Who Knew?

JULY 28, 1919
On this date my Great-Grandmother Lucia submitted a Declaration of Intent to Depart for the United States to the American Consulate in Rome.

This document is a big fat surprise for a few reasons:

1) I've been working on my family history for more than 20 years and have never even heard of a Declaration of Intent to Depart for the United States. The delight of discovering something completely unknown is gradually turning to irritation with the document which probably shouldn't be new to me at all. A real genealogist would know what this paper means. I used to love spending hours (days?) flipping through books and clicking through web sites to track down a piece of information ... now, not so much. I've recently taken up gardening.

As first glance it appears to be an application for a passport, but that's incorrect because according to the form Lucia applied for a passport on July 18, 1919. I'll report my findings on this form when I know something more.

2) Usually any document which originated in Italy requires a magnifying glass and Google Translator, but not now - this form is bi-lingual! Below each English question is the Italian translation. Very handy, but odd since Lucia and about 4 million other Italian-speaking cittadini completed this form in Italia. This should have been written in Italian in the first place.

3) I'm not sure why my family was in possession of this - shouldn't it be stuffed in a moldy government file somewhere? Why would my favorite uncle keep this document stuffed in a drawer for years and years without telling me? Is he new? Doesn't he know I need to know everything that happened 100 years ago ... er, now?

Introduction to Immigration Records
The National Archives site

Guide to Genealogical Research in the National Archives
U. S. National Archives and Records Service

Tracing Your Ancestors in the National Archives: The Website and Beyond
by Amanda Bevan