Emilia was part of the slow migration out of the harbour area into the nascent village of St Julian’s in the 19th century.

She is one of my great-great-grandmothers.

It’s hard to be precise about her date of birth because:

• Since she was 21 when she married¹, she would have been born in 1862 or 1863.
• Since she was 88 when she died², she would have been born in 1856 or 1857.

I place more trust in the first one, because she would have given that information.

She was born in Senglea¹, daughter of Paolo and Angelica Alessandro¹.

Family

On Wednesday 20 February 1884, she married Salvatore Bonnici¹ in the vice-parish church of St Julian’s¹. Reverend Don Giuseppe Scerri officiated the ceremony¹.

Since St Julian’s wasn’t an actual parish, the wedding records come from the parish of St Helen’s, Birkirkara.

St Julian’s had 50 families in the mid 19th century, when the bishop elevated it to a vice-parish³. Don Scerri was the village’s first vice-parish priest³.

Together they had 2 children I’m aware of:

• Paolina in 1886⁴
• Giovanni⁵

Notable events

She moved to St Julian’s at some point¹, before marriage. She later moved to Sliema², but it’s unclear if this was a permanent move, or because she was in hospital towards the end of her life.

She was in the Blue Sisters’ Hospital in Sliema, which is now Zammit Clapp care home for the elderly. This area is now St Julian’s, which means rather than change locality, the difference is because of shifting boundaries between villages and towns.

Death

She died at 12:00 noon² on Friday 23 November 1945² at the Blue Sisters Hospital, Sliema². She died of chronic myocarditis².

Her family buried her at the Maria Addolorata cemetery, Paola, Malta².

References

1. Act of Marriage of Salvatore Bonnici and Emilia Farrugia. (1884). [online] (203). Available at: www.certifikati.gov.mt [Accessed 24 Jul. 2024][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩]
2. Act of death of Emilia Farrugia. (1946). [online] (203). Available at: https://www.certifikati.gov.mt [Accessed 06 Nov. 2024][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩]
3. Parroċċa San Ġiljan | ” Duqu u taraw kemm hu tajjeb il-Mulej”. (2014). Storja | Parroċċa San Ġiljan. [online] Available at: https://www.stjuliansparish.org/storja/ [Accessed 7 Nov. 2024][↩][↩]
4. Act of Birth of Paolina Bonnici. (1886). [online] (1728). Available at: www.certifikati.gov.mt [Accessed 12 Jul. 2024][↩]
5. Act of Marriage of Paolo Darmenia and Paolina Bonnici. (1913). [online] (945). Available at: www.certifikati.gov.mt [Accessed 10 Apr. 2018][↩]