church records

[TomAlciere]

There is a movement afoot to press the Catholic Church to open the parish registers to genealogy research. These records started in the 1500's but don't figure you'll be able to trace your ancestry that far back.
.
Presently, you can zig-zag back with the civil records if they started in 1809 in your town. If your direct-line ancestor died in 1810 at age 80 years, and the spouse and the parents are named in the death record, you have the framework to trace back to 1730. Perhaps the ancestor had a sibling who left a death record naming the same parents; and all the descendants of the sibling are related to you, even though your ancestor and the sibling were born in the 1730's. Church records would provide the exact date of birth and baptism, and the date of the parents' marriage, but they usually don't give the names of the parents of the groom and bride. If they did, then you could build your tree with them, but they don't.
.
My ancestral town has most years' records on line, but there are years missing. Here's hoping the local records in the town are still available; but church records would also help here. If a civil death record did not have the names of the spouse or parents, the church record might. Remember, the civil record was made so they could bury the deceased. Two declarants showed up, men who knew the deceased, sometimes relatives, and they told what they knew, but the priest might ask the family members.

[parkergambino]

Tom,

Church records for some localities are available on FamilySearch. For example, quite a number of Palermo records can be accessed here:

https://www.familysearch.org/search/cat ... d%3A605162

These are the ones that are relevant for my own searches. You may have to dig in to the FS holdings to discover if "yours" are available. I regret that I cannot foresee having time to help you do this. If you struggle with the searching, perhaps making your geographical interests known will allow others to pitch in.

Parker