Italian-American Family History


Book Description

The goal of this book is to show you how to document your heritage while placing each generation of your family in its cultural milieu and telling a factual and interesting story about the family. Among other things, this book enables you to evaluate American records for information specific to Italian-American research, to appreciate the importance of Italian-American cultural perspective, and to write a readable and interesting family history.




Finding Italian Roots


Book Description

A guide for family researchers of Italian descent points the way to resources in the United States as well as information available in the town halls, archives, churches, and libraries of Italy.




The Family Tree Italian Genealogy Guide


Book Description

Discover your Italian roots! Say "ciao" to your Italian ancestors! This in-depth guide will walk you through the exciting journey of researching your Italian famiglia both here and in Italy. Inside, you'll find tips for every phase of Italian genealogy research, from identifying your immigrant ancestor and pinpointing his hometown to uncovering records of him in Italian archives. In this book, you'll find: • Basic information on starting your family history research, including how to trace your immigrant ancestor back to Italy • Strategies for uncovering genealogy records (including passenger lists, draft cards, and birth, marriage, and death records) from both the United States and Italy, with annotated sample records • Crash-course guides to Italian history, geography, and names • Helpful Italian genealogical word lists • Sample letters for requesting records from Italian archives Whether your ancestors hail from the island of Sicily or the hills of Piedmont, The Family Tree Italian Genealogy Guide will give you the tools you need to track your family in Italy.




All the Way to America: The Story of a Big Italian Family and a Little Shovel


Book Description

“This immigration story is universal.” —School Library Journal, Starred Dan Yaccarino’s great-grandfather arrived at Ellis Island with a small shovel and his parents’ good advice: “Work hard, but remember to enjoy life, and never forget your family.” With simple text and warm, colorful illustrations, Yaccarino recounts how the little shovel was passed down through four generations of this Italian-American family—along with the good advice. It’s a story that will have kids asking their parents and grandparents: Where did we come from? How did our family make the journey all the way to America? “A shovel is just a shovel, but in Dan Yaccarino’s hands it becomes a way to dig deep into the past and honor all those who helped make us who we are.” —Eric Rohmann, winner of the Caldecott Medal for My Friend Rabbit “All the Way to America is a charmer. Yaccarino’s heartwarming story rings clearly with truth, good cheer, and love.” —Tomie dePaola, winner of a Caldecott Honor Award for Strega Nona




A Student's Guide to Italian American Genealogy


Book Description

A step-by-step guide to genealogical research for students of Italian American descent or those interested in Italian Americans.




Finding Your Italian Ancestors


Book Description

For millions of Americans, home means Italy, where their roots started years ago. In Finding Your Italian Ancestors, you'll discover the tools you need to trace your ancestors back to the homeland. Learn how and where to find records in the United States and Italy, get practical advice on deciphering those hard-to-read documents, and explore valuable online resources. The guide also includes maps, multiple glossaries, and an extensive bibliography.




The Italian-americans


Book Description

This richly researched, beautifully illustrated volume illuminates an important, overlooked part of American history. From extensive archival materials and interviews with well-known Italian Americans, Maria Laurino strips away stereotypes and nostalgia to tell the complicated, centuries-long story of the true Italian-American experience. Looking beyond the familiar Little Italys and stereotypes fostered by The Godfather and The Sopranos, Laurino reveals surprising, fascinating lives: Italian-Americans working on sugar-cane plantations in Louisiana to those who were lynched in New Orleans; the banker who helped rebuild San Francisco after the great earthquake; families interned as “enemy aliens” in World War II. From anarchist radicals to “Rosie the Riveter” to Nancy Pelosi, Andrew Cuomo, and Bill de Blasio; from traditional artisans to rebel songsters like Frank Sinatra, Dion, Madonna, and Lady Gaga, this book is both exploration and celebration of the rich legacy of Italian-American life. Readers can discover the history chronologically, chapter by chapter, or serendipitously by exploring the trove of supplemental materials. These include interviews, newspaper clippings, period documents, and photographs that bring the history to life.




The Routledge History of Italian Americans


Book Description

The Routledge History of Italian Americans weaves a narrative of the trials and triumphs of one of the nation’s largest ethnic groups. This history, comprising original essays by leading scholars and critics, addresses themes that include the Columbian legacy, immigration, the labor movement, discrimination, anarchism, Fascism, World War II patriotism, assimilation, gender identity and popular culture. This landmark volume offers a clear and accessible overview of work in the growing academic field of Italian American Studies. Rich illustrations bring the story to life, drawing out the aspects of Italian American history and culture that make this ethnic group essential to the American experience.




Were You Always an Italian?


Book Description

Journalist and writer Maria Laurino blends autobiography and cultural history in this revealing look at Italian culture and its impact on Italian-American, and American, life. Particularly valuable is her discussion of stereotyping (both nostalgic and negative) and her insightful description of her struggle, beginning in adolescence, with her own Italian identity. Annotation copyrighted by Book News Inc., Portland, OR




A Letter to My Children


Book Description

An inspiring story unfolds throughout this book of the rich history, culture and ties that bind and define a family of Italian descent, all written through the unique perspective of a letter to the author's children. A masterful way to educate her children about their heritage and instill in them an appreciation and understanding of what makes them unique as third and fourth generation Italian Americans, the "Letter" explores the common themes and differences between Northern and the Sicilian and Southern Italian cultures, social and economic influences, and family structure. With a particular focus on the role of the Italian woman as the heart of the entire ethnic group, as elevated rather than oppressed, as the "giver of life", the author includes a rich examination of the differing nuances in feminist ideology of the United States and that of Italy.In the end, the author artfully challenges her children, and all of us, to ask questions and to continue the journey of understanding, love and activism needed to better our world.