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.

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) [↩]