If you are planning to bring your family history research back as far as possible, you are probably going to have to deal with a foreign language. In my case, I have to research mostly in Italian or Latin. I have Irish roots as well, but most Irish government records were written in Latin till about 1733; and after that in English. In Italy they were written in Italian or Latin, with the most “recent” (say 1790) government records in Italian.
If you do use foreign records you will want to incorporate some into your own writings. The best way to do this is to write the foreign word in italics and then follow immediately with the English word in parenthesis. For example my Italian great-grandfather was a muratore (stonemason). I remember reading of a man who had interpreted cemetery records, and when someone who was familiar with the language read his research, it turned out that what he thought was part of the family name was actually the hometown! So for many reasons it is wise to use both forms of the word.
No one expects you to be able to read and write in a foreign language. The Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter-Day Saints (LDS) is ready to come to your rescue. I hope that most of my readers are already using computers and going online for research. However, if not, make sure that one of your first forays is to the nearest LDS Family History Center (FHC). Here in Maine they are in: Augusta, Bangor, Caribou, Farmington, Machias, Oxford, Portland, Rockland, Topsham and Waterville. You can also order LDS microfilm through the Kennebunk Free Public Library.
The centers are staffed by volunteers who will guide you through whatever each center has to offer. They can show you how to use their vast resources, including ordering microfilm and books from the main center in Salt Lake City.
If you have the time to “play” I strongly suggest you check out www.familysearch.org which is the LDS website. It will probably take you awhile to figure out the website; not because it is difficult to use, but because it has so much to offer! They even have free online classes in genealogy!
When I began using the microfilm we had ordered for Monteforte, Italy one resource we used a lot was the “Italian Word List” which we had to order for $3.50 from the Utah center. These are now offered for free for many, many languages on the website. They offer letter writing help, so that if you need to write to a church or town office for birth records, you will be able to write a polite letter in the proper language for your request. Many of their collections are already converted to digital format to be read online, including books and many civil and church records.
Do not let your foreign ancestry intimidate you, just take it a little at a time and use all the great resources now easily available.
Editor’s note: Columnist Nina Brawn of Dover-Foxcroft, who has been doing genealogy for over 30 years, is a freelance genealogy researcher, speaker and teacher. Reader e-mails are welcome at ninabrawn@gmail.com. The Aroostook County Genealogical Society meets the fourth Monday of the month except in July and December at the Cary Medical Center’s Chan Education Center, 163 Van Buren Road, Caribou, at 6:30 p.m. Guests and prospective members are always welcome. FMI contact Edwin “J” Bullard at 492-5501.
