Databases for Researching Trentino Ancestry

I have transcribed a few records which list information about Trentini emigrants who arrived in the US in the late 1800's and early 1900's.  Perhaps your grandparents are listed here?

Draft registration listings -- during World War I, many men were required to register for the military draft.  This is a listing of some of the men from Trentino  who registered in parts of Colorado, Nevada, and Idaho.

1900 Census listings -- information about specific families that emigrated from Trentino in the late 1800's to towns and mines in Las Animas County, Colorado.

1910 Census listings -- information about specific families that emigrated from Trentino in the late 1800's and early 1900's to work in the areas surrounding the Colorado mines.

Sample census image -- The image linked here is a portion of an actual census page for the year 1900, and shows information about a few emigrants from Trentino living in Las Animas County, Colorado.

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Finding People and Surnames

Personal research services -- through an association with contacts in Trentino, we can offer assistance in obtaining documents, translations, village photos, and tours of your ancestral village. NEW

Surnames In Italy -- The Gens site generates a map of Italy showing the number of villages in which your name appears, approximate location, and  approximate number of families bearing the name.  You can even buy shirts with the maps imprinted.   Insert a surname in the site's "cognome" box.

 US Pages -- stories by descendents of Trentino emigrants about their ancesctors' first experiences in the US, and of visits to Trentino in search of their heritage.

MICROFILMED RECORDS --  Microfilmed copies of the original birth, marriage, and death records for many of the villages of Trentino are available.  They are one of the most important and comprehensive resources existing today, and represent copies of the actual records you would find if you had access to the church archives in your ancestral village. I have posted a partial listing of microfilm numbers for some of the villages and will periodically update the list. These microfilmed records enabled me to trace many of my lines in Trentino to the early 1600s.
 

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Family Websites

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Archives and Print

Part of your search should include discovery of books about your family name and ancestral villages, many of which are available on inter-library loan through your local public or college library. Some of the books used in developing material for this website were:

• Bolognani, B., Courageous People From the Dolomites
  (The definitive treatise of Trentini peoples and emigration to the U.S.  If you have only one book in your Trentino library, this is the one it should be)
  

• Maurizio Scudiero and Lorenzo Concini, Un Saluto dall Val di Non, 
  An invaluable window to the past.  This book contains reproductions of 379 postcards dating from 1895 to 1950 (most are from the early 1900s).  The postcards show photos of many of the Val di Non villages and people .
  

• Neri, Mauro,  Tales In Stone
  (A compilation of epitaphs of Trentini emigrants.  The author visited 465 cemeteries in Trentino and recorded gravestone inscriptions of 585 emigrants, 51 of which are included in the book.  Most of the gravesites are actually empty, and serve as a memorial to an emigrant actually buried in the US,  South America, and elsewhere.   Names include Anselmi, Andreis, Bertagnolli, Ferrari, Fellin, Giuliani, Martini, Mattivi, Maturi, Sartori, Zuech, and others.
  

• Bolognani, B., Bread From Underground
  (Extensive coverage of Trentini emigrants who came to work in the mines of   Colorado, Wyoming, Pennsylvania and other areas.)
  

• Amistadi, G., Tridentinita Transoceanica, publ. 1931; revised 1988
  (listing of hundreds of Trentini emigrants and the places they settled  - in Italian)
  

• Leonardi, Annuania: Storie della Val di Non
  (history of Val di Non - in Italian)
  

• Casetti, A. Guida Storico-Archivistica del Trentino TEMI 1961
  (a detailed listing of the holdings in town, village,  church, and other   archives.    Very useful if you plan on-site research).

Notarial and religious archives are a treasure trove of documents and resources for researching families to the 14th and 15th centuries. However, access to some of the archives can be difficult, and even when access is granted, research is very time-consuming.

• State Vital Records Center -- Archivo di Stato di Trento, Via Maccani 161, 38100 Trento (TN) Italia.  The Archivo di Stato has published a 66-page guide to its holdings, some of which date to the 1300s.  

• Notarial Archives -- Archivio Notarile di Trento, Via S. Francesco d'Assisi 14, 38100 Trento Italia

• Austrian Archives -- since Trentino was under Austrian control for hundreds of years, the Austrian Archives may contain material important to your research (I obtained information dating to 1604). The archives accept mail inquiries and has a very efficient staff. Contact them at: Osterreichishes Staatsarchiv, Nottendorfer Gasse 2, A-1030 Wien, Austria. The biggest problem will be getting the documents translated (usually in the Old German script and language).

It is always good practice to include two or three International Reply Coupons when contacting any of these agencies.

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