QA Forum

Question & Answer

We are discussing Tracing family history
With Antoinette Buchanan, Stephanie Ryan and Jennifer Higgins

Question:
If a person was born in Argentina and he would like to know about his ancestors(born in Italy and Spain) and probably family living in those countries,which would be the best way to find out this information??? Many thanx

Answer:
Jenny - Researching your family history in any country basically follows the same course. Start from information you know about yourself (or your subject) and work backwards. So, if your subject has lived in Australia look at his/her marriage and death certificates to gain as much information as possible for the next step back in Argentina. Other information on the place he/she was born in Argentina may be found on immigration and naturalisation records in Australia. See the Q&A Forum answer to the question "My family migrated to Australia after WWII, can I find information?" for more information about researching immigration records. If your subject came to Australia before 1923 you will need to consult the State Archives regarding his/her immigration. With a bit of luck you may be able to pinpoint his birth place so that you can apply for a birth certificate in Argentina.

In addition, talk to as many older relatives as you can to gather any information about family places and circumstances in Argentina.

If you aren't familiar with the history of Argentina, read what you can about the social history of the country, in particular, about immigration from Europe. An easy starting point is Wikipedia.

A knowledge of the historical background to immigration will help you target particular records in Argentina for Italian and Spanish waves on immigration. The Jewishgen website gives you details about Argentinian archives and resources. It is written (mostly in English) for Jewish research in Argentina but contains a good list of archives and resources for any family in Argentina.

Search the Family History Library catalogue using “Argentina” in a Place Search. You will see a long list of topics including both resources and guides which may assist you in family history research in Argentina.

Cyndi's List has some useful links and guides.

Try Genforum or Rootsweb for forums on genealogical research questions in Argentina.

Some larger genealogical societies have special interest groups for non-British research for mutual help. For example, the Genealogical Society of Victoria(GSV) website has information on the International Settlers group.

Some of the above websites will also assist you in Italian and Spanish family history research as well.

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