POINTers In Person
Lou Costello Chapter 15
Northern New Jersey
Northern New Jersey
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August 2, 2008 ALBERT MAROTTA (#1018)
The Northern New Jersey chapter of POINTers In Person met on August 2, 2008 at the Elmwood Park Municipal Building. Twenty people attended.
Maria Carparelli (#2100) opened the meeting. She called for members to volunteer to lead the chapter’s future research trips. Annita Zalenski (#39) volunteered to lead the research trip to the New York Public Library, while Susan Berman (#4405) wanted to lead the trip to the Newark Public Library NJ Room. It was decided to postpone trips to the NJ State Archives and to the Morristown Public Library Genealogy Room until 2009.
Maryanne Graham (#3654) presented the treasurer’s report. The chapter has 42 members.
Susan Berman (#4405) showed members a copy of the book, “Italian Americans of Nutley, Belleville and Newark” (Essex County, NJ) by Dr. Sandra Lee of Seton Hall University, which included photos of Sue’s family. She mentioned that John Renfrey (#1070) helped with the research and is also a good friend of Dr. Lee.
Al Marotta (#1018) alerted the chapter to a New York Times article (July 19) which stated that the New York Genealogical & Biographical Society has decided to change its focus to grant-giving, tours, lectures and other means of encouraging genealogical research. Thus the Society has closed its library and sold its building. However, the NYG&B Society has donated its collection of 75,000 volumes, 30,000 manuscripts and 22,000 reels of microfilm to the New York Public Library. This once member-only private collection will now be open to all researchers.
Mr. Larry S. Fermi (#2350) gave the presentation, “The Northern New Jersey chapter of POINTers In Person met on
August 2, 2008 at the Elmwood Park Municipal Building. Twenty people attended.Maria Carparelli (#2100) opened the meeting. She called for members to volunteer to lead the chapter’s future research trips. Annita Zalenski (#39) volunteered to lead the research trip to the New York Public Library, while Susan Berman (#4405) wanted to lead the trip to the Newark Public Library NJ Room. It was decided to postpone trips to the NJ State Archives and to the Morristown Public Library Genealogy Room until 2009.
Maryanne Graham (#3654) presented the treasurer’s report. The chapter has 42 members.
Susan Berman (#4405) showed members a copy of the book, “Italian Americans of Nutley, Belleville and Newark” (Essex County, NJ) by Dr. Sandra Lee of Seton Hall University, which included photos of Sue’s family. She mentioned that John Renfrey (#1070) helped with the research and is also a good friend of Dr. Lee.
Al Marotta (#1018) alerted the chapter to a New York Times article (July 19) which stated that the New York Genealogical & Biographical Society has decided to change its focus to grant-giving, tours, lectures and other means of encouraging genealogical research. Thus the Society has closed its library and sold its building. However, the NYG&B Society has donated its collection of 75,000 volumes, 30,000 manuscripts and 22,000 reels of microfilm to the New York Public Library. This once member-only private collection will now be open to all researchers.
Mr. Larry S. Fermi (#2350) gave the presentation, “Buon Giorno – Italian Genealogy Research”. He is a popular speaker on basic and advanced genealogy in the mid-Atlantic area. A member of the Association of Professional Genealogists, the National Genealogical Society, the Genealogical Speaker’s Guild and the Genealogical Society of New Jersey, Mr. Fermi began Family History research in 1989. He focuses on European immigration during the peak periods of the 19th and early 20th centuries. His interest in Family History began as a youngster in science class, when the teacher mentioned the famous scientist, Enrico Fermi. He was sure his family had to be related, especially since he later learned that both families were from the Emilia-Romagna region and lived in the Province of Piacenza.
In order to learn what records are available in Italy, a researcher must first know the exact village, since this is the location for the best civil records. Often an immigrant ancestor will only give the name of the province, instead of the town where a life event took place, since the province is usually better known and larger. Novice researchers mistake the name of the province for that of its capital city, only later realizing that the ancestor meant the province only. The first goal must be to discover the commune.
After showing the chapter how Italy is politically divided (region, province, commune, frazione), Mr. Fermi said that if a researcher has no idea where an ancestor lived, it is possible to find where most people sharing the same surname live today. A website that shows the distribution of surnames based on the current population of Italy is www.gens.labo.net/it/cognomi . At least this will give a researcher a potential place to start.
POINTers In Person – Chapter 15 (August 2, 2008 continued)
If one knows the province and birth year, and if the ancestor is male, the military conscription record is a fine source to find the town. If the ancestor was born in 1855 or later, his military records would be located in the province’s capital city and listed by birth year. This record will also show the commune of birth. Confusion is still possible however. Sometimes an ancestor had to register a birth in a neighboring commune possessing a registry office. For example, although Mr. Fermi’s grandfather was born in the frazione of Roncaglia, its records were to be found in the nearby commune of Mortizza.
Mr. Fermi then gave a detailed explanation of how an Italian record is constructed and reminded members not to confuse the date and time the record was made with the date and time of the actual event.
Civil Records begin with Napoleonic Records (1804, 1806 and handwritten) and continue through approximately 1865, when State Records replace them, often with annual and ten-year indexes.
In Northern Italy, during the period 1808-1815, records were often written in French. Records prior to these dates can be found only in church records, where sacramental records and Status Animarum (the State of the Souls in the parish) are collected. These are written in Latin.Larry Fermi’s webpage can be found at www.LeRoyPlaceServices.com
Future meetings will be held on:
November 1, 2008
February 7, 2009
May 2, 2009
August 1, 2009For details, see our website: https://sites.rootsweb.com/~njpoint/
”. He is a popular speaker on basic and advanced genealogy in the mid-Atlantic area. A member of the Association of Professional Genealogists, the National Genealogical Society, the Genealogical Speaker’s Guild and the Genealogical Society of New Jersey, Mr. Fermi began Family History research in 1989. He focuses on European immigration during the peak periods of the 19th and early 20th centuries. His interest in Family History began as a youngster in science class, when the teacher mentioned the famous scientist, Enrico Fermi. He was sure his family had to be related, especially since he later learned that both families were from the Emilia-Romagna region and lived in the Province of Piacenza.
In order to learn what records are available in Italy, a researcher must first know the exact village, since this is the location for the best civil records. Often an immigrant ancestor will only give the name of the province, instead of the town where a life event took place, since the province is usually better known and larger. Novice researchers mistake the name of the province for that of its capital city, only later realizing that the ancestor meant the province only. The first goal must be to discover the commune.
After showing the chapter how Italy is politically divided (region, province, commune, frazione), Mr. Fermi said that if a researcher has no idea where an ancestor lived, it is possible to find where most people sharing the same surname live today. A website that shows the distribution of surnames based on the current population of Italy is www.gens.labo.net/it/cognomi . At least this will give a researcher a potential place to start.
If one knows the province and birth year, and if the ancestor is male, the military conscription record is a fine source to find the town. If the ancestor was born in 1855 or later, his military records would be located in the province’s capital city and listed by birth year. This record will also show the commune of birth. Confusion is still possible however. Sometimes an ancestor had to register a birth in a neighboring commune possessing a registry office. For example, although Mr. Fermi’s grandfather was born in the frazione of Roncaglia, its records were to be found in the nearby commune of Mortizza.
Mr. Fermi then gave a detailed explanation of how an Italian record is constructed and reminded members not to confuse the date and time the record was made with the date and time of the actual event.
Civil Records begin with Napoleonic Records (1804, 1806 and handwritten) and continue through approximately 1865, when State Records replace them, often with annual and ten-year indexes.
In Northern Italy, during the period 1808-1815, records were often written in French. Records prior to these dates can be found only in church records, where sacramental records and Status Animarum (the State of the Souls in the parish) are collected. These are written in Latin.Larry Fermi’s webpage can be found at www.LeRoyPlaceServices.com
Future meetings will be held on:
November 1, 2008
February 7, 2009
May 2, 2009
August 1, 2009For details, see our website: https://sites.rootsweb.com/~njpoint/
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