1932 Census

In Italy, local Catholic churches occasionally performed a parish census known as a Stato di Popolazione.  The parish priest identified all residents by name, surname, birth date, marital status and relationship to the head of household, and listed the sacraments received by each.  The priest also noted the name of each resident’s father, preceded by “di” if the father was alive at the time of the census and by “fu” if he was deceased.  There is a wealth of information in these documents, but at times there are errors, especially with the birth dates that can be off by one or two years.

In 1931, the Italian government performed a civil census.  A year later, the parish priest, Father Cosma Di Cicco, transcribed this civil census data in the 1889 census book.  The 1889 data appears on the top half of the page, and the 1931 data appears on the bottom half of the page, with no apparent connection between the households.  On the cover of the 1889 book, he wrote “Riassunto (Summary) 1932” and provided the following totals:

Number of families – 710

Total population – 3189

Males – 1645

Females – 1544

It is very fortunate that Father Cosma Di Cicco transcribed this data because the 1931 civil census later disappeared, most likely destroyed with other historical documents during WWII.

In the more recent census, there is also the street address of each household.  In the 1930s and 1940s, priests also noted subsequent births, marriages, deaths, etc. on the pages of the census.

The parish records of the Church of San Giacomo reach back to the early 1600s.  Unfortunately, they have been ravaged by time, the elements and misuse.  They are in jeopardy.  In recent years, a few of the record books have even come up missing, including the oldest baptismal registry, 1627-1661, the oldest marriage registry, 1625-1660, and the death registries for 1705-1735 and 1742-1762.  As these books deteriorate and disappear, our history is vanishing.

Find the full list of 1932 heads of household below: