Rinella, D'Anna, Rubino from Palermo (Trabia?)

[wldspirit]

I can point you in the right direction, but I have never had the pleasure to order or view microfilm.......my town of origin is not filmed.......I wish it were.......

Let me pm some members who have better knowledge than I in this area......

wldspirit

[wldspirit]

The quote.......
"the melody has changed but the song remains the same".....
wldspirit

[nuccia]

I know nothing about locating microfilm but I have some limited experience with using them. You have a groups of films for a particular town (or towns) and a year...so it would be Nati (Births) Town(s) Name+Year(years). All the births registered in that town on that year would be filmed in order of the date registered (which is not always the same as the actual date the event took place).

Indexes are available either in the front of the film or the end of the film of all the people registered in Alphabetical order. The best thing to do when you first begin using the films is to look at the indexes and see if a name jumps out at you and then scroll to that name..yes it may require going back and forth but it will save time. Sometimes if you don't find what you're looking for you will just have to go page by page.

Heres what the indexes might look like..

http://img459.imageshack.us/img459/5420 ... ia19by.png

and heres what a birth act may look like..sometimes the quality is good..other times the films are water damaged and you take what you can get...always a surprise.

http://img409.imageshack.us/img409/1400 ... ia17fh.png

to translate them you could use a site like this one..

http://www.comunesofitaly.org/Links/RuthNerud.htm

which would give you the basics or you could post here. We have several members that can help..the trick is not the the Act itself..its deciphering the handwriting of the person who wrote it! Sometimes you get lucky and the person filling it out was detail oriented..he included the grandfathers/grandparents name and if they were alive or not..others are less documented.

Now..this is what I found with my limited experience..if you really want to know the ins and outs of researching with microfilm I doubt anyone here can dispute the fact that Trish (member brujaojos) wins it hands down. She volunteers in a FHC and specializes in Italian research..If you want a translation from English to Italian..suanj's got it covered since she grew up and researches in Italy..either way, you have a win win situation here.

Many others have researched not only films but parish records and written in Latin none the less which will be my next step this year..James has researched a whole town..I could go on all night but I think you got the picture. Hope I haven't offended anyone..I think everyone's terrific here and has their own level of expertise or favourite area of research (new thread needed maybe ). If you read through pasts posts you'll be able to figure out quite a bit.

Hope this helps a bit.

[jcsm400]

So I go back to the LDS and request all those films or should I just order what timeframe would include my g.parents birth/marriage dates are? Start with my grandparents and work my way back if possible?

What does your signature mean?
"Cambiano i suonatori ma la musica è sempre quella."

Thanks! Marlene

Hi Marlene,

It is always best to work backwards when tracing family. Records for each generation provides information & clues to the previous generation. This way you are sure to obtain the correct records!

I would recommend ordering 1 or 2 films to begin with. Go through them the first time just to see how it's organized & take notes.......Is there a index? Is it before or after the records? Is it organized alphabetically by 1st name? By last name? What information is in the index that is needed to find the actual record? By date? By number of the record? <<Please be aware that the organization of the records can change on a film & each film can be different.

While doing this initial viewing, do some practicing in finding a particular record or two.

I hope this helps & hasn't confused you more! The films can be confusing at first, but you will get the hang of it.

jcsm

[nuccia]

Cool Nonna..we did it again...we posted together..

You're so right about working backwards..forgot about that.. must be a grey moment again

I also should add that you can find out who registered the act (Birth act could be registered by the father, or midwife, mother etc) and who witnessed the event.

[jcsm400]

Nuccia,

We did it again!

nonna

[jcsm400]

I'm the one with the grey moments. You're too young!

Two times and counting!

[nuccia]

Oops..and I did an edit to save a post and add info..sorry. I know I hate to do that because you never really know what the original post was but I wanted to add that info about the registration..

Thanks..young...not according to my children I'm not!

[jcsm400]

All kidding aside.......Each film is different. Mine don't have indexes at the front or back, but after each group of record (1901 births>1901 index, etc.) Some are alphabetical by first, some by surname, some have no index and then some are indexed every two years. Go figure! .....Confusing at first? You betcha! Confusing on the second, third, etc viewing? Not with my notes!

nonna

[jcsm400]

Oops..and I did an edit to save a post and add info..sorry. I know I hate to do that because you never really know what the original post was but I wanted to add that info about the registration..

Thanks..young...not according to my children I'm not!

They will when they get to the same age!

[wldspirit]

That's my fault...pm'd you both for help......
But the more insight the better, right!!

Haven't seen Trish in awhile......she must be buried in research, she usually checks in.......she also volunteers at a Lds library, so she would be able to further aid you in research.......

Let's not go with the grey moments....might trigger my early alzheimers..

Hugs to you both,
wldspirit

[jcsm400]

At least we know that if you call for help around here, you'll get it!

nonna

[wldspirit]

That's what this board is about......positive teamwork!!!!!!

Now if you can help with the early alzheimer moments, I would be forever in your debt.......

Hugs,
Lee

[nuccia]

Lee...I'm glad you PM'd us both..and anyone else who could help..

The more, the merrier right?

[nuccia]

Ok guys..lets get back on track here before we forget what we are supposed to be doing...

Besides..need to go break up a fight here..can't wait for them to move out some nights! And you do it with 5...no wonder you have memory loss... 8O