[John]

Hello, I am paternally Irish, Polish, and probably a mix of German, Austrian, and/or Russian. Maternally, I am Spanish and, with a small possibility Italian. Two questions. First, is there any way for a person to tell if they are of Italian descent without having to do extensive and backbreaking research (which I’ve done with no results) and/or have to hire some genealogist? And second, what are the ties between Polish and Italian because, as I said, I am Polish and there could be some connection. Any help would be greatly appreciated! Thank you.

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Name : John, City : Houston, State : TX, Country : United States, 

[Teresa19742]

Good for you that you search your family history. I hope you find something because I’m sure it’s very interesting. I’m not Italian so I don’t know anything about trying to find ancestors in that country. I’m sure you already know though that Italy wasn’t even unified until 1861–until them the area was just a group of ‘city-states.’ They all acted like separate nations, even with their own dialects (or languages) and government. If your ancestors left Italy before the 1860s, it must be very difficult to find records of them, especially if you’re not sure of their hometowns. As for the Italian-Polish connection (interesting combination, by the way), that also depends on time–when and where did Italian meet Polish? In the USA or in Europe? Makes a big difference. I couldn’t think of anything general for Italian-Polish connection in Europe, but remember that they have an important unifying characteristic: religion. Both cultures are very Roman Catholic. Religion could have been a factor for meeting in the USA too. In cities immigrants stick together, especially if they have common charateristics–Italians and Polish being huge immigrant groups in the 20th century had a lot in common. They could have shared neighborhoods in a big city–same religions, same occupations, same educations…This is all just general though. I wish I could help you specifically. Good luck.

User Detail :  

Name : Teresa19742, Gender : F, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Christian, Age : 20, City : Macomb, State : IL, Country : United States, Occupation : student, 

[Ann L. Lowenstein]

Scary as it is to talk to one, the Mormons maintain one of the biggest geneological databases in the country at least, and possibly even in the world, due to their belief that if you convert, everyone in your family tree is also converted posthumously, but only if you know who they were. They will let people browse through their records for a nominal or no fee (not sure which). You might want to try their websites.

User Detail :  

Name : Ann L. Lowenstein, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Animist, Age : 37, City : K.C., State : MO, Country : United States, Occupation : Administrative Assistant, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

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