translation of phrase

GregoryLattanzi

I have been able to translate most of this document, however I am a bit perplexed as to the intended meaning of the "figlio di Maddalena di Giovanni Lattanzi". Is it son of Maddalena and Giovanni, or son of Maddalena (daughter) of Giovanni Lattanzi?

Thanks for the help.

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Gregory

Cousin Vinny

I would say it's the latter; if you look at the entry following, the patronymic is provided for both parents, so in this instance only the mother is listed.

GregoryLattanzi

Thanks. I thought as much. Do you know if this "situation" happens often.

Greg

Cousin Vinny

It could have been an oversight by the person writing the record or simply a case where the father was unknown (e.g. a baby born out of wedlock). In my experience working with civil and church records I would expect where the father is unknown for the record to specifically say so, but sometimes with church records it just comes down to the personal style of whoever was in charge of the sacramental registers at the time.

Anyway, there are many, many instances in Italian records of a child being born where the father is unknown. How the child was named in that situation depended on the era and the local traditions. In early 1800s civil records a child born to a known mother but an unknown father would either:

• Be given the mother's surname, or
• Be given a made-up surname, the same as if it were an abandoned child (where both parents were unknown)