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Italian Parish records explained
Parish records began about 1540 in some parishes but by 1630 they were instituted all parishes although not all complied immediately. Although some Catholic parish registers can be found on microfilm most of those filmed were from the Church of England parishes in Italy or from other religious denominations. The Catholic Church generally speaking is … Read more
Italian civil records explained
A birth certificate will give you the names and ages of each parent, their professions, their town of residence and occasionally the name of the Grandfather. This would only happen if there were several men in town with the same first name and surname (maybe even married to a women with similar names). From the … Read more
Finding the town of origin
Italian Genealogy – Finding the town of origin Unlike some other countries Italy does not keep its civil records in one central location, all records are kept in the town where the act took place, whether it is birth, marriage or death. In a country prone to earthquakes, and in the past, wars, not all … Read more
Rest in Peace – well for a while
Most of Southern Italy is very mountainous and this makes arable land very precious for growing crops and grazing animals. It leaves very little land suitable for cemeteries’ and burials. Prior to Napoleon’s conquering of Italy bodies were interred in the crypt below the church floor. There was a strict order for the placing of … Read more
2012 in review
The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2012 annual report for this blog. Here’s an excerpt: 600 people reached the top of Mt. Everest in 2012. This blog got about 6,600 views in 2012. If every person who reached the top of Mt. Everest viewed this blog, it would have taken 11 years to get … Read more
What you need to know about the LDS Microfilms of Southern Italian Civil records
My expertise is with the former Papal States and the former Kingdom of the Two Sicily’s so this information may not apply to Northern Italian civil records. First a little history. In 1809 Napoleon conquered Italy and ordered the keeping of civil records for births, marriages and deaths. The format was the same as that … Read more
Family Reunion in Monte San Giovanni
I had been helping Micheal apply for his Italian citizenship and he had taken a job in Spain in anticipation. He wanted to visit Monte San Giovanni and meet the Anagrafe clerk who seemed to impeding the registration of his documents. She was on vacation the day he was to visit but graciously agreed to … Read more
Donation of 700 Euro to Restore 3 parish record books in Patrica
Don Pietro was very happy to receive a donation of 700 Euro for the restoration of 3 parish record books. Donations were offered from Kathy Palladini, Enio Montini, Larry Koehler, Barbara Hardesty Wes Oliver, Chris Perry and myself.
Restoration Fund for Picinisco
The Parish Census of San Lorenzo Martire in Picinisco was taken in 1853 and updated with births, marriages etc until the late 1890′s. It is an invaluable resource for tracing your family in Picinisco. Entire family groups complete with paretns names and birthdates can be found in one place. Today, I was at the church … Read more
When GGRandma/GGrandpa is ‘a woman/man, not married, not a relative, but not able to be recorded’
This situation occured all over Italy when a couple who were not married had a child that they chose not to abandon. This wording is found on the original document but on certificates and extracts you will see it written as N.N. or ‘genitori ignoti’ (parents unknown). This can be very frustrating for the researcher … Read more
Customised Italian genealogical research
