Use a Spreadsheet to Analyze Your Family Tree

My family tree is an enormous database with 85,363 people. People often write to me to ask why their great grandparents are in my tree. They want to know how I'm related. Many times I'm not an actual relative.

That's when I have to explain the purpose of my family tree. I've connected entire towns through blood or marriage. Everyone in there has some type of connection to me. It's a jigsaw puzzle with no border pieces. It never ends, and I love that.

When you export your family tree to a spreadsheet, you can pull out statistics you can't get any other way.

I need to find a way to create statistics about my family tree to help explain why their people are in there. I don't see any reports in various desktop family tree software that would do the trick. The Ancestry.com version of my family tree gives a few stats in its tree overview:

• People 85,363
• Photos 11,233 (at least 10,000 are document images)
• Documents 13 (these are PDFs)
• Records 1 (no idea what that is)

That isn't what I want. If only I could use an Excel spreadsheet to sort and filter these stats to the surface.

I won't use Family Tree Analyzer today because readers point out it doesn't have a Mac version anymore. But a lot of software doesn't have a Mac version. I've been saying that since 1984.

I downloaded MyHeritage Family Tree Builder, and then found out it has no Mac version. {sigh} Let's get on with it.

Choose Your Software

First I found an article titled "5 Best Free Gedcom to Excel Converter Software for Windows". It recommended these programs you can download:

1. Gramps. This one may work on your Mac and on Linux, too.
2. MyHeritage Family Tree Builder. This has tons of features, especially if you sync it with your tree on MyHeritage.
3. ScionPC. Last updated in 2016.
4. Oxy-Gen. Last updated i 2023.
5. GEDxlate. This is so old it may not work on your Windows computer.

Export Your Data

I imported my latest complete GEDCOM file into MyHeritage Family Tree Builder. Every day I export two GEDCOM files from Family Tree Maker (my program of choice). One excludes media and notes, and one includes everything. Then I went to the Edit menu in Family Tree Builder and chose Export to Excel. I clicked Export list of people, but you can create a custom export if you wish.

The export to Excel command in any software creates a .CSV file. CSV stands for Comma Separated Values, and you can use any brand of spreadsheet software to open it. Even though your software says "Export to Excel", it is not creating an Excel file that you may not be able to use.

Open that CSV file with whatever spreadsheet software you have—even if it's Google Sheets. Then save it to your preferred format. I have Microsoft Office 365, so I saved my file in Excel's .xlsx format.

Make Your Data Easier to Use

Now you can view the results in your preferred software program. The first thing I always do is make the top row (with the column header names) bold, and freeze the top row. That way the headers are always visible as I scroll. I went ahead and made some columns wider so I could see their contents. Next, I hid a few columns I'm not going to use:

• ID
• Prefix
• Married Name (No!! Birth names only.)
• Death cause

I rearranged a couple of columns, too. I moved Last name before First name, and Gender after Suffix. I clicked Sort on Excel's Data menu and sorted my 85,363 people by Last name then First name.

Now we're ready for some statistics!

Start Filtering

On Excel's Data menu, I clicked Filter. This puts an arrow (indicating a menu) beside each column header. I clicked the arrow beside Birth place and typed Colle Sannita in the Text Filters search box. That's my paternal grandfather's hometown.

This tells me my family tree has 25,122 people born in Colle Sannita. (I can look at the bottom of the Excel window to see how many records fit in this filter.) The beauty of the filter is that it will select any place, any address, that includes Colle Sannita. That's something I can't do any other way.

I can change that filter to see that my tree has (listed from most to least):

• 25,122 people born in Colle Sannita (repeating this for comparison)
• 17,335 people born in Baselice (my maternal grandfather's hometown)
• 10,409 people born in Pesco Sannita (birthplace of a 1st great grandmother)
• 2,789 people born in Santa Paolina (birthplace of a 2nd great grandmother)
• 2,696 people born in Circello (birthplace of a 3rd great grandfather)
• 1,962 people born in Sant'Angelo a Cupolo (this town's records begin in 1861, keeping this number low)
• 935 people born in Apice (birthplace of a 3rd great grandmother)

I had no idea what these totals would be, and it's exciting to see them. I've been working hardest on Colle Sannita for a long time because I have the most ancestors there.

Now I'll use the filter on the Marriage place column. This shows me I have recorded (listed from most to least):

• 8,200 marriages in Colle Sannita
• 4,400 marriages in Baselice
• 3,914 marriages in Pesco Sannita
• 1,502 marriages in Santa Paolina
• 1,314 marriages in Circello
• 538 marriages in Sant'Angelo a Cupolo
• 338 marriages in Apice

I've been busy, haven't I? But what I see is how much work I need to do in many of my ancestral hometowns.

Filter Out More Facts

Another fact I can filter is any date (birth, marriage, or death) that includes a particular year. I typed 1855 into the text filter search box and found that my family tree has 542 people born in that year. In most of my ancestral hometowns, record keeping began in the second quarter of 1809. So how many people in my family tree were born in the first full year of civil record keeping? I'll type 1810 in the text filter search box to see that it's 581 people.

A big part of my family came from the town that started keeping records in 1861. So how many people in my family tree were born in that year? I'll type 1861 in the text filter search box to see that it's 539 people.

If I wanted to take the time, I could track trends in my towns by using two or more filters at once. I can filter to show one town and one year. This shows me that in 1860 the town of Colle Sannita recorded 206 births and 126 deaths. I've taken the time to work ALL this town's available vital records into my family tree, so those numbers are good.

Take the Next Step

I could use this data in more powerful software to report on birth, death, and marriage trends. For instance, there's Microsoft Power BI (BI = Business Intelligence), which I've used before. I've noticed that some years have a much higher death count than others. This could point to a terrible disease sweeping through the town, or an earthquake. If I were to create such a report, it would give me more insight into the lives of my ancestors.

It's been a long time since I used Microsoft Power BI to analyze my family tree. Now the software has AI features to make it easier to use. It sure sounds like I need to try it again.

Wouldn't you like to know where your family tree has the most roots? What other details would you filter for?

How to Find Those Elusive Genealogy Records

Last week I showed you how bad information on naturalization papers built a brick wall in my family tree. But it is worthwhile to look for those naturalization papers. They can show you who left the old country and where they lived in their new country.

One reliable fact with naturalization documents is a Certificate of Arrival. This is a certified slip of paper showing a person's date of arrival, the ship name, and how their name appears. If you weren't able to find their arrival before, now you can.

The problem is, you may not be seeing naturalization papers when you search for your people. Here are four ways to find those elusive genealogy records.

Are you ready to finally find those elusive genealogy documents?

Perfect for New Yorkers Like Me

Most of my immigrant ancestors' families settled in the Bronx, New York. That makes this resource an outstanding tool for my family tree research. "Naturalization Records, State of New York" covers the Bronx and Queens in New York City. And it's so easy to use. Here's how:

• Go to https://naturalization.nycourts.gov.
• Select either Bronx or Queens under the County Filed heading.
• Enter a Last Name.
• Click Search.

I couldn't find my grandfather's or great grandfather's naturalization papers for years. Then I found them on this website. And I can use it to search for other relatives.

A Free Resource for Everyone Else

OK, so you've got no ties to the Bronx or Queens. Here's what you can do:

• Go to https://www.familysearch.org. If you don't have a free FamilySearch account, make one!
• In the Search menu at the top of the screen, click Records.
• Look beneath the large image and search box for the heading Find a Collection.
• Type a U.S. state and the word naturalization in the Collection Title box to see what's available. (Canada also has naturalization records for British Columbia. And there are lots of choices for Indonesia.)
• Make a selection and use the search box on the next screen to find your people. (If there is no search box, choose Browse and narrow down the section in which you will search.)
• No luck? Try the other results you saw when typing the state and the word naturalization.

Some of these record collections show you nothing but an index card. That card may have a volume and record number to help you further your search for the papers themselves.

If You're Already Paying…

I've been an Ancestry.com subscriber for 2 decades. I search Ancestry first, then FamilySearch to see if they have anything different. If you subscribe to Ancestry.com:

• Click the Search menu and choose Card Catalog.
• Type "naturalization" in the Keyword(s) box and click Search.
• Use the Filter By Location section to find the country or area you need.

You can find international collections this way. I clicked Oceania in the Filter By Location list to see what it includes. There I found a few Australian collections I need to investigate.

Last Ditch Effort Well Worth a Try

There's a database on the U.S. National Archives website called the Flexoline Index. Don't bother trying to download it like I did. No spreadsheet is capable of reading that many line entries. But you can search it online. Here's how:

• Go to the "Access to Archival Databases" section of the archives at https://aad.archives.gov/aad/index.jsp.
• In the Browse by Category section, click the red link, Browse by Subjects.
• Find and click Naturalization in the alphabetical list.
• Click to Search the Flexoline database.
• Enter some information, such as a Last Name, and click the Search button.
• If there are results, click the View Record page icon for the record of choice. If you get no results, alter your search terms.

While the results are simple, you can learn some important details, including:

• City of Birth
• Country of Birth
• Exact birth date
• Port of Entry
• Exact date of arrival

If you haven't found your person's ship manifest, this search result gives you details you can use to find it. I'm surprised there's no ship name—that would be a time-saver. Let's see how you can use this info to find that missing ship manifest.

I searched for Domenica Alfonsi born in 1923 in Italy. Her results tell me she arrived in New York on 19 May 1947. To find her, I'll go to Ancestry and search the Ellis Island database. It's called "New York, U.S., Arriving Passenger and Crew Lists (including Castle Garden and Ellis Island), 1820-1957".

Now, let's imagine I've never been able to find Domenica Alfonsi when searching for her by name. Since I have her date of arrival, I'll go to the "Browse this collection" area and choose to search by date.

Twelve ships arrived in New York on 19 May 1947. Only one ship has an Italian name, and it's a name I've seen before. There are 244 images in this collection, but the ship manifests span two pages. Plus there are separator pages between many images. I'll be able to skip lots of the 244 images.

Lucky for me, the names on this ship manifest are typewritten. Plus (I'm not used to this) the last names are in alphabetical order! I'm looking for ALFONSI, so I should get through this collection in no time.

I found Domenica Alfonsi on image 150 of 244. (The As started a few images before.) She arrived with her brother Domenico. The NARA search result said Domenica came from Frosinone, but that isn't a town. The ship manifest shows she came from Castelliri in the province of Frosinone. (Knowing the town name is crucial for finding Italian vital records.) On image 151 I see she's joining her father Giovanni at 5377 Hurlbut Street in Detroit, Michigan. Google Street View shows a row of houses there in a dramatic state of disrepair. 5377 Hurlbut Street is an empty lot now.

This exercise shows the value of using database results to find what you need for your family tree. Are you ready to find those documents at long last?

Bad Dates Built a Brick Wall in This Family Tree

Rae's grandfather was a solid brick wall in my family tree. Until he wasn't.

A few years ago I realized I didn't know my godmother's given name. She and her husband, my mom's 1st cousin, are my godparents. She's always been in my life as simply Rae. But Rae isn't her given name. I finally asked her for some details so I could research her family tree.

A Jam-Packed Genealogy Document

Isn't it great when you find your immigrant ancestor's naturalization papers? There's so much specific information on a single page. Along with his photo, Rae's grandfather's U.S. naturalization papers gave me:

• His date of birth and place of birth
• His wife's date and place of birth (but not her last name)
• Their date and place of marriage
• The names of their 4 children
• All 4 of their dates and places of birth

Which genealogy data can you trust, and which can build a brick wall in your family tree?

Fantastic, right? Now I can go get these Italian birth and marriage records on the Antenati website. Their hometown in Italy has a tremendous number of vital records online. They include way more years than my ancestral hometowns do.

Secondary Sources? Not Good Enough

The reason I called Rae's grandfather a brick wall is this. EVERY date on his naturalization papers is WRONG. His date of birth? WRONG. His wife's date of birth? WRONG. Their date of marriage? WRONG. Their children's dates of birth? WRONG.

At some point I gave up on this branch because I couldn't find their Italian vital records. That meant I couldn't go back another generation. And I had two different possible last names for Rae's grandmother.

A secondary source in genealogy is any document written well after the fact.

A primary source is written for that specific event:

• A birth record is written shortly after the birth to document the birth.
• A marriage record is written shortly after the marriage to document the marriage.
• A death record is written shortly after the death to document the death.

Naturalization papers are a secondary source for names, dates, and places. They are written to document the naturalization process itself. That makes them a primary source for naturalization facts. The rest of the details about names and dates come from the testimony of the immigrant. That makes them secondary and unreliable.

Why was he wrong about 6 birth dates and his marriage date? I have no idea. This past weekend this family came to my attention. I decided to figure out what went wrong.

Tracking Down Primary Sources

I spent a full day on the Antenati website for their hometown. I searched countless years' worth of vital records until I demolished the brick wall. I needed to start with Rae's grandparents' marriage. That would give me her grandmother's maiden name and both their parents' names.

• Rae's grandparents did not marry on 2 Sep 1890 as the naturalization papers say. They married on 18 Sep 1887. This set of marriage records took Rae's family tree back to her great grandparents.
• Rae's grandfather was not born on 28 Feb 1864 as he said, but on 2 Mar 1864. I'll call that one "close enough", but still weird.
• Rae's grandmother (now that I discovered her full name) was not born on 2 Feb 1871 but on 6 Feb 1866.
• Rae's aunt was not named Gelorma (not a real name), but Girolama, after Rae's great grandmother. She was not born on 2 Apr 1891 but on 31 Mar 1889.
• Rae's aunt Antoniella (I expected that to be a nickname) was not born on 8 Jun 1895 but on 20 Apr 1894 and named Antonia.
• Rae's aunt Maria was not born on 2 Jul 1898 but on 17 Sep 1898 and named Maria Felicia.
• Rae's father Matteo was not born on 17 Jan 1899, but on 29 Jan 1897. His draft registration card and naturalization papers get this a little wrong. They use the date 23 Jan 1897.

Using the names of the 2 sets of newfound great grandparents, I began to expand further back in time. I found the following:

• The 1861 marriage record for Rae's grandfather's parents. This told me the names of two sets of Rae's 2nd great grandparents.
• That marriage packet led to a 2nd great grandmother's 1851 death record. That added one set of Rae's 3rd great grandparents.
• It led to the 1841 marriage of a pair of 2nd great grandparents. That added two more sets of Rae's 3rd great grandparents.
• Turning to Rae's grandmother, I found her parents' 1858 marriage record. That added two more sets of Rae's 2nd great grandparents.
• This led to the 1829 marriage record for a set Rae's 2nd great grandparents. That added two more sets of Rae's 3rd great grandparents.
• That led to a 3rd great grandmother's 1828 death record. That added one set of Rae's 4th great grandparents.

This brick wall came tumbling down in a landslide! There are a few more records I can look for. I'll try to identify the three missing sets of Rae's paternal 3rd great grandparents. And Rae's mother's roots are in the same town as her father's. I can try to identify the six missing sets of Rae's maternal 3rd great grandparents. I have no doubt I can fill in many of these blanks. Update: Yesterday I found more records and identified one of Rae's 5th great grandparents!

Revisit Your Brick Walls

The lesson here is simple. If the best you can find for your brick wall ancestor is a secondary source, don't assume it's correct. You need to do more research. You need to do more than put a name in a search box. Seek out primary sources you can examine with your own eyes.

Rae once told me (about my family—her husband's family), they married within their own tribe. This research shows her statement is true of her own family, too. Her parents married in New York City, but they came from the same beautiful town in the spur of the Italian boot.

Free Genealogy Resource Leads to Fun Research

I was looking into a free genealogy resource to share with you when I spotted one heck of a coincidence.

First the resource. The Library of Congress has a large collection of images you can use for free. While scrolling through the collection I noticed there is a genealogy category. It's a very eclectic group of items, including blank family tree charts, maps, photos, and more.

Now the coincidence. I noticed one photo labeled "Italian family living 428 E. 116th St." in New York City. My grandfather's cousins lived around 116th Street, so I took a look.

Searching this free genealogy photo collection, I discovered my great grandparents' neighbors depicted in 1912.

When I clicked this photo, I found a "More items like this" section at the bottom of the page. One of the images shown there has a label that includes the address 259 E. 151st Street. What? Hey! 259 E. 151st Street, Bronx, New York, was across the street from the building where my mother was born and raised.

The photo's full description: Cutting out embroidery on the dirty kitchen floor. Battista family, 259 E. 151 St. N.Y. On the right is the married daughter, who lives down stairs and usually works there. On her right next to the boy is Flora, said to be 9 years old and very much stunted in size. 'Been sick.' Next to her is the mother and next is Linda, 11 years old. The baby, dirty and covered with sores, was being handed about. Probably has impetigo."

Many of the women in my family did this type of "home work" in the early 1900s. Sewing, stitching, trimming. So it's especially interesting to see what that process might have looked like.

Start With the Census

The date on this image is January 1912. I'll bet I can find this family in the 1910 census.

I went to my family tree to get the URL for my great grandparents' 1910 census. They were living at 258 E. 151st Street. Then I went page by page through the census until I found the Battista family. Husband Paolo, wife Maria, and seven children were all born in Italy except for the 4-year-old boy Guido. The baby with impetigo must belong to the married daughter who lives downstairs.

I've found that people living in this Bronx neighborhood came from the same towns as my ancestors. It's worth some research time to try to find out where this Battista family lived in Italy. Finding this family's ship manifest will be the best way to learn the name of their hometown.

I searched on Ancestry for Paolo Battista, born about 1872, arriving in New York in 1903. A quick glance at the search results told me his birth date, and that he's buried in Old Saint Raymond's Cemetery. That's where you'll find my grandparents and all my Bronx relatives. His U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index record (an excellent resource) includes his parents' names.

Look for an Immigration Record

When I couldn't find Paolo's 1903 ship manifest, I searched for the rest of his family. The 1910 census says they arrived in New York in 1904. I found them! The maiden name of Maria Battista is Carfagna. (Italian women don't change their name when they marry, so a ship manifest is also a great place to find her last name.) And the family came from Casalciprano. I'd never heard of Casalciprano before, but I see on the map that it's a little north of some of my ancestral hometowns.

Scour the Vital Records

With the name of their hometown, I could search for their Italian birth records on Antenati. I found Paolo Antonio Battista's 1872 birth record with no trouble. The names of his parents and his date of birth match what I saw on U.S. documents.

In the 1873 birth records I found Anna Maria Carfagna. She was a foundling baby; parents unknown. Left in the "foundling wheel" a day after she was born, her birth record describes the items that were with her. Officials made note of a foundling's belongings in case the mother wanted to claim the baby later. Anna Maria Carfagna is the name a town official gave to her. Wrapped in linen cloth with a white stripe, she wore a cotton headband.

Then I found a surprise for the undersized Flora named in the Library of Congress photo. Her age is correct on the census. She was born in Casalciprano on 8 Apr 1902. Flora somehow wound up back in Italy, in Napoli, to marry Giuseppe Pisani on 28 Aug 1955. (These details are in the column of her birth record.) Yes, she was 53 years old when she married in Italy. It's nice to see that the stunted child who had "been sick" grew up and married.

The boy called Carlo on the 1910 census appears to be Arno on the 1904 ship manifest. I found his 1895 birth record, and his given name is Arno Filippo. I found birth records for the Battistas' children Virginia in 1897, Linda in 1899, and Entimio in 1903. I also found their son Guido's 1905 birth record on the New York Municipal Archives website.

I couldn't find a birth record for the oldest daughter from the 1910 census, Ida. Then I noticed she didn't come to New York in 1904, but in 1908. When I found her ship manifest, I saw that her mother went back to Italy to bring her to America. (Usually the father does this, not the mother.) Her parents left her behind in Italy for four years. Hospitalized on arrival, Ida and her mother stayed at Ellis Island for four days. (These details come from the ship manifest page for detained passengers. This tip came in very handy!) Still, I could not find a birth record for her—even checking under another first name.

I wanted to find the name of the Battistas' married daughter seen in the photograph. While searching for her and Ida, I worried I was going back too far. Their parents were born in 1872 and 1873. I found their marriage record in July 1892. The couple are only 20 and 21 years old. The two missing daughters should have a birth record in 1892, 1893, or 1894. I looked at the birth record of every Battista child in those years. I even looked at earlier years' birth records in case they had a child when they were teenagers.

I tried searching immigration records for anyone named Battista from Casalciprano. I found only Ida's 1908 arrival and a woman who had different parents.

Return to the Census

I found the Battista family in other censuses, hoping to find their eldest daughter. I noticed one woman on the 1915 census, Immacolata, who's also listed beside the family in the 1910 census. She's a possibility, but she's a bit too old, and I didn't see any Battistas named Immacolata in Casalciprano.

In the 1925 census, the Battista family lives around the corner in the same building as some of my cousins. They're also at that address in the 1920 census. But Immacolata is no longer near them.

Broaden the Search

Next I did a broad search for Immacolata Battista, the potential daughter. This led me to a family tree with documentation for Ida. It includes her 1893 date of birth (taken from U.S. documents), but there is no such record in her hometown. It is possible that Paolo and Maria didn't report the births of their first two children. This would result in a fine for the parents in Italy, and it can prevent the child from getting permission to marry. (My great grandfather's 1876 birth wasn't reported until 1898, the year he married.)

I found Ida's 1910 New York City marriage record on the NYC Municipal Archives website. It's possible her delayed birth record is in the 1909 or 1910 records in Casalciprano. Unfortunately, those years are not available online. It's too bad the family tree I found on Ancestry has no mention of another, older daughter.

What other search techniques would you have used?

Granted, these people are not related to me. But I'm quite sure my great grandparents and my grandmother knew them. Bringing this historic photo to life is one of many superpowers we have as genealogists. What discoveries does this photo collection hold for you?

What Can You Learn About Your Ancestors' Daily Lives?

Last week a man posted in the "My Italian Family Tree" Facebook group. It wasn't the typical post. He said he wants to know more about his Italian ancestors. He's seen their birth, marriage, and death records, but he wants to know more about their lives. I know my 19th century ancestors were illiterate peasants living in small towns. There was no local newspaper covering their exploits since they couldn't read.

Ancient Roots—Not Names

But we can learn something about our ancestors' lives if we look at the history of the place and the people. They call my ancestors' general area the Sannio or the Sannita region today. In Roman times they called it Samnium—named for the ancient Samnites. And when I say ancient, I mean ANCIENT. The Samnites were in my ancestors' area as early as the 8th century BC.

Placing an ancient map over a current one puts my ancestors in a key place in history.

The Samnites were a league of several independent tribes. They banded together to fight against the Romans many times. They were farmers who raised crops and livestock. They also fished in their rivers and mined iron ore.

One characteristic of the Samnites that's interesting to me is their physical description. They didn't look like the typical dark Southern Italians. Many had blond hair and blue eyes, as do I, and as did some of my great grandparents. Historians say this coloring comes from the Ligurian people. They settled alongside the Italic people early on. Among these people were some Gauls. Gaul was a region that today is France, part of Belgium, Western Germany, and Northern Italy.

When I took a DNA test in 2012, my husband guessed I would find some German in my pie chart. It would explain my great grandfather Giovanni's looks. But there is no German in my DNA. These days my AncestryDNA test does show 2% France, which is new. My Ancient Origins on MyHeritage say I'm a solid Roman by the Roman Era and pure Italian by the Middle Ages. Still, I have blue-green eyes and my hair was blond in my youth.

The Life of a Peasant

I searched for details of Southern Italian peasant life in general. Their daily life was much like life in the Southern U.S., as described in William Faulkner's novels. (I've been reading his books in order of publication since November.) Faulkner's novels cover a lot of time, from pre-Civil War to the 1950s. In the rural Mississippi of his novels, there were a few rich landowners, and many workers. The workers never seemed to get ahead. They worked the fields, raised livestock, repaired their clothing, tools, cabins and barns. They grew the food they ate. The sharecroppers didn't get to keep all they grew.

The same is true of my Italian ancestors. Children began working very young, performing whatever tasks they could. Older boys and men did the more demanding labor. Older girls and women managed the household. The females would milk the cow, fetch water, take the clothes to the river for washing, and feed the family. They would also make and mend the family's clothing. The males would plow the fields, plant and harvest the crops, and maintain any structures.

In Southern Italy, the Church or members of the ruling class were the rich landowners. I have a copy of a book that is invaluable to my family tree research. It is "Colle Sannita nel 1742" by Dr. Fabio Paolucci. Dr. Paolucci has shown me documents from the town bearing my maiden name as early as the 1500s.

His book is a detailed 1742 census of the town's 600 or so households. Often the descriptions say that the head of household "has" a vineyard or land that's leased to him by the Church. Sometimes he takes care of livestock owned by the Church. The book also details the land owned by 35 priests and clerics. There's also an accounting of the land and livestock owned by more than a dozen churches and chapels.

Based on their vital records, I know my people were farmers or they practiced a trade needed by the town. They were shoemakers, barbers, tailors, midwives, and seamstresses.

Newspaper Coverage, or Lack Thereof

While I won't find my family members in old Italian newspapers, I can search for mentions of their towns. La Stampa is an Italian newspaper I can access online. The issues go back to its founding in 1867. I found only one thing, and it's about my maternal grandfather's town. On 8 Oct 1872 in Baselice, they opened a government telegraph for both government and private use.

I had better luck with La Stampa when I wanted to see coverage of Italian battles during the first World War. Based in Torino, I wouldn't expect La Stampa to cover my little Southern Italian towns.

I answered that Facebook post. I suggesting he look into the history of his ancestors' place and the people (in general) who lived there. I came away from my research with a better idea of my ancestors' lives. And a better idea why I don't look how you might expect an Italian to look.

Why I Prefer Researching Dead Ancestors

It started out so innocently. "Let me find one new DNA match to research." A few hours later, I have a 6th cousin who's a registered sex offender and had planned several murders. I'll take a pass on adding his name to my family tree.

Years ago I jumped on the chance to upload my AncestryDNA zip file to a site called FamilyTreeDNA for free. I hadn't checked that site for new DNA matches in a long time, so I logged in to see what's new.

Discovering this living 6th cousin is making me run back to my dead ancestors.

Scrolling down the list, I found someone with the same last name as my great grandmother, so I opened his tree. I also found a tree for the same family on Ancestry. I consulted the Ancestry tree because it has plenty of source citations.

I saw that my DNA match's grandmother also had a last name from my family: Ricciardelli. Researching the grandfather with the familiar last name did not lead back to my family. So I got to work on the Ricciardelli side.

That name comes from Santa Paolina, Avellino, Italy. My 2nd great grandmother Colomba Consolazio was born there. And she had a grandmother named Colomba Ricciardelli. I've added my closest relatives from this town to my family tree. But there are so many more relatives I can add.

This DNA match gave me that chance. I got to work adding birth, marriage, and death dates to the ancestors on this Ricciardelli branch. It was easy to see that the Ricciardelli line provides my connection to this DNA match.

After I went up my match's tree as far as I could, I came back down to add U.S. source citations. I added facts and citations for:

• censuses
• draft cards
• immigration records, and
• Social Security Death Index records.

When I came down to a generation that's about my age, I realized the family moved from the east coast to California. I love California's records! If you know their mother's maiden name, you can find birth records through 1995 and death records through 1997. These records show the person's:

• full name
• full date of birth or death
• mother's maiden name
• county of birth or death.

Need some DNA research tips?

• 4 Practical Methods for Identifying a DNA Match
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I got to the point where I knew my DNA match was the son of one of 4 brothers. But I couldn't tell which brother it was. I took another look at my match's tree on FamilyTreeDNA and realized I know his mother's maiden name! In the California Birth Index I found two people with the correct mother's maiden name. One of the two, a female, owns the Ancestry family tree I used for my research. The other person, a male, has a middle name that made him a good prospect for a regular internet search.

The results made me push myself away from my desk. The crime he attempted, and the criminal content in his possession, were the last thing I expected to discover. There are enough facts there for me to be sure this 6th cousin and the registered sex offender are the same person.

But things get more interesting. Remember I found California birth records for a brother and a sister. My FamilyTreeDNA match does not have the criminal's name. His test account has a description that is very helpful. It says that my DNA match is the uncle of the brother and sister from the California Birth Index. But the account is (was?) managed by the sex offender. He says he and his sister (whom he names) are trying to get past a brick wall on their paternal line. To do this, they convinced their uncle to take a DNA test.

The family tree connected to the DNA test doesn't have the uncle as the home person. That was throwing me off by a generation. The home person is the criminal, and IT SHOWS HIS NAME. This should be private since he's living. His sister's name is private. His parents and uncles' names are private. But his name is there despite having no death date.

I don't know if this peculiarity has any connection to legal proceedings, but it's all very creepy.

In the end, I marked the uncle as a DNA match in my family tree. Then I added a private note, one that will not appear in my online tree, explaining what I discovered.

This was not the playful genealogy romp I expected. I'll continue building out this Ricciardelli branch from Italian vital records. Then I'll find some more dead people to hang out with.