Hello all! Okay, I received a letter from the mayor of Porto Ceresio -- my GGF's birth town. The kind mayor wrote that due to a fire in the municipal building on December 15, 1944 many records from 1874 were destroyed. He advised me to write to the Procura in Varese as they MAY have a copy of his birth record in the archives. A fellow from another forum found the address and email address for me, however, I am not comfortable with what to write in Italian. Can anyone help me compose an email? Thanks in advance!

Never mind! I wrote it with google translate, my dictionary and memories I thought were long gone

Good job, cherylc, I have written many requests the same exact way and have received many good results over the years. And, what's more, I get better at it with every letter that I write. Well done and good luck!

Good luck!

Good luck. Keep us posted!