Program: Italian Genealogy Begins in Your Home
Speaker: Joel Conte

When: Wednesday, May 29th, 2024 7:00pm Eastern

Zoom Registration Link: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZAvdOmqrDojHdEsJRA0es_3tPdgEc_DNGjs

Program Description: I can share from my experience how to do practical and proven techniques for Italian family history research. I can inspire young people to begin a family tree or help experienced researchers to extend their branches. My family history story began from my grandparents homes in Niagara Falls, New York. My parents started a 4-generation family tree without many external source records from Italy. Since I picked up from their foundation in 2012, I have been able to locate digital source records from the Italian civil registry back to 1809. I have used both traditional genealogy methods and genetic genealogy to extend the branches of my family tree.

Speaker Bio: My name is Joel Conte. I live in Palm Bay, Florida. Before my father’s career in the US Air Force, my family resided in Niagara Falls, New York for three generations. As a child, I had a natural curiosity about my family history. My parents started a 4-generation family tree with ancestors from Italy, collected photos, and recorded audio interviews with my grandparents in New York. I would later acquire skills that would benefit me in continuing our family’s journey in genealogy. In my K-12 education, I studied Spanish and Latin, which sparked a talent for learning languages. In my youth, my hobbies included activities at church and Boy Scouts. I loved collecting baseball cards, especially organizing them in shoeboxes and reading the backs for player stats and bios. Growing up without a computer or internet, I resorted to reading books and the encyclopedia to learn more about my ancestral homeland. In my college years, I studied the Italian language. I also served as a church missionary in Bulgaria, where I learned Bulgarian (a Slavic language using the Cyrillic alphabet). These were the building blocks that made me the researcher I am today.

I graduated college with bachelor’s degrees in History (Brigham Young University, 1998) and Information Technology (Florida State University, 2000). Combining my university education and natural talents, I enjoyed the unique opportunity of working as a data analyst at FamilySearch International in Salt Lake City, Utah. During my 8 years (2012-2020) at FamilySearch, I learned how to grow my family tree and help others by volunteering as an international consultant at the FamilySearch Library and as a booth presenter at RootsTech. I am currently working as a business analyst at L3 Harris Technologies in Palm Bay, Florida.

Continuing my education to pay it forward, I am currently enrolled in the online BYU Pathway program at BYU-Idaho to earn certificates in family history research with the goal of becoming an accredited genealogist. My lifelong dream is to visit Italy and connect with my roots. I still desire to teach others to discover their ancestors, especially those who come from parts of the world where I have experience researching, whose languages I speak, and whose cultures I understand.