Research Methods
For both advanced and novice Calabrian Genealogists


Us Naturalization Records
If one of your parents applied for American citizenship, you can obtain his Petition for Naturalization. This usually contains a lot of good information (though not always): date and place of birth, migration dates, occupation, wife's name, etc. It's probably the most valuable US record to the Italian-American genealogists.To learn more about this record, see what the government has to say about it at  http://www.nara.gov/  To learn how to go about requesting this info from somone who has done it. Also see the Ellis Island web site  www.ellisisland.com

USA Death Records
When I traced my family back, I had a lot of help from the old-timers in the family. They remember a lot of names and general dates. As I got into genealogy more, I started obtaining death records. They don't always contain correct information (since it's usually a friend or family member who provides this information at the time of death) but they usually have dates and places of birth, parents' names, spouses' names, place and time period of last residence. The parents' names can be especially helpful when you move on to the FHC (Family History Center). You get death records usually from the Department of Health of a city or from the Department of Vital Records.

US Census Reports
Census records can also be helpful. If you know when and where your ancestors lived, you might be able to locate them on a census report. Census reports have helped me track down my family's migration here in the US. They've also helped to confirm birth dates, immigration dates, children, etc. The immigration dates are especially helpful for obtaining ship records. You can check out census reports at your local FHC or at one of the government record repositories. See  www.lds.org/Family_History/Where_is.html for info about FHCs See   http://www.nara.gov/  for the government branches.

Ship Manifests
Ship records have a lot of interesting information. They tell quite a lot about their passengers: names, ages, sex, literacy, nationality, last residence, destination, amount of money in possession, who paid for the passage, why the person is coming to the US (sometime there are even exact addresses). The FHC is a good place to start with ship records. If you want a little how-to on ship manifests, see Guide to using passanger manifests: www.arduini.net/tools/tools01.htm Another good source is The Passenger Vessels of Your Immigrant Ancestors www.kinshipsprints.com/catalog/ships/a/a.htm

Social Security Info
There are also records available from the Social Security Administration. I've never used these before, so I can't really say what kind of information they provide. You might find some info at the SSA's site:  www.ssa.gov  There's also an online SS Death Index you will also want to try the Ancestry Genealogy Library at www.ancestry.com/ssdi/main.htm

Cemeteries
Cemeteries also have records, but they're usually limited to birth dates, death dates, who paid for the plot(s) and when. They are, if anything, a place to check to confirm dates when you're unsure. The death dates are usually accurate.

Newspapers
Though I've never tried, this might also be a good place to look. The obits can tell a lot about people. I had a gaunt that researched one of my maternal lines. She found all kinds of articles and announcements in a small town newspaper in Wisconsin.

Italian Records
After you've exahausted all the above places, you're ready to start looking through Italian records. These records are available at the local, regional, and national level in Italy. Most people start with the local (the comune) and also hit up priests for information like baptism, marriage, death. If records are missing in one place, there is a chance that some of the information is listed somewhere else. To learn more about the records that are available in Italy, see http://www.rootsweb.com/~itawgw/ and also An Introduction to Italian Genealogy: italiangenealogy.tardio.com/html

Family History Centers
Most people research Italy at the FHC. There are all kinds of these all over the US (and in other countries.) They're libraries attached to and run by the Church of Latter Day Saints, the mormons. These folks have gone around the world digging up and filming birth records, marriage records, death records, etc. If you're lucky enough to have one of these libraries in your town (we've got two here in Austin, TX), then you've got access to records from around the world. For my ancestral Calabrian village, Decollatura, records are available at the FHC from 1810-1860. Different records are available for different villages for different time periods. :) See.http://homepage.interaccess.com/~arduinif/lds-fhc.htm for a little primer on the FHC. See  http://www.cyndislist.com/italy.htm  for oodles of sites about Italy.

Addresses and Form Letters
Now, because these records aren't available at the FHC before or after this time, I've got to write to the various government offices and churches that have records for outside this time--or, of course, you can actually go there and research in person. What you've got to do at this point is get all your information together, decide exactly what information you'd like to ask for, write a letter in ITALIAN, and send it off to the appropriate place. A good way to find out where to send your letter is by asking ICC. A lot of us have Italian phone CDs and phone books. Eventually, I'd like to get all these addresses at the website. They'll be really helpful for future researchers. For now, address are available at The Italian Genealogy Toolbox and http://www.point-pointers.net/home.html

The Internet
There is so much out there that I could recommend. After you've checked out all the stuff above, you can always find more through http://www.cyndislist.com/italy.htm the best directory of genealogy sites on The internet. Another site that is a must for your bookmarks is www.glilli.com/links !