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The 1849 civil
record of the
marriage promise reproduced below, for my Angela
Bongiovanni's maternal
great-great-grandparents Gaetano Bellanca and Paolina
Tuzzeo, covers four pages. The form is in two columns, on the
left showing the Record of the Solemn Promise to
celebrate matrimony, while the right-hand column is
entitled 'Indication of the
subsequent canonical [church]
celebration of marriage'.
Only the left column of the record is translated below.
Essentially, the left column gives the details of the
civil promise made at the Town Hall, while the right
column simply confirms that the couple was married in
church on 11 October 1849 in the presence of witnesses
Don Tiburzio Amico
and Francesco Noto,
and that the civil and church records were
cross-referenced.
This record is only the promise or
contract to
marry, but it contains much more information than the
actual marriage record made by the church. Click
on the images at left to see the original documents. |
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RECORD OF THE SOLEMN PROMISE
to celebrate
matrimony |
[p. 1]
Number
56
Year eighteen hundred
forty-nine,
day seven
of the month of
October
at hour
twenty-four,
before Us,
Doctor Don Vincenzo Sorce Mayor
and official of the Civil Status of the town of
Mussomeli,
district of
Caltanissetta,
Province of
Caltanissetta,
have appeared in the Town Hall:
Gaetano
Bellanca, a bachelor
age
twenty-two,
born in
Mussomeli,
district of
Caltanissetta,
Province of
Caltanissetta, occupation
peasant
villager,
domiciled in
Mussomeli,
son of
Antonino,
age
______
occupation
______ domiciled
____,
and
of Maria
Giardina
age sixty,
domiciled
here;
and
Paolina Tuzzeo, a maiden,
age
twenty, domiciled
here,
daughter of
Salvatore age
deceased,
occupation
___ domiciled
____,
and daughter of
Giuseppa
Militello
age
sixty, domiciled
here.
The couple,
in the
presence of
witnesses who
will be
mentioned below,
and produced by them,
have
requested to receive
their solemn
promise to celebrate
prior to the
Church ceremony,
according to the
format
prescribed
by the Sacred
Council of
Trent for the
marriage which
[p. 2]they plan between them
with the
support of the parents of the
bride and groom, who
in our presence have lent their express and formal
consent to this matrimony, which they have accordingly
declared to Us.
The notice of this promise was affixed
to the door of the town hall of
Mussomeli on
Sunday the
twenty-sixth day of the
month of
August of the
current year.
We seconded
their request,
after having
read
them
all the
consistent
documents:
First,
the birth record of the groom
Second, the birth record of the bride
Third,
the marriage banns made in this Town
where they both live, to which there
have been no objections
[p. 3]Fourth, the death record of the father
of the groom
Fifth, the death record of the paternal
grandfather of the groom
Sixth, the death record of the father of
the bride
Seventh, the death record of the
paternal grandfather of the bride. |
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Page 3 continues:
and
having also read chapter six
under the title of
marriage
of the
civil laws
regarding the
respective
rights and obligations
of the spouses,
we have received from
each
of the parties,
one after
the other, the
declaration, that they
solemnly
promise to
celebrate
the marriage
before the
Church according to
the format
prescribed
by the
Holy Council
of Trent.
We made
the record of all this
in the presence
of
four witnesses
attending
the solemn
promise of marriage:
Michele
Ferro,
age twenty-two,
occupation Villager,
subject of the
realm of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies,
domiciled
here;
Salvatore
Mistretta,
age forty-five,
occupation
Villager
[p. 4]
subject of the
realm,
domiciled
here;
Ottavio
Capodoci,
age forty-two,
occupation
Villager,
subject of the
realm,
domiciled
here;
Mariano
Dilena,
age
forty-five,
occupation
Villager,
subject of the
realm,
domiciled
here.
By
regulation, this is inscribed on the two registers, we
read it to
the witnesses
and
the future bride and
groom, to whom
we have also
given two consistent
copies signed
by Us, to be
presented to the
parish priest,
to whom the celebration
of the
marriage pertains,
and then
it is signed
by us
alone, those attending and the
witnesses having said
they are illiterate. |
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The Mayor
[Signed]
Dr. Vincenzo
Sorce
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From Mussomeli Registri Stato Civile Film
1438827
1849 Marriages, No. 56, Gaetano Bellanca and Paolina Tuzzeo
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