Professional Italian genealogists help you discover the most important events in the life of your Italian ancestors. This is how I got to become one.
Personal background
My interest in genealogy and local history began as a child. I remember visiting the “Yesterday’s Main Street” exhibition at the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago in the early 1970s. This was – and still is – a detailed recreation of a cobblestone street with storefronts from the turn of the 20th century. I recall being captivated by this world long gone, but which I could still relate to.
While I was still young, my parents decided to return to Italy. That’s when my yearning for knowledge about the past increased even further. History was all around me now! And when I started building my own family tree, fortunately, everything was within a day’s reach so finding material was relatively easy.
Professional background
While growing up in Italy, I studied at Italian and American institutions. With my degree in hand, I returned to the US to pursue a career as a Data Professional. Most projects consisted of acquiring, organizing, and managing data. I quickly realized that I could apply the same techniques to genealogical research. The same goes for the Quality Assurance and Quality Control projects I’ve worked on. Collecting tons of data is only half the story. The essential part is reviewing, assessing, and validating the information extracted from the data to make sense of things.
The advantages of being local
While in the US, at the very early stages of my career, the internet was still in its infancy. Thus, to find documents you had to repeatedly visit local LDS Family History Centers. This process consisted of ordering reels of microfilms. Once delivered, one had to spend hours checking unindexed documents hoping to find something. A very lengthy process indeed!
After returning to Italy once more, things got easier. Instead of microfilms, I went directly to the archives to locate the documents firsthand! At the same time, I decided to pursue a second career as a genealogist. After a short while, I began collaborating with a US-based research firm while still researching my own family lines.
Practice makes perfect
Long story short, after working for many different clients, I am now fully operational. This means offering my services for much lower prices than what is generally seen on the web. Basically, you will get the same content with less packaging.
Here is a short list of what you need to know before committing to a project with Italy Research. It also shows you what to expect once a project is underway:
- Every project is unique, thus making it impossible to accurately estimate its outcome.
- Most Italian records found online originated with the Civil Registration, which began between 1809 and 1820. In some regions records only go back to the unification of Italy of 1870. Unless your family was noble, previous records can only be found by visiting the actual dioceses and parishes.
- We do not have 800 numbers to call 24/7, but your messages will be addressed in roughly 48 hours.
- We do not offer personal web pages with your research results. However, we can prepare a GED file to import into your favorite family tree software.
- Research can be very challenging, but determination and repeated attempts can help overcome many obstacles.
- In some cases, spending some time investigating every single detail may help. Here are some examples of what I have encountered:
- The overlooked godfather seen in a baptism record may be a long-lost uncle that couldn’t be found anywhere else.
- The last name and first name in a census may have been switched, making the person nearly impossible to find unless you look at the address.
- A father and son may have had identical names. Reviewing any associated dates will give more accurate results.
The bottom line
Whether you are just beginning to research your ancestors or have a consolidated family tree, I can assist you with my services. As explained above, I am a US-born, Italian-raised, professional genealogist and on-site contractor for two leading US genealogy research firms. For many years, I have gained vast experience locating records and building family trees. I have also worked on some special projects. These included finding heirs and former spouses, assisting writers with their book research, and helping descendants of Italian immigrants acquire citizenship by descent. I have also worked on Family History projects, preparing reports to narrate the events, the local history, and the culture that have shaped a family’s past.
Please use this contact form for a free consultation about locating the records you need to extend your family lines.
