In addition to the birth, marriage and death records contained in the Canischio Civil Registration Records, there are also collections of Pubblicazioni and Allegati. These collections contain birth, marriage, and death records, but often their associations help further define family relationships in ways the other records do not.

It’s probably important to realize that divisions in all the sets of images were created for convenience after the records were imaged. These breaks do not particularly correspond to the original records. It’s likely that the supporting documents found in the Pubblicazioni and Allegati were much more combined together than it may seem. But these are the organizational structures that we use to navigate the records, so it is helpful to understand in general what they contain.

Pubblicazioni

The Pubblicazioni are records for the public posting of the marriage banns. Usually, they will list the bride’s and groom’s names, ages or birthdates, parents’ names, and marital status. Single men are identified as celibate, and single women are nubile. Widowers and widows are identified as vedovo and vedova. When the parents of each spouse are identified, you can also tell if they were living or deceased at the time of the record. If the names are preceded by the word fu it indicates that the person is deceased. Further evidence that someone was deceased can be seen if the profession and town of residence is preceded by the word gia. The word di or dalla prior to the parent’s name indicates the person is living. Sometimes the records will also include notations about prior spouses.

The dates included in these records are not marriage dates.  The law required the groom’s and bride’s intention to marry be publicly posted three separate times prior to the actual marriage. The pubblicazione are records of compliance with this requirement. So at best, the marriage date can be estimated sometime in the week or two following the date of the final publication. But be cautious. Certainly the marriages were usually finalized, but there is evidence that occasionally someone got left at the altar.

Allegati

Allegati means “attachments.” These are the supporting documentation for the official birth, marriage, and death records. In the Canischio images, the Allegati records are further specified as being matrimoni or marriage records, pubblicazioni or records of marriage banns, or vari, meaning various records mixed together.

The Allegati (matrimoni) and Allegati (pubblicazioni) records are fairly straightforward. They contain the copies of documents that brides and grooms had to present before their banns could be published. These documents included official copies of their birth certificates, copies of the death certificates for any prior spouses. Minor spouses also had to produce death certificates parents and/or grandparents and other records demonstrating guardianship in order to show who had authority to consent to the marriage. Sometimes parental death records were provided even when they were not required. Often, family relationships can be confirmed using these packets of records. These records are usually the only online copy of birth and death records prior to 1866 in Canischio. They are a crucial component to tracking families back a few more generations. Each marriage packet begins with a cover sheet listing the groom and the bride, the year of the marriage and the record number. This number generally corresponds with marriage record number recorded in the official Matrimoni records for the year. So once you find the marriage record, you can usually flip through the Allegati or Pubblicazioni for the corresponding year and find the attachments.

The Allegati (vari) records are also fairly simple to understand. However, they will contain birth, marriage, and death record attachments combined together. For instance, if a person was born or died somewhere other than Canischio but was actually a resident of the town, their parents or surviving spouse would usually provide a copy of their birth or death record to the town officials in Canischio. These outside records were transcribed and appended to the official birth and death registers for the town, usually in Nati Parte II or Morti Parte II for the year the record was received. The original copy was then archived with other documents in the Allegati (vari) records. Note that the actual year of the birth or death may, but usually does not, correspond with the year in it was recorded in Canischio’s registers.

Newlyweds who married in another town would also present copies of their marriage records to be included in the town registers. If a bride and a groom were from different towns, their marriage banns had to be published in both places of residence. Occasionally you will find, marriage packets in the Canischio records that do not have a corresponding marriage record in the Matrimoni images. These are records of the banns being published in Canischio to comply with the requirements. The official marriage record will be in the register for the town in which the marriage took place. Typically this is the home of the bride.

For years in which the marriage record attachments are not separated into Allegati (matrimoni), the Allegati (vari) records also will contain the marriage banns and attachments as described above. Usually the Allegati (vari) records go in order numerically starting with the marriages, then the births, and finally the deaths for the year. But occasionally you will find records sorted out of numeric order. In some years, the Allegati actually go in reverse numeric order.

I’m working hard on getting these records indexed as well to make navigating them a simpler prospect for all of us! You’ll find these indexes under the Allegati tab.