I have been doing genealogy research for more than seven years and what started as a hobby has become a passion and career! I mainly focus on families of Italian or Sicilian origin, but I do have experience in American records as well. I thoroughly enjoy doing genealogy research for other people and I get as excited about finding new information for others as I would about finding something new for my own family!

People contact me for help with researching their families for many different reasons. Some people just want to learn about their family. Some want to research back to Jesus if they can. :-) Some want to trace their families forward to the present day. Many are planning a trip to Italy or Sicily and want to visit their hometowns and meet long lost family members. Some are interested in obtaining dual citizenship. The reasons vary and for each family the journey of the research is different.

While there are a lot of web sites and microfilms that are wonderful resources, I understand that not everyone has the time to dedicate to searching through them, and some people may not have a Family History Center near them where they can access microfilms. And those who do search through the micro films often find themselves lost and discouraged because of the Italian or Latin that the documents are (of course) written in and because of the old handwriting.

In addition, there are three basic needs to begin researching your Italian or Sicilian family history. There is more information about these starting requirements on my Jump Start page, but the three basic needs are: the exact name of the town the family is from, a name to go on, and a date to start with. Whether you already know these three basic facts or even if you have no idea for any of them, there's a good chance I can help!

I have developed two types of research that I offer to clients to help achieve the goals that clients may have-full family searches and searches for specific documents only.

FULL FAMILY SEARCHES

If you are interested in finding out all there is to know about your family, this is the search for you. Whether your family's research involves beginning with searching the Internet and US resources for the three basic starting needs or if it just requires microfilm viewing, for an hourly fee plus printing and film rental expenses, I will do all the work for you! Just sit back and watch your tree grow! Email me for in depth details of what I provide, what I need to get started and the costs involved. I promise you will not be disappointed! References are available upon request.

SPECIFIC DOCUMENT SEARCHES

If you are interested in obtaining a few specific documents only, then this is the search for you. This is typically for microfilm research in the town of origin. If there is a specific document you need and you know the approximate date that the event occurred, the following fees for researching that document would apply:

• First document: $45**
• Each additional document from the same film $10.00
• Hourly rate: $20
• Film Rentals: $6 each

**The first document fee ($45) includes one film rental, 1.5 hours of search time, a photocopy of the original record, complete translation and a research report, and postage. If more than 1.5 hours of search time is necessary, this will be billed at $20/hour. If more than one film is necessary to locate the first document, the cost for film rentals is $6 each. If the document will come from a film that I already have on permanent loan at my local FHC, there is a discount of $5.00 on the first document! In addition, if I find numerous documents on the same film, I do offer a discounted rate for the additional documents.

Many people contact me because they are interested in applying for Dual Citizenship. There are some great web sites out there that can help you determine if you are eligible for Dual Citizenship. Type "Italian Dual Citizenship" in the search box below or click here to see helpful links for Dual Citizenship. 

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Read a dual citizenship story that one of my clients wrote about his experience as he went through the process of achieving dual citizenship.

Family History Centers (FHC), run by the Mormon Church, have microfilms available for most towns in Italy and Sicily (not to mention most towns around the World!). Most towns will have civil registration films (births, marriages, deaths) available from about 1820-1865, with some towns having films up to 1910 or even more recent. Some towns even have church records that go back to the 1400's (!!), census records and other interesting documents available on microfilm. These vital records are an invaluable because most years are indexed making them easy to research  and they contain all sorts of treasures, sometimes including street addresses, godparents, occupations and signatures! Plus, among the pre-marriage documents of a bride and groom, you might gain 4 generations of information from birth and death certificates.

CLICK HERE to search the FHC Library Catalog to see if there are films available for your town. 

If you need a document from a time period for which there is no microfilm available, you may want to contact Giovanni Montanti. He resides in Italy but speaks English and assists American researchers by locating those hard-to-find documents! He is FAST, efficient, and affordable. You can contact him at : info@sicilyvideo.it. He also has a web site at www.sicilyvideo.it

Because of the large number of people I have worked for, I currently have close to 600 microfilms on indefinite loan at my local FHC for many different towns throughout Sicily and Italy. Please see the list below to see what I already have on loan. Pleaes note that this list may not be current, as additions are being made nearly every day!