Church records before 1861 and official state documents

[fiat82]

I put this in the wrong forum before. Sorry. I am going to Italy again shortly to get some documents that I cannot seem to get by mail or phone. There is no microfilm for these years 1849-1861 at the Mormon center. The birth and marriage record I need exist only in the church, not in the town archive. I am going to use them for Italian dual citizenship. So, can I use a Church record of my GGF , certified by the church, as his birth record? Next , can I present the church record to the town archive official, and get an official document of the comune? Can anyone give advise as to what to ask for and how to do this? I want to look at the process before I go. I have only 14 days in Italy this time. I wrote to the priest of the church and the town archive official to let them know I was coming to town again, and that I need their help Thanks for comments

[johnnyonthespot]

... The birth and marriage record I need exist only in the church, not in the town archive. I am going to use them for Italian dual citizenship. So, can I use a Church record of my GGF , certified by the church, as his birth record?

You should inquire with the consulate where you will submit your application.

It is my understanding that church records are not acceptable for this purpose. What you may need to do is to have the comune create a birth record based on the data available from the church and then issue you a standard Estratto Per Riassunto Per Atto Di Nascita. Check with the Ufficio della Stato Civile in the comune to find out how to get this done.

I would add as a footnote: the goal is not to prove that your ancestor was born in Italy, but that he was born a citizen of Italy. Church records in and of themselves do not address this very important point, since merely being born on Italian soil did not then and does not now confer citizenship.

[DeFilippis78]

Yes, I remember another member telling us he was turned down because he didnt have the BC, only church record.

Alicia

[fiat82]

Thanks for the comments