Giovanni is a curious individual who used a double-barrelled surname on occasion. His court case is a seminal work, still quoted in Maltese courts and Parliament more than 100 years later.
He is my one of my maternal great-great-grandfathers.
He was born in 1852, because:
- He declared he was 32 when he married in 18841.
- He declared he was 33 on his daughter’s birth certificate2.
His birth date is between 14 October and 6 December, if the above facts are correct.
He was born in Valletta1, son of Emmanuele Farrugia and Annetta Zarb1.
Family
On Saturday 6 December 18841 he married Grazia Balzan in Birkirkara, Malta1.
Together they had 3 children that I know of:
- Annetta
- Florentina2
- Emmanuele
Notable events
He worked as a “Scrittorale”1 2 which is an outdated way of referring to an accountant.
He must have done well for himself because by 1908, when his daughter married, he declared himself to be a “Benestante”1 which is Italian for “Wealthy”.
He was born in Valletta but moved to Birkirkara before getting married1.
Surname
He declared his surname as ‘Farrugia’ in offical certificates. In some cases his surname is ‘Farrugia Gay’. The surname ‘Gay’, or ‘Gai’ exists in his ancestral line which explains where it’s from. It’s not clear why he chose to switch from one to the other. All this predates the modern use of the word in English, which emerged in post-war England.
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, but it is unclear if the latter is Giovanni’s son or some other relative.
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 void3.
Travel
On 16 October 1915 a Giovanni Farrugia from Valletta4 applied for a passport declaring himself to be an accountant by profession. It is not clear if this is the same person but, if it is, he went to Tunisia4.
Death
His granddaughters claim their mother used to claim he died when she was 16, which would imply 1926 or 1927.
Get in touch!
Do you have any other information about this person? Would you like to ask me something about my research? I’d love to hear from you!
References
- Act of marriage of Giovanni Farrugia and Grazia Balzan. (1884). [online] (948). Available at: www.certifikati.gov.mt [Accessed 20 Aug. 2024][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩]
- Act of birth of Florentina Farrugia; Malta Government state records; 1886-10-14[↩][↩][↩]
- 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: www.ecourts.gov.mt [Accessed 31 Oct. 2024][↩]
- Velin, N. (2021). Passports in Malte – Digital Genealogy. [online] Digital Genealogy. Available at: https://en.geneanum.com/malta/databases/passports.html#google_vignette=&sortname=date [Accessed 30 Oct. 2024][↩][↩]
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