Discovering Your Immigrant's Origins: Exhausting Every Resource

Pin down your elusive immigrant ancestor’s place of origin using some well-known – and lesser-known – record sets, ideas, and techniques.

Immigrant ancestors can give us quite the challenge when trying to find their exact place of origin. The endless “Ireland” notations or “Italy” listed as place of birth can drive genealogists, both beginner and expert alike, mad. This presentation delves into various and diverse records that are found stateside so as to narrow down that search, as well as ideas for when the paper trail continually runs cold. The main suspects will be discussed, as will numerous lesser-known and lesser-used records.

Members, use the link in the email you will receive on Monday, May 2, to register.  Member registration fee is $5.00.

Non-members, use this link beginning on Thursday, May 5 to register.  Non-member registration fee is $10.00. 

Rich Venezia

 Rich Venezia is a New Jersey native who now calls Philadelphia home, with roots in Italy, Ireland, England, Wales, and Prussia. He founded Rich Roots Genealogy in 2013. He was a member of the research team of Genealogy Roadshow (PBS) for two seasons and also consulted on Follow Your Past (Travel Channel). Rich specializes in 20th-century immigrant ancestry. His main areas of focus include Italian, Irish, Pittsburgh, and New Jersey/New York City research. He also assists clients with dual citizenship applications for Ireland and Italy. Rich is himself a proud Italian dual citizen.

Rich received his Certificate in Genealogical Research from Boston University in 2015. He is a recognized leader in his field in the research of immigration and naturalization. He has coordinated week-long courses on these topics for the Salt Lake Institute of Genealogy and the Genealogical Research Institute of Pittsburgh, and has lectured at national conferences from Washington State to New Jersey, and everywhere in between. He spoke at TEDxPittsburgh in 2017, and appeared regularly on Pittsburgh Today Live. His writings have been featured in Family Tree Magazine, Irish Lives Remembered, as well as various blogs and newsletters.

He has been quoted in CNN, The Washington Post, CBS News, Thrillist, and The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. He coordinated the #RecordsNotRevenue campaign in 2019 and 2020 against the proposed fee hikes for records held by the USCIS Genealogy Program. This campaign received international press and garnered him the Shirley M. Barnes Records Access Award from the Massachusetts Genealogical Council. He continues to fight for fairer access to these records.