Help searching for GM's Birth Certificate?

lasabbia · Post by **lasabbia** » 01 Aug 2016, 16:24

Hi, I am trying to see if I can locate birth certificate of my grandmother who was born Grazia Di Pietro on January 1, 1903 in Messina. I know I can write to the commune but was trying to see if I could locate it myself on line if possible. Any recommendations or assistance would greatly welcomed. Thank you in advance.

Tessa78 · Post by **Tessa78** » 02 Aug 2016, 20:15

Welcome to the forum!

Messina is both a Province and a Comune (town) -
Since civil registrations are held at the town level, you will need to know the exact town of your GM's birth...

Civil Registrations for Messina can be searched at these links (these records are in Italian)
https://familysearch.org/search/image/i ... /waypoints
https://familysearch.org/search/image/i ... /waypoints
https://familysearch.org/search/image/i ... %3D2120739
You will see that there is a list of comuni (towns) at the link. Click on the town you wish to search and you will see additional links for Nati (births), Morti (deaths), and Mantrimoni (marriages) with years to search.

Sometimes there are indexes available that are at the beginning or end of each year's book of acts.

T.

lasabbia · Post by **lasabbia** » 02 Aug 2016, 20:25

Thank you very much for your assistance. I greatly appreciate it!

Tessa78 · Post by **Tessa78** » 02 Aug 2016, 20:31

lasabbia wrote:Thank you very much for your assistance. I greatly appreciate it!

Happy to do it!

Do you have US documents? A ship manifest might help to narrow down the exact town...

T.

lasabbia · Post by **lasabbia** » 02 Aug 2016, 20:56

I just have her naturalization record that indicated that she was born in Messina.

VotM · Post by **VotM** » 03 Aug 2016, 12:38

Any image(s) of the naturalization paper(s) would help lead to the Declaration of Intention, which in turn would -- hopefully! -- lead to the correct ship name.

lasabbia · Post by **lasabbia** » 03 Aug 2016, 13:43

This is the naturalization record. I'm not sure if it's the Cretic?

VotM · Post by **VotM** » 03 Aug 2016, 14:24

That helps a lot. Thanks!

I can't quite read the number on the upper right of the Certificate of Arrival, but there is a Grazia di Pietro who appears to have a similar number marked next to her occupation (1-112726) aboard the S.S. Cretic, arrived January 6, 1920. Look at line 30.

Sheet 1: https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1 ... cc=1923995
Sheet 2: https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1 ... cc=1923995

Assuming this is the correct person... you're right, the birthplace is simply listed as "Messina".

The birth date may be estimated. As far as I can tell, the index for Messina's 1903 births is missing (haven't looked at 1902 or 1904 yet), so the hunt for a birth record could be a long one.

lasabbia · Post by **lasabbia** » 03 Aug 2016, 15:25

That looks like her. Thanks for your help and sharing this document - very kind of you!

VotM · Post by **VotM** » 03 Aug 2016, 16:37

Tessa78 wrote: Civil Registrations for Messina can be searched at these links (these records are in Italian)
https://familysearch.org/search/image/i ... /waypoints
https://familysearch.org/search/image/i ... /waypoints
https://familysearch.org/search/image/i ... %3D2120739

I'll add one more link:
https://familysearch.org/search/image/i ... /waypoints

To say that these records are disorganized is an understatement. I found clusters of births for 1912 and 1913 in the 1901-1903 section. Also, some indexes appear to be in front of the records rather than at the end of them.

lasabbia · Post by **lasabbia** » 03 Aug 2016, 16:42

Thanks! I'll see if I have any luck scrolling through these.

lasabbia · Post by **lasabbia** » 15 Aug 2016, 15:49

I wasn't able to find my GM's birth certificate, so was wondering if anyone could help me locate my GF's birth certificate - Nicola Arena born in Messina on April 27, 1894, parents were Giuseppe and Francesca. Once again thanks in advance for any help.

adelfio · Post by **adelfio** » 15 Aug 2016, 16:43

Birth record of Nicolo Arena
INDEX#5
1894 April 27th in the town of Massa S. Nicolo, Villaggi di Messina birth of Nicolo Arena son of Giuseppe Arena age 26 and his wife Francesca Costanzo
Villaggi di Messina are numerous villages within the town of Messina
PG LINK TO RECORD
https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1 ... cc=1967753

Marty

lasabbia · Post by **lasabbia** » 15 Aug 2016, 16:49

Thanks so much, Marty, for your super fast help!

adelfio · Post by **adelfio** » 15 Aug 2016, 17:12

Birth record of Grazia Di Pietro
INDEX#2
1903 Jan 1st in the town of Scala,Villaggi di Messina in a house on via San Nicolo #1320 the birth of Grazia Di Pietro daughter of Francesco Di Pietro age 32 farmer and his wife Giuseppa Vinci daughter of Orazio

PG LINK TO RECORD
https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1 ... cc=1967753

Marty

Help searching for GM's Birth Certificate?

Help searching for GM's Birth Certificate?

Re: Help searching for GM's Birth Certificate?

Re: Help searching for GM's Birth Certificate?

Re: Help searching for GM's Birth Certificate?

Re: Help searching for GM's Birth Certificate?

Re: Help searching for GM's Birth Certificate?

Re: Help searching for GM's Birth Certificate?

Re: Help searching for GM's Birth Certificate?

Re: Help searching for GM's Birth Certificate?

Re: Help searching for GM's Birth Certificate?

Re: Help searching for GM's Birth Certificate?

Re: Help searching for GM's Birth Certificate?

Re: Help searching for GM's Birth Certificate?

Re: Help searching for GM's Birth Certificate?

Re: Help searching for GM's Birth Certificate?