I want to know my family tree. Where can I go to find the origin of my last name which is Russotto? Does?

anyone know a legitimate site where I can get this info? Free sites would be better.

I want to know my family tree. Where can I go to find the origin of my last name which is Russotto? Does?
Actually, your family tree and where your last name originated are apples and oranges. Both in the fruit family but different.


Your name MIGHT have originated in the 1300's in some village in Italy. That would be of interest... unless you researched your own ancestry, only to find an adoption some 100 years ago, and grandpa's name actually was Smith. Or, like many American names, it may have been something different that became Anglicized or varies in the spelling. This does NOT mean that someone at Ellis Island picked a different name, or they went to court and changed it. It simply can be a reflection of what people accepted as "correct".


Ancestry is only one of several sites that charge a fee. They do have some valuable resources, but for the most part, people go there hoping to find a "canned" family history, all neatly done.


There are a kazillion FREE sites that have information. One is www.rootsweb.com, with family files.. there are 46 entries for the name Russotto. That means SOMEONE is already researching the family. One shows Russia as place of birth, another shows Italy. You MIGHT be related to one of these persons... but without doing some basic research, you won't know. There also is a guide there, to help beginners.


Information comes in pieces.. a marriage record one place, a land record in another, a library might have a scholarly article about someone in the family. Many of these places won't necessarily be classified as strictly genealogical. Other records, ie family Bibles, personal letters, so forth are NOT public records, so don't expect to find everything online.


Obviously, I love the process of research, and enjoy putting in the time. It is the most reliable way to REALLY be sure of your heritage.
Reply:What you need to do is start with yourself and work backwards. We can give you a few free sites but you must remember you may or may not find anything and what you find you need to prove with documents that its your line.





Start with familysearch.org and rootsweb.com both are free
Reply:I heard that ancestory.com is once again giving free access to their U.S. Passenger List Collection. This will last until April 30th. You might want to check that out.





from http://www.italyworldclub.com/genealogy/...


ROSSI, ROSSO, ROSSA, RUSSI, RUSSO, RUGGIU, RUBIU, ROSSELLI, ROSSELLO, ROSSELLINI, RISSIELLO, ROSSILLO, ROSSETTI, ROSSETTO, ROSSETTINI, ROSSITTI, ROSSITTO, ROSSINI, ROSSINO, ROSSOTTI, ROSSOTTO, ROSSINI, ROSSONE, ROSSUTO, RUSSELLO, RUSSINO, RUSSOTTI, RUSSOTTO, RUSSIANI, RUSSOLILLO: Very common, derived from the nickname "rosso" = red, to indicate someone with red hair





So, do you have red hair? (grin)
Reply:A family tree needs to be put together bit by bit and can take years to do. Most of the information is not online. You would need to go find it or write to a variety of places to find it. It's lots of fun though. Like a detective story and it's YOUR detective story! LOL
Reply:I've tried looking for sites like this that are free, and I seriously doubt there are. I'm sure it takes alot of money to look through millions of records, but the only legitimate site that I've heard of is ancestry.com. I don't think it's free, but it's worth it, you can even start your own family tree for free.