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 Valletta², which is where his parents were from. He is the son of Isidoro Farrugia (Sometimes listed as Farrugia Gay³) and Giovanna Lebrun or Leburu^{4 5}.

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 Zarb^{6 7}, on Wednesday 18 November 1851⁸ at the church of Our Lady of Safe Haven, Valletta⁹.

Together they had seven children I know of¹⁰:

• Giovanni¹¹
• Fillippo.
• Giuseppa
• Guglielmo
• Victor Hugo, who became an electrician¹².
• Gio Battista
• George

Notable events

He lived in Valletta around the mid-1850s because that is where his son was born¹³. He later moved to Qormi:

• In 1860, he lived at Strada Reale, Qormi according to the electoral register¹⁴.
• In 1870 and 1880¹⁵, he lived at 66, Piazzetta, Qormi according to the updated electoral register¹⁶.
• Since his wife died in St Julians, it’s possible he lived there with her for some time. It’s also possible she lived with one of their children if she needed someone to care for her. If he did live with her, then he resided at 9, St Elijah Street, St Julians¹⁷
• He lived his last years at 66, Strada Piazzetta, Vicolo Secondo¹⁸. This street no longer exists and I haven’t found which one it was.

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His son described him as a Procuratore Legale¹⁹ (EN: Attorney General) in 1884. By the time he died, Emmanuele became independently wealthy and was listed as “Benestante”²⁰ (EN: Wealthy) on his death certificate.

Death

Emmanuele spent his last year as a widower.

He died at 22:30²¹ on Tuesday 20 December 1892²². He died of “heart disease”²³ which could mean many things, but reflects 19th century diagnostic medicine. He died at home in Qormi²⁴, and his family buried him in St George’s parish church, also in Qormi²⁵.

References

1. Act of death of Emmanuele Farrugia (1893). [online] (948). Available at: https://www.certifikati.gov.mt [Accessed 02 Dec 2024][↩]
2. Act of death of Emmanuele Farrugia (1893). [online] (948). Available at: https://www.certifikati.gov.mt [Accessed 02 Dec 2024][↩]
3. Act of death of Emmanuele Farrugia (1893). [online] (948). Available at: https://www.certifikati.gov.mt [Accessed 02 Dec 2024][↩]
4. Act of death of Emmanuele Farrugia (1893). [online] (948). Available at: https://www.certifikati.gov.mt [Accessed 02 Dec 2024][↩]
5. 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].[↩]
6. Act of death of Emmanuele Farrugia (1893). [online] (948). Available at: https://www.certifikati.gov.mt [Accessed 02 Dec 2024][↩]
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. 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].[↩]
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. Charles Said-Vassallo (2019). ArabSicilyMalta-Farrugia – Maltagenealogy. [online] Maltagenealogy. Available at: https://maltagenealogy.com/arabsicilymalta-farrugia/[↩]
11. Act of marriage of Giovanni Farrugia and Grazia Balzan. (1884). [online] (948). Available at: www.certifikati.gov.mt [Accessed 20 Aug. 2024][↩]
12. 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][↩]
13. Act of marriage of Giovanni Farrugia and Grazia Balzan. (1884). [online] (948). Available at: www.certifikati.gov.mt [Accessed 20 Aug. 2024][↩]
14. 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][↩]
15. 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][↩]
16. 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][↩]
17. Act of Death of Anna Zarb; (1891). Available at: https://www.certifikati.gov.mt [Accessed 07 Nov. 2025][↩]
18. Act of death of Emmanuele Farrugia (1893). [online] (948). Available at: https://www.certifikati.gov.mt [Accessed 02 Dec 2024][↩]
19. Act of marriage of Giovanni Farrugia and Grazia Balzan. (1884). [online] (948). Available at: www.certifikati.gov.mt [Accessed 20 Aug. 2024][↩]
20. Act of death of Emmanuele Farrugia (1893). [online] (948). Available at: https://www.certifikati.gov.mt [Accessed 02 Dec 2024][↩]
21. Act of death of Emmanuele Farrugia (1893). [online] (948). Available at: https://www.certifikati.gov.mt [Accessed 02 Dec 2024][↩]
22. Act of death of Emmanuele Farrugia (1893). [online] (948). Available at: https://www.certifikati.gov.mt [Accessed 02 Dec 2024][↩]
23. Act of death of Emmanuele Farrugia (1893). [online] (948). Available at: https://www.certifikati.gov.mt [Accessed 02 Dec 2024][↩]
24. Act of death of Emmanuele Farrugia (1893). [online] (948). Available at: https://www.certifikati.gov.mt [Accessed 02 Dec 2024][↩]
25. Act of death of Emmanuele Farrugia (1893). [online] (948). Available at: https://www.certifikati.gov.mt [Accessed 02 Dec 2024][↩]

Family Tree