Finding the Link to Italy: Part II

Uncovering the following records is not as difficult as it might at first seem. In most cases, it’s just a matter of filling out a form, and writing a check for a small fee. The hardest part is waiting several months for a response!

Immigration Records: Ellis Island Records does not yet contain all passenger records. You can request the same information from the National Archives and Records Administration. For ten dollars, the NARA will look up and mail a copy of the record, as long as you know the full name, port of entry, and approximate date of entry. Look at their website for instructions: http://www.nara.gov/publications/microfi...

Immigration records are your surest bet. Passenger manifests made out by the ship’s crew usually contain not only your ancestor’s place of birth, but also their destination in the United States, as well as information on the relatives or friends they planned to meet upon arrival.

Census Records: The last Census data released to the public was the 1920 census. This works well for most of us, since our relatives arrived primarily in the 1880s-1920s. Census records can’t provide the name of the your ancestor’s foreign birthplace, but will tell you when your ancestor arrived and if they had started the naturalization process. You can access the census via the Family History Centers operated by the Mormon Church. You'll want to familiarize yourself with the Soundex indexing system before you start digging through the microfilmed records.

Naturalization Records: These records can be tricky to access and the information on them varies. However, if your ancestor ever started any part of the naturalization process, chances are very good that you will find his hometown on some of these records. I use the phrase ‘his hometown’ on purpose: naturalization records for women are scarce prior to 1922, since married women became citizens automatically when their husbands did.

The term naturalization records refers to three different documents:

Declaration of Intent: Filling out this form was the first official step towards citizenship. This document holds the most information on your ancestor, often including the place of birth as well as the birth date.

Petition for Citizenship: A few years after filing the Declaration of Intent, an immigrant desiring citizenship would fill out a petition for citizenship. The information in this form is very similar to the information in the Declaration of Intent.

Naturalization Certificate: This is the final step in the process of obtaining citizenship. This document is usually not as helpful as the first two, genealogically speaking, giving only the original country of residence rather than the town.

Go To Page: 1 2