My Italian Family

The Statue of Liberty-Ellis Island Foundation has made available online FREE all the Ships Manifests for those who arrived in the U.S. through the port of Ellis Island from 1892 to 1924.

You need to have the full name of your Ancestor who migrated from Italy, his/her approximate date of arrival and his/her approximate age at arrival in case there are many passengers with the same last name.

The Manifest will list:

• Full name
• Age
• Sex
• Profession
• Last residence in Italy
• Birthplace (Listed after 1907)
• Names and addresses of the relatives in the U.S., etc.

Ellis Island Records are available at: www.ellisislandrecords.org.

Additional sites:

A researchable site at NARA is: http://aad.archives.gov/aad/fielded-search.jsp?dt=2123&cat=GP44&tf=F&bc=,sl. They have available online Italians to America Passenger Data File from 1855 to 1900.

An explanatory site at NARA is: http://www.archives.gov/research/immigration/passenger-arrival.html

The US Social Security Index is an index of several million deceased people who had social security numbers and whose deaths were reported to the Social Security Administration. The index lists deaths since 1962. However, the records include the original SS Application that your ancestor would have completed in order to get a Social Security Number. This began in 1936. You can search the following site to find your ancestor’s listing in the SSDI free of charge: http://ssdi.rootsweb.ancestry.com/.

Once you find your ancestor’s listing, you can order the original Application (SS-5).

By mail:

You should address your request to:

There is a fee is $27, when the Social Security number is provided or $29 if the Social Security number is unknown or incorrect.

Online:

You can order the SS-5 Form online from the Social Security Administration at: https://secure.ssa.gov/apps9/eFOIA-FEWeb/internet/main.jsp

The usual timeline to get a response is about two weeks.

The SS-5 Form will include your Ancestor's:

• Full Name
• Date of birth
• Birthplace
• Father's name
• Mother's name
• SS# and more.

Only Federal Census Records starting from 1900 have more information included:

• Sex, Color
• Profession
• Birthplace (*)
• Level of education
• Date of immigration
• Naturalization information (especially New York state census records)

(*) Please be aware that it is not uncommon to find Italy as the place of birth listed.

U.S. Census Records are now available online at Ancestry.com. You have to be a member in order to gain access to their records. Otherwise, they are available on microfilm at the National Archives (NARA has a web site with information as to the location of the Centers, hours open, etc. http://www.nara.gov or http://www.archives.gov/research/census/).

Naturalization is the process by means of which an alien becomes an American citizen. Before 1952, it used to be a two-step process that took a minimum of 5 years:

1. First your ancestor had to fill a Declaration of Intention (so-called "first papers") to become citizen, after residing in the United States for 2 years
2. After 3 additional years, if the petition for naturalization was granted, a certificate of citizenship was issued. A copy of the Petition was kept at the court, and a copy of the Petition and Certificate was sent to the Department of Immigration and Naturalization Services, which is now USCIS.  After 1952, the Declaration of Intention was no longer filed.

The "Declaration of Intent" generally lists more useful information than the "petition." It includes (if issued after 1906):

• Full Name
• Date of birth
• Birthplace
• Port of Entry
• Occupation
• Place of residence here in the U.S.
• Spouse’s name and place of birth

WIVES were automatically naturalized with their husbands in the earlier years of the 1900's, so you may never find naturalization papers for them.

The first step is to acquire your Ancestor’s Naturalization from the federal government.  Send a request to the USCIS (U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services) by visiting the USCIS webpage at: www.uscis.gov/genealogy. You will start by ordering an INDEX SEARCH first. The fee is $20. Once you receive the Index Search results you will follow up by submitting the file number citation(s) in a Record Request to receive the Naturalization Records if you Ancestor’s papers were found.

If you are applying for your Italian Dual Citizenship, more and more Italian Consulates are now requiring certified copies of Naturalization Papers issued by the local court where the naturalization took place.

If the USCIS comes back with an official “Statement of No Record” the Italian Consulate requires more documentation such as:

1. A full search at the National Archives under your grandfather’s name and nicknames, possible dates of birth which he may have declared, for a certified copy of his "first" and/or "final papers", that is, the "declaration of intention" and "petition for naturalization". If he was naturalized the "final papers" will also show the date and number of his naturalization.
2. If the record is still negative, a search at the National Archives for a certified copy of the census report dating after your father’s birth has to take place as well. Census records list naturalization information.

All of this can take place at www.nara.gov.

Additional site: http://www.archives.gov/research/naturalization/