Hi Alison > I am new to this list and would like to post my surname interest. Mr Great > Grandfather was Jacama Caporalette born 1863 in Ancona, Italy. He was a > fireman on board the Otway. He came to Fremantle in Western Australia when > I don't know but was married in 1888. He had 13 children and they changed > their name from Caporaletti to Caporalette and then to Cottrell. There are > no other Caporaletti's in Australia and trying to track him down is very > difficult. > > Any advice on where to look would be appreciated. I can't find him entering > the country at all. I'm not certain what you are trying to find for your great grandfather, but presume it's his birth and family records in Italy so you can find your great great grandparents. You don't say whether you think he arrived in Australia via Britain so I wonder if you are hoping for British records to help you. Perhaps you could let us know what you hope to find? CAPORALETTI may not be common in Australia, but it's common in Italy. See http://www.informadove.it/ENG/index.asp for current distribution. You will probably need to narrow down Ancoma to the parish in which he was born, although there are other possible records that could help since he was born in 1863. By 1888, Italians had to register change of status (e.g. marriage) for their records back in their parish of birth. Your g grandfather would also have been registered for military service in Italy so you may be able to find conscription records which are usually indexed. Trafford Cole's book "Italian genealogical records" is recommended as it outlines what Italian records are available to you. I also don't know when my relative left Italy (but to go to London). There have been at least 15 spelling variations in English records from 1851 as our name settled from Ghirardani to Geradine. You may have a similar spelling problem with your surname and more variations than you know about. Perhaps with some creative spelling you could identify earlier Australian records. I expect you have already discovered what records are available from an Australian list. (I see there is also an apparently defunct Rootsweb list, ARIA, for Aus/NZ Italian heritage which may have helpful archives) Was your g grandfather part of an Italian community in Freemantle? Perhaps there are some books on Italian immigrants in Australia that would be useful (with subject headings like Italy -- Emigration and immigration, Australia -- Emigration and immigration). You may be able to interloan from the National Library of Australia and they have an online catalogue. I found an interesting book about Italians in Britain (in the National Library of NZ, being an emigrant myself). I hope something I have said is helpful to you, and if I've made the wrong assumptions about what you want to find out and already know, please let me know. Daphne Dashfield (Geradine)