Source Information

Order Sons of Italy in America
Ancestry.com. Massachusetts, Order Sons of Italy in America, Membership Applications, 1925-1955 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2012.
Original data: OSIA Massachusetts Membership Applications. Washington, DC: Order Sons of Italy in America.

About Massachusetts, Order Sons of Italy in America, Membership Applications, 1925-1955

This database contains applications for OSIA membership from the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts of the Order Sons of Italy in America.

Historical Background

The Order Sons of Italy in America (OSIA) was established in 1905 in New York as a mutual aid society to assist Italian immigrants coming to the United States. The Grand Lodge of Massachusetts was established in 1914 and covers Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont, and Maine. Among its efforts, OSIA has offered members scholarships, help with obtaining citizenship, aid to the poor, and life and mortuary benefits.

What’s in the Records

This database contains application forms for membership in a Massachusetts lodge of OSIA. The forms vary somewhat, but they may include the following details:

  • residence
  • age
  • name
  • birth date
  • birth country
  • father’s name
  • occupation
  • marital status
  • spouse’s name
  • whether a U.S. citizen

The application may also include a medical questionnaire as part of the application or as a separate form. This may provide a physician’s name and answers to questions about conditions such as epilepsy, syphilis, tuberculosis, and other diseases or health issues.

Because some forms have multiple pages associated with them, after you find a record, use the arrow keys to browse forward and back to make sure you find all the documents related to your ancestor.

Some records are in Italian.