Heritage

In this 1929 Pittsburgh Press Article, Roslyn Torella was able to verify the date of a house fire that endangered the lives of her grandparents and their children, including her father who was only three weeks old.
Heritage

Discovering La Famiglia: Finding Your Family in Newspapers

June 2018 |
Readers are loving our Discovering La Famiglia column! If you have used Roslyn’s methods to research your family’s history, we would love to hear about it. Please share your stories with us at This email address is being protected from spambots....
This is Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Wilburton, OK where the author’s grandparents attended and baptized their four Oklahoma-born children. Using www.parishesonline.com, Roslyn was able to find the church that her family last attended in 1924.
Heritage

Discovering La Famiglia: Finding Your Family in U.S. Church Records

May 2018 |
La religione era una componente importante della società italiana del ventesimo secolo e molti degli eventi più significativi nella vita di un individuo erano registrati negli archivi della Chiesa cattolica. I registri ‘sacramentali’ possono, di...
This page, from Mahoning County (Ohio) Probate Court’s Record of Births book, lists births for the years 1905 and 1906 which predates statewide birth registration which began in 1908. The first entry is for Joe Feraro, showing his parents as Joe Feraro and Maria DiSabato. Joe grew up to use the name James Ferraro. Later vital records for this family record Maria’s maiden name as Sabato. This record illustrates that you need to have an open mind and search for name variations when researching the birth records of the children of immigrants.
Heritage

Discovering La Famiglia: Finding Your Family in U.S. Birth Records

April 2018 |
When your ancestors settled in America, many of the important events that happened in their lives and their families’ lives were recorded in U.S. vital records. The main types of records that may yield valuable information about your ancestors are...
The Essence of Italy: What Makes Italy Italian?
Heritage

The Essence of Italy: What Makes Italy Italian?

April 2018 |
More people than ever before are exploring the world in search of the undiscovered, the new, the ultimate experience. All too often, though, you can travel thousands of miles only to find a kind of bland familiarity. But Italy is different. Italy...
Exploring Pasqua: Italy's Easter and its Traditions
Heritage

Exploring Pasqua: Italy's Easter and its Traditions

April 2018 |
La Pasqua è una ricorrenza molto sentita in Italia giacché il significato religioso commemora la passione, la morte e la resurrezione di Cristo. Per questo motivo,  durante la Settimana Santa, in tutta Italia tantissime città celebrano la...
Discovering La Famiglia: Finding Your Family in U.S. Death Records
Heritage

Discovering La Famiglia: Finding Your Family in U.S. Death Records

March 2018 |
A death record will be the most recent record available for your ancestor. There are several types of records available that record not only death information but may also contain other genealogical information such as an original Italian surname,...
Discovering La Famiglia: Finding Your Family in U.S. Marriage Records
Heritage

Discovering La Famiglia: Finding Your Family in U.S. Marriage Records

February 2018 |
When your ancestors settled in America, many of the important events that happened in their lives and their families’ lives were recorded in United States vital records. The main types of records that may yield valuable information about your...
This WWII “Old Man’s Draft Registration” provides genealogical details about Roslyn Torella’s immigrant grandfather who was required to register for the draft even though he was an “enemy alien” and of advanced age for military service.
Heritage

Discovering La Famiglia - Finding Your Family in U.S. Military Records

January 2018 |
You may not have thought about using U.S. military records to find out more about an Italian-born ancestor, so in this month’s column, I am going to share with you what records may exist and contain information about your ancestors and where to...
In this 1900 Census record of the Italian immigrant community of Lowellville, OH, Census Taker Porter Watson struggled to record the Italian population and is a good illustration of the challenges in using Census records. For example, he recorded the name of a family from Italy as “Fitzdale.”
Heritage

Discovering La Famiglia - Finding Your Family in U.S. Census Records

December 2017 |
Using U.S. Census records to discover your Italian ancestor’s early life in America can be both exhilarating and frustrating! Census records hold a wealth of information about your ancestors such as when they came to America, their age, place of...
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