The Spanish Roots of the Ganado Family and its Evolution in Malta1

The Spanish Roots of the Ganado
Family and its Evolution in Malta1
Albert Ganado
Antonio Ganado Ledesma would seem to have been the first Spanish Ganado to settle in
Malta.2He was bom in Cantalapiedra, a town lying about 60 km north-east of Salamanca,
halfway between this beautiful university city on the river Tormes and Medina del Campo,
a town renowned for its fairs in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. Some researchers
have suggested that present-day Cantalapiedra had its origins in pre-Roman times, while
others have proposed that the name and other similar place names like Cantaracillo,
Cantalpino, Cantiveros, Cantimpalos, Cantespino, Cansoles and others derive from
their position at the frontier between Castile and Leon where military confrontation
was common.3 In the late fifteenth century, Cantalapiedra was indeed one of the most
important settings in the power struggle between Isabel la Catolica (1451-1504) and
Juana La Beltraneja (1462-1530) for the throne of Castile.4*
1
The author wishes to thank Angelo Dougall, Antonio Espinosa Rodriguez, Joseph M Ganado, Tonio Ganado, and Joseph
M. Wismayer for their help in providing information, as well as the staff at the Malta National Library and the parish of
Cantalapiedra, and the parish priests o f Porto Salvo and St Paul Shipwrecked in Valletta Grateful thanks to Dr Joan Abela,
who transcribed my manuscript for publication; to Prof. Carmel Vassallo, who provided useful remarks; and to the editorial
committee.
2
It is alleged that Antonio was preceded in Malta by a Stefano Ganado de Sanado who married Evangelista Brincat in Cospicua
in 1691 ('Ganado Family' in Libro d'Orodi Melita at http://www.maltagenealogycom/libro%20d'0ro/ganado.html (accessed
19 May 2014)) It seems that Stefano's surname was misread because, according to the parish priest, he was 'Stefano de
Garando'. (Communication from the parish priest of Cospicua on 11 February 1997, which gave the correct surname).
3
In the Western Mediterranean pre-Roman substratum can meant ‘stone’, so the toponym 'Cantalapiedra' would come to
mean 'Stone of stone', a toponymica! tautology not unlike 'Puente de Alcantara’, or Bridge of Alcantara, where Alcantara
derives from the Arabic for ’bridge’. (A. Llorente Maldonado de Guevara, Toponomia Salmantina, Salamanca 2003, 102, at
h ttp //www.lasalina.es/ebooks/Libros/84-7797-198-6.pdf (accessed 25 December 2014]). Other researchers, on the other
hand, have discarded the idea of a pre-Roman origin for Cantalapiedra and have instead suggested that can is a proclitic
facilitating the pronunciation of campo and, given the proliferation of toponyms starting in a similar manner on the frontiers
of Castile and Leon where military confrontations were frequent, it probably refers to a campo de batalla or field of battle (P
Riesco Chueca, ‘Anotaciones toponimicas salmantinas’, Revista de Estudios Diputacidn de Salamanca, Number 53 (2006),
185-264)
4
A. Carabias, ‘Apuntes para una historia por hacer’, in Tierra de Pefiaranda. Peharanda de Bracamonte, Spain, 1990,27-40 at
h ttp //www.bracamonte.info/interfaz/ayto/cal/pdf/tierra2 PDF (accessed 25 December 2014],
Albert Ganado
Antonio Ganado was baptized in the parish church of Cantalapiedra, Santa Maria del
Castillo, on 8 March 1 67 9.6 His parents were Juan Ganado and Isabel Rico, daughter
of Antonio Rico and Ana Serrano. They were married on 4 February 1676 and they had
four children: Antonio, the eldest, Isabel (1681), Manuel (1684), and Jose (1686). The
children’s paternal grandparents were Juan Ganado and Juana Nieto. Antonio received
Holy Confirmation, together with his sister, on 6 May 1683, aged 4. The word ganado in
Spanish ordinarily means 'cattle' so it is not inconceivable that it may originally have had
some relationship to animal husbandry, a common pursuit in the no man’s land buffering
the Christian Kingdoms from Al Andalus. The Ganado family in Cantalapiedra seems to
have been prosperous and leading an active community life in the seventeenth century.
Between 1618 and 1688, five Alcaldes (mayors) of Cantalapiedra were Ganados: Juan
Ganado twice; Jeronimo and Juan, both Ganado Ledesma once; and Juan Ganado Nieto
once. Ledesma and Nieto are found repeatedly on the list o f Alcaldes right up to the late
The Spanish Roots of the Ganado Family and its Evolution in Malta
eighteenth century. It is worthy of note that Ledesma is the name o f a town that lies to the
north-west of Salamanca on the same river Tormes.6
Antonio must have come to Malta in the early part of the eighteenth century, although
we have no information as to what brought him here. On 20 February 1721 he married
Beatrice, daughter of the late Michele and of Flora Mifsud, at the parish church of Porto
Salvo.7 He gave his name as Antonio Ganado Ledesma, but we have encountered no
mention of the surname Ledesma in Maltese family records.
Beatrice Ganado gave birth to five children: Anna Caterina (1721-92), Teodora
(1725-99), Marc’Antonio (1727-1815), Giuseppe (1730-?), and Francesco (1723-97).
Their father Antonio died some time before 7 June 1738 after he had been in the service
of the Order of St John for 13 years as Soldato di Palazzo M agistral, which shows that
he was a very trusted person. In consideration of the services rendered by him and in
view of the poverty of his surviving wife and four children, on 7 June 1738 his widow was
granted the right by Grand Master Ramon Despuig (1736-41) to live 'vita sua durante
(presumably rent-free) nella Guardiola nel bastione a dritta di porta Reale - vicino i molini
a vento'.89After several years the Guardiola was taken over by the Milizia to serve as Corpo
di Guardia for its soldiers. When it fell into disuse, Beatrice Ganado once more petitioned
the Treasury to be allowed to return to the Guardiola 'per motivo della sua gran povertà'.
Her request was granted on 16 October 1767.°
By this time Marc’Antonio, the most colourful of the brothers, was 40 and Giuseppe 37
years old. When still very young (perhaps aged 12), Marc’Antonio had started serving as a
drummer boy in the fleet of the Order.101In 1760, Cristofano Bonet, Tamburo Maggiore della
Città Valletta, retired after 58 years service. Marc’Antonio petitioned the Grand Council of
the Order to take his place ‘a riguardo anche d'essere sempre I'oratore diportato fedele
e valoroso si in mare come in terra'." He was appointed to the post on half-salary with
effect from 29 January 1760, drawing the full salary of 64 scudi as from 29 June 1761,
after the death of Bonet who had continued to receive the other half-salary as a sort of
pension.12
Between 1761 and the end of the Order’s rule in Malta, the Milizia Urbana consisted
of eight companies. The chief of staff was a colonel, hence his company was known
F ig.l. The parish church of Santa Maria del Castillo de Cantalapiedra.
5
102
The information in this paragraph is based on letters dated 18 June 1963 received from the late Don Pelayo Alonso Rodriguez,
parish priest of Cantalapiedra, and derived from parochial records.
6
Copy of Alcaldes de Cantalapiedra desde 7604 a 1990. Lista sacada de los libros de Cuentas del la Iglezia Parroquial sent
to the author by Hilario Almeida Cuesta whose works include Semblanzas y Resehas Historicas de la Villa de Cantalapiedra,
Salamanca 1986; Historia de Cantalapiedra, Salamanca 1991, 'Parroquia Sta. Maria del Castillo Cantalapiedra (Salamanca)’,
Nuestra Parroquia, Otono 96, numero 23.
7
Parish records of the Church of Santa Maria di Porto Salvo in Valletta.
8
National Library o f Malta (NLM), Archives of the Order of Malta (AOM) 1019, f. 272. This Guardiola is situated at Hastings
Garden in Valletta.
9
NLM, AOM 1021, ff. 217-18
10
NLM, AOM 652, f. 325. In this document he is named ‘Ganau’ instead of Ganado. His salary is also registered as having been
paid to MarcAntonio Ganado or Ganao AOM 694, f 150; AOM 698, f. 155, AOM 972, f. 11; AOM 1000, f 160
11
NLM, AOM 998, f. 74.
12
NLM. AOM 998, f. 74
103
Albert Ganado
The Spanish Roots of the Ganado Family and its Evolution in Malta
as Colonella, and the Tamburo Maggiore, namely Marc'Antonio Ganado, was attached
to this company.'3 Among his multifarious duties was that of teaching and instructing
the drummers. Invariably the drummers had a duty to perform when the troops were
assembled, whether during marches, or on parade, or while performing a ceremonial.
Even religious processions were led by drummers. For instance, when Angelo Emo, the
renowned Venetian admiral died in Malta in 1792, an officer and a drummer headed the
funeral procession from the church of Sarria to his flagship at the Marina.14 Even the
bonfires of St John's on Palace Square were lit to the sound of the drums and trumpets
of the grand master's guard. Marc’Antonio must have played an active part in quelling the
revolt led by Don Gaetano Mannarino (1722-1815), as on 8 March 1776 he was awarded
a gift of 25 ‘scudi, per gratificazione delle fatiche fade'.'5 He passed away on 15 March
1815, aged 88, apparently a bachelor.16
Marc'Antonio's elder sisters, Anna Caterina and Teodora died in 1792 and 1799
respectively, both spinsters. Their youngest brother, Francesco, was born in 1723.'7 In
1765-66 he was a Sargente on the galley San Zaccaria, he later served on the Order's
flagship San Giovanni in 1769 -7 0.'8 He married Maria Sciberras, daughter of Bernardo
and Anna, on 21 February 1745; he died on 29 January 1797 and was buried at the Chiesa
del Gesu. In his last will dated 18 January 1797 he appointed his wife as his universal
heir.'9
Giuseppe Ganado, my direct ascendant, was born on 13 August 1730. At the age
of 22, on 5 August 1752, he married at Cospicua Caterina Farrugia who bore him three
children: Maria Teresa, known as Rosa (born 14 May 1753), Aloisio (born 12 March 1757),
and Annunziata (born 25 March 1759).20 There is no trace of Annunziata, but Rosa was
still living when Napoleon occupied Malta. During the siege of 1798-1800 she married
a French soldier and left with h$[ husband when General Vaubois raised the white flag.21
Giuseppe, like his brother Marc’Antonio, was a drummer of the Milizia Urbana. He was
at times the second drummer of the Compagnia Colonella, at other times the drummer of
other companies (Aragona, Alemagna, or Provenza), between 1778 and 1794.22 He might
have died abroad, as on 22 June 1818 he left Malta with his son Stanislao who may have
13
NLM, Lib. MS. 11,29-58. For the services of Marc'Antonio and his brothers in the Militia, vide NLM, AOM 1066,1068 (Ruoli
1766.1778-95).
14
A Ganado, The funeral of Angelo Emo in Malta in 1792 - A pictorial record'. Proceedings o f History Week 1993. Malta 1997,
158. See also NLM, AOM 972, ff. 11. 26.287.
been bom to him by another woman.23 Perhaps they went to join Rosa and her husband.
In the 1970s, there was in Sassari (Sardinia) a Dr Lorenzo P. Ganadu, a lawyer, father of
four daughters, who could very well have been a descendant of Stanislao.24
At the age of 20, Aloisio, son of Giuseppe, married Rosa Tabone at St Paul Shipwrecked
in Valletta on 26 October 1777.25He was at that time enrolled in the Milizia Urbana. Faithful
to family tradition, he was a drummer in the Provenza Company.26 From his first marriage
Aloisio had six children: Maria, Michele, Giovanni, Pasquale, Maria Teresa, and Giuseppe,
born respectively in 1778,1780,1781,1783,1785, and 1786, but Michele, Pasquale and
Giuseppe died in their second year. Maria died on 27 January 1807. At Senglea, on 27
January 1791, Aloisio passed to his second marriage with Rosa Caruana who died on 9
November 1794, after bearing two children, Paola and Vincenzo.27
Aloisio's third marriage to Caterina Borg nee Grech (a widow) took place at St Paul
Shipwrecked on 18 July 1801. Two children were born, Flora on 19 April 1802 and
Gaetano (the author's great-grandfather) on 8 November 1804. After Caterina’s death
on 27 January 1807, he entered into his fourth marriage with Maria Zammit at St Publius
church in Floriana on 8 September 1810.28 This marriage remained barren. At about this
time Aloisio was a carpenter residing at 14, Strada San Francesco, Floriana.29
In 1813 tragedy struck Malta and practically the whole Ganado family died of the
plague. Flora died on 13 August 1813, Paola on 20 August, the parents Aloisio and Maria
on 21 and 22 August respectively and Vincenzo on 2 October.30 Apparently the only one
to survive was Gaetano, the youngest in the family.31 He was then a 9-year-old orphan.
According to a tradition in the family, it was a kind priest who looked after him and, as he
was homeless, he was given sleeping quarters in the sacristy of the church of the Holy
Saints in Purgatory in Strada Mercanti, Valletta. As he grew older, he became, according
to the Status Animarum (1828-30) of St Paul Shipwrecked church, a serviente living
Dentro la Chiesa dell’Anime. In 1830 he was registered as the Segrestano. It is said that
the priest helped him to open a bazaar in the vicinity of the church. On 25 September
1832, aged 28, he married at Qormi Benedetta Baldacchino, the youngest daughter of
Giovanni and Pasqua Borg.32 He must have been living comfortably as he brought up a
large family. Perhaps he took up the flour business which distinguished Qormi, known
15
NLM. AOM 972. f. 144.
23
National Archives of Malta (NAM), Register of departures
16
Parliamentary Paper 39. Returns 19 February 1836. List of pensions as on 31 December 1812. He was receiving a charitable
allowance of £7.10.0 per annum. In 1812 he was receiving 7.6 scudi per month under the heading Pensioni a diversi benemeriti
della patria (NLM, A43, ff. 81,90).
24
Personal correspondence with Dr L P. Ganadu 1965-68.
17
18
25
Parish records of the Church of Santa Maria di Porto Salvo in Valletta, and family tree
26
His name appears as such in the Militia lists of 1778,1786, and 1787 but is wanting in later lists (AOM, Rolli 1778-94)
Family tree started by the author's father. Judge Roberto Federico Ganado, and continued by the author.
27
Family Tree.
NLM, AOM 1816. ff. 19v. 76v, 118, AOM 1796, ff. 78.82.
28
Ibid.
19
NLM, AOM 1747, f. 117
29
Guida pel Sorgo Villhena, Malta 1807,15. Only one incomplete copy known, in the author's collection
20
Family tree.
30
Daily official printed lists of infected and deceased persons in the author's collection
21
NLM. AOM 6548, f. 36. Registered as Rosa Ganao.
31
22
NLM. AOM 1796. f. 2; AOM 1816. f. 9v, AOM 1068, Rolli 1778-94.
Just for the record, reference should be made to another Giuseppe Ganado, of a different family, son of Raffaele and Feliciana,
who married Giovanna Portelli on 22 November 1827 at Porto Salvo. No further details are known.
32
Baldacchino family tree in the author's papers.
104
105
The Spanish Roots of the Ganado Family and its Evolution in Malta
Albert Ganado
also as Casal Fornaro, from other villages. Even then, his family continued to receive help
from the kind priest.
The Ganado couple was blessed with twelve children, four boys, of whom two died
young, and eight girls, of whom four died young. It is known that the family continued
to enjoy the generosity of the priest and in particular he used to help Luigi, a very bright
boy, in his studies, especially in Latin. Luigi, my grandfather, obtained a church benefice
which helped him financially and he used to wear the clerical habit. The Italian poems he
wrote at the time were signed Abbate Luigi Ganado. Later, however, he took up law and
graduated LL.D. on 5 August 1856 as first in class. He became a very successful lawyer
and accumulated £15,000, most of which were, however, lost in Russian bonds. On 2
November 1886 he was elevated to a judgeship in the Superior Courts. As he was a good
Latinist, his judgements were replete with constant references to Roman Law and to the
early legal interpreters of the Jus Comune. He retired because of ill health in 1902 and
passed away on 21 April 1903, aged 69.33Two sisters o f Luigi’s were sent to the school at
Ħamrun run by the Conservatorio Bugeja. They later married two brothers Leone giving
rise to the surname Leone Ganado.
On 26 January 1867, Luigi had taken as his wife Carmela Gatt, daughter of Lt. (later
Captain) William Gatt (1811-77) and Giuseppa Montanaro (1819-99). As both her
parents belonged to distinguished families in the civil service and the army, the said union
was at first looked upon with disfavour by the wife's relatives. But it was a very successful
marriage. The couple had five children: Elena, who died young, and four boys, two of
whom became army officers, whilst the other two became lawyers. Major Alfred Ganado
(1871 -1955) married Beatrice Naudi who belonged to a prominent Maltese family, while
Captain William Ganado (1881-1951) took as his wife Bianca, daughter of Sir Filippo
Sceberras.
m.
The elder of the other two brothers, Roberto Federico, my father, was born on 6
November 1875. On 10 June 1913 he married Maria Vassallo at St Paul Shipwrecked
collegiate church, sister to Dr Enrico Vassallo, Professor of Constitutional Law. They had
seven girls and myself. Ines, Aida and Alice died young, while Mariquita, the youngest,
died in her teens. Hilda married George Soler, Emma married Joseph Micallef, while Anna
became the wife of Dr Manoel Mizzi. My dear wife was Muriel Orr, who passed away on
28 January 2010.
My father, following in the footsteps of my grandfather, graduated LL.D. in 1898. He
was appointed magistrate o f Judicial Police on 10 August 1918 and became a judge of
the Superior Courts on 16 September 1925. When Sir Arturo Mercieca, the chief justice
of Malta, was interned in 1940, he became acting chief justice from 28 June 1940 until
33
Government Notice, 3 November 1902. A biography of Judge Luigi Ganado, written by Dr (later Professor) Joseph A. Micallef,
was published in The Law Journal, 1,6 (1947), 12-19. His portrait in oils is among those in the corridors of the Old University.
He was granted a special pension of £380 instead of £320 per annum (Despatch 10 December 1902, Governor to Secretary of
State for the Colonies).
106
November 1940, when he retired on reaching the age of 65. He was a keen collector of
Melitensia, like a few others who, before the war, could practically be counted on the
fingers of one hand. He passed away on 23 February 1948. I owe a lot to my father. In
an appreciation after his demise, the Hon. Mr Justice William Harding wrote that he was
privileged to sit with him on the Bench as he could appreciate his sterling qualities, that
Judge Robert Ganado was brilliant in every Court he went to - quick, industrious, and,
above all, practical - a prodigious worker.34
The youngest of Luigi's four boys was Edgar Ganado, born on 20 November 1884. He
graduated LL.D. in 1910. Aged 31, he married Teresa Debono, daughter of the president
of the Camera degli Avvocati, Dr Massimiliano Debono. He was professor of Civil Law,
became judge on 27 November 1929, retired at the age of 65 and died on 9 May I960.35
Mention should also be made of other members o f the Ganado family who have
passed away in more recent years. Capt. William Ganado had two sons, Herbert and
Walter. Herbert (190679) was a lawyer, president of the Maltese Catholic Action, a
staunch Catholic journalist and an exceptional writer. He was interned in 1940 by the
colonial government and exiled in 1942 for three whole years with Sir Arturo Mercieca and
other nationalists. His brother Walter (1907-87) graduated MD in 1931. He had a brilliant
career and was endowed with the gift of instant diagnosis. In London he graduated B.Sc.
(Hons.) and was MRCP. He was also a research fellow of the University of Michigan and a
fellow of the Royal College of Physicians (London). After serving at the London Hospital,
he became professor of Physiology and of Medicine in Malta, and had a large practice. A
first cousin of my father's, Alberto Edoardo Ganado (1876-1927) married Contessa Maria
Messina in 1903; their son Godwin (1910-64), first in class in practically all subjects at
the Lyceum, graduated LL.D. in 1934. A master of several languages, he entered politics
and was minister of Education in 1950. A fluent speaker, he had to retire in 1952 when
he fell ill.
My father built up a comprehensive family tree of the Ganados in Malta. I was intrigued
by the Spanish origin of the family, and I visited Cantalapiedra with my wife around 1960.
The parish priest told me that the surname Ganado was completely unknown in that
town. I was later followed by Prof. Joseph M. Ganado and Chev. Tonio Ganado. It seems
that the surname Ganado is quite rare in Spain, but since the arrival of the first Ganado
four centuries ago it has taken firm roots in Malta.36
34
W Harding, 'Mr Justice R.F. Ganado - An Appreciation', The Law Journal, II, 2 (1948), 69-70. See also A. Ganado, 'On Judge
Robert F. Ganado: errata corrige'. The Sunday Times. 6 July 1997, 55.
35
See appreciations in The Bulletin. 19 November 1949 and Patria, November 1949.
36
Members of the Ganado family still living have been left out from this contribution. However, just to confirm the legal strain
still active I should point out that there are five lawyers among the descendants of Judge Roberto Federico Ganado, namely,
apart from myself, my daughter Rita Sammut Ganado and her son Beppe; Chris Soler, son of my nephew William; and
Stephanie, daughter of my nephew Michael. There are another five lawyers among the descendants of Judge Edgar Ganado,
namely. Joseph M. Ganado, his son Max, and his granddaughter Stephanie; Philip Bianchi, son of Yvonne nee Ganado, his
son Matthew; and Karl Grech Orr, son of Grace nee Ganado Besides, Fr Robert Soler. son of my late sister Hilda Soler, has law
degrees and Madeleine Firman, daughter of Marie nee Ganado, is a legal procurator.
107
Albert Ganado
Postscript
Subsequent to handing in the manuscript, the author has had his attention drawn to
information on first names and family names compiled in 2014 by Spain's National
Institute of Statistics using data from 2013.37 The searchable database confirms that
in Spain the family name Ganado is a very rare one indeed. In contrast to the 1,478,972
individuals whose first family name is Garcia, the most frequent by far amongst Spain's
46 million-plus residents, Ganado accounts for just 331 people. More interesting perhaps
is the fact that the centre of gravity of the Ganado surname in Spain lies to the north of the
town of Cantalapiedra and the province of Salamanca. In contrast to only 9 Ganados born
in Salamanca, no fewer than 113 of the total of 331 were actually born in the province of
Zamora, adjoining the province of Salamanca to the north. Zamora straddles the fault line
that separated the Christian Kingdoms from Muslim Al Andalus and Antonio's ancestors
may have moved south as part of the process of repopulation initiated by King Ramiro
II o f Leon (898-951) after the crucial victory at the Battle of Simancas in 939, which
consolidated the Christian hold on the lands watered by the River Duero.38
37
Instituto Nacional de Estadistica at http://www.ine.es/daco/daco42/nombyapel/nombyapel.htm (accessed 25 December
2014]
38
Carabias, 28.
108