1889 Census

In Italy, local Catholic churches occasionally performed a parish census known as a Stato di Popolazione.  The parish priest identified all residents by name, surname, birth date, marital status and relationship to the head of household, and listed the sacraments received by each.  The priest also noted the name of each resident’s father, preceded by “di” if the father was alive at the time of the census and by “fu” if he was deceased.  There is a wealth of information in these documents, but at times there are errors, especially with the birth dates that can be off by one or two years.

In 1889, Father Nicolangelo Degregorio, the parish priest at the time, conducted a census with the following totals:

Number of families – 863

Total population – 4211

Males – 2154

Females – 2057

The parish records of the Church of San Giacomo reach back to the early 1600s.  Unfortunately, they have been ravaged by time, the elements and misuse.  They are in jeopardy.  In recent years, a few of the record books have even come up missing, including the oldest baptismal registry, 1627-1661, the oldest marriage registry, 1625-1660, and the death registries for 1705-1735 and 1742-1762.  As these books deteriorate and disappear, our history is vanishing.

Find the full list of 1889 heads of household below: