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by Cav. Anthony Lascio
"Italian Death Records"
There are those among the
astute Italian genealogists who proclaim that death records are the most
meaningless vital statistics. They claim those records offer little, if
anything significant, toward extending one's pedigree. While the preceding
may hold some truth, those death documents are still an appealing record
source sought by the average researcher. So, rather than debate the pros
and cons of this Italian record let's explore what they are and the data
they provide, then you be the judge whether they are worthy of your
pursuit.
Before we proceed, keep one
very important fact in mind. Civil death documents will vary from province
to province and region to region in Italy. For this reason, the specific
data the record offers will be different from let's say, Padua and Bari.
What I describe will be in general terms in order to encompass as many
different types or formats of death records as possible.
The atto di morte or act of
death indicates the date, time and place the witness or witnesses to the
death appeared before the town official with the information and
verification of an individuals death. Also stated is the occupation and
residency of the witness or witnesses. Then the deceased ancestor's name,
age, occupation, residence, marital status, parents; and the time, date
and place of death. This genealogical data is worthwhile information but
remember it provides the least amount of new information regarding our
ancestor.
Contrary to the belief of
some, in rare cases is the cause of death provided. This lack of
information will not please those who are pursuing genetic genealogy or in
other words, trying to establish a link between themselves and a
particular illness of an ancestor from the past.
Now that I have described
the actual death notation recorded in the civil ledgers of the commune,
let's take a look at the two types of death documents which are available
to the genealogists who requests them from their ancestral town. First
there is the death certificate, certificate di morte and then the estratto,
or extract. The certificate provides a limited amount of information
versus the extract which contains much more valuable information than the
certificate. Always request the extract when requesting an Italian civil
death record.
Besides the civil death
records described previously, you have one other option to obtain a death
record for your ancestors and that is the death and burial record of the
Catholic Church also known as the parish records found in your ancestor's
Italian birthplace. As with the civil death records, expect the parish
death records to be the least valuable and most difficult and time
consuming records to obtain. Remember also, the difficulty in obtaining
a specific death record when the ancestors' death data is unknown. The
ancestor could have died anytime over a period of many decades and to
pinpoint the exact year of death within that time frame will be an
extraordinarily difficult process.
The important genealogical
data provided on the church death ledger at the parish archives usually
includes the name, age and occupation of the deceased ancestor. Also, the
name of the wife or husband of the deceased for each marriage, if more
than one. In addition, the names of the parents of the deceased are
provided and generally their occupations. Usually, the date of the
deceased ancestors' baptism is also given. Finally, the burial act, time
and place, are provided. Normally, per Italian law, the actual burial is
within two days of the death and the place is almost always in the parish
cemetery.
As stated in the
description of civil records, the cause of death is absent from most
parish death records. There are exceptions in some northeastern regions
of Italy, particularly Venice, Padua and Trieste.
In summary, it is important
to remember that civil death records are recorded in Italian and Catholic
Church parish death ledgers are recorded in Latin. When pursuing these
records via correspondence in the Italian language, be specific in your
request and provide all the data you know concerning the deceased
ancestor. One final reminder. Seek both the civil and church documents
and when requesting the civil death records, specify the extract, not the
certificate.
Although you may not always
obtain everything you seek, death records have a way of "finalizing" your
genealogical pursuit. Let's just say as you go after the last of the
Italian record sources, say to yourself, "till death (records)...do us
part". |
