L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2015 www.italoamericano.org L'Italo-Americano 5 t h e i r a n c e s t o r s . M y l a t e grandmother was the driving force behind this. She was the one who always wanted to know more. I eventually traveled to my grandfather's hometown in Calabria, San Pietro a Maida, where I was able to research records in the churches and city h a l l s , a n d l a t e r t o m y grandmother's town, Rovereto. I thus began another chapter of my genealogy research, which is still ongoing because once you find an ancestor, there are two more behind him/her, then four more, and so forth. Your company, ORIGINS I T A L Y , a s s i s t s c l i e n t s i n f i n d i n g t h e i r I t a l i a n r o o t s . W h a t i s t h e o n e p i e c e o f information you absolutely n e e d i n o r d e r t o s t a r t genealogical research? It is essential to know your ancestral town or towns in Italy. Sometimes the knowledge of our p r e c i s e I t a l i a n o r i g i n s i s preserved in our families; other times, genealogical research within your Italian immigrant's destination country is necessary to rediscover this information. W i t h k n o w l e d g e o f y o u r ancestral town or towns in Italy, i t i s p o s s i b l e t o b e g i n g e n e a l o g i c a l r e s e a r c h u s i n g Italian records. It is efficient and cost effective to consult Italian records online and on microfilm b e f o r e b u y i n g y o u r a i r p l a n e t i c k e t t o l a b e l l ' I t a l i a . U s e www.familysearch.org to see if records from your ancestral town h a v e b e e n m i c r o f i l m e d o r digitized. What are some genealogical r e s o u r c e s f o r f i n d i n g y o u r Italian ancestral town? F o r p e o p l e i n t h e U n i t e d States, a great place to start is n a t u r a l i z a t i o n r e c o r d s a n d passenger manifests because t h e r e i s a c h a n c e t h a t y o u r ancestor's hometown will be indicated. Other resources for researching your ancestral town include vital records, church records, Sons of Italy records, newspapers, and many other records. Once you have exhausted Italian genealogical resources online and on microfilm, what is the next step? T h e n e x t s t e p i n y o u r genealogical journey is onsite research in Italy, or research by c o r r e s p o n d e n c e ( c o n t a c t i n g o f f i c e s i n I t a l y t o r e q u e s t records of your ancestors). Italy h a s w o n d e r f u l r e c o r d s f o r finding our Italian ancestors! Civil records are a great place to begin. They can be found at the Civil Records Office (Ufficio Stato Civile) in your ancestral town or at the Archivio di Stato in the Italian province where your ancestral town is located. Researching church records is an excellent place to continue your research. Church records pertaining to your ancestors are t y p i c a l l y f o u n d i n t h e l o c a l parish Church in your ancestral t o w n a n d / o r t h e D i o c e s a n Archive. Always remember that Italian genealogical research d o e s n o t e n d w i t h b i r t h , marriage, and death records. T h e r e a r e m a n y a d d i t i o n a l resources to help us explore our ancestors' lives, like military records, demographics records, notary records, land records, and m u c h m o r e ! S o m e c a s e s a r e more challenging than others, but I always tell people: 'Never g i v e u p – y o u c a n f i n d t h e answer.' I t a l m o s t s o u n d s l i k e detective work. Absolutely, I always say that genealogists are like detectives. You have to use a lot of problem solving skills. Sometimes in g e n e a l o g y w e e n c o u n t e r roadblocks, or "brick walls" as s o m e c a l l t h e m . S a y , f o r example, a city hall in Italy was bombed during World War II, a n d a l l t h e r e c o r d s g o t destroyed. You would have to l o o k f o r a l t e r n a t i v e r e c o r d sources. Perhaps you find an ancestor, but you cannot figure out where he or she is from. M a y b e t r y s t u d y i n g t h e surnames in your family tree, p a y i n g a t t e n t i o n t o n a m i n g patterns, migration patterns, etc. You will need to think outside the box to find the solution. Y o u a r e a h o s t o n t h e a c c l a i m e d P B S T V s e r i e s " G e n e a l o g y R o a d s h o w " , which features participants from around the country with u n i q u e f a m i l y h i s t o r i e s (currently filming Season 3). C a n y o u t a l k a b o u t t h i s experience? "Genealogy Roadshow" is the coolest part of my job as a genealogist! It is a privilege and a j o y t o b e a b l e t o h e l p o u r g u e s t s u n c o v e r t h e i r f a m i l y stories, to be on this journey with them. We are currently filming season 3 of "Genealogy R o a d s h o w . " T h i s y e a r , t h e Roadshow will take us from coast to coast in the USA – from historic New England to sunny California! I love the diversity and local cultural history of e a c h c i t y w e a r e v i s i t i n g . R e m e m b e r - y o u n e e d n ' t b e f a m o u s t o b e r e m a r k a b l e . Everybody has a story to be told, a story to be discovered, but you do not know until you s t a r t r e s e a r c h i n g . I t i s a n adventure! T h a t i s w h a t m a k e s t h e journey into our Italian roots so exciting, right? Correct! You never know where your Italian genealogical journey will lead you, but it will certainly be filled with personal discovery and will leave you with a great sense of pride about your Italian origins. "Genealogy Roadshow" host Mary Tedesco (left) with Italian American guest Em Piro. Photo courtesy of PBS NEWS & FEATURES TOP STORIES PEOPLE EVENTS Continued from page 1

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