Giuseppe (Agostini) Agastina (1822 - 1872)

Born 3 Jul 1822 in Tiglio, Lucca, Toscana, Italia

Husband of Maria Amelia (Hill) Trader — married 18 Mar 1850 in Limehouse St Anne, Middlesex, England, United Kingdom

Descendants

Died 23 Nov 1872 at age 50 in Millwall, Middlesex, England, United Kingdom

Biography

Birth, early life, and travel to England: Giuseppe was born on 2nd July, 1822 in Tiglio, Barga, Lucca, which is in the district of Tuscany. His parents were Angelo Agostini and his wife Domenica Casci^[1]. When Giuseppe was married in 1854, he stated that his father was Angel Aggestina, a badly Angicised version of the name, and that he was a chair maker. Tiglio appears to be a fairly remote place in the hills of Tuscany in Italy, but had a high proportion of craftspeople in its population. Because it was so remote, the locals made expeditions to sell their wares in tourist centres across Europe, These travels tended to start in the Spring, crossing the Alps into France. A major source of income was from the selling of plaster figurines. The master would put together a group of boys in their teens, often with a deputy who would travel ahead to acquire the right materials. Giuseppe was one of these boys, and we can trace two journeys he made to England. The earliest traced arrival was at Dover on 29 Mar 1839 on the ship Royal George from the French port of Boulogne. The figure makers were split into two groups. The first group was numbered 466 to 471 and was headed by Giuseppe Bonacorsi (or Bonaccorsi), probably the master modeller, included Antonio Azze, Valentino Nauni, Giuseppe himself, Vincenzi Pisani, and Agostino Agostini, his younger brother. The second group was numbered 472 to 476 and was headed by Pietro Peligrini, or Pelligrini, who was probably the deputy, included another Giuseppe Agostini, Bartolomeo Gonella, Luigi Marigliani, and Vincenzio Marigliani.^[2] The Alien Arrivals list for England can help to identify multiple groups of so-called Figure Makers, many of whom were from the Lucca district of what is now Italy. Giuseppe returned to Dover on 21 Apr 1845 aboard the ship Ondine, bound from Boulogne. This time, now aged almost 23, he headed the main group numbered 856 to 860, which also included Giuseppe Marchetti, Giovanni Gonella, and Giuseppe and Vincenzio Rinaldi. The second group, numbered 816-866, was heade by his brother Agostion, now aged 19, which also included Giovanni Pelligrini, (another) Giovanni Gonella, Vincenzio Martinello, Baptista Gonella and Pietro Pelligrini (but we do not know whether he was number 472 from the earlier group).^[2] Agostino Agostini would return home to Tiglio to settle and marry a local girl.

Marriage and family: Giuseppe was married in the Anglican parish church of St. Anne in Limehouse on 10 Jul 1854, where his name was badly described as Josepha Aggestina. He was 32 and his bride Maria Cole was a widow of 29 whose maiden name was Hill. Joseph, to give him the English name to which he now answered, described himself as a plasterer. Both bride and groom lived at Mile Place. Joseph could not sign his name, nor could his witnesses, Italian friend Charles Renouche (AKA Carlo Renucci) and Mary Ann Palgreene.^[3] He became stepfather to Maria's daughter Elizabeth Frances Cole (1853-1936), and the couple had six children of their own, Joseph (1822-1872), Caroline Rosine (1857-1934), Mary Ann, 1860-1935, Annie Euphemia (1866-1948), and finally Robert James (1868-1874).

Residences and census returns: On 3 Jun 1855, when Joseph junior was baptised in the parish church where his parents married, as Josepha Augastina, the family lived at Fuller's cottage in Millwall and Josepha was a plasterer. By Caroline's birth in 1858, Joseph was a labourer and the family name was permanently changed to Agastina. The census held on 7 Apr 1861 shows the family at 7 Thomas Street in Poplar, London, a house with multiple occupancy, with Joseph a labourer at the cement works and a given age of 36, although he had turned 38. The four youngest children were baptised in 1870 when they were at Dawson's cottage in Millwall, attending its parish church of St Luke's, and Joseph was then a plasterer and cementer. The census on 2 Apr 1871 shows them at the same address, with a strange comment in the righthand column for infirmity against Joseph senior that could read "paralised", a mispelling of "paralysed"; Maria had also gained the occupation of seamstress, as she and her sister Caroline had trained as tailoresses.

Death: Joseph passed away on 23 Nov 1872 at 2 Dawsons Cottages, the cause of death being "phthisis", the medical term then used for TB or tuberculosis. Elizabeth Agastina, his stepdaughter, registered the death at Poplar Union on 2 Dec 1872, and marked the signature box with a cross. His age was given then as 47, but he had turned 50 that year.

Sources

1. ↑ Scan of baptism on Ancestry.com attached by ElviraRollins1 to record of Giuseppe Agostini in Solari Family Tree
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1} The National Archives (TNA): Public Record Office (PRO) FO 83/21-22 Lists of aliens arriving at English ports. Available Ancestry.com. England, Alien Arrivals, 1810-1811, 1826-1869 [database on-line]
3. ↑ London, England, Church of England Marriages and Banns, 1754-1936 for Joseph Aggestina, St Anne Limehouse, 1854