tirelli and Angela O'nofrio

PG LINK
http://dl.antenati.san.beniculturali.it ... ewsIndex=0

Find other marriage records

Marty

[JPiedmont]

The links to angel research and the marriage certificate were very helpful. First time I had heard that Napoleon had banned naming children after the father, that's critical information! I really appreciate the assistance, thank you all very much.

[darkerhorse]

Have you searched for existing family trees on free websites like Ancestry and Family Search which might include your ancestors?

[JPiedmont]

Darkerhorse, yes I have. My tree is the most extensive out of all of them on ancestry, especially now that I'm looking through Italian records. I think I'm the first out of my cousins to do so. Family Search has some great information on the Piedimonte's (my adoptive ancestors) but none on the Martucci's or Castellano's (my biological ancestors) outside of what I have already.

Adelfio, I've found Lucia Tirelli and Michele Martucci's birth records, thanks again! The marriage record helped me confirm when they were born so it didn't take too much searching.

I'm stuck on the next search: Josephine's father Giuseppe Castellano was born about 1862 and her mother Rubina Fraulo was born about 1864. The Stato Civile birth records for Positano on Il Portale Antenati start in 1866, and the Stato civile della restaurazione birth records end in 1859. So outside of church records which I guess may have been destroyed in Montecassino in WWII and if not aren't online, it seems this is a dead end. Haven't had any luck finding their marriage record either, I've read through 1880-1890 and found other Castellano marriages but not theirs... unless I'm reading the cursive wrong. Or unless they weren't born or married in Positano, just living there when their daughter Josephine was born? Her birth record does say her father was a sailor...