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Italian research: question for Mary of Italy, please.

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  • Italian research: question for Mary of Italy, please.

    I am asking the question on here, rather than pm-ing Mary, as the answer may be of use to others.

    Mary, I recall that you say Italian research is quite difficult. I have just discovered Italian Jewish relatives, from Ferrara in the early 1800s onwards.

    My question - when did civil records start? Was it compulsory? Would Jews have been required to register? I do know the family lived in the Ferrara ghetto. How does one access civil records please?

    Thankyou for your help.

    OC
    Last edited by Olde Crone Holden; 17-06-11, 09:18. Reason: spelling

  • #2
    IIRC civil records only begin from the 1860's, prior to that they are church based.

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    • #3
      Thankyou Kate.

      Some of the children were born after 1860 - there are allegedly 21 children in this family, from a reputable source, but I can only find 11 online and I am a little worried that they all have secular Italian names, not Jewish names as I would have expected.

      OC

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      • #4
        I know nothing about Jewish records, I'm afraid. As Kate says, civil registration began in 1866, and I assume everyone would have been required to register BMD events with their local councils after that.

        If you know the exact town they came from, you can contact the Register Office at the Town Council and they may be able to help. Unfortunately, hardly anyone does genealogy in Italy, as it's so difficult, and Town Councils don't always even bother to reply. If they do decide to be helpful, there's no charge for certificates, but if they say they can't find the person you're looking for, there's no way of knowing if they've searched properly. There's virtually nothing online so far, apart from a few records on Ancestry, although the LDS have scanned some registers.

        Before 1866 the situation is even more difficult; there was no civil registration, and all BMDs were registered by the local priest, so unless you know the exact parish where the event took place, you're looking for a needle in a haystack.

        Anyway, if you're sure they came from Ferrara and have some fairly accurate dates, I can draft you a letter for the Town Council, but don't get your hopes up too much.

        More information about Italian research here:


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        • #5
          Just remembered this site, which may give you some more information:

          Italian Jewish Genealogy, Italian Jewish birth marriage and death records, Italian vital records, Italy

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          • #6
            I've just checked the LDS catalogue, and all they seem to have for Ferrara is military personnel records (including military BMDs).

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            • #7
              By the way, I forgot to mention that Ferrara is the name of a province as well as a town, and every town in the Province of Ferrara will have its own separate Register Office, so if they don't come from the town of Ferrara, that complicates things.

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              • #8
                Thankyou very much Mary.

                I think I must try to contact the tree informants, before I go any further - the tree appears to have been compiled by someone with family knowledge, using synagogue records,(only male children noted) so I would like to know how accurate that is before I start writing off to grumpy Italian Registrars with incorrect birth dates.

                This is a wealthy and illustrious Jewish family - the sons made doctors, engineers rabbis, diplomats, professors of Mathematics, musicians and actors!

                OC

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                • #9
                  That's sounds like a really interesting family to research

                  Have you tried Google books?

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                  • #10
                    No, I haven't, but I will now!

                    OC

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