How to Access the Microfilmed Original Notary Records
There are at least 3 reasons you might want to look at an original, handwritten notary act pertaining to your ancestor(s):
- To determine if there are clues to the ancestor’s relatives who were not included in the abstract.
- If the abstracts contain 2 or more acts that contradict each other in terms of names or relationships.
- To read—and perhaps make a copy for yourself of—the actual act that was written in the very lifetime of your ancestor, by a notary who had literally been in the presence of your ancestor when that notary act was commissioned.
You will want to be sure you have the full documentation of the act you want to see in the original writing: the volume, page number, and date. The date will be especially essential to you in finding the correct microfilm number.
Because the original acts were handwritten, and in the 1600s, they are not easy to read. For help in reading the Italian in these records, click HERE.
The following table lists only the first and last microfilm numbers for each Waldensian community listed. Of course, you will need to find the exact film number for the specific time period of interest to you. How to do that is explained after the table itself.
In this table, the second column indicates the time period covered by the notary records for the Waldensian community named in column one. Remember that people in the smaller villages will be represented in the records of nearby towns, especially the larger ones. The total number of reels is also indicated in column two. Column three provides the first and last film numbers of the notary records for that community.
A reminder:
You will need to have the exact date, volume number, and page number of the act you seek in order to choose the correct film number. Use the abstracts on this site to find those details. To help you quickly find your ancestors in the abstracts, click HERE.
Film Numbers of Notary Records for the Waldensian Valleys
Community | Time / Reels | Film Numbers |
Angrogna | 1610-1709 / 6 | 1958658-1958663 |
Bobbio Pellice | 1610-1709 / 15 | 1958654-1958658, 1958671-1958676, 1958679-1958682 |
Luserna San Giovanni | 1610-1854 / 32* | 1900851-1900855, 1900975, 1900984-1900989, 1900994-191001, 1901042-1901053, 1956166-1956167 |
Massello | 1610-1629 | See San Martino |
Perosa Argentina | 1610-1692 / 15 | 1959072-1959075, 1959080-1959087, 1959173-1959175 |
Perrero | 1610-1629 | See San Martino |
Pinasca | 1615-1630 / 4 | 1959384-1959387; see also Perosa Argentina |
Pomaretto | 1610-1692 | See Perosa Argentina |
Praly | 1610-1629 | See Perrero; San Martino |
Pramollo | 1615-1627 / 2 | 1959387-1959388 |
Prarostino/Roccapiatta | 1610-1627 / 7 | See San Secondo |
Rorata (Rora) | 1611-1709 / 1 | 1958658 |
San Germano Chisone | 1614-1629 / 2 | 1959521-1959522 |
San Martino | 1610-1629 / 6 | 1959381-1959384, 1959396-1959397 |
San Secondo | 1610-1627 / 7 | 1959390-1959396 |
Torre Pellice | 1610-1709 / 18 | 1958663-1958670, 1958873-1958897, 1959076-1959077 |
Villar Pellice | 1610-1709 / 19 | 1958880-1958897, 1959076 |
Villar Perosa | 1611-1629 / 1 | 1959523 |
Villasecca | 1610-1629 | See Perrero; San Martino |
*The microfilmed Luserna San Giovanni notary records appear on 316 reels, but cover until 1854. The film numbers listed above cover only until 1709. If you seek Waldensian ancestors after 1709 and do not find notary records in the community you expected to find them in, you should then check the Luserna San Giovanni records for the time period. They include acts concerning Waldensians from other communities as well.
The above table shows the range of years covered by the microfilm(s) for each community. You can find the specific film number for the act you want at familysearch.org.
To go directly to the Search screen, click HERE.
Type the location into the box labeled Place Name. A list of the all the places with your location name will appear. Chose the place that includes the words "Italy, Torino". You may have to check alternate spellings of your location. For example, if you search for Rora, you will find the location in the catalog but no Notorial records are listed. However, if you search for Rorata, an earlier spelling of Rora, you will find Notorial records listed.
Click on the Search button then click on the line containing the words Notarial records. Click on the line that says Atti notarili di [Place Name and Date Range]. This will open a page that describes each roll of microfilm for the notary records for your selected location.
Alternately, you can go to www.familysearch.org and select these choices, in order:
- FamilySearch Centers
- Search our library catalog
- Catalog
- Search by: Place Name