What Is It?

Genealogy is the science of verifying and documentarily reconstructing the family ties between members of one or more families.

Genealogical research, like any scientific endeavor aimed at achieving definitive and verifiable results, is carried out through a structured method. In this specific case, it relies on interdisciplinary knowledge combining socio-historical, archival, and legal expertise (family law), as well as sociolinguistics (onomastics) and the history of writing (paleography), providing the tools needed to locate, read, understand, and contextualize sources.

Genealogical research follows a four-step systematic methodology. First, documents containing genealogical data are collected. Next, relevant genealogical information is extracted and processed. Finally, a detailed report is written explaining the methods used and sources consulted, which includes a genealogical chart displaying the findings.

Civil Registration Records (State Civil Records)

The registration of births, marriages, and deaths by civil registrars began in the Kingdom of Naples in 1809. In Sicily, these registrations began in 1820. These records were drafted in duplicate, with one copy sent annually to the clerk's office of the relevant local court. Therefore, today these registers can be found both in individual municipalities (Comuni) and in State Archives, which preserve the duplicate copies formerly held by the courts.

Since building a family tree proceeds backward, starting with current family members, consulting civil registration records represents the essential first phase of research.

Parish Archives

Due to the age of the records they hold, parish archives represent the primary source for genealogical research. In 1563, the Council of Trent mandated that all parishes keep registers of baptisms, marriages, and deaths. In general, parish archives have been diligently preserved, though wartime events, fires, and natural disasters from the past sometimes affect their current state of preservation.

Military Records

Draft Lists (Liste di Leva):
These are nominal lists of male citizens who, by age, were subject to mandatory military service (generally from ages 17 to 45). These registers were compiled by municipalities and sent to the draft office, recording personal details of young men called up for military draft, grouped by birth year.
The information included contains: full name, parents' names, date and place of birth, residence, occupation, physical traits (anthropometric data), and the draft board's medical examination result. Since the municipality of residence did not always match the birthplace, conducting this research requires knowing exactly where the soldier resided at the time of the call-up.

Military Service Records (Fogli Matricolari):
These are individual service records detailing a soldier's military history. They contain information such as date and place of birth, enlistment details, unit assignment, rank attained, discharge date, and other career specifics.

Notarial Records

Notarial records preserved in State Archives and Notarial Archives are invaluable for family history research. They often predate parish registers, allowing research to reach even further back in time. Documents such as wills or dowry contracts are particularly rich in genealogical details. Furthermore, examining notarial records helps illuminate a family's social and economic standing.

Land Registries ("Catasti Onciari" and "Riveli di Beni ed Anime")

Established in 1741 by King Charles III of Bourbon, the Catasti Onciari were detailed censuses conducted for tax purposes. They are essential for family tree reconstruction, serving as a rich source of information not only about a family's socioeconomic status but also its composition. For each household, alongside property descriptions and values, the registry lists the head of household's name, age, origin, and sometimes parents' names, as well as the names and ages of the wife, children, and any live-in household members.

In Sicily, the equivalent of the Catasti Onciari is the Riveli di beni ed anime (Declarations of Assets and Souls). These numerous registers cover nearly all Sicilian municipalities spanning from the 16th to the 18th century. The Riveli are an irreplaceable research resource, complementing parish records or substituting for them when church archives are missing or incomplete.

Paleography

In genealogy, paleography is essential for reading and interpreting historical documents—such as birth, marriage, and death certificates—that were handwritten in scripts no longer used today. Paleography allows us to decipher old texts, identify their timeframe and historical context, and verify document authenticity.