Maria Giovanna “Marija” Budinich Simicich

Maria Budinich was born in Veli Lošinj in present-day Croatia. Her parents were Giovanni Budinich from Veli Lošinj and Maria Ballon from Martinšćica on Cres. The parish census of Veli Lošinj from the late 1800s states her birth date as 6 April 1859, while her headstone shows 3 May 1859. It is possible one is a baptismal date, however the baptismal books for Veli Lošinj for 1859 are missing from Croatia's Archives. During this period, Veli Lošinj was referred to by its Italian exonym of Lussingrande. Maria married Giuseppe Simicich of Olib sometime before February 1880, when their first recorded child Simeon ("Samuel") was born. We do not have a record of their marriage, but they are a married couple in Simeon's baptismal register. According to parish baptismal records, Maria and Giuseppe had 9 children born in Mali Lošinj: Simeon/Samuel (b. 1880; d. 1958, Queens, NY) Maria/Mary (Legaz; b.1882; d. 1920, Seattle, WA) Giuseppina/Josefa (Nicolich; b. 1885; d. 1956, Genoa, Italy) Giovanna/Jennie (Budinich; b. 1887; d. 1977, Seattle, WA) Matteo Maria (b. 1889; d.1890, death likely in Mali Lošinj, but there is only an annotation in the baptism) Matteo/Matt and Mike (b. 1892; d. 1966, Seattle, WA) Giuseppe/Joseph (b. 1894; d. 1963, Harrington Park, NJ) Antonio/Anton (b. 1896; d. 1971, Jersey City, NJ) Elizabeth (Battistuta; b. 1898; d. 1968, Hoboken, NJ) Maria died in the provincial hospital in Pula, Croatia, on 19 June 1929, according to State death records at Croatia's Archives in Zagreb. Pula parish death records confirm her death there and state that she was buried two days later. However, the parish record does not say explicitly where she is buried. Instead, Maria Budinich Simicich's birth and death are recorded on a headstone at Sv. Martin Cemetery, which also includes Giuseppe (her husband), Matteo Niccoli (her son-in-law), and Giuseppina (her daughter). It is likely Maria was buried in Pula and her inscription on the headstone at Sv. Martin simply memorializes her there. I have placed her memorial on FindAGrave at Sv Martin, since I am certain there is a headstone for her there. *Credit for headstone information: Grant Karcich, author, Kvarner Cemeteries: on the islands of Lošinj, Susak, Unije, and Ilovik (Printed at Asquith Press, Toronto, 2015). Credit to Croatia's Archives for referenced baptismal and death documents from Croatia.