Fathers and Mothers
By Angelo Coniglio
As early as 1805, Atti di Nascite, or Civil Records of Birth, were recorded for births of all children in the Kingdom of Sicily (lu Regnu, in Sicilian), which ranged from Abruzzo and Napoli on the Apennine Peninsula to Messina and Palermo on insular Sicily. These were called Napoleonic records because they adhered to the format prescribed by Napoleon’s Civil Code, and were adopted even in states where Napoleon did not rule. They were also instituted at about the same time in the peninsula’s northern duchies and principalities, but were less uniform there because of the varying political authorities.
By 1820, the Kingdom of Sicily had become The Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, but still comprised all the territory of the original Regnu. In that year, the entire nation adopted uniform, preprinted forms for the civil registration of all births, marriage contracts and deaths. These forms were in use until 1866. The civil birth forms recorded the vital birth information on the left, and on the right acknowledged a report from the local parish, saying that the child had been baptized. The civil marriage documents were not ‘marriage records’ as such, but gave the vital details of the betrothed, again with a section on the right, noting when the marriage actually took place at the church. The actual marriage record was produced and retained by the church.
Due in part to the political upheaval of the ‘unification’, civil records from 1867 through 1874 were completely handwritten. In 1875, shorter pre-printed forms were introduced. Both the handwritten and new pre-printed forms generally followed the Napoleonic format. However, something went missing. The ‘unification’ resulted in a schism between the new civil authorities and the church. Church properties were appropriated and disbursed among civil jurisdictions or private venture capitalists. Civil records now made no mention of the church or sacraments.
In the most general case, newborn infants were presented for civil registration by the child’s father, to a Town’s Uffiziale dello Stato Civile (Official of the Civil Status). The father would give his name, occupation, and street address, as well as the gender of the child, and state that the child was born of himself and his wife [Name and Surname], and he would state the name that the child was given. In some cases, a midwife or female relative would present the child and give the name of the mother and that of the father, explaining why he could not attend. For certain births, the midwife (or even the mother herself) would present a child, give its mother’s name, and state that the father was ‘ignoto’ (unknown) or ‘incerto’ (uncertain!). In the latter cases, the child kept the mother’s surname.
There were numerous cases in which a midwife or receiver of foundlings would present a child and say that it was found on a doorstep or in the town’s foundling wheel, and that both parents were unknown. Such children were given concocted names, often with a fanciful given name, and a surname meaning ‘castoff’ or ‘foundling’.
And then there were cases where a man would present a child and say that it was born of ‘suo unione naturale con una donna, non minore, non maritata, non parenti, ne affine con lui nei gradi che ostano al riconoscimento, che non consente essere nominata’ (his unwed union with a woman, not a minor, unmarried, not a relative and without consanguinity that would proscribe such union, who does not wish to be identified). What? The father of the child was known, but not the mother?
Having a child out of wedlock was a ‘vergogna’, a disgrace, not only to the woman, but to her family. Having her name officially recorded would magnify that disgrace. Obviously, the man knew who his child’s mother was, as did the whole town, probably, but she was not officially shamed. It may be that in some cases, these were simply reports of children born out of wedlock, where a man protected the honor of his paramour by not naming her.
However, just as likely was this situation: a couple married in church but did not have a civil ceremony. Civil authorities did not recognize church marriages. They were illegitimate, as were any children born to the couple, and those children were so reported in the civil birth records. Again, the mother was not named, to protect her ‘official’ identity. There were scattered instances of feisty women who probably said ‘damn the torpedoes’ and not only appeared at their child’s registration, but had their names recorded, most likely thinking “I was married in church, so there!” But for her children to qualify to inherit property, or for her to eventually be named on the children’s marriage records or passports, she would have to, at some point, marry in a civil ceremony. That would record the children’s names and dates of birth, and declare them legitimate, by power of the civil marriage.
Coniglio is the author of the book The Lady of the Wheel, inspired by his Sicilian research. Order the paperback or the Kindle version at http://bit.ly/SicilianStory Coniglio’s web page at http://bit.ly/AFCGen has helpful hints on genealogic research. If you have genealogy questions, or would like him to lecture to your club or group, e-mail him at genealogytips@aol.com
