Over 25 million Italians have emigrated between 1861 and 1960 with a migration boom between 1871 and 1915 when over 13,5 million emigrants left the country for European and overseas destinations.
I received my GGF's death certificate in the mail today, still waiting on all birth certs (GM,M,me & siblings).
His name and birth date check out, so no changes needed there. The discrepancies are regarding his parents' names:
On his Italian birth cert, his father is listed as Giovanni Battista Lafiata and his mother is Anna Maria Damalio. His US death cert says "Gianbatista" and Maria Lafiata. It does not have his mother's maiden name listed.
Are these things I'll need to get corrected? His name and birth date match his Italian birth cert, so I'm really hoping his parents' first name discrepancies are not an issue. My appointment is March 1 so I'm worried I don't have enough time to get a court order/apostille/translation in time. Not to mention I still haven't received all US birth certs yet, so there might be corrections needed on those as well
What Consulate are you applying in? And where did your GGF die?
In NYC, I was able to correct my GF's D.C. with his parents' marriage record. They also asked for all the birth records from myselt to him to establish the ancestry and I had additional documentation as well. I believe that you can use your GGF's birth record to do this. In NYC you need a translation (not your own) to submit along with it. They did take a while in NY -- I think over 2-1/2 months -- even though I went in and had everything the clerk requested. Other cities will have different criteria and schedules.
I would consider going in with what you have to see what exactly they ask for.
Thanks for your response. I am applying in Philly, so I'm not sure if they're strict about first names or not. My GGF died in the same town in PA where he lived since immigrating to the states.
Also, when you said "I would consider going in with what you have to see what exactly they ask for." do you mean go to my appointment at the consulate with the document as is?
It sounded like you might not have the time to get everything together before your appointment, but that is based on my experience with NYC documents, so would not apply to you. Others have mentioned that they seem to be ever so slightly more lenient about death certificates, so you might try to go to your appointment with the document as is and see if they ask you to correct it. Hopefully someone who's gone through the Philadelphia Consulate and has actual experience there will chime in.
That makes sense - I have heard plenty of horror stories about applying in NYC. I'll have to do some research on those that have applied in Philly and reach out to them. Thanks for your help!
I totally agree. They are more forgiving of death certificate errors because the information on the certificates is neither confirmed nor self-reported. Generally, the information is provided by a grieving relative, and mistakes are common. My gm reported incorrect names for my gf's parents, and this was not an issue with the NYC consulate several years ago. I tend to think your document will be accepted as is.
mler wrote:I totally agree. They are more forgiving of death certificate errors because the information on the certificates is neither confirmed nor self-reported. Generally, the information is provided by a grieving relative, and mistakes are common. My gm reported incorrect names for my gf's parents, and this was not an issue with the NYC consulate several years ago. I tend to think your document will be accepted as is.
Thanks mler! That makes me a feel a little better about the death cert. I'm going to call with Dept of Health to see if they'll make the correction without a court order, just in case. Now I wait for all the birt certs to arrive - hopefully I don't run into any major discrepancies there. I'm kicking myself for being such a procrastinator, I've had over a year to gather these docs and I waited until last month to do so...I guess I like the pressure.
In Texas, a birth certificate can be amended by ADDING information only. There are things you can't amend, like cause of death.
There were forms on the internet for amendment, and It was quick and easy. I had my GGf's amended by adding his Italian Name aka: americanized name shown on DC. I also had his parents names added. Depending on the rules in your state, you can probably amend the spelling fairly easily. I also sent a copy of birth certificate showing date of birth and amended that.
I haven't had my meeting yet, but feel comfortable that this will work.
tlisti wrote:In Texas, a birth certificate can be amended by ADDING information only. There are things you can't amend, like cause of death.
There were forms on the internet for amendment, and It was quick and easy. I had my GGf's amended by adding his Italian Name aka: americanized name shown on DC. I also had his parents names added. Depending on the rules in your state, you can probably amend the spelling fairly easily. I also sent a copy of birth certificate showing date of birth and amended that.
I haven't had my meeting yet, but feel comfortable that this will work.
Thanks for the advice! I received a call from someone confirming my appointment so I asked him about this, and he said as long as my GGF's name and birth date are correct there shouldn't be an issue. I might still look into getting it amended just in case.
An Italian novel for kids called "La Freccia Azzurra" (The Blue Arrow) says that all the children in the world wait for Christmas Eve to get presents from Santa Clause, but Italian kids are the luckiest in the world because they get presents again on the 6th of January by the Befana. Who is the Befa...
