Giuseppa survived both world wars, first working the land in Qormi and later in the tiny village of Attard.

She is one of my paternal great-grandmothers.

She was born at 06:00¹ on Thursday 1 July 1880. She was born in Qormi¹, daughter of Luigi Attard¹ and Grazia Bezzina¹.

Her parents christened her Giuseppa Paola Maria, declaring she should be known as Giuseppa¹.

Francesca Sciberras registered Giuseppa’s birth with the state on 13 August 1880¹. She was the widow of Gaetano Sciberras¹, and was an illiterate washerwoman¹. It’s not clear if Francesca was an employee of the Attard family or if she was a family friend or relative.

In the English language translation of her daughter’s marriage certificate², she is listed as Josephine. I refer to her here as ‘Giuseppa’ which is what is on her birth certificate, even if she may have been known as Josephine (in English).

Family

On Sunday 2 August 1903³, she married Giuseppe Borg³ in the Roman Catholic parish church of Attard³. Parish priest Fr Carmelo Azzopardi officiated at the wedding³.

Together they had 7 children I’m aware of:

• Maria⁴
• Grace
• Emmanuel
• Carmelo
• Luigi

Notable events

Profession

In 1903 she declared herself to be a lavorante³ (EN: Worker). Since her parents were both farmers³, it is logical to conclude she worked on the family farm.

As was custom in those days, she didn’t work after marriage and declared herself to be a housewife⁵.

Residence

She moved to Attard, possibly after marriage³.

Her last recorded address was 38 Qormi Road, Attard⁵ but it is unclear if she always lived here.

Death

She died at 12:00⁵ on Sunday 19 August 1945⁵ at her home in Attard, Malta⁵. She died of cerebral softening⁵, which is a symptom of a stroke or an embolism. Her family buried her in the parish church of Attard⁵.

In the 1950s, the church was re-paved with marble. The church moved all bodies that had been buried there to the newly opened cemetery on the outskirts of Attard. All the remains were placed in a basement under the chapel in this cemetery.

References

1. Act of birth of Giuseppa Attard. (1880). Malta Government Public Registry. [online] Available at: www.certifikati.gov.mt [Accessed 1 Oct. 2024][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩]
2. Marriage certificate of Paul Borg and Maria Borg. (1936). 2(283), p.149[↩]
3. Act of marriage of Giuseppa Attard and Giuseppe Borg. (1903). Malta Government Public Registry. [online] Available at: www.certifikati.gov.mt [Accessed 1 Oct. 2024][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩]
4. Act of birth of Maria Borg. (1916). Malta Government Public Registry. [online] Available at: www.certifikati.gov.mt [Accessed 1 Oct. 2024][↩]
5. Act of death of Giuseppa Attard. (1945). Malta Government Public Registry. [online] Available at: www.certifikati.gov.mt [Accessed 1 Oct. 2024][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩]