Marriage Certificate - were they married? When? Where?

[tdc]

Hi all, like so many others I am trying to find Italian documents for a jus sanguinis citizenship application and running into problems, so here I am hoping for your help! I'm specifically having troubling locating the marriage certificate of my great-great-grandparents. Here's what I know:

Angelo Broggi, born 1864 in Bisuschio, Lombardia. Traveled to the US in April 1889 aboard the ship La Gascogne via Switzerland, where he had family. Arrived in New York and later settled in Vermont.

Giuseppina Rosa Stella, born 1872 in Bisuschio, Lombardia. According to the 1940 US Census, she immigrated in 1891, but I haven't been able to confirm this on a ship manifest. According to the 1930 US Census, she was 18 years old at the time of her first marriage (to Angelo). According to the 1910 US Census, the couple had at that time been married for 20 years.

As you can see, this puts the year of their supposed marriage at 1890, precisely when they were meant to have been separated by an ocean. As such I'm not sure where to turn next in my hunt. My initial internet searches haven't turned anything up, and I received a letter from the Comune di Bisuschio indicating that they do not possess a record of the marriage, and therefore it was likely performed elsewhere.

So my question is this: where next? I sent a letter to a local church in Bisuschio asking if they had any marriage records and never received a response. Should I double down on writing to churches throughout the region? Are they more likely to have married before leaving Italy, or after, in Switzerland, New York, or Vermont? Or is it possible that the Comune's answer means they never officially tied the knot at all? Many thanks for pointing me in the right direction if possible!

[tdc]

Update to add more info: Angelo's parents were Antonio and Amalia. He may have been born in either 1864 or 1865, still trying to track down the birth certificate. I mentioned Switzerland because I believe he had family there, and may have spent some time there on transit to the US.

Giuseppa's parents were Giovanni and Carolina. She was born on 29 August 1872.

Thanks again for any help or advice!

[adelfio]

Since Giuseppina Rosa Stella, born 1872 in Bisuschio, and you have her birth record if they were married in Italy I think she would have filed in her home town a atti di pubblicazioni di matrimonio are you giving a 5 year window to search in?
These notifications were made a few weeks before a couple planned to marry. The couple may have been required to announce their intended marriage to give other community members the opportunity to raise any objections to the marriage. If one member of the bridal party lived elsewhere, banns were posted in that community also. If you know that a marriage took place but cannot find it in the marriage records of the community, search the marriage banns. It may be posted there and lead you to the community where the marriage actually took place.

Marty

[tdc]

Thanks very much Marty! Could you kindly suggest where I might look for the marriage banns? Who would keep records of those if not the Comune?

[adelfio]

The comune would have that record but you would have to ask for that particular record
Send this request

OGGETTO: richiesta foto copia integrale dell'atto di The comune would have that record but you would have to ask for that particular record
Send this request

OGGETTO: richiesta foto copia integrale dell'atto di pubblicazioni di matrimonio o l’estratto completo dell’atto di pubblicazioni di matrimonio di Angelo Broggi e Giuseppina Rosa Stella
Gentilissima Signora, Gentile Signore,
Mi chiamo YOURNAME Sto facendo una ricerca sui miei antenati e ho bisogno delle informazioni dai vostri registri. I miei antenati provennero da Bisuschio. Vorrei sapere di più di loro.
La ringrazio anticipatamente di voler comunicare i costi di spese di riproduzione e postali per atti di matrimoni di queste persone:
Nome e cognome del marito: Angelo Broggi di Antonio
Nome e cognome della moglie: Giuseppa Rosa Stella di Giovanni (nato a Bisuschio il 1872 aug 31 indices numero#30)
Luogo di pubblicazioni di matrimonio: Bisuschio
Data di pubblicazioni di matrimonio: 1889-1894
Se non avete i registri corrispondenti, potete fornire l’indirizzo dell’archivio dove in cui i registri possano essere trovati?
Nell'attesa della sua risposta le invio cordiali saluti.
YOUR NAME ADDRESS EMAIL

Marty

[tdc]

Thanks Marty, that's very helpful.

I do have some good news to share - the Bisuschio parish got back to me today! Unfortunately they didn't have any records of Angelo's birth or marriage, but they did find him referenced in other sources. Apparently he was born to parents Antonio Broggi and Amalia Frattini on 24 May 1863 in Capolago di Varese, just a few towns over.

I wrote to the Comune di Varese straight away, and hopefully they'll get back to me with more good news in due course. However, if this new information could help anyone in the search for Angelo and Giuseppa's missing marriage records with me, so much the better!

[paola52]

Ciao
Their marriage does not appear in this database for the town of Varese that you can find on Ancestry
Varese, Lombardia, Italy, Indexed Marriage Records, 1876-1937
But back then Capolago, now part of the Comune of Varese, was a different Comune.

[tdc]

Hello again! Thanks to Paola's very kind assistance, I have more information for anyone still following along at home. According to a Bisuschio parish census taken circa 1912, family members of Angelo and Giuseppa reported that the pair got married in America in 1889. This seems like a great lead on the marriage certificate, but unfortunately there's still a small problem. As I mentioned in an earlier post, I believe that Angelo immigrated to the US in April 1889. Today I found a new lead indicating that Giuseppa may have immigrated in April 1890 (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QVSL-56YY). Unfortunately I think this must mean that either the family got the wedding date wrong, these immigration records are not the genuine article, or else the couple never officially got married after all...?

The search continues! Very grateful for the forum's help.