Like many early 20th-century Maltese people, Maria was born and lived her whole life within the same village, i.e., the same 7 square kilometers.

She was my paternal grandmother.

She was born at 19:00¹ on Monday 30 October 1916^{2 3} in Attard^{4 5}. She is the daughter of Giuseppe Borg^{6 7} and Giuseppa née Attard^{8 9}.

On Tuesday 01 November¹⁰, the Reverend Pierre Baptista Agius¹¹ baptised her in the Roman Catholic church of H’Attard¹².

Interestingly, the Church records her as being baptised as “Maria Borg”¹³, while the state records her full name as Maria Theresa Anna¹⁴.

Her father registered Maria¹⁵ at the government’s offices in Casal Lia (now Lija)¹⁶ on 8 November¹⁷.

Family

On Thursday 26 November 1936^{18 19}, she married Paul Borg^{20 21} of Sliema, Malta²². They married in the Roman Catholic Church of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart, in Sliema, Malta^{23 24}. Fr Francis Montebello officiated the wedding²⁵.

Despite the fact that both bride and groom were Borgs, they were not related. Borg is the most common surname in Malta, akin to ‘Smith’ in England.

Her brother-in-law, Emmanuele, was a witness at the wedding^{26 27}.

Together they had 4 children:

• Joseph
• Suzanne
• Henry, known as Eric
• Wilfred

Notable events

According to family lore, the young Maria met her future husband in Attard. She cheekily refused to let him chat her up until he confirmed he had a job and good prospects in life.

Apart from being born in Attard, she lived in Attard her whole life.

Death

She was a widow for almost 11 years.

She died at 03:30²⁸ on Thursday 22 February 2001²⁹ at the Mtarfa home for the elderly³⁰. She died of atherosclerosis, complicated by Type 2 diabetes³¹. Her family buried her at the Addolorata cemetery, Paola, Malta³².

References

1. Act of birth of Maria Borg. (1916). Malta Government Public Registry. [online] Available at: www.certifikati.gov.mt [Accessed 1 Oct. 2024][↩]
2. Act of birth of Maria Borg. (1916). Malta Government Public Registry. [online] Available at: www.certifikati.gov.mt [Accessed 1 Oct. 2024][↩]
3. Certificate of Baptism of Maria Borg. (1916). Baptism Records Held by the Roman Catholic Parish of H’Attard.[↩]
4. Act of birth of Maria Borg. (1916). Malta Government Public Registry. [online] Available at: www.certifikati.gov.mt [Accessed 1 Oct. 2024][↩]
5. Certificate of Baptism of Maria Borg. (1916). Baptism Records Held by the Roman Catholic Parish of H’Attard.[↩]
6. Act of birth of Maria Borg. (1916). Malta Government Public Registry. [online] Available at: www.certifikati.gov.mt [Accessed 1 Oct. 2024][↩]
7. Certificate of Baptism of Maria Borg. (1916). Baptism Records Held by the Roman Catholic Parish of H’Attard.[↩]
8. Act of birth of Maria Borg. (1916). Malta Government Public Registry. [online] Available at: www.certifikati.gov.mt [Accessed 1 Oct. 2024][↩]
9. Certificate of Baptism of Maria Borg. (1916). Baptism Records Held by the Roman Catholic Parish of H’Attard.[↩]
10. Certificate of Baptism of Maria Borg. (1916). Baptism Records Held by the Roman Catholic Parish of H’Attard.[↩]
11. Certificate of Baptism of Maria Borg. (1916). Baptism Records Held by the Roman Catholic Parish of H’Attard.[↩]
12. Certificate of Baptism of Maria Borg. (1916). Baptism Records Held by the Roman Catholic Parish of H’Attard.[↩]
13. Certificate of Baptism of Maria Borg. (1916). Baptism Records Held by the Roman Catholic Parish of H’Attard.[↩]
14. Act of birth of Maria Borg. (1916). Malta Government Public Registry. [online] Available at: www.certifikati.gov.mt [Accessed 1 Oct. 2024][↩]
15. Act of birth of Maria Borg. (1916). Malta Government Public Registry. [online] Available at: www.certifikati.gov.mt [Accessed 1 Oct. 2024][↩]
16. Act of birth of Maria Borg. (1916). Malta Government Public Registry. [online] Available at: www.certifikati.gov.mt [Accessed 1 Oct. 2024][↩]
17. Act of birth of Maria Borg. (1916). Malta Government Public Registry. [online] Available at: www.certifikati.gov.mt [Accessed 1 Oct. 2024][↩]
18. Act of marriage of Paul Borg and Mary Borg. (1936). Malta Government Public Registry. [online] Available at: www.certifikati.gov.mt [Accessed 4 Sep. 2024][↩]
19. Marriage certificate of Paul Borg and Maria Borg. (1936). 2(283), p.149[↩]
20. Act of marriage of Paul Borg and Mary Borg. (1936). Malta Government Public Registry. [online] Available at: www.certifikati.gov.mt [Accessed 4 Sep. 2024][↩]
21. Marriage certificate of Paul Borg and Maria Borg. (1936). 2(283), p.149[↩]
22. Act of marriage of Paul Borg and Mary Borg. (1936). Malta Government Public Registry. [online] Available at: www.certifikati.gov.mt [Accessed 4 Sep. 2024][↩]
23. Act of marriage of Paul Borg and Mary Borg. (1936). Malta Government Public Registry. [online] Available at: www.certifikati.gov.mt [Accessed 4 Sep. 2024][↩]
24. Marriage certificate of Paul Borg and Maria Borg. (1936). 2(283), p.149[↩]
25. Act of marriage of Paul Borg and Mary Borg. (1936). Malta Government Public Registry. [online] Available at: www.certifikati.gov.mt [Accessed 4 Sep. 2024][↩]
26. Act of marriage of Paul Borg and Mary Borg. (1936). Malta Government Public Registry. [online] Available at: www.certifikati.gov.mt [Accessed 4 Sep. 2024][↩]
27. Marriage certificate of Paul Borg and Maria Borg. (1936). 2(283), p.149[↩]
28. Act of death of Maria Borg. (2001). Malta Government Public Registry. [online] Available at: www.certifikati.gov.mt [Accessed 1 Oct. 2024][↩]
29. Act of death of Maria Borg. (2001). Malta Government Public Registry. [online] Available at: www.certifikati.gov.mt [Accessed 1 Oct. 2024][↩]
30. Act of death of Maria Borg. (2001). Malta Government Public Registry. [online] Available at: www.certifikati.gov.mt [Accessed 1 Oct. 2024][↩]
31. Act of death of Maria Borg. (2001). Malta Government Public Registry. [online] Available at: www.certifikati.gov.mt [Accessed 1 Oct. 2024][↩]
32. Act of death of Maria Borg. (2001). Malta Government Public Registry. [online] Available at: www.certifikati.gov.mt [Accessed 1 Oct. 2024][↩]

Family Tree