Locating Alessandro Ingleses real parents

[MaurizioPerrone]

I do not like this word impossible because it will always bring an end to a process of thinking and progress, but I must agree with John Armellino that if you only have birth act of the trovatello and no other clue or family story ecc., yes is probably impossible to trace because you will have no informations to follow. Even with the family story, you should have some other evidences (clues) to make some confirmations of the stories.

Sometime the baby is given to relatives of the mother, sometime even the mother keep the baby for herself, sometime given to peasant family. Famous examples is Italian director Franco Zeffirelli, his mother give him the fantasy surname and he is sent to live with peasant family. Then the mother returns, but always he keeps his fantasy cognome because the mother does not make official recognition at the town hall. Is famous story, you know this. Every situation with the trovatello is different.

[JohnArmellino]

Sometime the baby is given to relatives of the mother, sometime even the mother keep the baby for herself, sometime given to peasant family.

I did find it interesting that the wet nurse requested that the infant be given to her. In Campobasso, a wet nurse was usually assigned to care for the infant by the Mayor or his representative. In any case, Maurizio's point is well taken -- every case is different.

[phishfood]

"I would suggest that you search the Atti Diversi for the years from the foundling's birth through the year of his or her marriage".

How do I go about this? He was born in January 1, 1893 in Fondi, Italy and then he was married on May 26, 1919 in Schenectady, NY, USA. He immigrated over to the US in the year of 1912 at the age of 19.

[phishfood]

I was told by suanj on this site that the Baron families at this time were the Caetani, Colonna, and Gonzaga families. Since the story is his father may be a Baron I have no idea how I would trace that.

[JohnArmellino]

The Atti di Diversi for Fondi was only filmed by the LDS for the years 1813-1860. Thus, you'll have to write directly to the comune. While I don't wish to discourage you for pursuing all possibilities, remember that very few of the infants abandoned were reclaimed by their parents and there were very few formal adoptions in southern Italy during the 19th century.

[phishfood]

I know he was never officially adopted. Is there an address online for the Atti di Diversi? I may write them but it sounds like a lost cause

[phishfood]

I have written Fondi and no response. It has been a few months with no response.

[suanj]

by Alessandro birthact, I read that he was found in the wheel...it was common opinion in Italy, in the past time, that if the foundling was raised by a woman, she was also the biological mother... in effects this Mariarosa Pannoni.. why wish to raise this child? probably could breast-feed.. and is so, just because she had given Birth.. I talked with some civil records officer, and all say me that, that it was a common practice that the biological mother, don't recognized the child, but raise it.. that because she did not want to be shown and known as a woman without Honor,instead making so, she had his son, but did appear this at people's eyes just a charity act towards a foundling.. and her honor was save, the mayor given money to raise the foundling, and no problem...
The Commune cannot reply abt your inquiry... no one can reply... abt who was the real parents... the experience say that most probably the mother was the same Mariarosa Pannoni...
suanj

[phishfood]

Dear Suanj,

Thank you so much for this. So I will assume that Maria Pannoni was he real mother then correct?

Kimberly

[suanj]

I believe certain to 99%..
The Romans said: "Mater semper certa est, pater numquam [the mother is always certain, the father never]"
I believe Mariarosa Pannoni was the biological mother of Alessandro...
suanj

[phishfood]

Thank you. On the father then, should I try to find out who that is or just assume Luigi is his father too?

[suanj]

Alessandro said that his father was Luigi Inglese, but it cannot be true, because the surname of Alessandro was Inglese, and it was a foundling surname, a fantasy surname.

Maybe Luigi was the husband of Mariarosa Pannoni or her partner, or he never existed, and Alessandro to invent the father name because he don't wanted say that he was foundling..... who know?
suanj

[Italysearcher]

When foundlings emigrated they realized they were finally free of the stigma of illegitimacy. When he married he was probably asked for his father's name and he simply replied Luigi. The clerk would assume the father had the same surname, no further questions asked.
The town of Fondi is not good at responding to document requests. (see my other response to your post).
In my experience when a wet nurse requests the baby be assigned to her it often means that the mother was not married but that the child would be returned to the natural mother. Since the law required the child to be considered abandoned he would have been assigned an invented name even if he continued to live with his natural mother, but you can never know for sure without DNA testing of the foster family.