Stato di Famiglia Storico - Historical State of the Family Certificate

Don't overlook this valuable resource as you research your Italian ancestors. The State of the Family Certificate shows a whole family unit with much of their vital information included. Such vital information often includes the father's given name, birth date and place, death date and place, where they immigrated to, notations regarding citizenship, and sometimes when, where, and whom they married.

You can write to a town's civil record's office for these certificates. There is usually a fee of 2 1/2 - 5 Euro per individual on the certificate. Don't forget to send a self-addressed envelope for their convenience.

Also, if you're lucky, the town may send photocopies of a few of the vital events noted in the certificate! I have had this happen a few times.

Indice Annuale - Annual Indexes

Anyone familiar with Italian microfilmed civil records will have used these indexes. These are most often found annually at the beginning or end of a register. However, there were also 10-year indexes created which are particularly helpful when searching for multiple offspring of an ancestral couple.

Do you check these indexes when pulling the records of your ancestors? I've used the indexes to clarify a name abbreviated in the text of a document, to verify titles given to family members, and to verify the spelling of surnames. I have even seen children designated as "d'ignoti" or "of unknown parents" in the actual record yet the index gives the name of the child's mother or father.

So, don't overlook this resource. They could be helpful!

Research Plan and Analysis of a Italian Document

The link below shows you an 18th-Century Italian document on which I performed an analysis and prepared a research plan. I hope it helps you grow your research skills!

Analysis of 18th-Century Document and Research Plan

Melanie D. Holtz earns Certified Genealogist credential!

As of 7 January 2010, I am a Certified Genealogist. :) CG and Certified Genealogist are Service Marks of the Board for Certification of Genealogists, used under license by board certificants after periodic competency evaluations by the Board.

It was a long and difficult process but well worth the effort!

Tip on "Cittadinanza" or Citizenship Records

Many of our Italian ancestors were not stationary. Some traveled from town to town on a daily basis plying their chosen trade. Yet others moved with the seasons, often spending summers in the countryside within the jurisdiction of another town.

When consulting the 19th century citizenship records, one must keep in mind that seasonal migrations were often not recorded in town records since they weren’t considered permanent moves. See David I. Kertzer and Dennis P. Hogan, “On the Move: Migration in an Italian Community, 1865-1921,” Social Science History, (Issue 9, 1985), pp. 5-6.

New Foundation for Italian Heritage in NJ

If you live in or near southern NJ, there is a new foundation to promote Italian heritage called the Italian Cultural Foundation of South Jersey, Inc. Membership is open to anyone with an interest in Italian heritage.

Plans are to hold educational lectures, offer dance and language lessons, host musicians, and offer slideshows.

For more information email Vincent Marolda at vincentmarolda@sprynet.com.

Notarial Records in Milan

The Archivio di Stato (State Archives) in Milan has placed their notarial records online. You can search these records at the link below.

Notarial Records in Milan

Happy researching!

Italian Resources for Jewish Ancestors

Nardo Bonomi has an awesome website to help direct those who are researching their Jewish ancestors from Italy.

Italian Resources for Jewish Genealogy

Check it out!

Book - Italian Footprints in South Africa

A South-African freelance writer and publicist has published a book titled Italian Footprints in South Africa. The book details the Italian contribution to the country in all aspects of South African life. You can read more about the book on the Jacana blog.

The Dialects and/or Languages of Italy

All those who have done enough research in Italian records will realize that while most records will be written in standard Italian, Latin or in some areas French, there are those occasional words in a document that defy any known translation. I have found they are often a dialect word of the region in which you are researching. The dictionary of dialect words at Dialettando.com has helped me several times to decipher a particular word from the dialect.

I hope this tip helps your research efforts!

Italian Military Records at the Family History Library

While the availability is limited, the Family History Library does have some Italian military records available for consultation.

Documenti militari

Registri militari

Military records, in particular the liste di leva or conscription records, can also be found at provincial archives. The Cosenza provincial archives has started to digitize some of their conscription records. Here's the link to the Cosenza Archivio di Stato.

Archivio di Stato - Republic of San Marino

The State Archives for the Republic of San Marino has censimenti and stati d'anime records digitized and online!

You will need to register. I have not received any spam or otherwise intrusive emails by using this resource.

Photo Preservation

I'm sure we all have those photos of our Italian ancestors that are starting to show signs of age. Take the photo at the left which neatly slices Giuseppa Catanese's face in half. What I wouldn't give to erase that crack as it is the youngest known photograph of this ancestor.

Maureen Taylor has written a great book on this subject titled Preserving You Family Photographs: How to Organize, Present, and Restore Your Precious Family Images. You can also follow her blog at Photo Detective.

Civil Records of Selected Italian Comunes

This website provides links or email addresses for transcribed or abstracted Italian civil records. Take the time to see if your comune of interest is listed.

But remember, the use of transcriptions/abstractions should never take the place of research in original records. There is usually more information in the documents than has been transcribed.

Happy hunting!

Comuni-Italiani.it

This is a great place to find information on your ancestor's town of origin. You'll find links to town websites, addresses of civil record offices, street maps as well as satellite images of most towns amongst a host of other useful links.

This website is an extremely useful tool for the Italian researcher!