Nardi family reunion set for 2022
I did some research for Shayna almost ten years ago which created more questions than answers but I was never able to accomplish her most sought-after goal – to reconnect with family in Italy. However, Shayna never gave up hope and this year her dream finally came true. Here is her version of the chain … Continue reading
Oldest business in the world-Agnone
The Marinelli Pontifical Bell Foundry in Agnone, near Isernia, in the Province of Molise is the oldest bell foundry in the world and the second oldest family business in the world, and is still run by descendants of the original Marinelli Family. In Agnone the tradition of smelting and moulding metals is 2,500 years old, … Continue reading
Surnames of Italy
Italians are finally catching up with the rest of the world in the realm of surnames. 350,000 surnames can be found in Italy, the highest number of different surnames in one country in the world. In Italy up to 2016 it was not legally possible to have more than one surname. I can hear the … Continue reading
Catasto Onciario – How and why it was created
In 1740 the Catasto Onciario was proposed by King Charles III (who reigned from 15 May 1734 – 6 October 1759) and and by 1742 regulations had been sent out to all the towns in the Regno delle Due Sicilie with instructions to complete the work by the end of January 1743. Ten years later, … Continue reading
Indexes – how accurate are they and what to do if the name isnt there?
Let’s discuss first the indexing currently underway by Family Search and Antenati. This indexing is being done by volunteers who may, or may not be familiar with the elaborate handwriting of our Italian ancestors. You should try your search on both sites and on Ancestry.com. I have a feeling Antenati is not sharing this project … Continue reading
Sins of the father….the story of Anna
Stories about women are rare so I would like to take a few minutes of your time to focus on a kind of heroine. One who went against the culture and traditions of the time. A young woman whose true story we will never know, but one that we can imagine, based on various documents … Continue reading
Finding Achille
Alistair Goold came to me with a desperate plea for help. With the help of an Italian lawyer he had exhausted all known avenues to locate the birth record of his GGFather without which he could not get his Italian citizenship. He sent me a list of the archives they had searched without success. Filomena … Continue reading
How to search the Antenati site
The ‘search’ function on Ancestry, family search and the Antenati site is a place to start but don’t be discouraged if it doesn’t produce any results. The indexing project is far from complete and even though ‘your’ names may appear to come up in the search it doesn’t mean they are the right family. Sometimes … Continue reading
Connecting families in San Donato Val di Comino
Susan writes: Thanks, Ann, for all your help. If not for you identifying Pasqualino as close a relative, we wouldn’t have been able to connect. Facebook also made it easier since I was able to chat with him beforehand and let him know we were visiting. When we got to the square where we were … Continue reading
Finding Maria D’Ambrosio
Breaking down a genealogical ‘brick wall’ can be exhilarating but it often happens completely unexpectedly. A brick wall in any project leaves Angel Research always with a name in the back of your mind. We don’t always realize it but in every research we do we are always looking out for those names that stick … Continue reading
