A photo of St Mary's Church - Attard, Malta

Grazia Bezzina

Living in a much more rural Malta, Grazia was born in Attard, then married someone called Attard before moving to Qormi.

She is one of my paternal great-great-grandmothers.

A photo of St Mary's Church - Attard, Malta

Luigi Attard

Living a rural life means it’s hard to be clear about Luigi’s age because of lax record keeping.
He is one of my paternal great-great-grandparents.

A photo of the Valletta skyline - Valletta, Malta

Angelica Alessandro

She married at a young age to an older man, possibly because of her father’s death. She escaped Malta’s densely packed harbour area to move to the fishing village of St Julian’s.

She is one of my maternal 3 x great-grandmothers.

A photo of a vedette - Senglea, Malta

Paolo Farrugia

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.

A photo of the Valletta skyline - Valletta, Malta

Susanna Xuereb

Valletta-born, she settled in the then-growing seaside town of Sliema to avoid the overcrowding in the capital city.

She is one of my paternal great-grandmothers.

A photo of the balconies above Victoria Gate - Valletta, Malta

Giuseppe Salvatore Borg

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.

A photo of the Basilica of Our Lady of Safe Haven and St Dominic - Valletta, Malta

Teresa Imbroll

Valletta-born and bred, Teresa lived within the same 0.61 square kilometres for her whole life.

She is one of my maternal great-great-great-grandmothers.

A photo of St Mary's Church - Attard, Malta

Giuseppe Borg

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 photo of the Porte de Bombes - Floriana, Malta

Ludcarda Cremona

Ludcarda was born in Floriana before it was a parish in its own right, and moved to Sliema before that was a parish in its own right. She saw Malta evolve and gain new parishes, and towns.

She is one of my maternal great-great-grandmothers.

A photo of the Basilica of Our Lady of Safe Haven and St Dominic - Valletta, Malta

Girolamo Bonnici

Girolamo was part of the 19th century migration out of Valletta to the (at the time) calmer village of St Julian’s. He loved Valletta enough to move back later on in life.