Matteo Norte
Matteo Norte | |
|---|---|
| Born | 6 April 1824 |
| Died | 28 December 1925 (aged 101) |
| Era | |
| Spouse | Camilla Norte (m. 1852–1925) |
| Children | |
| Father | Vittorio Nostrini |
| Family | Noord family |
Matteo Norte (6 April 1824 – 28 December 1925) was an Italian-born member of the Noord family. He belonged to a northern branch that had begun replacing the surname Nostrini with Norte. He married his second cousin Camilla Norte in 1852. The couple moved from Aversa to Rotterdam in 1858 and converted from Roman Catholicism to Judaism the following year. They settled in Paris in 1871.
Early life
[edit | edit source]Matteo was born in Aversa on 6 April 1824. His father, Vittorio Nostrini, headed the northern branch of the family. Matteo was raised as a Roman Catholic at a time when members of the branch increasingly used Norte in civil and household records.
As a child, Matteo received instruction in handwriting and basic accounts. He began assisting clerks at the Casa di San Michele when he was twelve. His work consisted of copying short entries and arranging papers for collection. In 1840, aged sixteen, he was trusted to carry requested civil-status extracts between the Aversa civil office and family households.
Matteo began removing certified extracts of birth entries from packets that had not yet been collected. He passed them to a local intermediary, who altered names or dates before selling them as false proof of identity or age. The original birth registers remained in the civil office and were not altered.
The missing papers were discovered in November 1841 when clerks compared the outstanding packets with the office's issue register. Vittorio returned the documents that could be recovered and paid the unpaid fees. Matteo was dismissed from the work and was no longer permitted to handle municipal records. He was seventeen at the time and was not given another position in the family archive.
Marriage and family
[edit | edit source]Matteo married Camilla Norte in Aversa on 18 September 1852. Their common great-grandparents were Lorenzo Nostrini and Caterina Ferraro Nostrini. Matteo descended through Lorenzo's son Antonio, while Camilla descended through Domenico Nostrini.
Their first child, Henri Norte, was born in Aversa on 11 July 1854. Matteo moved with Camilla and Henri to Rotterdam in 1858. Their later children were Élise van Noord, born in 1859, Vittorio van Noord, born in 1863, and Julien van Noord, born in 1867. The children born in Rotterdam were registered as van Noord. Henri later adopted the same surname.
Conversion and later life
[edit | edit source]During 1858, Matteo and Camilla received instruction through Rotterdam's Ashkenazi congregation. Matteo and Henri underwent circumcision before the conversion was completed. On 18 January 1859, they appeared with Camilla before a three-member rabbinical court and completed ritual immersion. Henri converted as a minor with his parents.
The family moved to Paris in 1871 and initially continued Jewish religious practice. Their observance declined during the 1880s. By 1890, the household no longer regularly attended synagogue or maintained Jewish dietary practice.
Matteo remained in Paris with Camilla. He died there on 28 December 1925 at the age of 101.