We are planning a trip to our grandfathers ancestral village in Calabria, Italy called San Lucido-- and would like to connect with some family members-- but we have never been in touch and our grandfather left there in 1920 for the US. Can you think of a way to contact a person who could do some research for us to track family down?
Lia
Posted by
Tresana, Highlands Ranch, CO, USA
23653 posts
Use the international section of Ancestry.com to see if you can find any names. Second the priest at the local church could be helpful plus the town clerk. You really need to do a lot of homework before you go or else you are just shooting in the dark.
Posted by
San Jose, CA
1994 posts
In addition to the priest and parish records, it's worth talking to some people at the church. In Ireland, we stayed in my grandmother's home village for a few days. After Mass, I talked to several elderly people and one of them was from the family that lived next door to my grandmother's family (and he ultimately bought their family home, which we were able to visit). That person put me in contact with relatives. And my grandmother had left Ireland 112 years before we visited and never stayed in touch; so it's worth your effort to do some research. The owner of the B&B where we stayed was also really helpful. If you can find birth or baptismal or immigration records they may have information about their district or address, which also helps. We found that info on line for much of Ireland; perhaps it also is for Italy.
Posted by
Paris
10403 posts
check out Cherrye Moore google My Bella Vita and Calabria and you'll find her. She's a transplanted Texan who lives with her Calabrian husband there, where they own a B&B and she helps folks coming to visit their ancestors' towns. she's great!