Italian Genealogy Research Links



~ Italian Research ~

Helpful Tools for Italian Genealogy
A great site on the basics of doing your own Italian research. Links on where to find the records, how to write for them, including form letters in Italian, and also addresses of Catholic churches and state archives.

The Campania Municipalities
This site lists every comune in the region of Campania and also provides links to official page of each comune, surname statistics, hotels, resorts, photos, etc.

In Ricordo
Online Italian cemetery records - many with photos.  The site appears to cover several regions in Italy as well as parts of Australia.

Latin Genealogical Word List
From the LDS Family History site - very helpful.

Abbreviations in Latin Inscriptions
Sorted alpabetically - a great help for parish and notary records.

How To Read An Italian Civil Birth Act
Step-by-step instructions on how to extract the basic information ... even if you don't read Italian.

Archivio di Stato di Avellino
Contact info for the archives in Avellino, as well as some online documents.

Civil Records of Selected Italian Comunes
A link list of transcribed vital records from various comuni in Italy. Covers mainland Italy and Sicily.

Buscemi Paese Museo
Site of the peasant farmers museum in Buscemi, Siriacusa, Sicilia. Amazing pics.

Italy Gen Web
Hundreds of surnames from the Montefusco area.

Greci Cousins
An amazing site on the genealogy of Greci, Avellino. Photos, transcribed civil acts, online family trees ... you name it.

Sicilian Family Tree
Great site for those with Sicilian ancestry.  Links to many transcribed civil records, organized by comune.

Calitri Connections
Comuni of Calitri, Avellino - contains births, marriages and Italian census records.

Italian Genealogy Group
Databases for naturalization and vital records from the Northeast.

I can't say enough wonderful things about Joe.  If you'll be traveling to Avellino he also offers apartments for rent.  Having stayed there six years in a row, I can highly recommend them... he makes you feel like family.

Google's Online  Language Translator
Free ... and I've found it to be one of the most accurate.

Family Search
The LDS is in the process of digitizing their Italian civil record holdings. The link will bring you directly to the page of towns that have been completed.

Portale della Storia degli Italiani
The project Portale degli Italiani aims to create a portal to search, and view documents and images related to the italian population. Documents are drawn from a variety of documentary demographic sources stored in historical archives. Registration is free and is required to view results of the People search.  **The site tends to go down at random times.  If you're having trouble accessing it wait a few days and try again.

Nocciano Genealogy
Our friend Anthony Sacco (also with family from Montemiletto) has recently begun to tackle his Abruzzo side.  Here you'll find extracted civil records for the town of Nocciano

Albo dei Caduti della Grande Guerra
Searchable database of Italian WWI casualties.


~ U.S. Research ~

Fold3.com
Fold3, formerly Footnote is one of the better subscription sites. They have an amazing amount of original documents and I find I use this site as much, if not more than Ancestry.com.

Ancestry.com
Another subscription site, but well worth the investment. They have a 14-day free trial period and after that the U.S. Deluxe Membership is $12.95 per month.

Massachusetts State Archives
Online vital records search.

 NARA
The National Archives and Records Administration site.

The Ellis Island Foundation
Free search of all the Ellis Island ship manifests.

Ellis Island Portraits
A great collection of historical photos.

Ellis Island Manifest Extractions
A link to my running database of ship manifests of immigrants from Torre le Nocelle, Pietradefusi and Montemiletto.

Immigrant Portraits
Hosted by the New York Public Library

North End Boston
Links to Boston's Little Italy

North End Waterfront
Churches in Boston's North End.

Remember Jamaica Plain?
A glimpse into the past of Jamaica Plain, Boston Massachusetts.

Framingham History Center
History and heritage of the town of Framingham, Massachusetts.

And This Is Good Old Boston
An excellent blog on the history of Boston.

Winchester MA Street Directory
An alphabetical listing of all the streets in Winchester, Massachusetts

Old Boston Photos
A blog full of great Boston photos.

Boston Public Library Photostream
Thousands of old photos of Boston.

Norfolk County Massachusetts History and Genealogy Blog 

The Villages Genealogical Society
Official blog of the Villages Genealogical Society in The Villages, FL.  Created and maintained by our own favorite cousin, John DeAngelo.

Historical Archives of The Bank of Naples
Online database of Italian immigrants who sent money home to Italy via the Bank of Naples.

Digital History
Great immigrant and early American stories.

One Step Web Pages by Stephen Morse
Fantastic links to search almost any genealogical database on the internet.

Lower East Side NY Tenement Museum
Great photos depicting life in the tenements!

JewishGen
Excellent resource for those with Jewish ancestry, as well as helpful tools for researchers of all backgrounds.

JewishGen Manifest Markings Page
Explanations of the notations found on ship manifests.

The Ships List
Amazing resource featuring information on ship descriptions, fleet lists, passenger lists and ship wrecks.

Nationwide Gravesite Locator
The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs search engine for military graves.

"Italian Genealogical Records" by Trafford Cole
An excellent resource for anyone researching their Italian ancestry.  Mr. Cole explains the significance of the different types of records available, where to find them, and how to read them. My copy has seen so much use that the binding is hanging by a thread.

 Chronicling America
Free historical newspaper search at the Library of Congress site.

 Day of The Week Calculator
At Ancestor Search.

Family Photo Search
Free at Dead Fred, but Fred takes donations.