Frantic newbie trying to find GF birth city in Italy

[5bellasmiths]

Hello everyone. This site is so wonderful and I've learned so much from reading all of your posts. I'm hoping someone out there can offer a suggestion for me on how to proceed.

My family and I are pursuing our citizenship through my husband's maternal grandfather. I've found his naturalization card on footnote.com (naturalized after my husband's mother was born) but I can't find the city he was born in. On ellisisland.org I found the ship he came over on and it lists his last place of residence as Orentano so I was thinking I would just send a letter to that commune to request his bc but under ethnicity it was listed as "Italian South". Orentano looks pretty far north to me.

I've searched every genealogical site I can find. I don't know what to do. Any help would be GREATLY appreciated. His name was Perfetto Petri and his dob was February 26, 1903. Thanks again.

[vj]

Hello ,
We'll be happy to see what we can do to help!
Valarie

[johnnyonthespot]

You are going to need his naturalization documents anyway, so go ahead and order them now from this USCIS website. If you already know the certificate (file) number, you can skip the Index Search and go directly to the Records Request.

Once you get these documents, you will find his place of birth listed on the Declaration of Intent.

[vj]

for everyone's reference

1920 manifest

page 2

born in Firenze, Orentano

[johnnyonthespot]

for everyone's reference

1920 manifest

page 2

born in Firenze, Orentano

VJ, do you think this means Orentano, a frazione of Castelfranco di Sotto in the Pisa province? (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Castelfranco_di_Sotto)

[vj]

Hi Carmine!
Yes I do.
They may have listed Firenze because it was the next largest town?
(over an hour away)
Valarie

[misbris]

I am posting the manifest for reference:

http://www.ellisisland.org/EIFile/popup ... &line=0023

p2

http://www.ellisisland.org/EIFile/popup ... &line=0023

I don't know who made up the ships' list, but it looks like a whole lot of places (like Lucca and Florence) were considered Southern Italian!!!!!!

Orentano is actuallly a frazione or section of Castelfranco di Sotto in the province of Pisa. (Definitely not South Italy)

Here is some info.

http://en.comuni-italiani.it/050/009/index.html

[misbris]

Boy,

Am I late on this one!!!!


hi vj,

[vj]

Hi mj!
Not at all
Neat manifest
I checked the fhl for films
Orentano is in two sets:

Registri dello stato civile, 1866-1929 Santa Croce sull'Arno (Pisa). Ufficio dello stato civile
Registri dello stato civile, 1866-1935 Castelfranco di Sotto (Pisa). Ufficio dello stato civile

I thought perhaps it had been part of Firenze province, but there's no cross reference on the films
Valarie

[5bellasmiths]

Wow. I don't know know what to say. Thank you all soooo much!! I can't believe how quickly you all responded and helped me. You're all wonderful and I hope I can do the same some day. I'm so excited!! Yippee!!!

[PeterTimber]

When the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies was invaded and incorporated by Northern Italy into a unified nation in the 1860's it became "Southern Italy". =Peter=