Handwriting decipher Sant' Elia a Pianisi, Rubino, Tartaglia

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Handwriting decipher Sant' Elia a Pianisi, Rubino, Tartaglia

Post by rfiorille »

I would very much appreciate anyone's help with deciphering the handwriting and translation of the birth record at this site:

http://www.antenati.san.beniculturali.i ... ewsIndex=0

I'm not familiar with the handwriting from this town, so I can only read roughly 1/3 of the act. Most of my difficulty comes after the point that reads:

a questo stesso giorno alle ore dodici stazione ha trovato avanti la posta della sua casa sita nella strada del dopo leone una bambina di ???? nata la quale ???? essere stata dagli ???? de ???? giorni ???????????????????? lettera ????

Help from this point down to the name Adelaide Rubino would be most helpful. Thank you in advance for the help.

Robert Fiorille

Some of the surnames in this doc are: Rubino, Tartaglia, Lando
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Re: Handwriting decipher Sant' Elia a Pianisi, Rubino, Tarta

Post by erudita74 »

I can't decipher every word in the document yet, but here is some of it--

the declarant has stated that, in this same day at 12 o'clock Italian time, in front of the door of his house located on Strada del Pozzoleone, he had found an infant of the cool air (born outside); *I have read that the phrase refers to a birth by a vergona, or a woman who is unmarried and thus brings shame or disgrace to herself and her family by having a child born out of wedlock).The document then states that the baby was bundled in some rags without signs, monogram, or letter that has been presented to us without a note....

the declarant "ha dichiarato che in questo stesso giorno alle ore dodici italiane ha trovato avanti la porta della sua casa sita nella strada del Pozzoleone una bambina di (fresco?)* nata la quale ? essere stata dagli autori de ? giorni, (involta in alcuni cenci-bundled in some rags) senza segni, cifra, o lettera alcuna (without signs, monogram, or some letter) che ...ci ha presentato meno un biglietto (that has been presented to us without a note)...

...
Noi uffiziali dello stato civile dopo di aver visitato la fanciulla anzidetta abbiamo riconosciuto in presenza del dichiarante esser feminina senza segno alcuno sul corpo dell'eta apparente di giorni otto abbiamo quindi ordinato che ? consegnata alla nutrice Felice Tartaglia e li e dato il nome di Adelaide Rubina...

Our officials of the civil state after having visited the aforesaid young girl we have recognized in the presence of the declarant, to be feminine without any sign on the body, of the apparent age of 8 days, we then ordered that ? consigned to the wetnurse Felice Tartaglia, and that she be given the name Adelaide Rubina.


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Re: Handwriting decipher Sant' Elia a Pianisi, Rubino, Tarta

Post by rfiorille »

Thank you Erudita! I really appreciate you giving the explanation for the obscure word usage of "cool air", and the definition of "vergona"

It's fascinating to me how simple little facts can give such a vivid narrative. Adelaide Rubino has been found on multiple documents across three towns with extreme variations of her name. One of those different names was Angelica. I notice in this document between the parts you have deciphered a sentence that has the word Angelica. I've attempted to decipher the sentence, but I don't quite have it. This is what I've come up with:

che tenea al petto ??? leggono le seguenti parole in lettere cubitali: Non amore battezzata Angelica d' amore (who was holding his chest read the following words in large letters: Not baptized love Angelica 's love) I wonder if this is describing a note from the mother whose name was perhaps Angelica? Your deciphering seems to give the impression there was no note. Does my explanation seem plausible? And could you tell me if my deciphering is close?

Thank you again!
Robert
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Re: Handwriting decipher Sant' Elia a Pianisi, Rubino, Tarta

Post by erudita74 »

still working on the section in question

si leggono le seguenti parole in lettere sutitali


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Re: Handwriting decipher Sant' Elia a Pianisi, Rubino, Tarta

Post by erudita74 »

I'm not sure about this but I am thinking that there was a note which had been attached to her chest which was not there when she was presented to the officials and that the note read that she had not yet been baptized Angelica D"Ancone. D'Ancone is a surname in Campobasso, so I'm wondering if this was actually her given name at birth, but because the baptism had not yet taken place, that she was not then considered named that.

I don't think the word after Non is amore. I think it is ancor (an abbreviated form of ancora for yet). Non ancor battezzato Angelica D'Ancone. Anyway, I am not 100% on this.

Also in the section that reads dagli autori de suoi giorni. Technically the correct way would be dagli autori dei suoi giorni, but I think suoi is the word we were missing there.

That's all for tonight.
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Re: Handwriting decipher Sant' Elia a Pianisi, Rubino, Tarta

Post by erudita74 »

I would decipher that section as follows:

che gli(?) ci ha presentato meno un biglietto che tenea al petto ora si leggono le seguenti parole in lettere sutitali: Non ancor(a) battezzata Angelica d"Ancona

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Re: Handwriting decipher Sant' Elia a Pianisi, Rubino, Tarta

Post by erudita74 »

I think the word after la quale is sembrava, even though it looks like a letter o after the letter r

la quale sembrava essere stata dagli autori...

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Re: Handwriting decipher Sant' Elia a Pianisi, Rubino, Tarta

Post by rfiorille »

Thank you once again Erudita for such a thorough deciphering of the act.

It seems to me the note that was attached to her chest was so small that they say it was less than the size of a ticket. Interesting way to put it. The word that doesn't translate for me is "sutitali". It looks like cubitali to me "lettere cubitali" (large letters). Large letters on a little ticket. The end of the act seems to say that she was entered in the civil register for her birth in 1842, but I've had no luck finding an Adelaide Rubino or an Angelica d' Ancona.

Thank you again for all your great work on this. I am extremely appreciative!

Robert
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Re: Handwriting decipher Sant' Elia a Pianisi, Rubino, Tarta

Post by erudita74 »

rfiorille wrote:Thank you once again Erudita for such a thorough deciphering of the act.

It seems to me the note that was attached to her chest was so small that they say it was less than the size of a ticket. Interesting way to put it. The word that doesn't translate for me is "sutitali". It looks like cubitali to me "lettere cubitali" (large letters). Large letters on a little ticket. The end of the act seems to say that she was entered in the civil register for her birth in 1842, but I've had no luck finding an Adelaide Rubino or an Angelica d' Ancona.

Thank you again for all your great work on this. I am extremely appreciative!

Robert

Robert
I concede to you on the word cubitali, which does mean that the letters on the note were large. The word blglietto though can have multiple meanings and in this record does not mean "ticket." It means"note." So "meno un biglietto" means "minus a note," "less a note," or "except for a note"

The present act-the one you have posted-is dated in 1842 and is the one that was recorded in two registers of the civil state. You will not find another birth act. This is it. It is a birth act for an abandoned infant. The mother left the infant at this home anonymously, so the name given as Angelica d'Ancona is not the name of the mother. It appears to be the name that the mother intended to give the infant, but the town official gave the infant a totally different name. Normally names assigned to abandoned infants by town officials were made up names that no one else in the town had. The infant was assigned to a wetnurse, as there was no bottle feeding at the time-pasteurization of milk had not yet taken place-so an infant needed to be breastfed. A wetnurse to whom the infant was assigned had to be a lactating women who had breast milk to feed the infant, so she herself would have recently given birth and possibly lost her own child. The civil state would then give her a stipend for serving in role of a wetnurse. Some women did this in their own homes; others served in this capacity in facilities in their towns which accepted abandoned infants anonymously. Those facilities would have a mechanism known as a wheel. The person abandoning the infant would put the infant on the wheel, ring a bell, and leave. Then a person inside the facility would pull a cord to rotate the wheel and bring the infant safely inside. In the case of this infant, however, she was abandoned in front of a town resident's door.

I'm not sure there is anything else I can do to help you with this record. I realize that the info concerning the name Angelica is confusing. I do believe that the note was with the infant when she was found, but was not on the infant when she was presented to the town official by the declarant (the man who found her in front of his door). This is the first record for an abandoned infant that I have seen with such wording in it.

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Re: Handwriting decipher Sant' Elia a Pianisi, Rubino, Tarta

Post by PippoM »

I try to summarize...
erudita74 wrote: "ha dichiarato che in questo stesso giorno alle ore dodici italiane ha trovato avanti la porta della sua casa sita nella strada del Pozzoleone una bambina di fresco nata la quale sembrava essere stata dagli autori dei suoi giorni, involta in alcuni cenci senza segni, cifra, o lettera alcuna (without signs, monogram, or some letter) che egli ci ha presentato, meno un biglietto che tenea al petto ove si leggono le seguenti parole in lettere cubitali: non ancor battezzata Angelica d'Amore

...
Noi uffiziali dello stato civile dopo di aver visitato la fanciulla anzidetta abbiamo riconosciuto in presenza del dichiarante esser femmina senza segno alcuno sul corpo dell'eta apparente di giorni otto abbiamo quindi ordinato che fosse consegnata alla nutrice Felice Tartaglia e si è dato il nome di Adelaide Rubina...


Erudita
The meaning is substantially what Erudita already explained.
Just point out that they did not give her the name requested by her natural mother...
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Re: Handwriting decipher Sant' Elia a Pianisi, Rubino, Tarta

Post by erudita74 »

Pippo
So glad you had a chance to look over this document. What you stated-that the official did not give the infant the name which the mother had requested- was exactly what I trying to say. Thank you for that and the minor corrections. I did get sembrava in one of my entries above-
erudita74 wrote:I think the word after la quale is sembrava, even though it looks like a letter o after the letter r

la quale sembrava essere stata dagli autori...

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Re: Handwriting decipher Sant' Elia a Pianisi, Rubino, Tarta

Post by rfiorille »

PippoM wrote:The meaning is substantially what Erudita already explained.
Just point out that they did not give her the name requested by her natural mother...
Erudita, your explanation was very clear, and gives the understanding that the baby was left at the house of Francesco Tartaglia with a note stating the baby was not yet baptized with the name Angelica d'Ancona, but was presented to the town officials without that note. So I deduce Francesco Tartaglia told them about the note. And I understand that the town officials gave her the name of Adelaide Rubino and not the name Angelica d'Ancona that the person who abandoned her seemed to have wanted her named.

Your explanation of Felicia Tartaglia as the wetnurse is very informative too. I did some research and found an Antonio Testa born 20 February 1841 to Feliciana Tartaglia and Domenico Testa. Antonio Testa died at 7 months on 24 September 1841. I searched 1839 to 1842 and have not found any other Felicia Tartaglia giving birth, so I believe this is the same person. So the explanation that Felicia may have given birth and lost a child seems plausible, but it does surprise me that she would still be lactating still after roughly 14 months unless she was wetnurse possibly to other children.

Can you tell me, or point me in some direction where I might find information on who would typically care for the abandoned child once the baby was no longer breast feeding? I imagine some bond/connection would be formed between the wetnurse and the baby. I know there is no way to know for sure in this case, but having an idea of what the possibility was would be nice. In many of the records where Adelaide is present, her parents are listed as "genitori incerti". Could this suggest that she was never really adopted as someone's child?

Pippo, thank you very much for contributing your help and connecting all the dots. The expertise of deciphering and explanation that both of you have done is great work and really VERY much appreciated!

Robert
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Re: Handwriting decipher Sant' Elia a Pianisi, Rubino, Tarta

Post by erudita74 »

Robert

Children may have been breastfed for a period of two years and, in some instances, longer. Also it is possible that this particular wetnurse had nursed another infant in the interim, and that that infant may have died and she then was assigned to take this other infant. The infant mortality rate in Italy was quite high, especially among abandoned children. Some children remained with a wetnurse, and her family, beyond the first two years of their lives. In that case, the nurse continued to receive a stipend from her town. The length of time she might receive such a stipend though was known to have varied from town to town, or from one region to another. It also was known to vary depending on the sex of the child. In any case, the wetnurse and her family would then be considered the foster family of the child. For a male infant, she might only receive a stipend for the first 5 years of his life. There were no child labor laws in effect in Italy until the latter part of the 1800s, so a young child of 5 or 6 might be sent to a factory or mine to work. In some areas, such as in Rome, the period of payment for a male foundling might be extended to age 7. For girls, things were different. A female abandoned child might remain with the foster family until she was 12-the family would get a stipend for her until that age, and in some areas, would actually receive money to care for her until she was 21. BUT, for a female, this additional money would be put toward her dowry and not supplement the income of the poor family, which was the primary reason why this woman was serving as an external wetnurse. Yes, the wetnurse and her family might have developed a bond with the infant, and the infant may have been treated as a member of the family. Of course, we have no way of proving this. A female also needed a dowry to marry, as she had little chance of marrying, if she didn't have one. There were very few actual adoptions. John Armellino who also volunteers on this forum found that, in Campobasso between 1821 and 1865, there were only 6 adoptions which took place, and most were for the purpose of inheritance. John does not state in his post on this forum though what the total number of children who were abandoned there was during that time period. I am guessing it was a lot more than 6, as child abandonment had been going on for centuries in Italy and in other parts of Europe as well. It was a very common occurrence, especially in southern Italy and Sicily where there were large estates owned by the rich (nobles and, even the Catholic Church itself, for example), who employed peasants to work on their large estates. It was not uncommon for females to be violated or raped while working in the fields. Some were violated by other peasants; some by their wealthy employers. It was also common for priests to father illegitimate children. Many had mistresses.

A child would continue to have ignoti incerti or incogniti in subsequent records unless the natural parent(s) came forward to recognize and claim the child. In the case of my paternal grandfather, his so-called natural parents (remember no DNA research during that time period to confirm paternity or maternity) married 6 weeks after he was born and abandoned. So I believe he remained with the wetnurse and her family until his "natural" parents came forward when he was two years and ten months. At that point, his parents went to a town notary to recognize and reclaim him as their natural son. I put the word "natural" in parentheses, as family oral history indicates that he was the son of the rich employer for whom his mother worked. So the man she married may not have actually fathered him.

When an infant was abandoned, anything that was with that infant, including what he/she was wearing, wrapped in, marks on its body, notes with the infant, were recorded by the town officials and became the property of the civil state. So, in instances where a reclaiming did take place (a very rare occurrence though) the parents would have to appear before a town notary. They would bring with them witnesses to attest to their identities. Then they would then be required to describe to that town official everything that they had left with the infant to prove that the infant was theirs. At that point, as in the case of my grandfather, the surname of the natural father was assigned to him by the town official and he was no longer known under the invented surname which had been given him right after he was abandoned and presented. So, if all of the subsequent records you find for Adelaide indicate that her parents were uncertain or unknown, then I believe she was not reclaimed by the natural parents, or even by just one of them, and that she was not adopted by another family. I think that, if the child had been adopted, you would find paperwork to that effect. In the case of my maternal grandfather's youngest brother, his passenger list to the U.S. indicated that he was the adopted son of my great grandfather. His surname on the passenger list though was not my great grandfather's surname. It was an invented surname which no one else in the Sicilian town had. I have never even been able to locate his Italian birth act, yet in the U.S, he and all of his descendants had my great grandfather's surname.
It's also possible that Adelaide had been born in some other town. What I find disturbing is that she was apparently 8 days old when abandoned. It would have been difficult for a woman who resided in Sant'Elia to hide the fact that she had given birth for that long a period of time. How could no one else in the town know that she had a newborn in her possession? So I think it's possible this infant was born somewhere else, and the natural mother somehow traveled to Sant'Elia to abandon the baby. I thought about the possibility of the infant being born in the town of Ancona, which is in the Marche region, but also along the Adriatic Sea, but even today, that would be over a three hour trip. So I can't imagine a new mother traveling that far with a newborn in the first half of the 19th century. The illegitimate birth also would not have been recorded in another town, so don't waste your time trying to find another birth record in a neighboring town. Having a child out of wedlock would have brought shame to the mother and her family, so it's not something that she would have openly admitted to.
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Re: Handwriting decipher Sant' Elia a Pianisi, Rubino, Tarta

Post by JohnArmellino »

John Armellino who also volunteers on this forum found that, in Campobasso between 1821 and 1865, there were only 6 adoptions which took place, and most were for the purpose of inheritance. John does not state in his post on this forum though what the total number of children who were abandoned there was during that time period. I am guessing it was a lot more than 6, as child abandonment had been going on for centuries in Italy and in other parts of Europe as well.


In Campobasso, between 1821 and 1865, there were 1705 atti di proietto (records of an abandoned child) and 65 atti di ricognizione (records of the recognition of an abandoned child).
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Re: Handwriting decipher Sant' Elia a Pianisi, Rubino, Tarta

Post by erudita74 »

Thanks, John for posting this additional information.
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