Contacting possible Italian relative

[chrisdamato]

I found a person with the D'Amato surname living on the same street that my great grandfather was born on back in 1879. I'm hoping that this person is somehow related to me. I have the address from the white pages, but I'm not sure how I should address the envelope.

D'Amato Margherita
84037 Sant'Arsenio (SA)
Via Fontana Maggiore, 114

Do I need to add anything else?

Thank you

[johnnyonthespot]

Format the address as follows:

Margherita D'Amato
Via Fontana Maggiore 114
84037 Sant'Arsenio SA
ITALY


You can be a bit more formal with "Signora Margherita D'Amato" or "Sig.a Margherita D'Amato"

In most countries other than the US, the street number (114) is written after the name, and the ZIP Code (in Italy, it is the "Codice di Avviamento Postale" or CAP) is given before the name of the city (Sant'Arsenio) which is then followed by the provincial code (SA = Salerno).

The final line, according to US Postal rules, must contain only the country name, written in English, in all caps.

[vintagegamer]

Chris I will be eager to hear how this turns out. I recently had a similar experience which turned out wonderfully, in my opinion.

My mother had some letters from family in Ferrania who had written to her family yearly. Unfortunately the correspondence ended around 1976 when the family members who were in contact with one another had all passed away.

I wrote to the return address on the envelope, after finding out, like you had, that there were still current residents at that address who had the family name. I am happy to announce that I received a reply, my family and I were so happy.

If I can offer some advice, include with the letter either a 1-pager showing your family tree, or some photos of your family who could potentially be related to this person. That way they know you're just not some scammer sending them random info, and it will help save your letter from the "spazzatura"

Keep us posted!

[chrisdamato]

Thank you for your help and suggestions! I absolutely plan on including the family tree and some photos of my great grandfather. It is my hope that this person is descended from my great great grandparents. Hopefully, this is the case and we can start corresponding regularly with newfound members of the family.

I'll keep you all posted.

[Bette]

Dear Chris,

I'd like to add the following....remember to include your email address in the header of your letter. I did this and received a response via email within one week. I also send my letters in both languages (Italian and English), just in case, the internet translation is not understood.

Good luck,
Bette

[chrisdamato]

I have written a brief letter to Margherita. I would appreciate any help with translating it to Italian so that she can understand what I am asking of her.

Dear Margherita,

My name is Chris D'Amato. I have been researching my family tree and recently found my great grandfather's birth record. His name was Pietro D'Amato. He was born in Sant'Arsenio in 1879. His father was Nicola D'Amato and his mother was Maddalena Pandolfo. The address listed on the birth record indicated that they lived on Via Fontana Maggiore. I do not know the house number.

I then did a search to see if there were any D'Amatos still living in Sant'Arsenio and found your name. I was even more excited to see that you are living on the same street! I am interested in knowing whether you are also related to Pietro, Nicola, and Maddalena. It would be great if I found a distant relative still living in my great grandfather's ancestral hometown.

I have included a copy of the family tree in the hope that it may help you determine if we share common ancestors.

Thank you very much for your time.

Sincerely,

Chris D'Amato
Middlebury, CT
USA

Thanks for everyone's help!!!

[ricbru]

THIS IS THE TRANSLATION INTO ITALIAN, I HOPE IT HELP, BYE RICCARDO

--------------------------

Gentilissima Sig.ra Margherita,
mi chiamo Chris D'Amato. Sto facendo una ricerca storica della mia famiglia e recentemente ho trovato l'atto di nascita del mio bisnonno.
Lui si chiamava Pietro D'Amato, nacque a Sant'Arsenio nel 1879. Suo padre si chiamava Nicola D'Amato e sua madre Maddalena Pandolfo. Nell'atto di nascita c'è scritto che lui è nato all'indirizzo di Via Fontana Maggiore, senza numero civico.

Quindi ho fatto una ricerca se c'era qualche D'Amato che ancora vivesse a quell'indirizzo e ho trovato voi. Sono molto entusiasta nel sapere che voi abitate nella stessa strada dove è nato il mio bisnonno!!
Io vorrei sapere se voi siete dei lontani parenti e se esistono discendenti del ramo del mio bisnonno.

Allego alla presente una copia del mio albero genealogico, in modo che voi possiate capire l'eventuale vincolo di discendenza.

Grazie tante
Saluti


Chris D'Amato
Middlebury, CT
USA

[chrisdamato]

Riccardo,

Thank you for helping! Did you have to change anything slightly? I pasted it into a language translation website, but the italian translation looked a bit strange.

Chris

[ricbru]

IF YOU COPY AND PASTE IT AND YOU TRANSLATE IT INTO ENGLISH USING INTERNET, FOR SURE IT IS A BIT STRANGE,
I'M ITALIAN AND MY MOTHER LANGUAGE IS ITALIAN
CIAO AND GOOD LUCK
RICCARDO

p.s. i suggest also to attach an envelope plus italian stamp, so for sure margherita will reply with no cost from her pocket

[johnnyonthespot]

Riccardo - I have seen Signora abbreviated as both Sig.ra and as Sig.a.

Is one more correct than the other?

[ricbru]

the best abbreviation is Sig.ra, you can use it if you want
ciao Riccardo

[chrisdamato]

Riccardo,

Thanks. Actually I was referring to my original letter. I pasted my original into the translation website and the italian version of it looked strange. I'm sure your version is much better!!

[ricbru]

oh , ok, good luck, let us know
bye Riccardo

[chrisdamato]

Still no word from my possible relative. I'm getting depressed. I was hoping to have received a response by now. It's been a month since I sent out the letter.

[fadippides]

In one case it took close to three months for me to recieve a reply from a suspected (and later confirmed) relative. I think what had happened was they waited to give their daughter my e-mail so she could e-mail me. It was worth the wait as they have provided me with pictures of my ggg uncle and their tree from that point forward.