| The internet has made Sicily genealogy | | | | early 1900s are recorded in online databases for |
| information much easier to find. There are search | | | | major towns and communes in mainland Italia. For |
| engines designed to assist you in your search for | | | | Sicily genealogy, there are databases that include |
| Sicily family history, as well as numerous websites | | | | Palermo, Messina, Trapani, Caltanissetta, |
| dedicated to those that have a "Sicilian Family | | | | Agrigento, and other communes. In many cases, |
| Tree". To be Sicilian is to be proud of the island, | | | | you need only type in your surname to get |
| the identity, the culture and the history. Here are | | | | started. |
| a few interesting tidbits for those of you that are | | | | Because of the vast array of peoples that have |
| interested in Sicily genealogy. | | | | controlled the island over the years, the Sicilian |
| The original inhabitants were three defined groups | | | | language is a mixture of Greek, Catalan, French, |
| of the "Ancient People of Italy". The Sicani were | | | | Arabic, Spanish and other languages. Among the |
| the earliest and most prominent. Cave drawings | | | | youth, it is now a secondary language, with most |
| done by the Sicani date back to 8000BC. | | | | of the population speaking both Italian and Sicilian. |
| According to the Greek historian Thucydides(c | | | | Large Albanian communities are prevalent in |
| 460-395BC), they emigrated from Iberia, but his | | | | Western Sicily. Many people have retained a |
| basis for saying that is unknown. It is generally | | | | dialect that is quite different from both Sicilian and |
| agreed that the Elymians were the second group | | | | Italian. |
| of inhabitants followed by the Sicels, who came | | | | If you speak only English, you may have some |
| from mainland Italy around 1200BC. | | | | difficulties tracing your Sicily family history, but |
| It is doubtful that anyone could trace their Sicily | | | | because of the popularity of family trees, many |
| family history back thousands of years, but it is | | | | sources have been translated to English. |
| interesting to think that your ancestors may have | | | | Photographs of old tombstones are posted at |
| lived on the island when the Phoenicians arrived in | | | | numerous websites. Consider joining a social |
| the 11th century BC or when the Greeks founded | | | | group, like Face-book. You may find that some |
| Syracuse in 734 BC. Eventually, the early tribes | | | | distant cousin has already done the work for you. |
| were absorbed and everyone became Roman. | | | | Most people are willing to share their knowledge |
| You can make use of church and town records | | | | of Sicily genealogy freely. After all, you're a |
| to trace your Sicily family history. Births, | | | | member of the family. |
| marriages and deaths from the late 1800s and | | | | |