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The Index of the 1865 Craco Census

The “Indice del Registro di Popolazione del Comune di Craco Anno 1865” provides a valuable tool to researchers who are trying to identify the town’s inhabitants or locate an ancestor. This historical document can help members of the Society confirm the presence of an ancestor residing there during 1865 and also identify the makeup of their household. A count of the names indicates there were 1,985 individuals residing in 499 households in Craco during 1865.

The index is merely an alphabetical listing of the town’s inhabitants in 1865. It may be a complementary piece to a full census that would contain details about individuals as suggested by cross-referencing the alphabetical listing to volumes and sheet numbers. The “Indice” is presented in a large folio format with columns to tabulate individual’s names and the household number they resided in. Below is an English translation of the column headings.

1865 Index to Craco Census

Surname & Name (COGNOME E NOME) – alphabetical by last name

Paternity (PATERNITA’) – fu = “of deceased, used to notate child of deceased individual”; di = “of” used to notate the “child of.”

Registered (INSCRITO)

Volume (al VOLUME) = 1, 2, or 3

Issue (al FASCICOLO) – always blank

Sheet (al FOGLIO di famiglia) – Is the household number, all individuals living in the same household have the same number.

Annotations – all are blank

 

By looking up a name in the alphabetical listing an individual can be identified. The row the individual is listed on will also show a household number. Other individuals with the same household number were residing together. If they shared the same surname they will appear in the rows above or below the individual being looked up. Bear in mind that in Italian customs the wife retains her maiden name so she must be referenced separately as would any other individuals in the household not sharing the same last name. If the names of all household members are not known a review of the “Sheet” numbers in the list to find everyone with the same number will identify all the residents of a household.

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