Foundling Restituta Abbandonata

Restituta Abbandonata

Born: about March or April, 1887 ~Sora, Frosinone, Italia
Found: 10 May 1887 ~Sora
Survived, married Francesco Mammone on 29 February 1906 ~Sora
Emigrated from Port of Naples on 15 September 1908,
to her husband Francesco Mammone, Leominster, Massachusetts
Died: 11 September, 1959, Leominster, Massachusetts

Meaning of Abbandonata [uh-bahn-doh-NAH-tuh]: 'abandoned'

PARTE SECONDA

From Sora Registri Stato Civile Film No. 1883349, 1874 Births, Part II, No. 6, Restituta Abbandonata

PARTE SECONDA

A T T I D I N A S C I T A

   L'Anno milleottocentoottantasette addi dieci del mese di Maggio
   in Sora alle ore undici e minuti venti antemeridiane nella
   Casa Comunale
   Avanti di me Paolo Forti, Segretario delegato dal Sindaco, con atto
    del di 16 Settembre 1883, debitamente approvato ed Uffiziale
     dello Stato Civile del Comune di Sora, è comparsa Felicia
   D'Orazio, di anni quarantasette, Custode della Ruota dei
   proietti, domiciliata in Sora, la quale mi ha presentato
una bambina di sesso feminile, che mi dichiara averla
ricivenuta nella pubblica ruota dei proietti verso le ore ante
meridiane cinque d'oggi, avvolta ad alcuni panni di tela
laceri senza alcun segno e dell' apparente età di mesi oltre
due ed alla quale bambina in virtú dell' articolo trecen-
tosettantasette del Codice Civile, ho dato il nome di Resti-
tuta ed il Cognome di Abbandonata.
Ho previdi disposto che la detta bambina si ritenesse della
detta Custode per indi passari alla nutrice _
A quanto sopra e a presente atto sono stati presenti qual'
testimoni Francesco Di Vito di anni settantuno, bracciante,
e Rocco Colletta di anni settantotto, Bracciante, ambi
domiciliati e redidente in questo Comune_
Il presente atto previa lettura è stato da me solo fir-
mato, avendo la dichiarante e testimoni asserito di
non saper scrivere. f^to P _ Forti

N^o 6
Abbandonata Restituta
Abbandonata Restituta nel gior-
no 29 febbraio 1906 nel Comune
di Sora ha contratto matrimonio
con Mammone Francesco
L'Uff^le dello Stato Civile :
Marischielli.

Because civil birth records for foundlings were usually longer than for ordinary births and didn't fit the standard format, often they were entered in the town register at the end of the entries for regular births, in a 'Second Part' of the register, with a new sequence of record numbers. The given name Restituta, though it sounds like a typical name given to foundlings, was a common name in Sora, whose patron was Santa Restituta, the "restored saint". The surname Abbandonata ("abandoned") was a typical stigmatic surname imposed on foundlings.

SECOND PART

R E C O R D S O F B I R T H S

Year one thousand eight hundred eighty-seven, day ten of the month May
   in Sora at the hour eleven-twenty AM in the
Town Hall.
Before me, Paolo Forti, Secretary delegated by the Mayor by act
    of day 16 September 1883, duly approved, and Official
     of the Civil Record of the Town of Sora, has appeared Felicia
   D'Orazio, of years forty-seven, Keeper of the Wheel of
   castoffs, living in Sora, who has presented to me
a baby of the feminine sex, who declared to having
received her in the public wheel of castoffs, at about the hour
five AM of today, wrapped in some ragged linen cloths,
without any birthmarks, and of the apparent age of about two
months and to which infant, by virtue of article three hun-
dred seventy-seven of the Civil Code, I have given the name of Resti-
tuta and the surname of Abbandonata.
I previously decided that the said baby would be retained by the
said Keeper in order to transfer the child today to a wet-nurse _
To the above and to this registration are present these
witnesses, Francesco Di Vito of years seventy-one, laborer,
and Rocco Colletta of years seventy-eight, Laborer, both
with homes in and resident in tis Town_
After reading this record, it has been signed only by me,
the declarant and the witnesses having asserted that they know
not how to write. sig^ned P _ Forti

N^o 6
Restituta Abbandonata
Restituta Abbandonata on day
29 February 1906 in the Town
of Sora contracted matrimony
with Francesco Mammone
The Off^icial of the Civil Record :
Marischielli.

Genealogist Ann Tatangelo (angelresearch.wordpress.com) provided this record. It is a schedule of payments for wet-nurses of foundlings for Sora, Lazio, Frosinone, Italy. The column headings are translated as follows:____________________________________________________

DISTRETTO di ____, CIRCONDARIO di ___, ~ Comuni, ~ domicilio
DISTRICT of _______, ENVIRONS of _______, ~ Towns, ~ household
Since all the entries were for the town of Sora, blanks were left in the title, and the column was used for chronological enumeration of the foundlings. Restituta Abbandonata is at line 5.

NOMI le' Projetti, e lougi dove sono stati esposti
NAMES of these Castoffs, and the places where they were put out
Names only were listed, the assumption being that they were all left in the wheel.

EPOCA della nascita, o dell' espositione
DATE AND TIME of birth, or of exposure
The year, 1887, is shown at the top of the column. Restituta was found on 10 May 1887 at the apparent age of two months, so she was likely born in early March 1887.

NOMI, e COGNOMI delle nutrici, ed epoca della consegna
NAMES, and SURNAMES of the wet-nurses, and time of the consignment
Restituta was consigned to Vincenza Alonzo, wife of [Gaetano?] Tersigni.

PAGAMENTO mensuale: Lire., Cen.
Monthly PAYMENT: Lire, Centisimi
This column was left blank. There may have been no payment, or it may have been a standard amount that didn't require recording.

VARIAZIONI
VARIATIONS
The entries in this column note the dates of death of the foundlings. Four of the eight infants found between 8 February and 17 August died within 6 months of being found; one, as few as ten days later.

OSSERVAZIONI
OBSERVATIONS
This column was left blank.

Restituta Abbandonata survived, and married Francesco Mammone in Sora on 29 February, 1906. They eventually emigrated to the United States and settled in Massachusetts, where they had seventeen children. At least three perished as infants or young children, but Francesco and Restituta are shown here with twelve of their offspring in a 1930 photograph.

Click HERE for more about foundlings.

The Lady of the Wheel is a fictional account of events in the life of one foundling. Click on the book's cover below for more about the book.