Marriage location -- place of bride's residence?

[warriorrabbit]

My great grandparents came here from Mazzarra Sant'Andrea in 1900 with one kid, had my grandfather in 1901, decided they didn't like it (or something), and went back and had three more kids.

I've got the microfilm from Mazzarra and I've found all of his siblings' births (at least up to 1909, the end of the microfilms). The microfilm starts too early to list his father's birth. According to the manifest his mother would have been born around 1876. No record of her birth (scanned for several years before and after) in Mazzarra. There's no record of their marriage (in Mazzarra), either.

However, I do know that in the 1950s her brother lived in the neighboring town of Barcellona Pozzo di Gotto. And I know there are/were a lot of Alosis in Mazzarra/Barcellona.

I also ran across a marriage record for what I think is my great grandfather's brother, Ignazio. I think it might be his brother because a) the only Ferlazzo births in Mazzara from the 1880s to 1909 were to Celestino (my GGF) and Ignazio, and both of them had a first daughter Nunziata and a first son Giuseppe, and b) Celestino witnessed a few marriages and he signed as Ferlazzo Celestino di Giuseppe, and c) I found Ignazio's marriage record in Mazzarra and his father and mother were Giuseppe and Nunzia Corta, all from Gioiosa Marea. In fact that was the only Ferlazzo marriage I saw for over 20 years, too.

If you can follow all that, it seems clear that I have to order film from Gioiosa Marea to find out more about the Ferlazzos (or at least Ignazio).

But my real question is, is there a tradition about where marriages take place? Do they take place in the home town of the bride? I'm wondering whether or not I should order films from Barcellona. I'm also wondering if the reason they all lived in Mazzarra rather than Gioiosa Marea has to do with the wives (Ignazio's wife was definitely from Mazzarra).

Also I guess I'm wondering if these assumptions seem reasonable. I know, when you assume, but I really don't have much else to go on. If anyone has suggestions...

[liviomoreno]

Usually a marriage would take place in the home town of the bride. If the groom and the bride live in the same town and there is more than one parish in the town it would be in the parish pertaining to the bride. Even nowadays, if a couple decide to get married in a church which is not the bride's parish, they need a written clearance signed by the bride's parish.

[JohnArmellino]

If you can follow all that, it seems clear that I have to order film from Gioiosa Marea to find out more about the Ferlazzos (or at least Ignazio).

I'm wondering whether or not I should order films from Barcellona.

Hi warriorrabbit

I think that your ideas are sound. Gioiosa Marea seems very plausible for the Ferlazzo family. Barcellona is more of a stretch for the Alosis family --- the brother may have simply moved to Barcellona anytime prior to the 1950s --- but it is still a lead to chase down.

As Livio pointed out, a marriage usually takes place in the bride's comune. However, the marriage banns are published in both the comune of the bride and the comune of the groom. Therefore, make sure you check the atti di pubblicazioni in each of the towns you mention.

[warriorrabbit]

Thanks for the tip on the banns. All this time we thought we were from Mazzarra on my paternal grandfather's side, when now it looks like the children were all born and raised there, but the parents were from somewhere else. We have no idea where that somewhere is, and it's a big island.

I was looking at the films with Nati 1866-1909 Matrimoni 1866-1875 and Matrimoni 1876-1909 Pubblicazioni 1866-1894. Before moving on to Barcellona and Gioiosa, should I bother with the Allegati matrimoniali 1886-1900 for Mazzarra? I don't really know what that is or how it would be different. Or if it's possible I might find a marriage record there when I didn't find it in the other stuff.

[JohnArmellino]

I was looking at the films with Nati 1866-1909 Matrimoni 1866-1875 and Matrimoni 1876-1909 Pubblicazioni 1866-1894. Before moving on to Barcellona and Gioiosa, should I bother with the Allegati matrimoniali 1886-1900 for Mazzarra? I don't really know what that is or how it would be different. Or if it's possible I might find a marriage record there when I didn't find it in the other stuff.

Allegati (sometimes called processetti) are those documents a couple was required to provide in order to get married. This usually included birth extracts for the bride and groom, consent of their parents, or (if the parents were dead) death extracts for the parents and grandparents. Sometimes copies of the marriage banns (pubblicazioni or notificazioni) and the promise to marry would be included. The allegati shouild include only those marriages that occurred in the comune. However, on one occasion I found processetti in both the comune of the groom and the comune of the bride (Oratino and Campobasso, respectively). So, as long as you have the films, I would search through them. In addition, you might want to look at the allegati for the Ignazio Ferlazzo marriage; those documents might contain some clues.

[paul120]

*edit* Spammer