Robert and List, I attempted to review the parish records some time back but even though I had received tips from this list, I admit the task was not one I was up to. It was pretty frustrating for me. I hope to now go straight to the source, the Cavtat Roman Catholic Church, with the help of my relatives I have located in Cavat. (with the generous help of this list I might add!) I wish you the best Robert on your trip! Thank you. Regards, Denise In a message dated 8/22/2006 6:33:22 A.M. Pacific Daylight Time, rjerin26@yahoo.com writes: Denise, His ability to speak Italian should be no surprise, have you not reviewed the parish records which are available from the LDS Family History Center near you? Those church records are in Italian, Latin and Croatian for the Cavtat Roman Catholic Church. The old Italian name for Cavtat was Ragusavecchia, which appears on the 1910 Austrian miltary maps which are found online (also the Croatian name Cavtat appears next to the Italian name. Robert DPRSjacksn@aol.com wrote: The more I am interviewing family here in California about my great grandfather from Cavtat, Croatia, the more I am hearing about him speaking fluent Italian. He was born in Cavtat October 5, 1875 and came to America at about age 16. His original Croatian name was Bjele, later changed to the Italalianicized Bianchi while still living in Croatia. When he came to the US, he changed it to Biele and later his Portuguese wife from the Azores Americanized it to Beal! Can someone please comment on the fact that he spoke fluent Italian? Thank you, Denise Jackson (off to visit my roots for the month of September in Cavtat!) ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to CROATIA-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message Follow the link below to my October 2006 tour of Croatia http://www.kollander-travel.com/ ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to CROATIA-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message