Paolo was one of the first of my ancestors to be born a British subject in Valletta, Malta.

He is one of my maternal 3 x great-grandfathers.

He was a pensioner by the time his daughter married in 1884¹, so he must have been born early in the 19th century. Valletta-born², he is the son of Giovanni Battista Farrugia and Saveria née Micallef³.

Family

On Sunday 18 September 1836, he married Angelica Alessandro³ in St Paul’s Collegiate Church, Valletta³. The Reverend John Callus officiated³.

Together they had 2 children I know of:

• Maria Carmela Liberata Margarita Giovanna Vincenza Filomena Antonia⁴
• Emilia¹

Since Emilia was born in 1863 (or 1864), Paolo had been married for 30 years already. This implies Angelica gave birth in her 40s, and suggests Emilia was one of their younger children.

Notable events

He lived in Valletta before marriage² and later moved to Senglea where his daughter was born¹. The family moved again to St Julian’s before Emilia married¹.

Death

I don’t have any details about his death, or burial. I do know he was still alive when his granddaughter was born in 1886⁵. Since he already was a pensioner in 1884¹, he can’t have lived much longer than the 19th century.

References

1. Act of Marriage of Salvatore Bonnici and Emilia Farrugia. (1884). [online] (203). Available at: www.certifikati.gov.mt [Accessed 24 Jul. 2024][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩]
2. Note describing marriage of Paolo Farrugia and Angelica Alessandro. (1836). Liber Matrimoniorum, [online] XIV. Available at: https://www.maltaparisharchives.org/catalog [Accessed 8 Nov. 2024][↩][↩]
3. Certificate of Marriage of Paolo Farrugia and Angelica Alessandro. (1836). pp.344–345[↩][↩][↩][↩]
4. Velin, N. (2024). Maltese baptisms – Digital Genealogy. [online] Digital Genealogy. Available at: https://en.geneanum.com/malta/databases/baptisms.html [Accessed 9 Dec. 2024].[↩]
5. Act of Birth of Paolina Bonnici. (1886). [online] (1728). Available at: www.certifikati.gov.mt [Accessed 12 Jul. 2024][↩]