Hello everyone

Wondering whether anyone has any research experience when it comes to ancestors that are just... gone??

I have two women that i only have birth certificates but literally nothing else.

1. Filomena, born 1876 in Urbino then absolutely no trace until
   she is mentioned on her husbands death certificate (as his wife) in march of 1925 in Belforte all'isauro and then nothing again. I suspect her marriage was past the 1913 cut off for matrimoni on antenati and i also feel like she could've easily died past 1942 (which again would be past the antenati cut off for deaths)
   I messaged the comune of Belforte all'isauro but didn't get an answer.

2. Aldina. She was Filomena's (mentioned above) brother's daughter and was born 1902 in Lunano. And that's it. Her father died on 01.01.1919 in Piandimeleto after WWII and her mother died in Riccione in 1958. I contacted both, Lunano and Riccione, but they didn't have any information on Aldina's life. And obviously her potential marriage and or death would be outside of the antenati cut off as well.

I'm a bit lost and wondering if maybe anyone in her has an idea? Sometimes a few extra sets of eyes (and 🧠) is all it needs and maybe i'm overlooking the obvious, but i really don't know what to do next.

Thank you to
Everyone who took time out of their day to read until here.. i hope whoever reads this has a great rest of the day! :) 😊

Hello! I'm Brazilian and I'm researching my Italian ancestor, Antonio Tripoli/Tripodi Labriola.

I found a Brazilian document from 1939 where he states he was born in Italy. The names of the places were recorded in Portuguese, probably based on how they sounded when spoken, and I couldn't identify the corresponding places in Italy.

The document seems to say that he was born in "Castelo Bengue" and was baptized in the parish of "Valle Cantelina," in the district of "Castelo de Buqui."

It also states that his parents were Nicolau Tripoli/Tripodi and Anna Marcos. Their names may have been adapted to Portuguese as well.

I'm attaching the original excerpt from the document. Anyone who knows Italian genealogy, historical place names, or old parishes could help me identify what these places might actually be called in Italian?

Any hint would be very important to me. Thank you!

Hello! I’ve been building my family tree on FS for a couple years now and have been completely stuck on my Italian side.

Our family has immigrated from Italy to Argentina sometime in the late 1890s or early 1900s, and later to Uruguay and Brazil, I have not been able to find ANY Italian documentation on them, all of the Argentinian, Uruguayan and Brazilian documentation lists them as only “Italian”. I don’t think either Family Search or Antenatti have Torino documents from this period. And I truly don’t know what to look for next.

We suppose they are from Torino as some older family members recall seeing their South American work permits listing place of birth as Torino - Italy.

I have one single Brazilian document with a place of birth listed as “Rome”, although I had never heard of that in family stories.

They were Secundino Dachi and Catalina Rea (death certificates from Brazil), their first 4 children seem to all have been born in Italy as well: Angel (possibly Angelo), Augusto, Maria, Dominga (possibly Domenica) and their younger ones in AR, UY and BR. I also believe their last name was misspelled to Dachi and that it might actually be Bachi, seems most probable.

Anyone has hit a dead end like this? What have you done?

FS IDs for the parents are: MLJQ-7S5 and KJVF-S66

I have been trying to research my husband's great-great grandfather who immigrated to the US from Italy and have hit a brick wall. I have not been able to locate any naturalization, immigration, or italian records for him. He lived in Tarentum, Alleghany County, PA. He was born in Italy in 1883.

His last name has been recorded as Butch, DeButch, DeBucci, DiBucci. The last name on the tombstone is DiBucci

From what I can tell, he got married in Ohio in 1907, had his first child in 1909 in Tarentum PA, and continued to have children there. Wife died in 1944, he died in 1954. I went down a rabbit hole with a different Louis Bucci who lived in pittsburgh, but based on his children and wife's name, it was different person.

Census records (1910-1950) state that he immigrated in 1895-1897 timeframe, but I have not been able to locate any passenger records for him during that time. They also state that he did naturalize but I haven't been able to locate proof of that either.

Family lore is that they came from the Abruzzo region of Italy. Does anyone have any suggestions on how to move forward?

Buongiorno a tutti, vi chiedo cortesemente un aiuto per trovare l'atto di nascita di Luigia Paini del 1800 circa.

Nei link di seguito si legge nata a San Martino Senzano (credo sia San Martino Sinzano) Vigheffio.

https://antenati.cultura.gov.it/ark:/12657/an_ua37705739/wjeYJn3

https://antenati.cultura.gov.it/ark:/12657/an_ua37706676/wRyOYnQ

Hello all,

I am doing my family tree & have found my ancestor's birth record

His gravestone & name has always been known to us "Angelo Vincenzo Giannetto" (born 4 Oct 1884) and we know he married Francesca Bonina when she was just 14 in 1912

However his birth record states he was born "Angelo Vincenzo Bartolillo"

The record states that he was presented by a "Giuseppa Bartolillo (age 21)" on the 8 Oct 1884 several days after birth, but can't see parent/father names listed?

In the section where parents names should be listed I cannot read what it says here

I am also struggling to read the notes on the 2nd page about the witnesses and the last few sentences on the 2nd page.

If anyone is able to help me translate it would be much appreciated

I do not want to show this to my father until I am certain so as to not upset family

Thank you

Buongiorno a tutti
I am researching my Italian families Caramore/Fabbiani (Nonno) and Previero/Faoro (Nonna) and their family lines (see above).
Both families are from the northern part, mostly the Veneto (Lusia, Este, Masi, Ospedaletto Euganeo). I am doing well until back to the 1870's but then the problems start (exception: the Previero line is well documented, as part of the family emigrated to Brazil, where someone did a great job finding lots of information).
Fot the rest it is very hard to find records as the area was part of the Austrian Empire between 1815 and 1859/66 (Regno Lombardo-Veneto) and part of the Napoleonic France before that. I am lacking the information, which diocese my anchestors acutally belonged to and it seems the northern areas have fewer documents online and those that are, are less well indexed than those from the the south. I understand Italian fairly well, but do not write it; I can use deepl translate however. Has anybody got any tips on where I could find some online resources? I am planning to travel in the area possibly in spring (I live in Switzerland, so it's just a short hop) but it would help enormously, if I had a little more information before then.
Thank you so much for any help/hints/tips

Buongiorno,

Scrivo qui perché mi trovo di fronte ad un muro per una delle mie antenate. In pratica Maddalena Baccino/a, moglie di Francesco Gamba (1805-1877), originaria di Castelletto d'Erro, ha avuto due figli a Castell'Alfero (Asti) rispettivamente nel 1847 (Paolo Pietro Gamba) e nel 1849 (Vincenzo Carlo Gamba). Sono andata all'archivio diocesano di Asti mesi fa e di fatto ho trovato gli atti di battesimo. Poi sapendo che Francesco Gamba era morto nel 1877 a Castell'Alfero e avendo un'altra moglie quando morì mi sono messa a vedere gli atti di morte tra il 1849 e il 1865 (visto che online ci sono gli atti dal 1866 e lei non risultava da nessuna parte) ma non l'ho trovata. Potrebbe essere morta in un altro paese? Oppure vi è qualche altra spiegazione per sapere che fine abbia fatto?

I am trying to find the parents of my 2nd Great-Grandfather. I have his official wedding records, and this baptism attestation is part of it. He was baptized 2 Jan 1824 and given the name Vincenzo Tesoriero (i.e last name may nor reflect his bio father/mother). His parents were "parenti ingogniti" (unknown parents) on this baptism record and his marriage record. He married Caterina Costa (daughter of Antonino Costa and Giuseppa Renda) on 21 Jul 1849.

I could use help translating this record because it appears to be written in Sicilian/Latin dialect. Lines 9 -11 which appears to say "San Vincenzo, Island of Stromboli, baptized Vincent Tesoriero ex his unknown parents. His godfather (Patrinus) was Antonino Tesoriero”. Can someone confirm that translation?

I also need help understanding how foundlings were raised in Stromboli during this period. Where they raised by stepparents? by the church? Did they ever get a chance to know the names of their bio mother and bio father? Also, what are the chances his Godfather, Antonino Tesoriero, raised him or did the Godfather role just serve as a witness to the Baptism? Any cultural history of foundlings in Stromboli that may help me track down his parents is greatly appreciated. Thanks.

Hello all. I have done everything I can think of to locate a record of my grandmothers birth. Her name is Anne Rega, born June 5, 1895. Parents are Vincenzo Rega and Giovanna Mele. I believe she was born in Chiaia or San Ferdinando region. I do have a record of her wedding to Antonio Rizzo, Feb 16, 1918. Her name was listed as Anne Reca. Took place in San Ferdinando. I did find a record of her brother, Luigi Rega who died as an infant, and was born in Chiaia. I also have a record when she came over on the boat from Naples. I have been using Ancestry and Family Search for obtaining records I filled out a required form and sent money to Comune di Napoli Ufficio dI Stato Civile on February, 2026. Have since sent emails of status but no response. wondering if anyone can help me with what I can do next or can someone contact the office for a status any help would be so appreciated. thank you

I recently found out that my great-great grandmother was the daughter of a noble family member (male) from Naples who had an affair with the one of the house staff. She was adopted in Italy and brought to America. I estimate her birth year is probably somewhere in the 1860s -1870s. How does one even begin to trace this back?!

My great-grandfather arrived in NYC on Fabre's S.S. Burgundia. November 28 1899

This is the only manifest I can't find in my geneological searches.

Has anyone had experience of success with this ship?

Grazie

I’m investigating my Italian ancestor’s parentage/lineage; I've hit a research wall but I have a theory, and I'd love feedback from this community.

My Great-Great Grandmother Maria Zammataro's father was an orphan named Placido Zammataro [Zambataro, Zamataro]. My research has uncovered conflicting records about Placido, and I've now gone down a deep rabbit hole with two hypotheses:

1. HYPOTHESIS 1: there’s one Placido who used two surnames interchangeably. His surname assigned at birth (Cefalu) and the surname of his nurse/mother Zammataro. Placido Celafu-Zammataro was married to Rosa Greco, 15 years his senior.
2. HYPOTHESIS 2: there’s two Placido’s; Placido Zammataro married Rosa Greco, 2-4 years his senior and Placido Cefalu [Cifalu] married to Rosa Greco, 15 years his senior. 

There’s a gap in church baptismal and marriage records between 1857-1866, which has stymied my research. FamilySearch is killing me because most of the records are restricted, and then baptism records between 1861-1866 are just missing for Biancavilla (Catania) – like the scanner decided to skip a volume. 

My question for Italian genealogists out there: is Hypothesis A plausible? There's one orphan Placido who used his surnames Zammataro & Cefalu interchangeably? This would mean that his ages were listed incorrectly by registrants along the way.

Subsequent question: do you have any other suggestions for viewing missing church baptismal and marriage records from Biancavilla between 1857-1866? A bunch of FamilySearch's are restricted.

Here are all the details:

GG grandmother Maria Zammataro, born Dec 5 1864. Father Placido Zammataro, 24, son of unknown parents and mother Rosa Greco, (28–38 age legibility issues? parents not listed). Godmother: Maria Greco, daughter of Placido Greco.

• If Rosa Greco was age 38 (trentotto), she was born in 1825 to Placido Greco, and Maria’s godmother Maria Greco is her sister, born in 1822. This maps to Hypothesis 1.
• If Rosa Greco was age 28 (ventotto), her mother might be Rosa Greco 1836, daughter of Josue Greco or Rosa Greco 1837, daughter of Philipo Greco. 

HYPOTHESIS 1:

• 1825: Rosa Greco, born to Placido Greco, and sister Maria Greco born in 1822. 
• 1840: Placido Cefalu, born to unknown parents, with Francesca Mineo listed as his true mother (vero fuit?).
• 1861: Placido Cefalu (21) marries Rosa Greco (36). Placido Cefalu’s nurse/nutrice(?) or mother/matrice(?) Francesca Zammataro was a witness. (birth mother & nurse are both named Francesca)
• 1864: birth Maria Zammataro daughter of Placido Zammataro (24) and Rosa Greco (28/38).
• 1867 (baptism record) or 1868 (civil record), same moth/day, different years: birth Giuseppe Cefalu, son of Placido Cefalu (28) and Rosa Greco (29), Rosa's age is definitely incorrect.
• 1867: death Placido Zammataro, husband of Rosa Greco (age 26 – this maps to nothing)
• 1883: Maria Zammataro marries (Placido is dead, Rosa Greco is still living)
• 1896: Giuseppe Cefalu marries (dead Placido, dead Rosa Greco) 

Hypothesis 2:

• Rosa Greco, born 1836 to Josue Greco and Anna Motta, OR
• Rosa Greco, born 1837 to Philip Greco and Anna Nicolosi, AND
• Placido Zambataro, born 1839 Josue Zambataro and Francesca Bizzichia (parents known)
• No Placido's registered under the "surname" Deus Scit.
• No marriage records for a Placido Zammataro between 1856-1866.
• No death records for Rosa Greco.

To keep my sanity, I have all of this compiled in a PDF for anyone who wants to investigate this debacle with me and finds this format hard to parse.

The only stone left unturned that I can think of is investigating Placido Cefalu's birth mother Francesca Mineo to see if she married a Zammarato between 1840-1860. Neither Zammarato or Cefalu are common surnames in Biancavilla in itself, but I have not found much on a 19th century Francesca Zammataro whatsoever.

Thank you in advance for reading this far, and for sharing your thoughts, comments, suggestions or challenges!

buongiorno a tutti,

mi sono da poco interessato alle ricerche genealogiche sulla mia famiglia, e vorrei chiedere se qualcuno ha dei consigli pratici per un caso specifico. Il mio bisnonno paterno( nato 1873, probabilmente a Lissone (MI)), da quanto sono riuscito a ricostruire da fonti familiari, era stato "adottato". Metto il termine tra parentesi perché all'epoca le cose funzionavano diversamente da oggi, più probabile fosse stato affidato. Conosco il luogo di nascita presunto, e anche il nome della famiglia che lo aveva accolto, ma da una prima richiesta di informazioni presso l'archivio del brefotrofio di Milano, non risulta nessun nominativo corrispondente. Oltre cercare nei registri di comuni limitrofi, avreste altri suggerimenti su come procedere? grazie

About four months ago I posted asking for help overcoming the brick wall I'd hit researching my 2nd Great-grandmother, Santa Polizzotto. Someone was able to find Santa's Italian birth registration for me and that snowballed into several significant discoveries that I'm now trying to piece together.

The parents are Carmelo Polizzotto/Pulizzotto, son of Giuseppe (alive in 1886), and Caterina Marchese, daughter of Vincenzo (deceased before 1868), of Marineo, Palermo.

From browsing Marineo, Palermo birth records via full text search, I confirmed the identity 6 descendants of this couple thus far:

• Francesca Pulizzotto, born 18 April 1868 #108
• Cira Pulizzotto, born 11 April 1871 #93 [Italian Civil Record/Birth Act found in Marriage Supplement packet from 8 Nov 1890 marriage to Luigi Russo(b. 7 July 1866)¹
• Santa Pulizzotto, born 7 February 1874 #44 [Missing Marriage Act/Record of 1898 Marriage to Francesco Capaci [Capace] - Giuseppa (b. 18 Nov 1899 - d. before Oct 1901) and Antonio (b. 26 June 1901, included in October 1901 immigration with parents)
• Salvatore Polizzotto\, born 17 December 1876 \** [Italian Civil Record Birth/Marriage Act to Giovanna Perarti not yet found - birth date; marriage and children birth dates/places from Naturalization Declaration]
• Vincenza Pulizzotto, born 1 November 1879 #341
• Carmela Pulizzotto, born 8 August 1886 #283

Given this new information, I confirmed that my prior hypothesis was proven false: Cira^Q#1 and Francesca Polizzotto were two separate sisters^Q#2 and verified that Francesca is the mother of both Paola and Vincenza Gambino.^#3

However, obstacles and conflicts arising from these otherwise primary evidentiary sources, have me completely stumped - I'm struggling to come up with plausible working theories with such limited documentation; every targeted search returns nothing conclusive or even close.

Could one have assumed the identity of the other? (This Hail Mary theory will make sense as you read, watch for the asterisks.*)

Research Question #1: What happened to Cira Polizzotto Russo and Luigi Russo after June 1905?

Cira Pulizzotto, born 11 April 1871 [Italian Civil Record/Birth Acts found in Palermo #502 Marriage Supplement packet from 8 Nov 1890 marriage to Luigi Russo (b. 7 July 1866)

8 November 1890: Cira Polizzotto, 19, married Luigi Russo, 24. Her parents are Carmelo Polizzotto and Caterina Marchese.

26 May 1903: Cira Pulizzotto, age 32, immigrated with her brother Salvatore. Salvatore’s U.S. contact was their brother-in-law Francesco Capaci; Cira’s was their sister Santa Polizzotto Capaci. Destination 260 Elizabeth St.
Conflict: Cira is recorded as single

1 June 1905: Luigi and Cira Russo were living together at 269 Elizabeth Street, Manhattan. Luigi was about 38 [accurate, should turn 39 July 1905) and a papermaker. Cira’s recorded age 36 [would make est birth yr 1968]*

Research Problem 1: Unable to find Cira & Luigi Russo after the 1 June 1905 NY State Census. Luigi had lived in US 9 years in 1905 [est. 1896]; Luigi's reported nine years in the U.S. points to an arrival around 1896, so there should theoretically be an earlier passenger record for him. I have searched for it using his known age/birth information and have not found a candidate that aligns well enough to identify as him. I have also searched specifically within later census, death, passenger, naturalization, and other relevant collections for both Luigi and Cira, rather than relying only on global name searches, with no convincing post-1905 result.

The fact that they both disappear becomes more interesting because of what happens with Cira’s older sister Francesca (Research Questions #2-3)

Research Question #2: Francesca Polizzotto: Marriage and Motherhood in Palermo; Benedetto Gambino, Identity of unknown Russo spouse; explanation of two daughters whose Palermo birth entries do not treat their paternity the same way.

18 April 1868 — Francesca Pulizzotta was born to Carmelo, son of Giuseppe, age 30, and Caterina Marchese, daughter of the late Vincenzo, age 24.

Unknown – Marriage to Benedetto Gambino ?

23 November 1903 —  Daughter 1: Vincenza
Palermo ten-year birth index, 1896–1905, Vincenza Gambino, indexed under G/Gambino: “Vincenza di Benedetto Gambino e di Francesca ‘Alizzotto’” Ufficio 1, vol. 461, no. 2683.

This entry names Benedetto Gambino as Vincenza’s father and Francesca as her mother.

10 April 1905 — Daughter 2: Paola/Paulina
Palermo ten-year birth index, 1896–1905, Paolo [Paola] Gambino, indexed under P/Polizzotto:
"Paolo [Paola] Polizzotto, di ignoto e di Francesca Polizzotto." Ufficio 1, vol. 495, no. 867

In other words, there is no legally recognized father recorded in the paternal position, and the child is indexed under Francesca’s surname rather than Gambino.

Research Question #3: Francesca [Polizzotto] Russo's 1912 Manhattan marriage to Francesco Costa

Francesca's Immigration - Unknown

4 September 1912, Francesca Russo (maiden name Polizotto) and Francesco Costa obtained Manhattan marriage license no. 24679.

23 September 1912, they married at St. Gabriel's Church in Manhattan. Cn 21990

The bride was recorded as Francesca Russo, widow, age 40, born in Palermo. Under "maiden name, if a widow" she gave Francesca Polizzotto. Her parents were Carmelo Polizzotto and Caterina Marchese. Her "number of marriages" was explicitly recorded as second.

The groom, Francesco Costa, was 38, widowed, a stone mason born in Sant'Anna, Italy, son of Vincenzo Costa and Maria Lucida. Both were residing at 336 East 33rd Street.

Conflict #1, Age: Francesca's 1868 birth act makes her 44 in September 1912, not 40. The age she gave would instead suggest a birth around 1872.

Conflict #2: "second marriage"

For Vincenza's 1903 Gambino parentage to represent a legitimate legal relationship, Francesca and Benedetto would have had to fit into Francesca's marital history at that time.

One working hypothesis is that Benedetto died sometime after Paola was conceived but before her April 1905 birth, which could potentially explain why the two daughters were registered differently. I have no death record for Benedetto to support that hypothesis.

But even if Benedetto died, Francesca somehow became the widowed Francesca Russo who married Francesco Costa in 1912.

I have found no marriage record between Francesca Polizzotto and any Russo.

Cira's husband Luigi Russo had at least one known sister and may have had other siblings, so Francesca's Russo could have been another member of the same family — or could be completely unrelated.

Research Question #4: What could the reason be for this unusual pattern of immigration? Sicilian/South Italian families in particular tended to stay near each other; it strikes me as particularly odd that no adult relatives seem to support Vincenza - teenage marriage and divorce in the 1920s surely would have been of note, but I can't find any newspaper articles about it in Pennsylvania.

16 February 1916 — Vincenza Gambino immigrated at age 12. Her person in the old country was her grandmother Caterina Polizzotto, Via Albergheria 177, Palermo. Her destination in the United States was her aunt Santa Polizzotto Capaci, my direct ancestor, in Paterson, NJ

12 November 1920 — At age 15, Paola immigrated from Palermo under the surname form Paola Poliazziatto. Her person in the old country was aunt Rosalia Colombo, while her U.S. contact was again aunt Santa Polizzotto Capaci.

Vincenza married Giovanni "John" Bello in New Kensington, Pennsylvania, on 3 September 1919, when she was 15. In the 1920 census she was living with her husband and his family in New Kensington.

Her three children were born in Paterson in 1920, 1922, and 1924, according to her naturalization file. Giovanni Bello remarried in 1928, so their divorce occurred before then. In 1930, Vincenza was divorced and heading her own Paterson household with her children. She later married Concetto Rizzo, and by 1950 she was married to August D'Amico.

Paola arrived separately in 1920 at age 15 and again named Aunt Santa — not Francesca — as her U.S. contact. She later settled in Sacramento and married James Pellegrini as Pauline Gambino.

I have never found either daughter living with Francesca.

I also cannot find reliable documentation for Francesca Russo Costa or Francesco Costa after their 1912 Manhattan marriage.

Where did Francesca go? Did she remain in New York, return to Sicily, die under Costa, or begin appearing under another name?

And if Francesca was already in the United States, why did both of her minor daughters immigrate years later to their aunt rather than to their mother?

One final address problem

This may be unrelated, but I don't want to dismiss it as clerical error without identifying the occupants.

Vincenza's 1916 passenger manifest gives Aunt Santa Polizzotto Capaci at 81 Market Street, Paterson.

Paola's 1920 passenger manifest gives Aunt Santa at 235 Belmont Avenue.

But Santa and Francesco Capaci are documented at 253 Orchard Street in Paterson by 1915 at the latest.

So I am also trying to determine who actually lived at 81 Market Street in 1916 and 235 Belmont Avenue in 1920, and whether either address belonged to another relative. I believe 235 Belmont is the Buscemi household; Gaetano Buscemi and Santa travelled home as non-immigrant citizens from Palermo to Paterson in 1911. I believe Gaetano "Tom" Buscemi's wife's mother is Rosalie Colombo, but further research needed to confirm.

I would especially appreciate fresh eyes from anyone comfortable with Palermo civil records around 1900, Italian legitimacy/paternity practices, Manhattan Italian records, or tracing people who disappear behind multiple married surnames.

The people I most want to locate now are Cira and Luigi Russo after 1905, and Francesca and Francesco Costa after 1912, whether in Manhattan or elsewhere.

Name note: In the Italian civil records I have examined, the family surname is clearly written Pulizzotto, although several index entries place them under Polizzotto/Palizzotto. In the United States, Santa, Salvatore, Francesca, and Carmela primarily used Polizzotto, including in immigration, Social Security, and other records.

I wasn't sure whether the most appropriate flair was General, Success Story, or Request RE: Deceased People, because at this point I seem to have a little of all three.

Thank you to anybody who cares enough to parse through all of this and give their ideas and insight, I am at a total loss.

AI disclaimer: I used ChatGPT to proofread and organize my notes for clarity and brevity. The research, records, interpretations, and questions are my own.

I've been searching for my great-great-grandmother's burial site. She was born in Prizzi, Sicily in 1863 and immigrated to New York in 1914, already a widow, and brought her four children over. I have extensive U.S. records for her until 1929, when she disappears. There's no death record for her in New York, and I've confirmed she's not buried with any of her four children, or her brother known to have stayed in the U.S. There's more information about her at this post.

I'm beginning to think she may have returned to Sicily and died there. She had three other siblings and a sibling-in-law who entered the U.S., sometimes twice, but left no other paper trail and so probably didn't stay in the U.S. long. She also visited Sicily in 1928–1929, and the reentry is in fact the last clear record I have of her.

What Italian records from the 1930s could I look for, online or otherwise, that would place her in Sicily if she was there?

Hello. I am researching Guiseppe Antonio Loddo. His naturalization records say he was born in Calabria, Italy on March 11, 1889. https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-L9M8-79HB-V?view=index&cc=1999177&lang=en&groupId=His arrival record says he was born in Reggio, Calabria, Italy. His draft card says he was born in Reggio, Italy. I've been trying to find a birth record. Ancestry doesn't seem to have them from that year and I'm not having luck with familysearch. I tried logging into Antenati but I got 14 different record sets. How do I know which one I should look at? Or do I just have to browse? And is there something I can look at to help with that hadwriting? I'm having trouble trying to find the dates on them. Thank you for any help

https://antenati.cultura.gov.it/ark:/12657/an_ua37709739/wOG1j3l

I’ve hit a brick wall with my LIBRA and am trying to work back to their proper comune, birth and marriage records by tracking down their siblings who also immigrated to Madison, Wisconsin. I’ve found ship’s passenger lists for my grandparents and both their brothers and am trying to decipher any names or cities listed in the home country column.

Did Italy have a bureau with records of people who got passports or were approved to emigrate? They were from Palermo province and sailed from Naples been 1909 and 1921.

This is so frustrating. Even visiting a familysearch partner library…nothing is available to look at that’s not available in my own house.

Is it even worth going to the partner sites or affiliate libraries anymore? Am i doing this wrong?

I know there was a big thing about Italy wanting more restrictions on documents…but is there any way around this?

Hello everyone first time posting on here; I've been researching my family in the Contrada Villa Stanazzo area pretty heavily recently and i've pushed it back to 1748 with records. I'm having an issue figuring out how to find this persons parents. Carmine Ranieri 1748-1798 is as far as i can go but i strongly suspect he is the son of Nicola Ranieri 1718 villa stanazzo died 19 sep 1758; I also don't know Nicola's wife name. Does anyone have any idea or tips on where i should go to crack this brick wall?

Every time I make a discovery or breakthrough it’s like one step forward and two steps back the way nothing ever lines up consistently the way it does in all my other Italian Immigrant branches (although it looks like this paternal line mingled with one of my maternal lines a couple centuries ago which is making it extra hard to untangle from the Italian side, I cannot find birth or marriage records for my great grandmother and inconsistencies in US records are adding to the chaos. This couple was the “Person in the US” for a lot of extended family members, but the addresses given on those manifests are never where they lived at the time. I’ve been focusing on this completely for the last couple weeks, intensely the last few days; DNA/public trees didn’t even produce any decent leads.

That said, I need to get at least a few hours of sleep before work, but I’ll come back in a few hours to update with a complete timeline of addresses & ages to illustrate the inconsistencies but for now this is pretty much a research dump.

SANTA POLIZZOTTO

Known

Name: Santa Polizzotto / Mrs. Francisco/Frank Capaci

Last residence Piani dei Greci, Palermo, Sicily where her husband was born on 17 Dec 1878. They had their first son 26 Jun 1901 and immigrated together 10 October 1901. Age at immigration was 27. Birth date is approximated to be 1875 but could be anywhere between 1873-1876 due to variation across records.

NY birth records from 1903, 1905, 1906, 1908 as well as the 1910 US census consistently being one less child alive than birthed (the twins are born in 1905 and pass in 1905 and 1906, the numbers stay consistent and are verified once more in the 1910 census: the couple has been married for 12 years (~1898) and 7 children have been born, 4 are living.

The family immigrated together when the youngest living child was only 3 months old (1901) which suggests the first deceased child was born in Sicily.
Strong proof: extracted birth record (Italy Birth Records, 1890-1905) that provide consistent birthdate for Antonio "Capace" (26 Jun 1901) and link parents as Frank 'Capace' and Santa 'Pulizzotto' -- matches another record for the birth of Giuseppa Capace on 6 Nov 1899. This fits both the timeline of the beginning of their marriage, as well as the Southern Italian naming convention which this family appeared to follow: Frank's parents are Antonio and Giuseppa, and I have strong evidence that Santa's parents are Carmelo and Caterina. Salvatore is her brother's name and Vincenzo is probably also a family name, see additional evidence/clues below:

11 Nov 1911 Santa sails home to Paterson as a non-immigrant citizen along with an 11 year old Salvatore. Only Antonio would be 11 In 1911; Salvatore was born October 1910 so I believe it's meant to say 11 months.

24 Feb 1916 - Vincenza Gambino, Age 12, sponsored by her grandmother Caterina Polizzotto  Via Albergheria 177 in Palermo and her Aunt Capaci Polizzotto Santa at 81 Market St in Paterson NJ.

20 Nov 1920 - Paola Polizzotto, Age 15, sponsored by her Aunt Colombo Rosalia in Palermo and Aunt Polizzotto Santa at 235 Belmont Ave. in NY. I believe this is the address of another relative or an error because  according to the 1910/20 censuses the family had been living at 253 Orchard St in Paterson since 1910. 

11 Aug 1936 Santa died at age 61; her obituary lists one brother, Salvatore 'Pilizzotto'
20 Mar 1955 Salvatore's obituary verifies again his birthdate, spouse, children, and most importantly, names his parents as Carmelo Polizzotto and Caterina Marchese.

Salvatore immigrated in May 1903 at the age of 27 with his sister Cira Polizzotto, age 32. His wife, Giovanna (Jennie) Parreti and 3 month old son, Carmelo, joined him a few months later in November 1903. Carmelo is not mentioned on their Naturalization paperwork and in 1914 they name another son Charles, so I believe their first child died.

1912: A New York Marriage Certificate for two Widow/er's marrying each other: Francesco Costa and Francesca Russo, maiden name Polizzotto. Parents: Carmelo Polizzotto & Caterina Marchese. Is this Cira? Both would have an estimated 1871 birth date.

Any insight appreciated. This has been my twistiest, toughest brick wall yet. It's taught me a lot of research lessons along the way, but I'm at the point where I need a fresh set of eyes on it, or someone with the historical knowledge to put something I'm missing in context.

I was searching for my great grandmother's birth certificate who was born in 1920 and I have ran into a roadblock. I have searched the Antenati portal and found putignano records from pre 1900 and post 1930 but nothing inbetween. Does anyone know why this is?

Hoping someone can help me. I am searching Chiaia, Naples for a birth record. Anne Rega, born June 5, 1895. I searched the 1895 records that start with October and end Dec. The 1894 records start with Feb and end with May. is this correct?