Domenico married at an astonishingly young age, which makes me wonder what happened. A shotgun wedding is the most likely answer, but who knows what the truth really was?

He was one of my paternal 3 x great-grandfathers.

He was born on Thursday 29 January 18351 in Valletta, Malta2 3. He was the son of Giovanni Battista Magri4 5 and Rosa neé Piacentini6 7. Canon Joseph Agius8 baptized him the day after in the Collegiate church of St Paul Shipwrecked9, Valletta, as Giovanni Battista Domenico Francesco Antonio Paolo10.

A photo of the balconies above Victoria Gate - Valletta, Malta
The balconies above Victoria Gate – Valletta, Malta

Family

On Tuesday 18 July 184811 he married Lorenza Laferla12 13 in the Roman Catholic Basilica of St Helen14 in Birkirkara15. The Reverend Peter Laferla officiated16.

Together they had one child I know of:

Crowd-funded geneological sites claim they had another daughter:

  • Rosa

Notable events

While his baptismal name was “Giovanni Battista”, he’s always referred to as “Domenico”. Since this is also his father’s name, I use “Domenico” as well to avoid confusion.

Domenico married young, at the age of 13, and his wife Lorenza was only 15. In those days Malta was a British colony and subject to British rules which stipulated that the age of consent was 1318. Nevertheless, my suspicion is that Lorenza was pregnant at the time of marriage.

Occupation

The only source of information I have is Domenico’s act of death which lists him as an Orefice19 which translates as “Goldsmith” or, possibly, “Jeweller”. Given his lengthy life in Valletta, it’s reasonable to conclude he worked at, or ran, a shop in the capital city.

Residences

Before marriage, he was living in Valletta in the parish of Our Lady of Safe Haven20.

Between 1862 and 1890, he was still living in Valletta since his daughter was born there and lived there till she married21.

He spent his last days at the hospice in Rabat22. Since his death record list him as living there, I conclude he was not there as a patient but as a long-term resident. I have no information about how long he was at the hospice for.

Death

He outlived his wife, but I don’t know when she died.

He died on Tuesday 3 May 190423 at 17:0024. He was in a hospice in Rabat, Malta25 and died of chronic enteritis26. His family buried him in the Roman Catholic church of St Paul’s in Rabat27.

References

  1. Certificate of Baptism of Domenico Magri. (1835). Baptism Records Held in the Collegiate and Parish Church of St Paul Shipwrecked, Valletta, [online] Register 168. Available at: https://www.maltaparisharchives.org [Accessed 13 Dec. 2025].[↩]
  2. Certificate of Baptism of Domenico Magri. (1835). Baptism Records Held in the Collegiate and Parish Church of St Paul Shipwrecked, Valletta, [online] Register 168. Available at: https://www.maltaparisharchives.org [Accessed 13 Dec. 2025].[↩]
  3. Act of death of Domenico Magri. (1904). Malta Government Public Registry. [online] Available at: https://certifikati.gov.mt [Accessed 23 Aug. 2026].[↩]
  4. Certificate of Baptism of Domenico Magri. (1835). Baptism Records Held in the Collegiate and Parish Church of St Paul Shipwrecked, Valletta, [online] Register 168. Available at: https://www.maltaparisharchives.org [Accessed 13 Dec. 2025].[↩]
  5. Act of death of Domenico Magri. (1904). Malta Government Public Registry. [online] Available at: https://certifikati.gov.mt [Accessed 23 Aug. 2026].[↩]
  6. Certificate of Baptism of Domenico Magri. (1835). Baptism Records Held in the Collegiate and Parish Church of St Paul Shipwrecked, Valletta, [online] Register 168. Available at: https://www.maltaparisharchives.org [Accessed 13 Dec. 2025].[↩]
  7. Act of death of Domenico Magri. (1904). Malta Government Public Registry. [online] Available at: https://certifikati.gov.mt [Accessed 23 Aug. 2026].[↩]
  8. Certificate of Baptism of Domenico Magri. (1835). Baptism Records Held in the Collegiate and Parish Church of St Paul Shipwrecked, Valletta, [online] Register 168. Available at: https://www.maltaparisharchives.org [Accessed 13 Dec. 2025].[↩]
  9. Certificate of Baptism of Domenico Magri. (1835). Baptism Records Held in the Collegiate and Parish Church of St Paul Shipwrecked, Valletta, [online] Register 168. Available at: https://www.maltaparisharchives.org [Accessed 13 Dec. 2025].[↩]
  10. Certificate of Baptism of Domenico Magri. (1835). Baptism Records Held in the Collegiate and Parish Church of St Paul Shipwrecked, Valletta, [online] Register 168. Available at: https://www.maltaparisharchives.org [Accessed 13 Dec. 2025].[↩]
  11. Certificate of Marriage of Domenico Magro and Lorenza Laferla. (1848). Registers of Marriages Held in the Basilica of St Helen, [online] 8, p.289. Available at: https://www.maltaparisharchives.org [Accessed 20 May 2026].[↩]
  12. Certificate of Marriage of Domenico Magro and Lorenza Laferla. (1848). Registers of Marriages Held in the Basilica of St Helen, [online] 8, p.289. Available at: https://www.maltaparisharchives.org [Accessed 20 May 2026].[↩]
  13. Act of death of Domenico Magri. (1904). Malta Government Public Registry. [online] Available at: https://certifikati.gov.mt [Accessed 23 Aug. 2026].[↩]
  14. Certificate of Marriage of Domenico Magro and Lorenza Laferla. (1848). Registers of Marriages Held in the Basilica of St Helen, [online] 8, p.289. Available at: https://www.maltaparisharchives.org [Accessed 20 May 2026].[↩]
  15. Certificate of Marriage of Domenico Magro and Lorenza Laferla. (1848). Registers of Marriages Held in the Basilica of St Helen, [online] 8, p.289. Available at: https://www.maltaparisharchives.org [Accessed 20 May 2026].[↩]
  16. Certificate of Marriage of Domenico Magro and Lorenza Laferla. (1848). Registers of Marriages Held in the Basilica of St Helen, [online] 8, p.289. Available at: https://www.maltaparisharchives.org [Accessed 20 May 2026].[↩]
  17. Act of birth of Susanna Xuereb. (1890). Available at: https://certifikati.gov.mt [Accessed 28 Jan. 2025][↩]
  18. Lammasniemi, L. (2020). The Age of Consent in the 19th Century: Trustworthiness and Capacity on Trial. [online] Lawandhistoryreview.org. Available at: https://lawandhistoryreview.org/article/laura-lammasniemi-the-age-of-consent-in-the-19th-century-trustworthiness-and-capacity-on-trial/ [Accessed 21 Nov. 2025].[↩]
  19. Act of death of Domenico Magri. (1904). Malta Government Public Registry. [online] Available at: https://certifikati.gov.mt [Accessed 23 Aug. 2026].[↩]
  20. Extract of Marriage of Domenico Magri and Lorenza Laferla. (1848). Liber Matrimonium, [online] Volume VIII (1800 – 1853). Available at: https://www.maltaparisharchives.org [Accessed 31 Oct. 2025].[↩]
  21. Act of birth of Susanna Xuereb. (1890). Available at: https://certifikati.gov.mt [Accessed 28 Jan. 2025][↩]
  22. Act of death of Domenico Magri. (1904). Malta Government Public Registry. [online] Available at: https://certifikati.gov.mt [Accessed 23 Aug. 2026].[↩]
  23. Act of death of Domenico Magri. (1904). Malta Government Public Registry. [online] Available at: https://certifikati.gov.mt [Accessed 23 Aug. 2026].[↩]
  24. Act of death of Domenico Magri. (1904). Malta Government Public Registry. [online] Available at: https://certifikati.gov.mt [Accessed 23 Aug. 2026].[↩]
  25. Act of death of Domenico Magri. (1904). Malta Government Public Registry. [online] Available at: https://certifikati.gov.mt [Accessed 23 Aug. 2026].[↩]
  26. Act of death of Domenico Magri. (1904). Malta Government Public Registry. [online] Available at: https://certifikati.gov.mt [Accessed 23 Aug. 2026].[↩]
  27. Act of death of Domenico Magri. (1904). Malta Government Public Registry. [online] Available at: https://certifikati.gov.mt [Accessed 23 Aug. 2026].[↩]

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