Twice-married, Guglielma lived in Valletta during the reign of the Knights, the French occupation, and the beginning of the British Empire’s influence over the islands. She is one of my maternal 5 x great-grandmothers.
Guglielma Dodsworth
Eastern Maltese region
Domenico Magri
Domenico married at an astonishingly young age, which makes me wonder what happened. A shotgun wedding is the most likely answer, but who knows what the truth really was? He was one of my paternal 3 x great-grandfathers.
Lorenza Laferla
Lorenza married young, at the age of 15. While not unusual in the 19th century, not many people in my ancestry married that young which makes me wonder if it was a shotgun wedding. She was one of my paternal 3 x great-grandmothers.
Vincenza Portelli
Vincenza married well and ended up being independently wealthy, but she died young at the age of 59.
She is one of my maternal 3 x great-grandmothers.
Annetta Zarb
Annetta was part of the gradual exodus of people from Valletta. There’s little in the immediate historical archive, so information about her is scant.
Giuseppe Parteca
One of the few Partecas who ever lived, Giuseppe moved out of Valletta and became emancipated later in life.
He is one of my paternal great-great-great-grandfathers.
Carmelo Borg
Carmelo was a Valletta-born trader who lived a long life, outliving both his wife and his son.
He is one of my paternal 3 x great-grandfathers.
Francesco Xuereb
Born in Qormi, in the centre of Malta, Francesco lived and traded in Valletta for many years. Much of the information I have about him is inferred from sources as few primary sources are available.
He is one of my paternal great-great-grandfathers.
Giovanna Parteca
The Parteca family is a short-lived one in Maltese genealogy. Giovanna was one of the last few instances of a surname which no longer exists.
Angelica Alessandra
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.