Anglo-Italian Family History Society

If you are interested in Italian genealogy and your ancestors lived in or passed through the United Kingdom (England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland) after moving from Italy, this site can help you research your family history, as well as learn about the bigger picture of Italian migration to this country.

Not already a Member? Why not join us?

You can also contribute to conversations on Facebook or follow us on Twitter

Renewal Reminder

Membership of the Society expires on 31st March. Please renew before this date to ensure your membership for a further year. Please also check that your contact details, which can be found in the 'My Account' section of the website after logging in, are up to date. You can also update your research interests in the same section. If you would like to share your interests with other members then ensure that the contact details are set to 'Please share my email address' when renewing. You can renew on this website in the section 'Society – Join or Renew'.

News

Website

We will be making revisions to our website soon and would welcome views from our members. Please let us know if you have ideas about the content of the website or if there are features that could be included to assist our members to research their Italian ancestors and their migration. You can send your comments to the Chair via the website.

Webinar

From Carpentry to Music: How Did That Happen?
presented by Roland Antonelli
Saturday 13 February 2021 4.00 p.m. (GMT)

Domenico Antonelli and his wife Christina arrived in Manchester in 1894. They had left their home in Picinisco, a village high in the Apennine Mountains between Naples and Rome, twelve years earlier in search of work. Domenico was a skilled carpenter and developed his craft as a cabinet maker in Paris and London before setting up his first business in Manchester making the ‘barrel pianos’ that were popular at the end of the 19th and early 20th centuries. His work won several awards at international exhibitions. The business brought success to the Antonelli family. They hired out and sold instruments to musicians and provided employment for the growing and increasingly settled wider Italian community. The Antonelli family’s collection of documents is archived in Manchester’s Central Library and can be viewed online at: https://manchesterarchiveplus.wordpress.com/2016/01/28/antonelli-of-ancoats-little-italy/.

Although FREE for AIFHS members to attend, please contact the Membership Secretary to reserve your place.

Newsletter

February 2021’s edition of our newsletter, Italian Roots, is now available to view or download in the Members’ Area of our website.

Members can also search the 1939 edition of the "Guida Generale degli Italiani in Gran Bretagna" - a directory of Italians compiled under the auspices of the Italian Consular authorities. This has been digitised and added to our database and is a resource not available on any other site. Members can search for a surname and then scroll through the entire book which includes many business adverts, some with photographs.