The world of genealogy is not all about computers, but rests on a foundation of original historical documents. Reading the records is challenging. It will require your time and patience.
Use these principles when searching for documents in each record-keeping jurisdiction (province, town, parish):
· search for one generation (don’t jump ahead too fast) · search for the entire family of siblings and parents · search each source for all available clues · examine original records over copies or transcripts · look for indexes (often at the back of registers) · accept ink spots, tears, holes, smudges, etc. · watch for name variations (especially Latin vs. Italian)
Reasons why Italian records are sometimes difficult to read:
9. Created by a clerk who was not interested in the event 8. Were made with different types of quill and steel pens 7. Were made with iron-based ink that destroyed the paper 6. Were made with words broken into parts, without punctuation 5. Are sometimes in Latin. or German. or French. 4. Were made by a clerk who was born in Italy 3. Used words that have changed their meanings 2. Changed spellings of the same word in the same document 1. Are up to 500 years old
Documents that were handwritten in Italy (especially before typewriters became popular in the 1920s) were generally in the script taught in schools yet rarely used in real life. The people creating the records changed styles if not their actual jobs. They were not thinking of the needs of future genealogists in America or elsewhere.
Tactics for reading the records start with identifying the arrangement of the records:
- generic formats and a specific order - standardized phrases and words (di, fu) - pre-printed forms - indexes - signatures and annotations - chronological arrangement - description by microfilmer, archivist, cataloger
Understanding the language and its customs will help your pedigree pursuit. Vocabulary lists include tips about spelling conventions and grammar. To this you must add a sense of phonetics. Apply correct interpretative mechanics, such as:
- don't force the answer to come - improve the document image (with colors and zooms) - scan nearby pages for better legibility of key words - look for repetition of the same data - keep track of unusual regional names - trace difficult letters, words, and even entire entries
Learn Italian handwriting:
- comparison of letters and words = within an entry, within a document, between documents = look for letter combinations within a word = look for letters using the same Latin script as today = look for diacritics and letters = look for abbreviations = look for oddities (irrelevant capitals, odd punctuation, marks for signatures)
Work from the known to the unknown. For example, create an alphabet based on the scribe's handwriting. A letter's position in a word may change the way the letter is written. For example, note the difference between an ending and internal "s." Connecting strokes may change the way letters appear. Try to start with easy records like a standard birth certificate
SAMPLE PHRASES FROM CIVIL BIRTH RECORD IN ITALY:
"In the year one thousand eight hundred _______________, of the ________ of the month of _________________, at the hour _________ in the presence of us ____________________________ (mayor or auditor) and the Official of the Civil State (registrar of births) of the Comune (city or town) of ________________________, District of __________________, Province of ___________________ and appeared __________________________ (declarant) of years _____ (age), of profession __________________, residing in ________________, who presented us a _________________ (baby).
. and declared that the same was born of _____________________ (mother) of years ______ (age) of the profession _______________ residing in __________________ and of _____________________ (father) of years ______ of profession _________________ residing in ________________________ on the day _____________ of the month of ________________, year ______________, at the hour ________________ in the house ____________________."
When using the easier modern civil records, look for separate volumes or end-of-register indexes such as indici decennali (10-year indexes) and tavola alfabetica (regular index). Some registers include annexed documents: allegati di nascita, matrimonio, morto. A few documents called diversi are for adoptions, foundlings, and so forth. See the Italian Collections summary on WeRelate for the time periods of civil records.
Research Aid. Similar interpretations are given, in the following FHL pamphlet, for civil death records, marriages, marriage supplementals, civil birth records, and several church records: Finding Records of Your Ancestors, Part A: Italy, 1809-1910, by Family and Church History Department, 2002.
SOLVING RECORD PROBLEMS
Family name origins and changes. Names may change due to the illiteracy of the people and the inconsistencies of the clerks. Look for similar names while browsing the International Genealogical Index at www.familysearch.org. Study the origin of names and their variations in tools such as:
Our Italian surnames, by Joseph G Fucilla
Another source for finding surnames and their origins and meanings is Dizionario dei Cognomi Italiani by Emidio de Felice, 2nd edition, 1979, Oscar Studio Mondaderi. This volume has 15,000 surnames. There is a complete cross?referencing and index of all name variations, and the regional prominence of each primary name is discussed.
Names may also be traced in the 44 volumes of biographical sketches in:
Dizionario biografico degli italiani
Record interpretation. Use the blank forms and an Italian dictionary. For example, a document in Grandma’s attic may be:
"Richiesta di Certificato Penale a Scopo di Emigrazione" "Request for certificate of police/felon record for the sake of emigrating"
Correct identification of individuals. Many people in the same village may use the same name. Don't simply find a birth record and start tracing backwards. Many researchers look first for death records, then a marriage (which link spouse to spouse and to parents and grandparents -alive or not), and lastly for birth records.