Why did your Italian ancestor have five cousins all named Joe? Why did married women travel under their maiden names? Was Sally really Serafina? This presentation explores the factors that pushed and pulled Italians to emigrate, what they found when they arrived, Italian naming patterns and name changes, and how to start your search. Knowing what their life was like in Italy helps us to understand their choices and behavior when they emigrated: why they were slow to naturalize, why the family was the most important institution, and why food was a source of celebration.
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Loved this! My ancestors were from Sicily. But, just to ruin the law of averages, my great-grand uncle Vincenzo went by Charlie (not James)! Thanks again! Robin
Margaret,
Great webinar, lots of fantastic info.
I am from the Phila. Area and had the chance to visit people in many of the Italian communities in and outside of the city.
Wonderful memories.
Paul D’Allura
There is so much good information in this webinar. I can’t wait to watch it again!
I learned alot as usual!!!m Great presentation!!!
The webinar was very informative, well scripted, and with relevant commentary provided by Margaret. I really enjoyed the program along with learning several new clues for conducting my research. The closing Q&A was also helpful.
This was simply fantastic. I now have an incredible desire to take a break from my current research and just immerse myself in resources about the population, hardships, epidemics, etc. (I know, I know…something I should have already done at this point in my Italian research…)! I can not wait to look over the resources you’ve suggested to get us started. Thank you so much! I really think this is going to help me expand my research in Vicenza so much more than I’ve been able to do so far.
The syllabus is filled with useful references- thank you! Although I was familiar with most of the subject matter, I learned that the historical perspective should be a research priority as it is important, interesting and may give a clue for reasons of emigration. I agree, that fiction books can be loaded with true, historical information, while being entertaining.
I wasn’t sure I would learn anything new tonight, but I did! Thank you for having these webinars.