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The Italian infant-abandonment system generally but not always included the assignment of a surname to the infant upon arrival at the ''ospizio''. Thus while in the ''ospizio ''and later when placed with a family in the countryside, the child bore a surname different from its unknown family of origin and different from the family with which it was placed. (Kertzer, pp. 119-22.) "Until the nineteenth century, foundlings in many areas were baptized with first names only and were not given a last name." (Kertzer, p. 119.) | The Italian infant-abandonment system generally but not always included the assignment of a surname to the infant upon arrival at the ''ospizio''. Thus while in the ''ospizio ''and later when placed with a family in the countryside, the child bore a surname different from its unknown family of origin and different from the family with which it was placed. (Kertzer, pp. 119-22.) "Until the nineteenth century, foundlings in many areas were baptized with first names only and were not given a last name." (Kertzer, p. 119.) | ||
But upon arrival at the ''ospizio ''shortly after baptism the new surname was assigned. And once the infant or child was placed with a wet nurse in the countryside, it would be assigned a surname used locally for foundlings (such as Della Casa or Casagrande or Esposito, as shown by a few examples in the table below). For the most part the new surname was used by the child throughout the remainder of its life, though often at the time of marriage or with the births of children to that marriage, the once-abandoned child, even a male child, might assume the surname of a spouse, passing that surname on to the children of the couple. | But upon arrival at the ''ospizio ''shortly after baptism the new surname was assigned. And once the infant or child was placed with a wet nurse in the countryside, it would be assigned a surname used locally for foundlings (such as Della Casa or Casagrande or Esposito, as shown by a few examples in the table below). For the most part the new surname was used by the child throughout the remainder of its life, though often at the time of marriage or with the births of children to that marriage, the once-abandoned child, even a male child, might assume the surname of a spouse, passing that surname on to the children of the couple.<br> | ||
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'''2. What to do when an ancestor's birth or baptism record is found (which most often is not found in the records of the town of post-birth residence)''' | '''2. What to do when an ancestor's birth or baptism record is found (which most often is not found in the records of the town of post-birth residence)''' | ||
When you do find the birth or baptism record of an ancestor who had been abandoned at birth (which most often is found not the town of post-birth residence but elsewhere), you still are faced with the task, if you choose, of attempting to trace the abandoned child's ancestry. Although the post-1865 records of | When you do find the birth or baptism record of an ancestor who had been abandoned at birth (which most often is found not in the town of post-birth residence but elsewhere), you still are faced with the task, if you choose, of attempting to trace the abandoned child's ancestry. Although the post-1865 records of births of abandoned children usually are recorded in Parte II of the birth register for the year in which the birth occurred (as is the record of birth of Merico Scherzi shown above), usually the birth record of an abandoned child did not mention the name of either parent. If, however, the parents later acknowledged the child, a record of the acknowledgement might possibly be found in the Atti Diversi (Miscellaneous Acts). | ||
Similarly, both before and after unification (e.g., from the earliest to the latest times that records were kept in the town or city where you are conducting your research), you might still be able to learn the parentage of an abandoned child from other extant records. For example, when a young man would register for military service or exemption therefrom (at 21 years of age), the entry for him in the Lista di Leva (available at the Archivio di Stato for the province where the town of birth is located) might possibly reveal his parentage. | Similarly, both before and after unification (e.g., from the earliest to the latest times that records were kept in the town or city where you are conducting your research), you might still be able to learn the parentage of an abandoned child from other extant records. For example, when a young man would register for military service or exemption therefrom (at 21 years of age), the entry for him in the Lista di Leva (available at the Archivio di Stato for the province where the town of birth is located) might possibly reveal his parentage. | ||