Entry 39: Basilia Pintabona (Part 2) - Birth of her Father, Antonino Pintabona

Location: Sicily

Date: 17 September 1872

The birth of Basilia Pintabona’s father is documented in the civil register of the ‘Comune di Sant’Angelo di Brolo’, dated 1872. Local births were recorded and collated in sequence throughout year, starting in January and progressing through to December.  As you carefully turn the fragile pages to reach serial number 146, you find a handwritten entry labelled ‘Atto di Nascita di Antonino Pintabona’. Here, in small, cursive script, the details of his birth are revealed. Previously hidden in archives for over a century and a half, Antonino’s forgotten history remained safely preserved, waiting patiently for a time in the future when it would be rediscovered. That future is now.

1872 Birth Registration of Antonino Pintabona (documentation of birth was started towards the bottom of the page in the register)

1872 Birth Registration of Antonino Pintabona (documentation of birth was continued on the next page of the register)

Antonino Pintabona was born at 6 o’clock on Tuesday morning, on the 17th day of September. His father, Basilio was a ‘bracciale’ – a manual labourer, but on the day of his son’s birth, he had family obligations other than work to fulfil.  That afternoon, Basilio walked to the Town Hall.  He arrived at 3:00 pm to formally declare the birth of Antonino to a civil officer, and verbally provided the necessary details for the registration, including his age of 34 years.

Information about Antonino’s mother were also recorded: Carmela Ricciardo(i) was a ‘donna di casa’ – a housewife. She was 38 years old (slightly older than her husband) when she gave birth to her son at their home on Contrada Miceli, in the district of Sant’Angelo di Brolo.

Antonino’s original birth registration was written across two adjacent pages and as a result, the entry has been photocopied in two parts, as pictured above, with key details underlined or highlighted. Immediately recognisable are the recurring christian names:  ‘Basilio’ and ‘Carmela’, confirming that (decades later), Antonino followed Sicilian tradition and named two of his children after his parents.

An annotation on Antonino's birth record details his marriage to Rosaria Princiotto on 1 October, 1896. This cross-reference is extremely beneficial as it provides a direct ancestral link to another archived register - ‘Atto di Matrimonio’ (Marriage Register), providing an opportunity to discover new information.