The best way to get information is to ask grandma for some help! People often ask me “how did you find out all that information?” In my case, I didn’t have any grandparents left to ask, but they are certainly the best source of information. The more data that you have about your grandparents, where they lived, when they came to America, if they migrated, the better. Birth and death certificates are a great source of information also, as they have both parents names, and typically maiden names of the mother. It’s important to remember that in Italy, women did not take their husbands names and are recorded as “legitimate wife of…”.
I was able to get my hands on my mother’s parents death certificates, which helped immensely in finding the Italian Records back to 1803. Napoleon dictated that all towns keep birth, marriage and death certificates. Prior to that all records were kept in the church. More and more records worldwide are being added daily, especially in the US. Familysearch.org is also digitizing deeds, wills and other legal documents.
One thing to remember while searching is that many times the name you are searching may not match the records exactly, so it is best to try name variations or use wildcard searches.
Of course you can ask grandpa too,
Italian DNA — Where do we come from?
But I know my grandparents came from Italy, how come I’m not 100% on my Italian DNA test? I know where I came from, why should I take a DNA test. Ahh, there just made up anyway, somebody I know took the test and it said they where only 10% Italian, how can that be? All valid questions. One thing we have to remember is that Italy was not united until the mid 19th Century.
Italian DNA – Understanding Genetics
Because of it’s location, Italy was invaded and conquered many times, as a result, very few people have pure Italian DNA. Italian Genealogy hopes to explain this, as well as, haplogroups in more detail in several posts. We try to keep things in simple terms so that it is easy to understand, but will provide links to more scientific detail for anyone that wants to explore further. For those who have already completed a DNA
Should I do a DNA Test
Click here to Join Italian Genealogy Group on Facebook One of my first posts, updated with some new information and links. I did my first DNA test with Ancestry.com about six years ago. They, as I think most people know, have one of the largest networks. I have to say that I was very surprised when I got my results that I was not as Italian as I thought I was. Ancestry has a
DNA Comparison
I thought it would make sense to do a DNA comparison across the companies where I sent my data. I did two tests, Living DNA and Ancestry.com. I have also sent my data to My Heritage and GED Match. I may one day try the test at 23 and Me. You can Hyperlink to any of these sites, to see their deals. So far I have found that Living DNA gives the best data, and
Best Ancestry Research Links
New Links added We searched the internet for the best articles, blogs and books to help you with your ancestry research. Click the hyperlink to go to the site. Interactive Map of Italy — Rough Guides Campania — Municipal Guide From the Genealogy Blogspot — How to read Italian Birth Records Sicily — Sicilian Family Tree Professional Translations– Proz. From The Ancestor Hunt — US College Newspapers New Links added Six
Italian DNA – Haplogroups
Having received great feedback on my post Italian DNA — Where Do We Come From? I thought I would go a little deeper into Haplogroups. Very simple put, a Haplogroup is a marker of sorts that denotes a certain mutation at a certain time in history. This marker allows genealogists to more or less pinpoint a migration path. Males inherit this marker from both parents, while females only their mother. Knowing your haplogroup allows
