Step by step, on the trail of our Maltese ancestors…

by Josyanne MASSA, Joëlle PAWELCZYK and Georges GANDER

There are no Genealogical Associations in Malta of the type we have in France, nor groups of volunteers who carry out transcriptions and make them available to the Archives. This is why the ADAMI Group was formed through the Internet and undertook, thanks to a network of 90 volunteers, to transcribe all available records in Malta: Catholic BMD (Baptisms, Marriages, Deaths) records, notarial deeds and censuses.

Some of these transcriptions are now freely accessible at: http://www.geneanum.com/

We recommend that people whose research leads them to Malta start by first consulting the Geneanum database, whose content will be enriched over the coming months.

Then, as soon as they are stuck by a "missing link," they should consider the following actions, which are not ranked in order of priority and can be carried out simultaneously:

Some Maltese specificities

  • The roots of many "Franco-Maltese" genealogists are quite often found first in Algeria, Tunisia or Morocco… before leading back to Malta. The civil status records of Algeria available on the ANOM website and the religious records of Tunisia available on Geneanum are very useful for identifying the parishes of origin of ancestors who emigrated to North Africa.
  • It should be noted that in Malta, as in France or Italy, the custom for Catholic marriages is the same: one marries in the bride's parish, then the newlyweds most often return to live in the groom's parish of origin.
  • Generally speaking, only the first name of the mothers of the groom and the bride is mentioned. It is therefore often necessary to cross-reference several pieces of data to find the mothers' surnames.
  • In "remarriage" records, the widowed bride very often bears the surname of her first husband or is simply referred to as a widow.

Share your data through Discussion Groups

  • Participate in exchanges on the "Malte-Genealogie" discussion group created by the ADAMI Group, which relies on Geneanum data.
  • Also use all the possibilities offered by the Internet, drawing on genealogy websites such as Geneanet, Geneabank, mes-arbres.net, genealogie.com and others to identify new leads and share data. All these sites offer ways to communicate.
  • In all cases, these exchanges will only provide research leads and not proof. It will always be necessary to verify new data by obtaining official documents (copies of original records, certificates, etc.)

Exchange within genealogical associations

Three associations focused on the Mediterranean Basin offer possibilities for exchange and sharing, either through their journals or through their websites:

Maison des Rapatriés
31 rue Émile Chartier
34070 Montpellier

707 chemin du Camouyer
CEDEX 407
06330 Roquefort-Les-Pins
contact(at)cegama.org

Maison Maréchal A. Juin
29, avenue de Tübingen
13090 Aix-en-Provence

Use the services of a Maltese genealogist

Mrs Aurore VERIÉ, a volunteer passionate about the History of Malta, has for several years played the role of intermediary between French researchers and Antoine LANFRANCO, a professional genealogist residing in Malta.

  • Mrs Aurore VERIE

22, avenue de Buros
64000 PAU
aurore.verie(at)sfr.fr

"Antmar"
C. De Brocktorff Street
Msida MSD 1422
Malta EU
guliana(at)onvol.net

For those who speak English, it is possible to contact these two Maltese genealogists directly. For marriages, a piece of advice: expressly request "a certificate" issued by the Parish, which validates the information. These professionals' services are paid.

Request Certificates from Parishes

Parishes issue birth, marriage and death Certificates within reasonable timeframes, provided that the information supplied by the applicant is precise, particularly the dates of the records. Indeed, parish priests are not meant to search for BMD records whose dates are not specified exactly.

Requests must be made in English and the service is paid. If no fee is requested from you, you may, if you wish, make a donation to the Parish.

Parish addresses are given on the following websites:

Example of a Certificate:

Marriage Certificate in Malta

Order Civil Status records "after 1863" online

These orders can be made online (paid records), from the government website: https://certifikati.gov.mt/en/Home

Research in Malta yourself

Research can be carried out at various archive locations and in Parish Offices.

National Library of La Valette (Valletta National Library of Malta)

One can consult, in particular, the ADAMI Collection. Olivier GALEA's website provides the contents of this collection

The Archives of San Spirito in Notabile at Mdina

There you will find, in particular:

  • Microfilms of BMD records made by the Catholic University of St-John (USA)
  • Ship embarkation registers with their destination, passenger lists and passports.
  • Health clearance registers required to be allowed to board a ship.

Cathedral Museum in Mdina

In these archives you can search for:

  • Baptisms and Burials from all Parishes
  • Censuses or "status animarum" – the equivalent of the "état des âmes" (state of souls) in France and Italy

Notarial Archives (Office of the Notary to Government)

In these archives you will find marriage contracts, wills, supplementary information to parish records such as lists of the married couple's assets, their profession, address, dowry, witnesses who often had ties with the families.... The oldest documents date from 1700. The archives are classified by Notary name; the documents were written in Italian and later in English.

36 Old Treasury Street
Valletta
Malta

Head Office
'Santo Spirito',
Hospital Street,
Rabat RBT 1043 – Malta

  • Mdina Cathedral Museum

Archbishop Square
Mdina
RBT 12, Malta

2, Mikiel Anton Vassalli Street
Valletta
CMR 02, Malta

In the Parishes

It is possible to visit during the opening hours of the Parish Offices and request the opportunity to carry out research. Make sure to check the days and opening hours beforehand.

In all Maltese parishes, the opening days are engraved on a black plaque with white letters, displayed on the wall of the office - L-UFFICCJU PARROKKJALI:

  • Monday: IT-TNEJN
  • Tuesday: TLIETA
  • Wednesday: L-ERGHBA
  • Thursday: IL-HAMIS
  • Friday: IL-GIMBHA
  • Saturday: IS-SIBT
  • Sunday: IL-HADD

Before contacting one of the 80 parishes of the Archipelago, you must make absolutely sure of the locality of origin of the record you are looking for. Only once the date and place are known can you go there.

Tips and personal experiences:

In the parishes, it depends on the goodwill of the priest; some are reluctant as they are too busy. Opening hours are fixed, but beware, they may change if a funeral is held on the same day (especially in small parishes).

The priest of the parish of Ste Hélène in Birkarkara, for example, will only open his treasure cupboard if you give him an exact date, and will not allow you to touch the register or read over his shoulder… He will also not appreciate being asked for a second certificate… He sometimes responds to letters.

The priest of St-Dominic at Porto Salvo (La Valette) sometimes makes do with just the year of the marriage and is willing to take a look at his general index to help you find the record.

The priest of Vittoriosa deserves the gold medal. Not only is everything computerised, with BMD listings printed out and a computer available, but he will also seat you beside him and may even entrust you with the register so that you can consult it yourself. He generally responds to letters. He will find all the records relating to your research in his parish with just a few clicks – however, beware of the spelling of the surname…. For example, a search for the surname FLERI, which was impossible to find during a first stay in Malta. Found the following year, through sheer perseverance, it was spelled: FLETI - FLETRI – FLATRI - FRETI - FRERI etc.… which made it possible to trace back to 1540 in 5 minutes!!!

In all cases, a short stay in the Archipelago is recommended to better immerse yourself in the places and the History of Malta and Gozo and to understand the reasons for the emigration of our ancestors.