Are you looking for an Italian surname? Do you need more information about your family heritage?
This is the right place to start your genealogy search.
First I'd like to thank you all for the AMAZING amount of information you all gave me yesterday. I was stunned....and corrected many of the mistakes in my family history.
My question is, I'd like to dig deeper and research the family that stayed behind in Italy. Does Ancestry.com provide information for Italy? I have no idea even where to start.
Diana
I previously gave you information about how to get information from the town of Teggiano, either by writing to the town, or by trying to do the four rolls of microfilmed records available from a family history center. I don't currently have a subscription to ancestry.com, but I don't think that there are currently records for this town there. Maybe in the future, but not at this time, as far as I know. Is there any other town whose records you need to research?
Peg
Ancestry World Membership has documents from Italy. Not sure if it would include the region you will be researching...
Your best bet might be to start with your local LDS Family History Center. They have Ancestry available there for you to use. At least you can decide if it's worth your investment in a World Membership.
They also have microfilmed records available for MANY towns in Italy to rent and view. These often include birth, death, marriage records available from about 1809 to about 1910...(not in all towns) If you aren't familiar with the FHC let us know.
Peg, I sent an email yesterday to the address that you provided me with and have not heard back as of yet. I'm being patient...which is new for me. LOL
And Tessa, I've found where the closest LDS center is and will have to find the time to get there.
I have an international account for ancestry and there are limited records for Italy. Please tell me where this town is, what province and I will look for you. But I do agree that your best chance is to go to your local Family History Center and order the microfilms, it is much more fun to do it yourself
At the moment, here are the civil registration records available on Ancestry:
Alessandria and Asti, Piedmont, 1866-1938
Caltanissetta, Sicily, 1866-1939
Como and Lecco, Lombardy, 1866-1936
Falerna, Catanzaro, Calabria, 1810-1936
Lodi, Lombardy, 1866-1936
Palermo, Sicily, 1876-1885 (Birth Records Index)
Pavia, Lombardy, 1866-1937
Potenza, Basilicata, 1861-1938
Siena, Tuscany, 1866-1937
Siracusa, Sicily, 1900-1929
Varese, Lombardy, 1866-1937
Verbano-Cusio-Ossola, Piedmont, 1870-1937
Unless you're lucky enough to have relatives from one of these areas, the FHCs are your best bet.
Good luck,
Jerry
Diana
It could take quite a while for you to get a reply to an email or letter to the town. The rule of thumb is give it 30 days (supposedly there is a law in effect which says that a civil office has 30 days to respond to a request for information). However, I have found that some people on this forum have not gotten replies for some 6 months. If after 30 days, you have not gotten a response, then send the email again, but in the subject type "seconda domanda" meaning "second request." Sometimes that will get you a reply, if you haven't previously gotten one. Also bear in mind that those offices may only be open for a few hours on a given day (like 8 to 1), and the people who work in them do have other responsibilities which take priority.
Peg
From 12th October 1946, the national anthem of Italy has been the "Canto degli Italiani" (Chant of the Italians), written in the Autumn of 1847 by a Genoese student and patriot Goffredo Mameli, and set to music in Turin by another Genoese, Michele Novaro. Born during an atmosphere of patriotic fervo...
