Help! I don’t know the comune my ancestor was born in.

Not knowing the comune (town/city) in which your ancestor was born is a common problem for Italian-Americans trying to obtain the birth certificate of said ancestor. Unfortunately, death certificates and civil marriage records will normally just list “Italy” as the place of birth, which is of course, not helpful. The first step should be to ask any and all relatives you know of who may know information as to the locality in which the person was born, but if you have exhausted this option to no avail, as well as all civil resources, and still have yet to find out the comune, do not give up hope.

Most Italian immigrants were Catholic, and we are very fortunate that the Catholic Church keeps very meticulous records as to events such as marriage and baptisms. In my experience, the quality of these records kept by the Catholic Church, also known as Diocese records or, in the case of marriage, sacramental records, are equal to or greater than civil records, and are often available when no civil record exists (ex: an ancestor who was born in a certain state before that state issued birth certificates).

Thus, if your ancestor was married in the United States and you know the Archdiocese in which the marriage took place, it will not be difficult to obtain the Sacramental Marriage Record. Baptismal records of any ancestor’s children may also list the birth places of the parents, as well.

If you have obtained the civil marriage record of the ancestor you are trying to locate, it will most likely name the Church at which the marriage was officiated. Keep in mind that old records are no longer kept by the individual churches themselves, but in the archives of the diocese in which they are located. In some places, there may be an even more centralized record keeping system which handles records for the entire state, such as in Texas.

Next week, I will discuss how to contact the comune to obtain your ancestor’s birth certificate, which will include an Italian language lesson, as all correspondence must be written in Italian.