Giuseppa survived both world wars, first working the land in Qormi and later in the tiny village of Attard.

She is one of my paternal great-grandmothers.

She was born at 06:00¹ on Thursday 1 July 1880. She was born in Qormi¹, daughter of Luigi Attard¹ and Grazia Bezzina¹.

Her parents christened her Giuseppa Paola Maria, declaring she should be known as Giuseppa².

Francesca Sciberras registered Giuseppa’s birth with the state on 13 August 1880². She was the widow of Gaetano Sciberras², and was an illiterate washerwoman². It’s not clear if Francesca was an employee of the Attard family or if she was a family friend or relative.

In the English language translation of her daughter’s marriage certificate³, she is listed as Josephine. I refer to her here as ‘Giuseppa’ which is what is on her birth certificate, even if she may have been known as Josephine (in English).

Family

On Sunday 2 August 1903⁴, she married Giuseppe Borg⁴ in the Roman Catholic parish church of Attard⁴. Parish priest Fr Carmelo Azzopardi officiated at the wedding⁴.

Together they had 7 children I’m aware of:

• Maria⁵
• Grace
• Emmanuel
• Carmelo
• Luigi

Notable events

Profession

In 1903 she declared herself to be a lavorante⁴ (EN: Worker). Since her parents were both farmers⁴, it is logical to conclude she worked on the family farm.

As was custom in those days, she didn’t work after marriage and declared herself to be a housewife⁶.

Residence

She moved to Attard, possibly after marriage⁴.

Her last recorded address was 38 Qormi Road, Attard⁶ but it is unclear if she always lived here.

Death

She died at 12:00⁶ on Sunday 19 August 1945⁶ at her home in Attard, Malta⁶. She died of cerebral softening⁶, which is a symptom of a stroke or an embolism. Her family buried her in the parish church of Attard⁶.

In the 1950s, the church was re-paved with marble. The church moved all bodies that had been buried there to the newly opened cemetery on the outskirts of Attard. All the remains were placed in a basement under the chapel in this cemetery.

References

1. Act of birth of Giuseppa Attard. (1880). Malta Government Public Registry. [online] Available at: www.certifikati.gov.mt [Accessed 1 Oct. 2024][↩][↩][↩][↩]
2. Act of birth of Giuseppa Attard. (1880). Malta Government Public Registry. [online] Available at: www.certifikati.gov.mt [Accessed 1 Oct. 2024][↩][↩][↩][↩]
3. Marriage certificate of Paul Borg and Maria Borg. (1936). 2(283), p.149[↩]
4. Act of marriage of Giuseppa Attard and Giuseppe Borg. (1903). Malta Government Public Registry. [online] Available at: www.certifikati.gov.mt [Accessed 1 Oct. 2024][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩]
5. Act of birth of Maria Borg. (1916). Malta Government Public Registry. [online] Available at: www.certifikati.gov.mt [Accessed 1 Oct. 2024][↩]
6. Act of death of Giuseppa Attard. (1945). Malta Government Public Registry. [online] Available at: www.certifikati.gov.mt [Accessed 1 Oct. 2024][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩]