A seriously more impossible person than him could not have existed...

Question

As for the title, what I mean to say is, there could not have been a more confusing person to ever exist.  I will start by saying what information I know, and then follow through with what I learned.

Information passed down to me:  My great great grandfather Herman David originally comes from Lucca, Italy.  We were told he came with his younger brother to come to the United States permanently.  We were told countless times that Herman David's father is Luigi Davini and his mother is Maria.  Herman David and his family were quite secretive, and were causing trouble.  I was told he changed his name to Herman David to hide from the police (That, or he changed it to be more Americanized).  I was also always told his original name was Orlando Davini.  We were also told he and his brother came by themselves to the United States.

Information I learned through proper documentation:  It turns out, everything was correct.  His true name was Orlando Davini, he did change his name to Herman David.  His fathers name is indeed Luigi Davini (according to Italian records); and surprisingly, his mother had two names (her actual name and the name she goes by) Maria (first name) Olimpia (Preferred name) D'Arrigo.  Apparently, they all lived in Balbano, Lucca, Italy.  As expected, he lied on census records.  The first census record, he indicated being born in Lucca, Italy (This is correct).  The second one indicating being born in California, and the third one indicating being born in Florida.

Information I learned through false documentation:  Today, I have finally received his death certificate in the mail today.  I am furious to say that his false information made it to his death certificate.  For starters, he indicated his father as Orlando Davini and his mother as Olympia.  There are no records I believe at the time of their marriage showing any Orlando Davini's marrying an Olympia.  His birth place was stated to be California, again.  The only thing accurate is his birthday and dod.

I am at a loss for words.  I have no idea how to continue on.  All I know is that I want to find the truth, and correct the wrongs.  I was hoping to get Italian citizenship through him, but he makes it so exceedingly difficult.

How should I proceed?  How can I prove that Orlando Davini and Herman David are the same person?  Where do I find the true records explaining it all?  How can I correct these records?

Comments

I hope you are able to achieve this challenging goal.  It is a very tough one especially if there was also truth in that he was hiding from the police.  Please keep us posted on your journey. Though frustrating, it might prove to be one of the most interesting genealogical paths you take.  Might even turn out to be an interesting basis of a book!

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The information on the death certificate maybe false, but much of the information is not given by the deceased individual. It is provided by the survivors and any existing records that are made available to the coroner. The survivors may only know what Dad told them. The census information also may not have been directly from himself.

I have no idea how you could change it in public records, but you can try to build the very best set of evidence for your records and on WikiTree where people will see your research and sources.  If you are using Ancestry, it is possible to add the correct information so others see it.

Sorry, this isnʻt much help but I hope it encourages you to not give up of this guy!!

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Sorry for the late response, this has all just been very frustrating, and I do not know where to go.  My main focus is to gather documentation that solidifies any confusion/similarities in proving that Orlando Davini and Herman David are the same person.  After that, I wouldn't know what else there is to do.

P.S. I do plan on adding detailed sources to all the profiles I made!

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I did some research, and it is possible to change the record, but I need as much evidence as possible.  My biggest obstacle is proving Orlando Davini and Herman David are the same person.

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I don't have answers to all your questions, but I would just comment that in a situation like you describe, it's important to keep an open mind and resist the urge to reject info that doesn't necessarily agree with what you have already concluded to be truth.  It may even be helpful to keep a written list of all inconsistencies you encounter, along with what pieces of info support what conclusion.  For example, when "information passed down" or "we were told" data isn't supported by actual records, make a note of that and critically examine the passed down part.  Family legends handed down through generations are notoriously unreliable, and usually suspect if they conflict with actual records.  And it's OK to include research notes in a profile that highlight inconsistencies and let other objective readers evaluate them.

My other observation is that Herman has a profile on Family Search, and several researchers there seem to agree with you, and have posted some records that are not listed in your WikiTree profile.  You might consider posting all the relevant info you can come up with, even if there are inconsistencies.

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I am keeping an open mind, as I have learned a lot that disproves what I've been told.  However, the truth is he was born in Italy, not Florida or California as census records show.  Do I still keep an open mind about that?

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I see on Family Search that his WW-II draft registration card also shows California birth.  So you have records that are inconsistent regarding that piece of data, and given the situation you describe, an observer might wonder about the explanation for that.  There could be deliberate deception, innocent errors by a census enumerator or an informant, conflation of records with those for somebody else with the same or similar name, or something else.  Just saying, in order to zero in on truth and get records corrected where necessary, you'll probably need to acknowledge the inconsistencies and offer some sort of explanation.

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I understand that; however, how do I go about correcting these records?  I fully acknowledge these inconsistencies, and I know the reason as to why they are happening, but is it enough to prove others?

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I don't know.  Wish I could help you, but I have never attempted to have old records corrected.  My gut feeling is that it is likely to be difficult or impossible to do, and the best approach might be just to accompany any incorrect or inconsistent records with all the facts and the reasons you know.  Readers would have to make their own analysis and decisions, but you would have presented a complete and honest picture, and that might be the best you can do.

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I am in a similar situation with my grandfather who lied on his social security record, death record and marriage license. He was born in Hungary but said he was Irish. It would be difficult to track down his original birth certificate in Hungary since I don't speak Hungarian. That's what I would need to claim Hungarian citizenship. I do have DNA proof that I am part Hungarian though. Not sure if that would be enough for an application for citizenship. Our family believes he lied because he married my grandmother who was Irish. He ended being the black sheep of his family for doing so and was explicitly written OUT of his mother's will !!

Answer 1

As he was a Naturalized citizen, he could have changed his name.

A judge can legally change your name at your oath ceremony. Your new name will go on your Certificate of Naturalization. Once you get the documents changing your name, you can use it to change your name on other legal identity documents

Comments

How do you know he’s a naturalized citizen?