As the Imperial government’s Attorney General, Emmanuele must have been influential in 19th century Maltese society.

He is one of my maternal 3 x great-grandfathers.

Emmanuele was born in 1829 or 1830, because he was 62 when he died in 1892¹. He was born in Valletta¹, which is where his parents were from. He is the son of Isidoro Farrugia (Listed as Farrugia Gay¹ and Giovanna Lebrun or Leburu^{1 2}.

Emmanuele styled his surname as Farrugia Gay. Official documentation lists him as “Farrugia” so that is the convention I use here. He certainly did use the double-barrelled surname because one court case he was involved in (see below) refers to him in this fashion.

Family

He married Annetta Zarb¹, on Wednesday 18 November 1851² at the church of Our Lady of Safe Haven, Valletta².

Together they had seven children I know of³:

• Giovanni⁴
• Fillippo, who became a medical doctor⁵.
• Giuseppa
• Guglielmo
• Victor Hugo, who became an electrician⁵.
• Gio Battista
• George

Notable events

He lived in Valletta around the mid-1850s because that is where his son was born⁴. He later moved to Qormi:

• In 1860, he lived at Strada Reale, Qormi according to the electoral register⁶.
• In 1870 and 1880⁷, he lived at 66, Piazzetta, Qormi according to the updated electoral register⁸.
• He lived his last years at 66, Strada Piazzetta, Vicolo Secondo¹. This street no longer exists and I haven’t found which one it was.

His son described him as a Procuratore Legale⁴ (EN: Attorney General) in 1884. By the time he died, Emmanuele became independently wealthy and was listed as “Benestante”¹ (EN: Wealthy) on his death certificate.

Case law

On 3 May 1921, a seminal case concluded in Malta’s civil court. The court case was between Giovanni Farrugia Gay and Emmanuele Farrugia Gay. It’s possible the latter refers to Giovanni’s son, named after his grandfather.

This case is now used as a reference point to show that if someone tricks someone else into signing a contract, the contract is null and void⁹

Death

He died at 22:30¹ on Tuesday 20 December 1892¹. He died of “heart disease”¹ which could mean many things, but reflects 19th century diagnostic medicine. He died at home in Qormi¹, and his family buried him in St George’s parish church, also in Qormi¹.

References

1. Act of death of Emmanuele Farrugia (1893). [online] (948). Available at: https://www.certifikati.gov.mt [Accessed 02 Dec 2024][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩]
2. 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].[↩][↩][↩]
3. Charles Said-Vassallo (2019). ArabSicilyMalta-Farrugia – Maltagenealogy. [online] Maltagenealogy. Available at: https://maltagenealogy.com/arabsicilymalta-farrugia/[↩]
4. Act of marriage of Giovanni Farrugia and Grazia Balzan. (1884). [online] (948). Available at: www.certifikati.gov.mt [Accessed 20 Aug. 2024][↩][↩][↩]
5. 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][↩][↩]
6. 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][↩]
7. 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][↩]
8. 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][↩]
9. Philip u Pauline konjugi Borg Cardona Vs Is-socjeta’ EFW Limited, Raphael Farugia u Elizabeth Farrugia Wismayer [2006] 96/2004 (Qorti Civili Prim’Awla ONOR. Imhallef Geoffrey Valenzia) Available at: https://www.ecourts.gov.mt [Accessed 31 Oct. 2024][↩]