Giuseppe is something of a curiosity because almost all official documents about him contradict each other.

He is one of my maternal great-grandfathers.

Giuseppe was born at 09:00 on Sunday 06 August 1871¹ in Sliema, Malta¹, son of Giovanni Battista Felice and Ludcarda née Cremona¹.

His parents christened him Giuseppe Giovanni Battista Salvatore¹, after his maternal grandfather. They also indicated he should be known as Giuseppe¹.

Family

On Tuesday 10 November 1908, he married 22-year-old Florentina Farrugia². They married at the church of St Catherine of Italy in Valletta². Fr Giuseppe Muscat, the Ħamrun parish priest, officiated².

They registered the marriage with the authorities 4 days later¹.

Together they had eight children:

• Maria Carmela³
• John
• Salvino
• Beatrice, known as Bice
• Philip
• Emma
• Rita
• Symphorosa

Notable events

Profession

In 1908, when he married, he was a Negoziante⁴ (EN: Shopkeeper).

In 1910, he describes himself as a “Bottegajo”³. This is Italian for a kind of shopkeeper; especially someone who handles retail food.

Fifteen years later, his death certificate records him as “Operajo”⁵ which roughly translates as a “worker”.

A further twelve years later, on his daughter’s wedding certificate⁶, his family described him as a merchant.

Residence

His family moved to Valletta².

He later moved to Ħamrun at some point³.

Curiosities

It is unusual for the public record to contain inconsistencies. In Giuseppe’s case, there are many:

• His marriage certificate lists him as “Giuseppe Benedetto” rather than “Giuseppe” or “Giuseppe Giovanni Battista”.
• It also claims he was born in Birkirkara, not Sliema. It is not clear why this inconsistency exists.
• His daughter’s birth certificate claims he was 37 instead of 39. This is strange because he was the one who recorded the birth.
• His family registered his birth on 29 August. The certificate also states his family submitted the details on 2 September.
• His family registered his death with the state authorities a full 5 months after he died.

Death

He died at 03:30⁵ on Tuesday 21 April 1925⁵ at Zammit Clapp hospital in Sliema, Malta⁵.

He died of cancer of the bladder⁵.

His family buried him at the Addolorata Cemetery in Marsa, Malta⁵.

Lineage

This person is one of my maternal great-grandfathers.

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

1. Act of birth of Giuseppe Felice. (1871). (2639) Available at: www.certifikati.gov.mt [Accessed 2024] [↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩]
2. Act of marriage of Giuseppe Felice and Florentina Farrugia. (1908). Malta Government Public Registry. [online] Available at: www.certifikati.gov.mt [Accessed 24 Jul. 2024][↩][↩][↩][↩]
3. Act of birth of Maria Felice; Malta Government state archives; 1910-05-18[↩][↩][↩]
4. Act of marriage of Giuseppe Felice and Florentina Farrugia. (1908). Malta Government Public Registry. [online] Available at: www.certifikati.gov.mt [Accessed 24 Jul. 2024][↩]
5. Act of death of Giuseppe Felice. (1925). Malta Government Public Registry. [online] Available at: www.certifikati.gov.mt [Accessed 24 Aug. 2024][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩]
6. Act of Marriage of Anthony Mary Darmenia and Mary Carmela Felice; (1937) [↩]