By Francesca V. Mignosa

To search or not to search? That is the question. At some time in life we all wonder about our familial roots; where we came from, who we are. We seek to unveil our history and reconnect with our ancestors. Recently, I had the opportunity to converse with Dr. John Philip Colletta, a national lecturer on genealogical topics and author of three books. I report here his sage advice on researching our personal historical "microcosms."

Our conversation started on a linguistic note when I explained that his name was etymologically captivating. As a native of Italian, I immediately translated "Colletta" as the act of "gathering or collecting" and found it appropriate given his profession. He agreed and commented further that a possible Greek meaning, derived from the variant, "Nicoletta," could be translated as "little victory."

With the same wit, inquisitiveness and liveliness, Dr. Colletta launched into his discussion of Italian family history. He started by explaining the difference between "ancestors" (parents, grandparents, great grandparents, and so forth, from whom we descend) and "collateral relatives" (the brothers and sisters of our ancestors). The distinction is important as one ventures into the world of historical documents in archives in the USA and Italy.

Regarding Italian immigration to the USA, Dr. Colletta emphasizes that our ancestors were not one huge, faceless, monolithic group. Rather, they were distinct individuals with their own personalities, motives, traits and circumstances. Each immigrant's story of leaving la Patria and settling in l'America is unique and well worth exploring by descendants.

Dr. Colletta used his own family as an example. He was born and raised in Buffalo, NY, but now resides in Washington, D.C. His father's ancestors resided in Casteldaccia, a small farming community, and Bagheria, a city famed for its aristocratic villas, both located southeast of Palermo, Sicily. His mother's heritage is French, German and Swiss.

He holds a PhD in Medieval French Literature from the Catholic University of America. After returning from some years of study in Europe in the mid-1970s, Colletta found few job opportunities for teaching French. On the other hand, Americans of continental European background were eager for instruction in tracing their roots. Genealogy was on the rise, and no longer restricted to descendants of the old Mayflower families and early Jamestown settlers. Given his linguistic abilities (Italian, French, a little German, Latin and Russian), as well as a keen interest in family history that he had exercised since he was a boy, Dr. Colletta was able to shift his skills and interests to the burgeoning new field, turning his hobby into his profession.

Dr. Colletta has been to Sicily three times to mine precious family facts from church archives in Bagheria, Casteldaccia, and many neighboring mountain villages, such as Castronovo, where descendants of ninth- and tenth-century Arab residents live to this day. He discovered, in fact, that half of his father's ancestors were not farmers, but rather pastry chefs, merchants, clerks and master craftsmen, such as saddle makers and carpenters, who catered to the local aristocracy. Journeymen, such as shoemakers and photographers, canvassed the three-cornered island, practicing their trades from village to village to village.

As we spoke, I felt Colletta's passion for this realm of personal family history. He encourages people interested in tracing their roots to learn and keep in mind the larger historical circumstances in which their ancestors lived. Knowing something about the history, politics, economy, geography, the social customs and traditions, of the ancestral town adds significantly to our appreciation of who our ancestors were and the lives they led.

Dr. Colletta was able to uncover many fascinating facts about his forefathers back to the late seventeenth century from civil vital records (stato civile; that is, birth, marriage and death records) as well as church records (atti di battesimo [baptismal records], atti di matrimonio [marriage records] and atti di sepultura [burial records]), which pre-date the civil records. Old Italian records show a close relationship between the secular and the sacred. In the 1800s, a marriage record was "l'atto della solenne promessa di celebrare il matrimonio" (the deed of the solemn promise to celebrate matrimony). This record was executed in the local city hall first, then the bride and groom would get "officially" married in church. Many of Italy's civil vital records contain, on the left side of the page, the civil record, and on the right side, the basic facts of the religious ceremony.

While all of Dr. Colletta's relatives immigrated to the USA, thousands of other Italians voyaged to Brazil and Argentina. Of great fascination is the enormous influence these newcomers have had on their local communities, as they shared with their new neighbors the ancient and beloved cultural traditions of the "Old Country." Colletta emphasized the importance of la cucina -- culinary traditions -- in fully understanding and appreciating a family's history.

I could personally relate to this. In Sicily one can immediately detect whether a person's roots lie in the sea (il mare) or the land (la terra) from the way he or she cuts peppers! Yes, it is true. A person who slices peppers vertically and thinly probably had fishermen as ancestors. If, on the other hand, a person slices peppers horizontally, almost in squares, he or she likely had farmers as ancestors. Since I have both traditions in my blood, I cut peppers both ways!

To optimize your genealogical search, follow Dr. Colletta's recommendations:

Start with what's already known. Start with yourself and known family members. Interview your relatives, browse through photographs, ships' passenger lists, obituaries and record the who, what, when and where of your ancestors' lives on a family tree chart. In other words: work backwards, one generation at a time. Record biographical details on a family group sheet. (For free forms, visit FamilySearch.org.)

Review published materials. Visit your local library to explore the great variety of genealogical and historical sources that might advance your search (books, microfilm, DVDs, etc.) and navigate the Internet for the wealth of materials now available at the sites of archives, libraries, genealogy groups and private individuals. (Attenzione! Do not believe everything you read! Always double-check the supposed "facts" you find on the World Wide Web against the original sources!)

Search through original archives. If you are fortunate enough to be able to travel to Italy, visit the parish (parrocchia) and town hall (municipio) of the town (comune) or village (frazione di comune) where your ancestors lived. Start an email or paper mail correspondence with both in advance from the USA and see what information may be obtained that way. If, like most of us, you cannot pop off to Italy tomorrow, you may examine original Italian records on microfilm right here at home. The Family History Library of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Salt Lake City, Utah (the largest genealogical library in the world) very graciously loans out its astounding microfilm collection to Family History Centers around the world -- for anyone, including you! Just locate the Mormon FHC in your vicinity and place your order. You may examine the Library's catalog at FamilySearch.org, borrow the civil (and sometimes church) records for your ancestral town, and start filling in the gaps in your family tree.

To conclude our conversation, I asked Dr. Colletta's opinion on the Ellis Island Multimedia project to digitize all records in their possession. He agreed that it's a fantastic concept but warned that no system is perfect. Names appearing in historical records are often misread by the transcribers creating the database, and many other names were recorded mistakenly in the original old record. Always keep several possible variant spellings of your surname in mind as you use any published materials, whether in paper or electronically.

It was on June 24, 1975 that Dr. Colletta first walked into his personal heritage in Casteldaccia, Sicily. He remembers still the bright colors and tempting aromas of the festa di San Giovanni (patron saint of Casteldaccia) that filled the piazza, and he still marvels at the joyous and bounteous hospitality of the relatives who had never heard of him until that day, yet who treated him like royalty. After all, he was parenti. At the time, Dr. Colletta could not have imagined that this personal awakening would be the foundation and impetus of a profession that has lasted over twenty years. Dr. Colletta maintains his primacy in the field and like many of his ancestors is a master craftsman. So, I like to think of him as "Maestro of Genealogy!"

You may visit Dr. Colletta's Web site at GenealogyJohn.com. Better yet, come meet the Maestro in person on Saturday, October 13, at the Western Reserve Historical Society in Cleveland (which has a large and astounding Italian American collection), where he will be presenting a seminar on Italian Family History from 9 a.m. until 4 p.m. Illustrated lectures will include Ship Passenger Lists, Naturalization Records, Research in Original Italian Records, and Discovering the Real Stories of Your Immigrant Ancestors. Cost is $40. For more information visit wrhs.org (click on Library, Genealogy, Seminars) or contact Nancy Leinweber by phone at 440-205-1942 or by email at nanbwl@juno.com.