Birth Translation Help Please: Giovanna "Jennie" N

[taxi55]

Greatly appreciate any assistance in translating this record from Avella on my ancestor Giovanna Napolitano. I understand that her parents were Francesco Napolitano and Vincenza Capuozzo. Is there anything else of importance on this records? (I do not expect a word-for-word translation!)

Thanks!
Sophia

[maestra36]

Sophia
Your ancestor was baptized on the 4th of Sept 1860. She was the daughter of the spouses you mentioned who were living on Cortabucci Street. She was baptized by me, the economic curator, who signed below. The midwife, Brigida Scardino, was the godmother.

Benedetto Biancardi, the economic curator (of whatever parish this record was from in Avella).

[taxi55]

Thanks for clarifying! The person who emailed me this record said it was Jennie's birth record. So - would you know how quickly a child was baptized after they were born in Italy?

I have Jennie's US death record but the specific birth date info was left blank. It just said 80 years old and she died in 1936, so I thought her birth was around 1856 (but the "80" years old on the death certificate could just be a guess too.)

[maestra36]

I think it depended on the town as to when the baptism would take place. In most of my towns, it took place on the same day as the birth or within a day or two after the birth. I have read though that, in certain towns, the baptism did not take place for several weeks due to scheduling problems. However, there was the religious concern that, if the infant died before it was baptized, it would not got to heaven, so normally, I believe the baptism was done soon after the birth. The words "e stata battezzata" means "was baptized." Also, if you look at the other records on the page, the infants all had the same godmother, who was the midwife. It was not unusual for a midwife to be selected as an infant's godmother, as she delivered the infant and established a bond with the family. She often stayed at the home for days after the delivery to help with other things around the home.

[taxi55]

Interesting tidbit about the midwifes.

Thanks again for your continued input!

Enjoy your day,
Sophia