Begin your research by educating yourself through presentations hosted by the IGSA or reading one of the following research books (or others). The books are in chronological order starting with the present.
Tip: First take the book out of the library prior to purchasing it.
The Family Tree Italian Genealogy Guide: How to Find Your Ancestors in Italy by Melanie D. Holtz. Family Tree Books, Cincinnati, Ohio, 2017.
Great book for beginner and intermediate research. Contains many links and cross-references.
Tracing Your Italian Ancestors by Marcia Iannizzi Melnyk and Mary M. Tedesco. Https://www.internet-genealogy.com, 2015.
Comprehensive magazine for Italian genealogy research. There is a print version and a PDF version. Marcia Iannizzi Melnyk is a founding member of the IGSA.
Sicilian Genealogy and Heraldry by Louis Mendola. Trinacria Editions, New York, an imprint of Officina Trinacria, Palermo, Italy, 2014
Finding Your Italian Ancestors: A Beginner’s Guide by Suzanne Russo Adams. Ancestry, 2009.
A Genealogist’s Guide to Discovering Your Italian Ancestors by Lynn Nelson. Betterway Books, Cincinnati, Ohio, 1997.
Good description of how to read the Italian records and Italian sentence fragments to write letters/emails to Italy to request records.
Finding Italian Roots: The Complete Guide for Americans by John Philip Colletta, Ph.D. Genealogical Publishing Company, 1993, 1996, 2003, 2005, 2008. John Philip Colletta is a member of IGSA.
Italian Genealogical Records by Trafford R. Cole, Psy.D., Ancestry Publishing, Provo Utah, 1995.
They Came in Ships: A Guide to Finding Your Immigrant Ancestor’s Arrival Record by John Philip Colletta, Ph.D. Ancestry, 1989, 1993.
Useful information to locate ship manifests from different ports since not every ship manifest is indexed. Published indices are also described. John Philip Colletta is a member of IGSA.
Italian Genealogical Society of America 