My family tree through the ages
There is more than one Giuseppe Borg in my family tree – this is the quintessential generic Maltese name, after all. It makes research harder because everything needs to be triple-checked. This Giuseppe ran a wine shop in Valletta next to the popular Victoria Gate.
He is one of my paternal great-grandfathers.
Giuseppe was never registered in government records, showing how lax enforcement of the rules were at the time. He lived all his life in rural Attard, Malta.
He is one of my paternal great-grandfathers.
A male nurse, at a time when this was not common, Paolo moved from Sliema to Attard after getting married.
Fondly remembered as Nannu Paul, he was my paternal grandfather.
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 is my paternal grandmother.
Giovanni is a curious individual who used a double-barrelled surname on occasion. His court case is a seminal work, still quoted in Maltese courts and Parliament more than 100 years later.
Giuseppe is something of a curiosity because almost all official documents about him contradict each other.
He is one of my maternal great-grandfathers.
Paolina lived to the ripe old age of 95, and outlived her husband by almost 40 years.
She is one of my maternal great-grandmothers
Maria Felice fondly remembered as Mamia, is my maternal grandmother.
Anthony Darmenia, known and remembered as Nannu Twanny, was a Maltese pharmacist.