In this webinar, Penny Walters, Ph.D.,  explores how Italian migrations through England during the 19th and 20th centuries reflect a complex story of movement, settlement, and cultural influence–often linking Italy, London, and the U.S. She focuses on how migrants from northern and central Italian regions settled in London’s Clerkenwell and Saffron Hill (“Little Italy”), centered on St. Peter’s Italian Church in lodging houses and among the tight-knit community networks. 

Dr. Walters examines the rich record sets available to genealogists: Italian civil registration (births, marriages, deaths) by province, church and parish records, military, and citizenship documents, as well as English census, parish, workhouse, and naturalization records, and a variety of U.S. records.

Dr. Penny Walters weaves the significance of DNA testing into the lecture as another dimension to our research. Collectively, these sources–archival records, migration routes, community studies, and genetic data–allow a detailed understanding of Italian migration patterns, cultural contributions, and family networks spanning Italy, England, and the U.S.