Christine > Do you know if there were census' in Italy in 1881 the same as England. Are > there any kept records that are searchable via the net? Unfortunately I am not aware of any online census indexes for the whole of Italy, nor any other database. There may have been individual parish censuses (Status animarum) - with luck, possibly microfilmed by the LDS. The parish that I have researched has them in 1856, 1864, 1879, 1880, 1890,1895 (in the province of Parma in the region of Emilia Romagna). People are grouped in households. Although fairly close, the province of Genova in the region of Liguria may well have quite different records and will have many parishes. To research in Italy you generally need to first know which parish your ancestor was from. The types of records available could include parish church records and civil records. Conscription and military records may help in your case and you may be successful without knowing the parish if the state archives can find Walter FERRINIEA (but you will need the right spelling). It looks as if they hold Fogli matricolari - Liste di Leva (1884 - 1923) in the archives in Genova. http://wwwdb.archivi.beniculturali.it/UCBAWEB/indice.html and choose Genova. http://elenco.libero.it/elencotel/public/RicercaOmonimie.jsp may help you find a suitable spelling for the surname, assuming it still exists in Italy. It will also show you its distribution across Italy. Other list members may have knowledge to share about their use of military records or specific details of Genovese records. Our Anglo-Italian Family History Society website http://www.rootsweb.com/~ukaifhg/ provides some starting points for you to read about what is available, including a bibliography. I've found Trafford Cole's book to be a particularly good reference to the types of records available and well worth buying. Daphne Dashfield (Geradine) GHIRARDANI, => GERADINE, etc. - many spelling variations in London from approx 1844 TASSI, SCRIMAGLIA, NICOLI, (DI) or (O)STACCHINI in London GHIRARDANI, LOVATI, SILVA, MAC(C)INI, BOTTI Parma esp 18th century in Varsi