
| Italian Interest Group (IIG)October 2025 Meeting |
| You will get a reminder email with the same Zoom meeting link on October 10th and 17th. |
| Description: This presentation will cover the wealth of genealogical information available in Italian military records, which have existed since Italian unification in the 19th century and in some places as far back as 1792. The records discussed will include conscription lists (Liste di Leva) detailing biographical and physical information for all eligible males, and military service files (Fogli Matricolari) tracking a soldier’s service history, promotions, and assignments. Additionally, four other lesser-known Italian military records will be covered. Since these records are organized by military district and province rather than by town, they are especially useful for tracing ancestors whose specific hometown is unknown. The Presentation will guide researchers on accessing these records, whether by requesting them from a provincial State Archive (Archivio di Stato) in Italy, searching digitized records on sites like FamilySearch or Portale Antenati, or understanding the location of military archives based on the time period.” |
Speaker Bio: Joel Cole was born and raised in Padova, Italy. He has been involved with Italian Family History for over 30 years. He accompanied his father Trafford for his first genealogical research in Maniago, Italy, when he was 15 and since then he has been fascinated by family history. He has worked as a researcher for over 25 years, visiting almost every State Archive in Italy and almost 1,000 parish archives. He is familiar with paleography having taken several classes in Italy, and with Latin documents, having studied it for over 10 years. Joel has presented in many international genealogical conferences about Italian Family History and has worked for years for private companies performing research in all of Italy, consulting Civil records, Parish and Diocesan Catholic records, Notary records and many more sources. In 2015 he moved to Utah covering several roles for FamilySearch. He is currently the content strategist for Southern Europe, including Italy. Joel’s research specialties are: Italy, Southern Switzerland and Istria-Croatia. Expert at deciphering ancient Italian and Latin documents. |
| COUNTDOWN TO THE MEETING: |
| Eastside Genealogical Society – Italian Interest Group P.O. Box 374 Bellevue, WA 98009-0374 |
Speaker Bio: Joel Cole was born and raised in Padova, Italy. He has been involved with Italian Family History for over 30 years. He accompanied his father Trafford for his first genealogical research in Maniago, Italy, when he was 15 and since then he has been fascinated by family history. He has worked as a researcher for over 25 years, visiting almost every State Archive in Italy and almost 1,000 parish archives. He is familiar with paleography having taken several classes in Italy, and with Latin documents, having studied it for over 10 years. Joel has presented in many international genealogical conferences about Italian Family History and has worked for years for private companies performing research in all of Italy, consulting Civil records, Parish and Diocesan Catholic records, Notary records and many more sources. In 2015 he moved to Utah covering several roles for FamilySearch. He is currently the content strategist for Southern Europe, including Italy. Joel’s research specialties are: Italy, Southern Switzerland and Istria-Croatia. Expert at deciphering ancient Italian and Latin documents.
“On Food and Fascism”
“Italian Municipal and Tax Censuses”
Speaker Bio: Suzanne Russo Adams, MA, AG®, is an Associate Professor of family history and the Director of the Center for Family History and Genealogy at Brigham Young University. An Accredited Genealogist® specializing in Italian research, she holds degrees in Family History/Genealogy and Sociology, as well as a master’s degree in History. With over 25 years of experience in the genealogy field, Suzanne has worked extensively in record acquisition, strategy, and content digitization for Ancestry.com and FamilySearch.org. She is the author of “Finding Your Italian Ancestors: A Beginner’s Guide”.
Share Your Italian Family Artifact, Document or Photo
Italian Civil Registration – Other Documents: Diversi, Parte Due/Seconda & Cittadinanza
Speaker Bio: Ruth Lapioli Merriman retired seven years ago after 35 years of working for FamilySearch. She worked cataloging Italian records and managing the International floor of the FamilySearch Library in Salt Lake City. She has lectured at national and international venues, at RootsTech and at various genealogical societies. She loves genealogy and all things Italian. She is a wife, a mother of four sons, and a grandmother of 6 of the best grandchildren ever.
Bridging the Divide: Italian Catholic Parish Records as a Cardinal Resource for Historical Demography and Genealogy
Bio: Suzanne Greco is the Founder & Director of Italian Parish Records, a non-profit organization dedicated to preserving and making accessible the Italian Catholic Parish Records. She is a current Ph.D. Candidate at the University of Edinburgh Divinity School in Ethical & Practical Theology, recently having graduated from Harvard Divinity School. Suzanne has researched Italian family lines and indexed civil and parish records for 27 years.
Welcome to Italian Genealogy Let’s explore the world of Italian genealogy together, one person at a time.
Multiple Lies and an Alias:
Kerri Tannenbaum is a professional genealogist and researcher who works with people looking to learn more about their family history. She specializes in New York, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, and Irish research. Kerri is a graduate of Boston University’s Certificate Program in Genealogical Research and the ProGen Peer Study Groups. She serves as contributing editor of the Irish Family History Forum newsletter, a recipient of many awards from the National Genealogical Society. She also serves as a guest lecturer and research consultant for several genealogy societies. Kerri founded her company
A (Alien) & Immigration Files