Annetta was part of the gradual exodus of people from Valletta. There’s little in the immediate historical archive, so information about her is scant.

She is one of my maternal 3 x great-grandmothers.

She was the daughter of Giuseppe Zarb and Sinforosa Corsoni^{1 2}. I conclude she was born in the parish of Porto Salvo in Valletta, but I have no clear information about this. Her family listed her as being 63 when she died in 1891^{3 4}, putting her birth date at 1827 or 1828.

Her death certificates is the only place which refers to her as “Anna”^{5 6}. All other references list her as “Annetta”. Since a person’s death certificate is handled by their next of kin, I conclude that she referred to herself as “Annetta”, while her next of kin used the more formal “Anna”.

Family

She married Emmanuele Farrugia⁷⁸ , on Wednesday 18 November 1851⁹ at the Basilica of Our Lady of Safe Haven, Valletta¹⁰.

Together they had seven children I know of¹¹:

• Giovanni¹²
• Fillippo.
• Giuseppa
• Guglielmo
• Victor Hugo, who became an electrician¹³.
• Gio Battista
• George

Notable events

Curiously she is not listed as a housewife on her son’s wedding certificate – her status is blank¹⁴.

Residence

She lived in Valletta in the mid-1850s since this is where her son was born¹⁵. The family must have moved to Birkirkara at some point, since her son lived there before marriage¹⁶.

Birkirkara was a lot larger than it is today in the 19th century. It encompassed most of modern-day Sliema, St Julians, San Gwann and Santa Venera.

The family later moved to Qormi.

• In 1860, they lived at Strada Reale, Qormi according to the electoral register¹⁷.
• In 1870 and 1880¹⁸, they lived at 66, Piazzetta, Qormi according to the updated electoral register¹⁹.
• She died at home in St Julian’s at 9, St Elijah Street, St Julians^{20 21}.

Death

She died at 23:00²² on Saturday 22nd August 1891²³ at home in St Julian’s²⁴. Her cause of death was uterine cancer.

Her family held her funeral a few hours later, on Sunday²⁵, at the Basilica of St Helen in Birkirkara²⁶. They buried her in the church^{27 28} in grave 38²⁹.

Her family registered her death in Valletta, not Birkirkara, on 2nd September 1891³⁰.

References

1. Act of Death of Anna Zarb; (1891). Available at: https://www.certifikati.gov.mt [Accessed 07 Nov. 2025][↩]
2. Roman Catholic Certificate of Death of Anna Zarb. (1891). Register of Deaths Held in the Basilica of St Helen, Volume 9, p.318.[↩]
3. Act of Death of Anna Zarb; (1891). Available at: https://www.certifikati.gov.mt [Accessed 07 Nov. 2025][↩]
4. Roman Catholic Certificate of Death of Anna Zarb. (1891). Register of Deaths Held in the Basilica of St Helen, Volume 9, p.318.[↩]
5. Act of Death of Anna Zarb; (1891). Available at: https://www.certifikati.gov.mt [Accessed 07 Nov. 2025][↩]
6. Roman Catholic Certificate of Death of Anna Zarb. (1891). Register of Deaths Held in the Basilica of St Helen, Volume 9, p.318.[↩]
7. Roman Catholic Certificate of Death of Anna Zarb. (1891). Register of Deaths Held in the Basilica of St Helen, Volume 9, p.318.[↩]
8. Act of death of Emmanuele Farrugia (1893). [online] (948). Available at: https://www.certifikati.gov.mt [Accessed 02 Dec 2024][↩]
9. Velin, N. (2024). Marriages in Malta – Digital Genealogy. [online] Digital Genealogy. Available at: https://en.geneanum.com/malta/databases/marriages.html#rowNum=50 [Accessed 20 Nov. 2024][↩]
10. Velin, N. (2024). Marriages in Malta – Digital Genealogy. [online] Digital Genealogy. Available at: https://en.geneanum.com/malta/databases/marriages.html#rowNum=50 [Accessed 20 Nov. 2024][↩]
11. Charles Said-Vassallo (2019). ArabSicilyMalta-Farrugia – Maltagenealogy. [online] Maltagenealogy. Available at: https://maltagenealogy.com/arabsicilymalta-farrugia/[↩]
12. Act of marriage of Giovanni Farrugia and Grazia Balzan. (1884). [online] (948). Available at: www.certifikati.gov.mt [Accessed 20 Aug. 2024][↩]
13. Velin, N. (2021). Passports in Malte – Digital Genealogy. [online] Digital Genealogy. Available at: https://en.geneanum.com/malta/databases/passports.html [Accessed 30 Oct. 2024][↩]
14. Act of marriage of Giovanni Farrugia and Grazia Balzan. (1884). [online] (948). Available at: www.certifikati.gov.mt [Accessed 20 Aug. 2024][↩]
15. Act of marriage of Giovanni Farrugia and Grazia Balzan. (1884). [online] (948). Available at: www.certifikati.gov.mt [Accessed 20 Aug. 2024][↩]
16. Act of marriage of Giovanni Farrugia and Grazia Balzan. (1884). [online] (948). Available at: www.certifikati.gov.mt [Accessed 20 Aug. 2024][↩]
17. Malta Family History (2025). Voters 1860. [online] Available at: https://web.archive.org/web/20180722215148/http://website.lineone.net/~remosliema/voters1860.htm [Accessed 26 Jan. 2025][↩]
18. Malta Family History (2025). Voters 1880. [online] Available at: https://web.archive.org/web/20180722215148/http://website.lineone.net/~remosliema/voters1880.htm [Accessed 26 Jan. 2025][↩]
19. Malta Family History (2025). Voters 1870. [online] Available at: https://web.archive.org/web/20180722215148/http://website.lineone.net/~remosliema/voters1870.htm [Accessed 26 Jan. 2025][↩]
20. Act of Death of Anna Zarb; (1891). Available at: https://www.certifikati.gov.mt [Accessed 07 Nov. 2025][↩]
21. Roman Catholic Certificate of Death of Anna Zarb. (1891). Register of Deaths Held in the Basilica of St Helen, Volume 9, p.318.[↩]
22. Act of Death of Anna Zarb; (1891). Available at: https://www.certifikati.gov.mt [Accessed 07 Nov. 2025][↩]
23. Act of Death of Anna Zarb; (1891). Available at: https://www.certifikati.gov.mt [Accessed 07 Nov. 2025][↩]
24. Act of Death of Anna Zarb; (1891). Available at: https://www.certifikati.gov.mt [Accessed 07 Nov. 2025][↩]
25. Roman Catholic Certificate of Death of Anna Zarb. (1891). Register of Deaths Held in the Basilica of St Helen, Volume 9, p.318.[↩]
26. Roman Catholic Certificate of Death of Anna Zarb. (1891). Register of Deaths Held in the Basilica of St Helen, Volume 9, p.318.[↩]
27. Act of Death of Anna Zarb; (1891). Available at: https://www.certifikati.gov.mt [Accessed 07 Nov. 2025][↩]
28. Roman Catholic Certificate of Death of Anna Zarb. (1891). Register of Deaths Held in the Basilica of St Helen, Volume 9, p.318.[↩]
29. Roman Catholic Certificate of Death of Anna Zarb. (1891). Register of Deaths Held in the Basilica of St Helen, Volume 9, p.318.[↩]
30. Act of Death of Anna Zarb; (1891). Available at: https://www.certifikati.gov.mt [Accessed 07 Nov. 2025][↩]

Family Tree