By Angelo Coniglio
When I started writing columns about genealogy, there were two possible sources for original Italian and Sicilian records: the actual repositories of the records in the old country; or, the photocopies of many of those records made by the Mormon church. These photocopies were made by hundreds of Mormon volunteers in the late 1990’s. They were microfilmed, generally, at provincial archives for civil records of birth, marriage and death; and at diocesan centers for sacramental records of baptisms, marriages and deaths. In both the civil and church instances, for privacy reasons, records after about 1910 were not filmed. Also, in some cases, local authorities, for their own reasons, did not authorize filming. The records that were filmed are now viewable on microfilm at Mormon FamilySearch Center (FSCs) around the world. The microfilms can be rented at www.familysearch.org by on-line payment, after which they are sent to the patron’s desired FSC. Local FSCs can be found by going to http://bit.ly/LocateFSCs
But now, several on-line sources for viewing these records have developed, and I’ll present their features, advantages, and disadvantages. It should be understood that the on-line sources, for the most part, are representations of the above-mentioned microfilms: new images of the records, not necessarily images of records from additional years. Recognizing that, let’s review the types of records.
Civil records were instituted in the separate city-states of the Apennine Peninsula in about 1805; and in the Kingdom of Sicily, which extended from Naples and Abruzzo south to Messina and Palermo, in 1820. These records include: Atto di Nascita (Record of Birth), early 1800’s through 1910; Atto della Solenne Promessa di Celebrare il Matrimonio (Record of the Solemn Promise to Celebrate Marriage, or the ‘Marriage Contract’), early 1800’s through 1865; Atto di Matrimonio (Record of Marriage), 1866 through 1910, and Atto di Morte (Record of Death), early 1800’s through 1910. Civil records may also include Riveli (Censuses) which list real property and goods but not much genealogical information; Cittadinanze (Citizenships) which show changes of address; Pubblicazion or Notificazioni (Marriage Banns); and Allegati (Attachments) which accompany marriage records and may contain birth and/or death records of the betrothed and their parents. All these types of civil records are usually kept chronologically, usually with an index of the year’s records immediately following each year. When searching a microfilm, the index at the end of a year will give the record number of a particular birth, marriage or death, so the image of the record itself may be accessed. The records are in “Napoleonic format”, in the Italian language, and were quite consistent from town to town in the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, while those of the northern city-states were more variable. On-line records, where they exist, have the same format as the microfilms.
Church records are more prone to differences between dioceses, and even between parishes in the same town, but are still rather consistent. The range of church records can be much greater than for civil records, with some as early as the 1300’s through 1910, but they have significantly less detail. They are in Latin, with the exception of some later records in Italian. Church records include: Battesimi (Baptisms); Cresime (Confirmations); Matrimoni (Marriages); and Morte (Deaths). Most civil records were on pre-printed forms, but except for later records, church records were completely handwritten, often using Latin abbreviations. Rather than yearly, church indexes covered several years, usually placed before the first year included in the index. Individual records often were not numbered; rather, the pages were numbered.
So where are these on-line records and how do we find them? They are on three main venues: www.Ancestry.com; www.familysearch.com; and the Italian ‘Portale Antenati’ (Ancestors Portal) www.antenati.san.beniculturali.it/. My upcoming columns will review each of these sources in detail.
Coniglio is the author of the book The Lady of the Wheel, inspired by his Sicilian research. Order the paperback or the Kindle version at http://bit.ly/SicilianStory Coniglio’s web page at http://bit.ly/AFCGen has helpul hints on genealogic research. If you have genealogy questions, or would like him to lecture to your club or group, e-mail him at genealogytips@aol.com
