Handling projettas and ignotis

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warriorrabbit
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Handling projettas and ignotis

Post by warriorrabbit »

So...Now that I've got some of those, can I ask what you guys are doing? Are you treating the Ignoti Genitori as a last name, so that it's Lettorio IGNOTI GENITORI, with dad listed as (blank) IGNOTI GENITORI and mom as (blank) IGNOTI GENITORI?

I have one Maddalena Mancuso with IGNOTI GENITORI as a notation and one Lettorio IGNOTI GENITORI (with d'Ignoti Genitori used as the last name -- seems they never even gave poor Lettorio a surname). I also have someone with a last name of Cecafitta (I think), with a notation as projetta, so should I put projetta in the last name fields of the parents?

Sigh. So confusing.

Tina
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Re: Handling projettas and ignotis

Post by JohnArmellino »

"Genitori Ignoti" simply means "parents unknown". I have never seen it used as a surname. "Proietto" is an archaic term that means foundling and it was sometimes used as a surname in certain areas and during certain periods of time. The naming of a foundling varied from town to town and era to era. In Naples and the surrounding area, Esposito was often used as the surname of foundlings. In Campobasso (early 1800s), Fortunato and Esposito were often used. Sometimes a town used variations of an established surname, e.g., Angelillo to Angelino. Other names were tongue-in-cheek, such as d'Amore (this was outlawed about 1920). In some of the smaller towns, no surname is provided at all. In any event, I suspect that the term "ignoti genitori" that you've encountered in your research is intended for informational purposes rather than as a surname.
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Re: Handling projettas and ignotis

Post by warriorrabbit »

Hi,

I know what the words mean. My question was -- how are you handling them in your genealogy databases?

For my Letterio d'Ignoti Genitori, I'll leave it as a surname (that's how it is presented in the record, as well) as that will make it clear to all and sundry that he has no parents.

But for the ones that have surnames but are annotated as either projetti or ignoti genitori and thus would not have parents named Mancuso or Cecafitta, would I put Ignoti Genitori in the surname field of the parents? I just want it to be clear to me (in case I forget) and the family I share this with that there was no way to climb further up the chain.

The comments field remains an option, of course.

I'm leaning toward doing what I have described, but I really wanted to know how you all were handling those instances.

For those of you with ignoti and projetti, what are you doing?

T.

P.S. -- I read elsewhere (on this board, even) that projetti and ignoti often were given to families with stillborns or deceased infants, and the children then often received their surname. Or a surname was decided on by the mayor.
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