I know little about Vittoriosa resident Michele Darmenia because few records exist.

Michele is my 4 x great-grandfather.

He was born on Friday 25 August 1780¹ in Birgu, Malta, son of Giuseppe Darmenia and Margherita Gatt¹. They baptised him 2 days later on Sunday 27 August in the parish church of St Lawrence¹. His full name is Michele Laurentius Enriches Xavier¹.

Family

On Tuesday 18 August 1801, he married Lorenza Lia in Zabbar, Malta². His religious marriage certificate lists him as Michael Darmenia². They moved to Vittoriosa where they had the following children³:

• Anna Margarita, baptised on 07/12/1803 in Vittoriosa.
• Saveria Giuseppe Maria, baptised on 06/11/1805 in Vittoriosa.
• Bartolomeo Giovanni, baptised on 24/08/1807 in Vittoriosa.
• Maria Vittoria, baptised on 18/02/1810 in Vittoriosa.
• Maria Teresa, baptised on 21/02/1812 in Vittoriosa.
• Antonio Giuseppe, baptised on 16/02/1814 in Vittoriosa.
• Paolo Darmenia⁴, born around 1815.
• Maria Concetta, baptised on 16/10/1816 in Vittoriosa.
• Teresa Beatrix, baptised on 30/10/1818 in Vittoriosa.

Notable events

I’ve not found any information about Michele’s life in Vittoriosa, so the following is speculation:

• In 1801, most people in Malta lived in the fortified cities in the harbour area. There were some exceptions, but since he lived in Vittoriosa, I conclude he wasn’t a landowner or a farmer.
• In 1801, Malta was under British control⁵ following the disastrous French occupation. Michele may have worked with the Knights, then the French and then the British.

Death

I don’t know when he died, where, or why. I also don’t know where they buried him.

Lineage

Michele Darmenia is my 4 x great-grandfather.

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References

1. Record of baptism of Michele Darmenia. (1802). Baptismal register at St Lawrence Parish, p.11[↩][↩][↩][↩]
2. Extract from Zabbar parish registry; (Retrieved 2024-04-25) [↩][↩]
3. Maltese Baptisms. (n.d.). Available at: https://en.geneanum.com/malta/databases/baptisms.html# [Accessed 17 Jul. 2024] [↩]
4. Marriage certificate. (1836). Marriage register for Porto Salvo and St Dominic Parish Church, 1831-1836(104) [↩]
5. How did the British take control of Malta?; Antoine P Borg; The Unexpected Traveller; 2018-10-08[↩]