What did I do wrong?

[mcamp60]

Hi,

I posted the below message a few days ago and I didn’t get the responses the way I expected. I only got one response and unfortunately it really didn’t answer my questions. Now I was sure a lot of people (including me) would have benefited from the answers to these questions since they relate to how non-native Italians can find records in Italy so what am I doing wrong?

I am trying to be thoughtful about this since I am new to the forum so I thought the reason I didn’t get the response is that either my questions have been asked so many times no one is interested in answering, although I would have expected to be pointed to another similar thread, or nobody on this forum has the answers ( I doubt that because there seems to be a lot of experience here).

Can anyone either help me with my questions, redirect me another thread, or simply tell what I am doing wrong?

Thanks in advance


=======================================
Hi,

I have unsuccessfully been trying to obtain copies of my great grandfather’s birth (1851) and marriage (around 1880) records from the village Tusa in Sicily.

I wrote a letter in Italian in what I thought was the correct format. I sent it here:
Ufficio dello Stato Civile
Comune di Tusa
98079 TUSA ME
ITALY

No reply.

What am I doing wrong and am I better off using a professional?

Thanks

[liviomoreno]

What am I doing wrong and am I better off using a professional?

you did not put the stamp on the envelope...

you did not give an address for the reply...

your letter was offensive...

their answer was lost...

Usually you should receive an answer in 4-6 weeks...

I suggest that you resend the letter after posting it here for review, if you don't get an answer in 4-6 weeks ask for the help of a professional.

[warriorrabbit]

How long did you wait w/o a reply? If it takes 2-4 and sometimes more weeks to get a microfilm from Utah, from people who are predisposed to do so, then I can imagine it might take some time to get the cooperation of someone in Italy who has other, more pressing obligations.

Do you need actual copies for some other reason, or just regular scans for genealogy purposes? Did you check the microfilms? Tusa has limited records (1820-1865 -- what happened after that, did it cease to exist?) but it would cover your grandfather's birth. http://www.familysearch.org/Eng/Search/ ... bjectBar=1

[Poipuo4]

Some comunes will only search one year, so if the year of birth was 1852 and not 1851, they may simply not reply instead of telling you no record was found. For the marriage certificate, the comunes that I have dealt with will not search unless you give them a specific year. If you said AROUND 1880, as opposed to IN 1880, they may not look at all for you. One other thing, the Italian elections are going on and the records office may be busy with that. I would say give it 4 to 6 weeks.

[Italysearcher]

Wait a little longer, the records office does deal with the electoral role and like most things in Italy the paperwork far exceeds that which we are used to. The records office will be occupied with the election aftermath for another few weeks.

[mcamp60]

Thank you all for your input and advice. I think the suggestion for posting my letter on this forum for feedback is a great idea.

Thanks again

[carmine1917]

Have you tried the familysearch.org website ?

I have also looked on that site, found nothing. Than I googled my Grandma's last name and found people who have the same name in the region I was looking and emailed them. One man sent me the exact microfiche I needed to get.

If I were you I would go the family search site, find a location near you and go talk to them. I called the main location in Salt Lake City this morning and they said that the satellite offices are volunteer, so they may not always be there at the times on the website. Call your local office and ask them for the microfilm.

Also, I would call wherever you sent the letter to. I would never just send a letter. Did you put a check in it? or a money order? self-addresses stamped envelope?

post the names of who you are looking for on this site and the exact areas. People here are very helpful.

Good Luck!

[Essgee]

Actually. The answer Elba gave was quite complete.

The problem lies in the fact that you have waited 2 years! You have a lot more patience then I have!!!!

Obviously, waiting for a response without re-writing the comune for an answer, or obtaining the information from films at the LDS, is not going to produce results this time around. While you cannot find the marriage record in the microfilmed records in 1880 because the films are only available to 1865, the birth record might be available. Go to www.familysearch.org and see what is available for you to access.

Sometimes the marriages are located at the bottom of the birth record, indicating that the birth record was checked as part of the marriage documents. It is worth the chance that this could be the case on the birth record you seek.

Anyway, order a film of the correct period for the birth before you send for additional information. At least, you will learn a bit more then you know so that the request can be more specific.

You often have to fight for every piece of information...and you need to not sit back as long the next time. True, they don't work as fast in Italy as we would like...but 2 years is really too long.

And remember, every town is different...not all work exactly the same way. Unless one of us is actually involved with this comune, all we can offer is suggestions. So broad or narrow the response, you need to understand there are no guarantees.

Good Luck........

[mcamp60]

Essgee,

Thanks for the response but I don’t think I represented my questions correctly in my original posting. I was too nebulous and that's why I didn’t get the response I wanted. So hopefully this query is a lot clearer:

1. Can someone share a proven template and process for requesting records from Italy?
2. Can some one recommend a professional to help me find these two records?

You made me laugh. I really haven’t been waiting two years for someone in Italy to respond to my letter. After about 3 months of waiting I just continued my own research.

Since then I have scoured the LDS films (frame by frame) and I have been able to copy all the B, M, and D indexes for Tusa from 1821 to 1865, store them in a series of spreadsheets, and cross-referenced them to uncover much of my family history. Any record that was pertinent I retrieved the actual Act, and when possible, I would translate.

Just two records have continued to elude me, the 1880 Marriage and 1851 Birth. You are correct about the Marriage acts not being available on film and unfortunately the 1851 Birth index (and Birth Acts) is missing. So here I am back to the letter or maybe better, a professional.

Thanks again for the help and if I anyone is interested info on Tusa Im your person.

[federici1999]

I ran into the same problem. I finally used a service to request the documents for me. The problem we ran into recovering the documents was the same as the USA (privacy policy). Some towns use the policy and some don't. I had to give the service permission to retrieve the documents for me with a letter and proof of identity. Once that was done I received the documents in 6 weeks. E-mail me if you would like the name of the service.
Bob

[Essgee]

Essgee,

Thanks for the response but I don’t think I represented my questions correctly in my original posting. I was too nebulous and that's why I didn’t get the response I wanted. So hopefully this query is a lot clearer:

1. Can someone share a proven template and process for requesting records from Italy?
2. Can some one recommend a professional to help me find these two records?

You made me laugh. I really haven’t been waiting two years for someone in Italy to respond to my letter. After about 3 months of waiting I just continued my own research.

Since then I have scoured the LDS films (frame by frame) and I have been able to copy all the B, M, and D indexes for Tusa from 1821 to 1865, store them in a series of spreadsheets, and cross-referenced them to uncover much of my family history. Any record that was pertinent I retrieved the actual Act, and when possible, I would translate.

Just two records have continued to elude me, the 1880 Marriage and 1851 Birth. You are correct about the Marriage acts not being available on film and unfortunately the 1851 Birth index (and Birth Acts) is missing. So here I am back to the letter or maybe better, a professional.

Thanks again for the help and if I anyone is interested info on Tusa Im your person.

Now my turn to laugh...but not at you, with you. You are really on the horns of a dilemma...and I think that federici might be able to help you with information.

Let us know how it goes!

Have a great evening...Susan

[Barga]

Find otut he name of the local church and there will be records there.

BY THE WAY INFO FOR ALL
ITALIANS OF FIST GENERATION LIVING ABROAD USUSALLY GET DEPRESSED