What drives a family to leave everything they’ve ever known, to walk for days through rugged terrain with no promise of comfort or safety? For my ancestors, it was the hope of a better life in America—a hope that began with a dusty, arduous trek across Sicily. During my research, I discovered that my family […]
Author: Joanne Giulietti
Author - A writer playing Connect the Dots with historical facts to create a fictional bridge linking the past to the present. Hunter of the past. Lover of reading, writing, and genealogy.
Understanding Italian Documents
I explained in a prior post where to look for the original Italian documents containing birth, marriage, and death information. Once you have the pertinent documents, you may need some help in interpreting them if you don’t understand Italian. Even if you do speak Italian, the cursive from the 1800s differs from ours, so you […]
Christmas and Struffoli
Christmas time brings many different memories for people – some good and some bad. Personally, I like to focus on the good memories: Going to midnight Mass and walking home at 1:30 in the morning. remembering the excitement of my children on Christmas morning when they were young, being together with family, and Christmas cookies. […]
Hunting for Italian Records
One of the best websites for finding information on Italian genealogy is Portale Antenati (Ancestors Portal), managed by the Italian Ministry of Culture. You can view the site in English by using the dropdown at the top of any page. You have several options to conduct your research. The easiest is to search by name. […]
A New Beginning
In my previous life, I published non-fiction articles (mainly Catholic faith related) and humor. I’m now venturing into a new field that combines my love of genealogy and my all too vivid imagination. My first draft is complete and currently undergoing the intense scrutiny of my beta readers. I am hoping the birth of this […]