This work aims to provide an overview about seismicity before 1915 by finding traces of past earth-quakes among the archival records (old documents and new ones not yet organized and systematized). The evidence here presented have been collected mostly in the Historical Diocese Archive of Marsi (Avezzano) but also in the National Archives and in both private collections and parish or notarial archives coming from different parts of the Region. Beyond the macroseismic data related to the great earthquakes of 1456, 1703 and 1706 that had occurred in a drawn-out time, the handwritten evidence highlight a series of local seismic activities under the damage threshold but constantly frequent throughout the history of the region. Through the data acquired from seismology and related disciplines, the historical research contributes to definitely place the sub-region Marsica within the most dangerous areas for seismic risk of Italy.