Italian-American Stories

Storie di Famiglia

Heritage • Family • Culture • The Places We Come From

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A passenger manifest on a desk overlooking Ellis Island

Did Ellis Island Really Change Your Family's Name? What the Records Actually Show

Almost every Italian-American family has heard it: they changed our name at Ellis Island. The records tell a different story, and the real one is far more useful for finding your family's comune.

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An Italian atto di nascita register with a magnifying glass

How to Read an Italian Birth Record (Atto di Nascita), Line by Line

You found your ancestor's birth record, and it's a page of old Italian handwriting. Here's how to read an atto di nascita...

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