Parroco Unresponsive

[casamia]

Greetings,
And thank you for making this wesite the best Italian Genealogy webiste on the internet!

I have been researching my family history for quite a while now. Like many of you, the comune that my ancestors came from is in Calabria. The LDS microfilm available for this comune contains civil records only. I have been though every frame of every reel and I have found many wonderful and fascinating records. But I have one problem and I am seeking advice.

In the year 1875 in this comune about 25% of the atti di nascita were marked "illegittimo." As you probably know, many Calabrian towns opposed the new Italian government at this time. The people obeyed the Pope and refused to follow the government's civil marriage procedures. And the government refused to recognize church marriages. And the children of these Calabrese were considered illegitimate by the government.

My bisnonni had their first child in 1875. I found his atto di nascita on microfilm. It was marked "illegittimo."

My bisnonni were religious people. It is said that they opposed the new government.

I wrote to the municipio of the comune and requested a copy of the atto di matrimonio for my bisnonni. They sent me a photocopy of the document. The civil marriage took place in 1876. There is a notation at the bottom of the document that states that they were married in order to legitimize their son.

I strongly suspect that my bisnonni were married in the church before the birth of their first child. I would like to prove this. I wrote to the parroco of the comune. I explained the situation and sent a donation. I did not receive any response. And now I am wondering how to proceed. Is there any other way to get a church record? Should I write to the parroco a second time? Send more money?

[VaDeb]

From what I have read about this it may be difficult to get what you want from the church. The priest is under no obligation to provide the informaton. They are usually very busy and may have more than one church to coverr. A second letter may help, but I wouldn't send any more money.

Do you have a relative in the area that could request the information for you?

Well written post.

Debboe

[casamia]

VaDeb,
Thank you for your reply. I am very impressed with the posters on this forum.

No, I am afraid I know of no one in the town that might be able to request the information personally. I will probably have to keep writing to the parroco.

Do you know if church records are duplicated and held anywhere other than the local parish? Is there anyone I can appeal to other than the parroco?

Thanks again!

[wldspirit]

When writing to the parish priest, inquire as to wether or not he may know of someone, ( here is where you make a suggestion )
a nephew, relative or even someone who works with the church......offering to pay this person for their time..........
you have nothing to lose, and everything to gain......
best of luck!!
wldspirit

[casamia]

Thank you,

Good suggestion. I will do that. Everyone is very kind here. It is a wonderful website. You all have helped many people here.

[wldspirit]

The Lds provides the following letter.......as you scroll thru, you will see towards the end where they also make a similar suggestion.....hope this helps.....
wldspirit

http://www.familysearch.org/Eng/search/ ... talian.ASP

[brujaojos]

The Lds provides the following letter.......as you scroll thru, you will see towards the end where they also make a similar suggestion.....hope this helps.....
wldspirit

http://www.familysearch.org/Eng/search/ ... talian.ASP

Hi there,

You can try to write to the Archdicese of the Region your ancestor was from in Calabria.

the link below is general information on how to write and what kind of records are available.
http://home.att.net/~Local_Catholic/Catholic-Italy.htm

The links below are other links about the specific region.

Archdiocese of Reggio Calabria-Bova
http://www.catholic-hierarchy.org/dioce ... .html#info

Archdiocese of Catanzaro-Squillace
http://www.catholic-hierarchy.org/dioce ... .html#info


Archdiocese of Cosenza-Bisignano
http://www.catholic-hierarchy.org/dioce ... .html#info

Crotone-Santa Severina
http://www.catholic-hierarchy.org/dioce ... .html#info

However, as the others stated, the Priest aren't as helpful for there is a shortage of Priest as well as they have several Churches to attend to. It's a shame to even see that some Churches have even closed down.

Hope this helps.
Trish