Lorenza married young, at the age of 15. While not unusual in the 19th century, not many people in my ancestry married that young which makes me wonder if it was a shotgun wedding.

She was one of my paternal 3 x great-grandmothers.

She was born on Wednesday 10 October 1832¹ in Valletta². She was the daughter of Calcedonio Laferla³ and Rosa neé Psaila⁴.

Canon Michael Cilia⁵ baptised her in the Roman Catholic Collegiate Church of St Paul Shipwrecked⁶ the following day⁷ as Carmela Laurentia Vincentia Lucarda Emmanuela Rosaria⁸.

Family

On Tuesday 18 July 1848⁹ she married Domenico Magri^{10 11} in the Roman Catholic Basilica of St Helen¹² in Birkirkara¹³. The Reverend Peter Laferla officiated¹⁴.

Together they had 1 child I’m aware of:

• Marianna

Crowd-funded geneological sites claim she had another daughter:

• Rosa

Notable events

Lorenza married young, at the age of 15, and her husband Domenico was only 13. In those days Malta was a British colony and subject to British rules which stipulated that the age of consent was 13¹⁵. Nevertheless, my suspicion is that Lorenza was pregnant at the time of marriage.

Furthermore, since “Laferla” is not a common surname, and since this is also the surname of the priest who officiated the wedding, I wonder if the two were related.

Residence

After she was born, the family moved to Birkirkara since the church register mentions her as living in the parish¹⁶. I have no indication as to when this happened.

In those days, Birkirkara was considerably larger than it is today.

She moved back though because her daughter was born in Valletta in the 1860s.

Death

I have no precise information about when she died, what she died of, and where she is buried.

I do know that her husband outlived her¹⁷, so I can tell she died before 3 May 1904.

References

1. Certificate of Baptism of Lorenza Laferla. (1832). Baptism Records Held in the Collegiate and Parish Church of St Paul Shipwrecked, Valletta, [online] Register 588. Available at: https://www.maltaparisharchives.org [Accessed 13 Dec. 2025].[↩]
2. Certificate of Baptism of Lorenza Laferla. (1832). Baptism Records Held in the Collegiate and Parish Church of St Paul Shipwrecked, Valletta, [online] Register 588. Available at: https://www.maltaparisharchives.org [Accessed 13 Dec. 2025].[↩]
3. Certificate of Baptism of Lorenza Laferla. (1832). Baptism Records Held in the Collegiate and Parish Church of St Paul Shipwrecked, Valletta, [online] Register 588. Available at: https://www.maltaparisharchives.org [Accessed 13 Dec. 2025].[↩]
4. Certificate of Baptism of Lorenza Laferla. (1832). Baptism Records Held in the Collegiate and Parish Church of St Paul Shipwrecked, Valletta, [online] Register 588. Available at: https://www.maltaparisharchives.org [Accessed 13 Dec. 2025].[↩]
5. Certificate of Baptism of Lorenza Laferla. (1832). Baptism Records Held in the Collegiate and Parish Church of St Paul Shipwrecked, Valletta, [online] Register 588. Available at: https://www.maltaparisharchives.org [Accessed 13 Dec. 2025].[↩]
6. Certificate of Baptism of Lorenza Laferla. (1832). Baptism Records Held in the Collegiate and Parish Church of St Paul Shipwrecked, Valletta, [online] Register 588. Available at: https://www.maltaparisharchives.org [Accessed 13 Dec. 2025].[↩]
7. Certificate of Baptism of Lorenza Laferla. (1832). Baptism Records Held in the Collegiate and Parish Church of St Paul Shipwrecked, Valletta, [online] Register 588. Available at: https://www.maltaparisharchives.org [Accessed 13 Dec. 2025].[↩]
8. Certificate of Baptism of Lorenza Laferla. (1832). Baptism Records Held in the Collegiate and Parish Church of St Paul Shipwrecked, Valletta, [online] Register 588. Available at: https://www.maltaparisharchives.org [Accessed 13 Dec. 2025].[↩]
9. Certificate of Marriage of Domenico Magro and Lorenza Laferla. (1848). Registers of Marriages Held in the Basilica of St Helen, [online] 8, p.289. Available at: https://www.maltaparisharchives.org [Accessed 20 May 2026].[↩]
10. Certificate of Marriage of Domenico Magro and Lorenza Laferla. (1848). Registers of Marriages Held in the Basilica of St Helen, [online] 8, p.289. Available at: https://www.maltaparisharchives.org [Accessed 20 May 2026].[↩]
11. Act of death of Domenico Magri. (1904). Malta Government Public Registry. [online] Available at: https://certifikati.gov.mt [Accessed 23 Aug. 2026].[↩]
12. Certificate of Marriage of Domenico Magro and Lorenza Laferla. (1848). Registers of Marriages Held in the Basilica of St Helen, [online] 8, p.289. Available at: https://www.maltaparisharchives.org [Accessed 20 May 2026].[↩]
13. Certificate of Marriage of Domenico Magro and Lorenza Laferla. (1848). Registers of Marriages Held in the Basilica of St Helen, [online] 8, p.289. Available at: https://www.maltaparisharchives.org [Accessed 20 May 2026].[↩]
14. Certificate of Marriage of Domenico Magro and Lorenza Laferla. (1848). Registers of Marriages Held in the Basilica of St Helen, [online] 8, p.289. Available at: https://www.maltaparisharchives.org [Accessed 20 May 2026].[↩]
15. Lammasniemi, L. (2020). The Age of Consent in the 19th Century: Trustworthiness and Capacity on Trial. [online] Lawandhistoryreview.org. Available at: https://lawandhistoryreview.org/article/laura-lammasniemi-the-age-of-consent-in-the-19th-century-trustworthiness-and-capacity-on-trial/ [Accessed 21 Nov. 2025].[↩]
16. Certificate of Marriage of Domenico Magro and Lorenza Laferla. (1848). Registers of Marriages Held in the Basilica of St Helen, [online] 8, p.289. Available at: https://www.maltaparisharchives.org [Accessed 20 May 2026].[↩]
17. Act of death of Domenico Magri. (1904). Malta Government Public Registry. [online] Available at: https://certifikati.gov.mt [Accessed 23 Aug. 2026].[↩]

Family Tree