County Marriage Records

Question by Qwerty: How long would it take to get records from Germany? Also how far do Italian records go back?
I know my 2nd grandfather lived (and died) in Germany. I want to get records on him. I know he lived to be atleast 80 and he died around 1955. I know exactly where he lived too. How long would it take to order records from Germany and recieve them? That family line stops right at him (on my family tree) and I want to go further. I don’t know how I would even send money to Germany. What do I use? credit card…cash…pounds? I live in New York.

Second question, on another family line my 3rd great grandfather lived and died in Italy. I’m curious if I will be able to find other records going further back? I traced back to the marriage of my 2nd great grandfather/grandmother (in 1890) and I also managed to find a few of their siblings nephews/nieces.

Ancestry has records back to about 1866 in that area (Potenza, Italy) which is not far enough and I already managed to go through every page manually (no one typed them up). I don’t think I missed anything. I think they got married just a few years earlier. Is it possible theres records for pre 1866?

Best answer:

Answer by Smells like New Screen Names
Be ready for disappointment. Two world wars have left a lot of family records lost in Germany..

Know better? Leave your own answer in the comments!

Question by : Are marriage records or legal name changes made in the US. also public in Canada?
In my state they said only if you’re marriage is 50 years old or more is made public…and if a spouse is deceased.But what about name changes? Can the Canadian embassy or other authorities in canada find out about name changes?

Best answer:

Answer by Lil Olady
You have some bad information. Public records are public records–in the US and Canada.

In order to protect these public records, they must be placed under seal, by court order. This is done, for example, in the Witness Protection Program.

But unless there is a compelling reason to protect them, the records are public and accessible to anyone, including the Canadian Embassy.

What do you think? Answer below!