Welcome to the CIUFFI Message Board at Ancestry.Com! This is the place to share your queries and information on this (usually) Italian-heritage surname.
SEARCHING HERE: Be sure to check for variations of this name by going to the bottom of the page, where there is a search blank for message boards. Try entering just the first few letters, followed by an asterisk, to see boards dedicated to variant spellings. Current boards other than this one, as I write this in late 2004, include:
CIUFFA
CIUFA
CIUFFO
CIUFFINI
CIUFFREDA
Of course, you've already searched using the general search block up at the top of the page, right? This doesn't produce a list of message boards -- it produces a list of messages containing the spelling you've specified. You can also add a first name to this type of search. For example, Mar* Brown* would produce Mary, Marion, Marian, Mariam, etc. etc. where it appears in the same message as Brown, Browne, Browning, Brownslee, etc. etc. If you have more than three letters but aren't sure of exactly what comes next, you can use the ? "wild card." Typing Bro?n would produce records of Brown or Braun, e.g.
There are several CIUFFI messages scattered around Ancestry.Com from before the creation of this board; use the "Search -- All Boards" blank to find them.
SEARCHING OUTSIDE ANCESTRY.COM: Have you visited
http://www.ellisisland.org ? This is the site with records for most of the people who immigrated to the United States via New York, mostly Europeans, during the years 1892 -- 1924. Ellis Island once had immigration records dating back to 1855, but most of those were lost in a fire in 1897.
(Immigrants who arrived via the Pacific side of the country, mostly Asians, often came through "Ellis Island West" -- that is, Angel Island in San Francisco Bay. Unfortunately, Angel Island's records are not online yet. The immigration station there operated between 1910 and 1940, and is re-opening in 2005 as an historic site. See
http://genealogy.about.com/od/angel_island/ and the "immigration station" material linked to
http://www.angelisland.org ).
And don't miss
http://www.familysearch.org/ ! This is a free resource with records from all over the world, but particularly the United States and Europe.
And of course, there are surname-based and ethnic-based message boards over at Genealogy.Com too, but in 2004, Ancestry.Com bought that site and hope springs eternal that someday, the message boards will be combined. Don't hold your breath; meanwhile, you'll have to go over there and search the hard way.
MOST IMPORTANT HINT: If you are leaving a general inquiry about a CIUFFI person or family, please give as much detail as you can in the body of your message. Also, please make sure the caption contains relevant information, such as name, possible dates, and possible locations. Captions such as "Help!" are not helpful. :)
SECOND MOST IMPORTANT HINT: You may also add this CIUFFI Message Board to your "my notifications" under the "message board" tab up at the top of any Ancestry.com page, so you will be notified whenever a new message appears.
Thanks for reading this introduction, and good luck!
Lisa