1800s in italy

As a nation state, Italy has emerged only in 1871. Until then the country was politically divided into a large number of independant cities, provinces and islands. The currently available evidences point out to a dominant Etruscan, Greek and Roman cultural influence on today's Italians.
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DisneyFreak247
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1800s in italy

Post by DisneyFreak247 »

my family is from Dugenta, Benevento, Campania, italy. I'm having an extremely hard time finding any records of them. I have immigration records from ellis island and castle garden but I just can't seem to find any actual italian records. Before italy was a country they were living in The Kingdom of Two Sicilies , I believe is the name of it. Are there any websites you could suggest or ways of searching for them that I may not have thought of? Right now I don't have an ancestry subscription ( will soon though) and I do most of my searching through familysearch.org. Any tips and advice would be greatly appreciated!
erudita74
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Re: 1800s in italy

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There are microfilmed records for the town (not currently online) but only for the years from 1809 to 1860. They are in with records for the city of Melizzano.

https://familysearch.org/search/catalog ... %20Library

You might try contacting the parishes in the town to see if you can get any help that way. There are two that I know of in the town of Dugenta, which are in the diocese of Sant'Agata de'Goti-

Parrocchia S. ANDREA APOSTOLO
Via Chiesa Nuova, 22
DUGENTA 82030 (BN)
Italia

Parrocchia S. NICOLA AD ORCULA
Via S.Nicola
DUGENTA 82030 (BN)
Italia

To help with letters to the parish priest:

http://www.angelfire.com/ok3/pearlsofwi ... tter4.html

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DisneyFreak247
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Re: 1800s in italy

Post by DisneyFreak247 »

Thanks so much!!

should I include a return envelope with my address already on it ? or postage or anything else? I've never done this so i'm unsure of what is expected. Is there a forum on here that could check my letter to make sure the Italian is ok?
DisneyFreak247
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Re: 1800s in italy

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Also is there a name for a document that would list everything that they have on my ancestors in Italy? Birth, Marriage, Death records along with children, etc ? or would I have to request everything individually?
erudita74
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Re: 1800s in italy

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You can't put non Italian postage on a return envelope, but could include a self-addressed, but not stamped envelope, if you like. Normally a parish priest might ask for, or expect, a donation. I wouldn't send any money though until you see if you get a response and a confirmation that the records for your ancestor are in that parish's books. You may, unfortunately, never get a response. Be aware of the fact that there is a shortage of priests, and some priests administer to multiple parishes and simply do not have the time to do look-ups for genealogy purposes. It's a hit or miss kind of thing.

Parish books and/or registers have baptisms, confirmations, marriages, and deaths recorded in them. They are organized also by years. I think it would be rare for a priest to give you all the info you seek on a particular family. It is very time consuming research, and most priests simply do not have the time to do it. So ask for one or two important things. You might, however, get lucky and get more, but I wouldn't count on it.

Erudita
DisneyFreak247
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Re: 1800s in italy

Post by DisneyFreak247 »

Thank you for your fast reply! Is there any other place other than the parish that I can request information? Like in the states we have Vital Statistics...I'm assuming they have something like that in Italy? Is the Ufficio di Stato Civile ( Civil Registration Office ) the same thing as a Vital Statistics?
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johnnyonthespot
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Re: 1800s in italy

Post by johnnyonthespot »

Yes, Ufficio di Stato Civile is the office you want to communicate with. As with parishes, your results will vary. The comune of my paternal grandparents never responds to requests whereas the comune of my maternal grandparents has been extremely helpful in providing birth/marriage/death documents for three generations of my direct ancestors.

Some comuni (Dugenta looks like one of them) combine the Ufficio di Stato Civile with the Ufficio Anagrafe. See http://www.comune.dugenta.bn.it/uffici.aspx
Carmine

My hobby is finding things. Having found most of my own, I am happy to help others find theirs. PM me! :)
erudita74
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Re: 1800s in italy

Post by erudita74 »

I was just going to give you the email address for the anagrafe office which Carmine provided you with. You can use the sample letter on this site to communicate with that office. I don't know though that the post 1860 records will be housed there. That is the question you need to ask.

http://www.circolocalabrese.org/genealo ... -index.asp


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DisneyFreak247
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Re: 1800s in italy

Post by DisneyFreak247 »

Thank You both for your help and time!
erudita74
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Re: 1800s in italy

Post by erudita74 »

You're very welcome. Keep us posted on how you make out.

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Re: 1800s in italy

Post by DisneyFreak247 »

I will!! I'm going to try to write out my letters and emails tonight or tomorrow! Crossing my fingers! :D
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