Peter, We are about 20 minutes North of Watertown or 1 1/2 North of Syracuse. I found a site that translated my English into Italian for the families I sent letters to today. I hope they will be able to understand what I said!
compare that with www.freetranslation.com and see if it is similar.They give you 1800 words free and they seem to excellent. This should increase or relieve your anxieties. Peter
I hope they are able to send me that then. I sent for one for both my GGF and my GGGF. Im still waiting for my other GGF death certif to see where he was born in Italy. Gina
Peter,
I was searching the web today and found a person who recomends sending $$ with the letters. The site you gave me says to wait till they ask you for money. I checked with my bank and they said that I would have to order 300.00 euros, no less, through them. I stuck two dollars in each just incase. What do you recomend for the future? Is there a date in Italy where they started keeping records? I know my Grandfather's birth certif may not be on file in Kansas because they didnt start keeping records until after 1912 or so.
The service for requesting brith,marriage,death records etc etc from civil records in Italy Is FREE OF CHARGE. Youdo not have to send anything at all but in these small towns and villages written rrequests are given end of day priority since they must take care of all walk in and local requests and at the end of day they may not be so energetic. Senidng them $5.00 or postal coupon for that amount helps them out since they earn little and are aptr to expedite your requests. Civil records for most of southern and central italy go back to 1809 but in the northern part of Italy some towns have records going back much earlier when they were under french or austrian control and yet others have no records until `1872 when Italy was unified as a nation and uniform civil records wre established. However in most cases there is a record and in the end there is always the church records but that is another chapter. Peter
I would love to learn more about Italy, have any ideas on books I could read? Im glad I stuck something in the envelope, at least for their time. I have heard that Italians are not interested in genealogy. What are your thoughts on that? I hope if I find any living relatives they would be interested in writing. Gina
Actually, in my experience Italians are VERY into genealogy, especially when a possible relative writes them. I searched for my surname in Italy and came up with 95 people in teh international white pages with my surname. I wrote 95 letters, an recieved 93 responses!!!!! Some with pictures, others with phone numbers, and still others with hand drawn family trees. It was very exciting. As a courtesy I purchased international mail coupons and inserted them in every envelope so they wouldn't have to pay for postage. I founf out so much information that 1 1/2 years later I am still going through it all.
it wouldnt hurt to try it!!!
The typical Italian lineage dates from circa 1600, and for most of us that's reasonably profound. But who wants to be "typical" when you might be able to trace a lineage into the 1500s or even into the Middle Ages? Because success in this field requires practice and perseverance, as well as skills m...