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I am trying to interpret the Maltese burial records found on the Malta Archives website, but am confused as to what the columns correspond to. There appear to be multiple names in each entry, as well as multiple numbers which can't really be dates. One of the names could be for a parent but that's seems unlikely because the whole record would be infants.

For example, there's I think the 10th of January 1851, Ludovico , Giuseppe Grima, Marg 38.9.18 (obviously not a date and can't be an age either).

Has anyone else come across a death record that has this format before?

Parish burial records

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The columns appear to be:

  • Day of month (of death)
  • Month (")
  • Year (")
  • Given name of deceased
  • Fo (Filio = son), Fa (Filia = daughter), or M (Maritus/a = husband/wife)
  • Given name of the male parent of the deceased (for Fo/a), OR given name of the spouse (for M)
  • Family name of the male parent of the deceased, OR family name of the spouse
  • Given name of the female parent of the deceased (for Fo/a), OR blank (for M)
  • Family name of the female parent of the deceased, OR blank
  • Age in full years
  • Remainder of age in full months
  • Remainder of age in full days

For the third line, on 27 January 1851, Ludovico, son of Guiseppe Grima and (there's a squiggle on the vertical line that I can't read on both the 3rd and 4th lines, both of which are missing the mother's family name) Marg., died aged 38 years 9 months 18 days.

Looking at the other numbers in those last columns, the one record that has nothing in those columns is named Infans or infant, possibly a stillbirth as it isn't even given a single day. The one above that died at 1 month.

The FamilySearch Wiki has more information about Malta records: https://www.familysearch.org/wiki/en/Malta_Church_Records

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  • Thanks for deciphering this, I think you're right! Interesting that they recorded a person's age down to the day. That's a new one on me.
    – Charlie
    Oct 28, 2020 at 0:15

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