orphans & illegitimate children in italy 1850

[suanj]

I read it just now....

[belcaro]

Wow you are fast!

[ursulamezza]

On both his baptism and civil birth records, my great grandfather's name is followed by 'esposito' even though his own parents were married. It was his father (my GGGFather) who was illegitimate and who has the original 'esposito' against his records. I was told that very often in small local communities (my family came from a small village), it would be well known who the father of an illegitimate child was and the local priest gave the child the suspected father's surname, regardless of whether the mother and father married subsequently.

[JohnArmellino]

As a rule, an abandoned infant was not given the surname of his father, even if it was generally known who the father was. The anominity of the father and mother was preserved. In cases where the mother was known and did not abandon the child, the child was given the mother's surname. In cases where neither the mother or father was known, the town officials gave a surname to the child. In the case of your GGGF, he was given the surname Esposito, which means "of this place" and was a common surname given to abandoned children, especially in the Napoli area. He then passed that surname to his descendants.

[JohnArmellino]

I have reached a dead end at my Great great grandfather's marriage announcement, from 1886. In this document he states, "genitore ignoti", family unknown, however he does not indicate that he was a civitdino. Our family name Belcaro does seem to fit into the "fantasy name" idea.

Where do I go from here?

As Suanj stated, the records in the Foggia area usually begin in 1809. Civil records were kept for abandoned infants, who were called proietti. Sometimes they were kept with the birth records, sometimes at the end of the birth records (Parte II), and sometimes with the Atti Diversi (Misc Records). When they were kept with the Diversi records, they were sometimes listed under a sub-heading - Atti di Proietti. Check your GGGF's marriage record to see if his place of birth is listed. If so, order the relevant birth and diversi records. If his place of birth is not listed, then order the birth and diversi record for the town in which he was married. If you find the record, it should tell you when he was abandoned, how old he appeared to be, whether any notes or tokens were left with him, what he was wearing, and where he was baptized (the info given varies). It will also, of course, state the name he was given and the name of the person who presented him to the town official. It might give you the name of the wet nurse, if any, into whose care he was given.

[belcaro]

Thank you John, your information has been very helpful. Off to LDS I go. Thank goodness they are open this evening!

[JohnArmellino]

Off to LDS I go. Thank goodness they are open this evening!

Good Luck!

[ursulamezza]

Hi John
Sorry, I didn't make it clear that my GGGF was not abandonded, he was simply born 'out of wedlock' and remained with his family. His surname was not Esposito, but Mezza which was his father's name - his mother was Cafolla.

[Joannsalvo]

Hi,
I had the same problem trying to locate the birth record of my great-grandfather, Giuseppe Ognibene. Legend at it that he was an orphan but raised by the D'Agostino family in Sicily. I am not sure if he was legally adopted or not. When he was to be married they told him he had to use his given name. I located the 1892 marriage record of my great grandparents in Belmonte Mezzagno, Sicily thru LDS but it stated his parents were unknown and his birth place was Palermo. I searched the Palermo index's but could not find anything close to his birth year, 1865-1867. So I obtained his 1935 death record from Belmonte Mezzagno (with the help of Riccardo) and luckily it stated his place of birth as Termini Imerese. With this information I was able to get his birth record. He was a foundling and no parents names were listed.

Keep trying and good luck!
Joann

[JohnArmellino]

Sorry, I didn't make it clear that my GGGF was not abandonded, he was simply born 'out of wedlock' and remained with his family. His surname was not Esposito, but Mezza which was his father's name - his mother was Cafolla.

That's interesting. I wonder why they used the term "esposito" on his birth record. What town was he from?

[ursulamezza]

Sorry, I didn't make it clear that my GGGF was not abandonded, he was simply born 'out of wedlock' and remained with his family. His surname was not Esposito, but Mezza which was his father's name - his mother was Cafolla.

That's interesting. I wonder why they used the term "esposito" on his birth record. What town was he from?

He was born in Casalattico (Frosinone) and it was on a visit there back in 2003 when I first started my family research that I saw both my GGF's baptism and birth records with 'esposito' against them. The explanation for why the term was used and why he ended up with the surname Mezza, was given to me by the local woman who gave me access to the church records and helped me search. Maybe it's an anomaly, but she gave the impression that it was quite common. If I ever get back there, I'll ask more questions - I just accepted what she said!

[triplechoco]

questo è così cool

commission de surendettement - commission de surendettement, vous pouvez demander un dossier de surendettement.

[bradcapo2]

Thanks so much for sharing the post.


plan solution commission de surendettement - commission de surendettement, vous pouvez demander un dossier de surendettement.plan solution commission de surendettement

[Italysearcher]

In this area (Frosinone) esposito was sometimes written on the baby's records BEFORE he was given a surname. Esposito or esposto meaning that he was exposed (to the elements as in abandoned) or to prospective foster parents. Once he was given a surname the Esposito was dropped.

[PeterTimber]

Just in passing there is an interesting website on the naming of abandoned children in Italy in the 14th century found at the following website
http://proggiemuslima.worldpress.com (click2/28/2007) for historical italian abandoned baby naming roots in Italy .

this website may not be avilable by clicking or typing in url sorry! =Peter=