"The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step."
First, get yourself an account at Family Search www.FamilySearch.org. It is free and probably the most extensive genealogy resource site on the planet. If you can afford it, a subscription to www.Ancestry.com is great to have. Even better is the World Explorer level, even if only while you are doing research in the old country. You can always downgrade it later.
Second, On Family Search, under the "Search" drop-down menu select "Research Wiki" and spend a LOT of time poking around and seeing what is there. So much information about all things related to family history research.
Third, consider a software program for your computer. I highly recommend Family Tree Maker https://www.mackiev.com/ftm/index.html. It is easy to use, highly customizable, and very reasonably priced.
Fourth, yes, I do mean use a computer with a decent-sized monitor. You will be looking at old, faded documents with scratchy handwriting, and the ability to give your eyes a break and see it bigger is a very good idea. Plus, the websites all seem to work better than the apps. Trust me on this.
Fifth, familiarize yourself with the FamilySearch Research Wiki NOW! I spelled out the steps under "TIPS"
Sixth, see next section!
You have to start at the beginning and that not only means birth, but the tree starts with YOU!
Once you have done all of the above you can proceed to the next section!
My grandfather and me.
Did your ancestor leave their homeland and settle in another country? Here's how to find their ship's passenger list and why you should look for it.
Once you know the town your ancestor was born in, you can start at the website of the Italian State Archives of Vital Records
1. Go to https://antenati.cultura.gov.it/
2. On the home page where it says Località, type in TOWN NAME (be sure you are spelling it correctly), then click "Cerca" (search). Don't fill in the rest.
3. Then, on the left side of the page, click SERIE > Espandi, and you may get many towns.
4. Click on the town you are interested in, i.e., Cautano.
5. then, on the left side, choose TIPOLOGIA: Nati=births, Morti=deaths or Matrimoni=marriages.
6. On the next screen, choose Anno=years > Espandi=expand to see what years there are for the type of record, then choose an approximate year. If there is more than one entry, check them all by clicking on “Vedi il Registro.” When you are done with that register, use your back button to get back to the other options and repeat.
7. In the upper right, you will see several icons. Hover your mouse over them, and one will say, "Galleria."Click on it, then click Galleria, and you will see lots of thumbnails
8. Look over all the thumbnails. Either at the beginning or the end, there is often (not always) an index, which makes searching faster. Just by looking at the thumbnails, you can see that some pages will look more like a list than a written record or form. Double-click any thumbnail to enlarge. If there is no index, you just have to click page by page and read the names in the margin, looking for your person.
** If you don’t find the person you are looking for in the estimated year, look at least 5 years on either side. Dates on many records are inaccurate.
Family Search is a site of immense information! The good people have scanned and digitized Billions (yes, Billions with a B) of records and research tools for just about anything you might want to know. However, they have not and cannot index it all even with the help of countless volunteers so you have to learn to search the catalog just like going to the town and searching through all the old, dusty record books, except you don't need an appointment with a town registrar, you don't have to leave the comfort of your own computer (in most cases), and these are not dusty! It's not as quick and easy as typing Great-grandpa's name in a search bar, but if Great-grandpa's records are among the billions not yet indexed, it's the only way. Bring snacks and be prepared to spend hours!
Here is a tutorial for searching the Catalog
Go to www.Familysearch.org
Voila! Now you can find lots more records, especially those that are not on Antenati.
Once you find the document you are searching for you will want to save it to your computer, add it to your Family Tree, add it to a book, and maybe share it with family members. Here's a tutorial I created, followed by a video.
P.S. Every once in a while I find a document with a URL that does not have that type of ending digits. In that case, you have to take a screenshot or use the snip tool.
AND
Here is a good video to watch ( I don't know who to credit for this) https://streamable.com/dy19dc?fbclid=IwAR0PdnHqQDdnNIpruxV62PYCo4sUBTHNLbXSZRh4tgfMVtkBaWl7lXLJB4Y
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