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.

He was born in Qormi^{1 2}, son of Luigi Xuereb³ and Rosaria Sant⁴.

He was 34 when his daughter was born in 1890, so he was born in 1855 or 1856. It’s also probable that he was born in the parish of St George’s, Qormi, since Qormi’s second parish – St Sebastian – was founded later, in 1880.

Family

He married Marianna Magri⁵, no later than 1889⁶. I don’t have any further information about where they married, but since Marianna was from Birkirkara, it’s probable that this is where they married.

Together they had 1 child I’m aware of:

• Susanna

Notable events

By 1890, he was working as a Bottegajo (EN: Wine Merchant)⁷. By 1909, he declared himself to be a Sensale (EN: Salesman)⁸.

It’s interesting to see that when he declared his daughter’s birth, he could not fill in the forms himself because he was illiterate⁹. Literacy was no bar to trading in wine¹⁰.

Residence

After living in Qormi, he’d moved to Valletta by 1891 because this is where his daughter was born¹¹.

There is a record of a ‘Francesco Xuereb’ living in Valletta in 1920, but it’s hard to say if this is the same person or not. If it is, he lived at 115 St Dominic’s Street, Valletta¹².

Naming

His name is clearly encoded as “Scuereb” using Italian phonetics for the initial “sh” syllable, including on his daughter’s wedding certificate.

On his daughter’s marriage certificate, his name is anglicised as Francis¹³.

On his daughter’s act of death, his name is anglicised as Frank¹⁴.

Death

He was still alive in 1913 when his grandson was born in 1913¹⁵. He had died by 1947, when his daughter died¹⁶.

I have no other information about when, how, or where he died.

References

1. Act of birth of Susanna Xuereb. (1890). Available at: https://certifikati.gov.mt [Accessed 28 Jan. 2025][↩]
2. Velin, N. (2024a). Maltese baptisms – Digital Genealogy. [online] Digital Genealogy. Available at: https://en.geneanum.com/malta/databases/baptisms.html [Accessed 14 Jan. 2025][↩]
3. Act of birth of Susanna Xuereb. (1890). Available at: https://certifikati.gov.mt [Accessed 28 Jan. 2025][↩]
4. Velin, N. (2024a). Maltese baptisms – Digital Genealogy. [online] Digital Genealogy. Available at: https://en.geneanum.com/malta/databases/baptisms.html [Accessed 14 Jan. 2025][↩]
5. Act of birth of Susanna Xuereb. (1890). Available at: https://certifikati.gov.mt [Accessed 28 Jan. 2025][↩]
6. Act of birth of Susanna Xuereb. (1890). Available at: https://certifikati.gov.mt [Accessed 28 Jan. 2025][↩]
7. Act of birth of Susanna Xuereb. (1890). Available at: https://certifikati.gov.mt [Accessed 28 Jan. 2025][↩]
8. Act of marriage of Giuseppe Borg and Susanna Xuereb. (1909). Available at: https://certifikati.gov.mt [Accessed 28 Jan. 2025][↩]
9. Act of birth of Susanna Xuereb. (1890). Available at: https://certifikati.gov.mt [Accessed 28 Jan. 2025][↩]
10. Act of birth of Susanna Xuereb. (1890). Available at: https://certifikati.gov.mt [Accessed 28 Jan. 2025][↩]
11. Act of birth of Paolo Borg. (1913). Malta Government Public Registry. [online] Available at: www.certifikati.gov.mt [Accessed 28 Aug. 2024][↩]
12. Archive.org. (2025). Electoral register for Malta – 1920. [online] Available at: https://web.archive.org/web/20180723012719/http://website.lineone.net/~stephaniebidmead/1920.htm [Accessed 9 Feb. 2025][↩]
13. Certificate of Marriage of Joseph Borg and Susanna Xuereb. (1909). Registers of Marriages Kept in the Parish Church of Stella Maris Sliema (Malta), II, p.180[↩]
14. Act of death of Susanna Xuereb. (1947). Malta Government Public Registry. [online] Available at: https://certifikati.gov.mt [Accessed 5 Mar. 2025][↩]
15. Act of birth of Paolo Borg. (1913). Malta Government Public Registry. [online] Available at: www.certifikati.gov.mt [Accessed 28 Aug. 2024][↩]
16. Act of death of Susanna Xuereb. (1947). Malta Government Public Registry. [online] Available at: https://certifikati.gov.mt [Accessed 5 Mar. 2025][↩]