Need Help Translating Old Handwritten Italian Letter

[Mary50]

Hi brashergirl,

Here is the last part.  Sorry, but there are some words that I just haven't been able to decipher.

Page 3 and 4
Dear Cousin Madalena
Even though I am surrounded by troubles, we are healthy. I hope that so are you all.  So, the ……news of your interest.  Your brother Domenico, my son-in-law, came while he was alive, saying that he was waiting on the proxy from you sisters, but he didn’t receive anything.  So, he died September 10, 1923 without clearing up any business neither for himself nor for you.  Now I want to tell you that my father your …..before dying gave(told?) to me that at the post office of Sparone there existed thee booklets stipulated? and left there in custody.  Now going in search? to deliver the death certificate of your brother, the postal clerk gave only one existing of  over 7,000 Lire, one of your brother Antonio, of 5,000 Lire. 

Also, my father, before dying gave to me registered in Crič(Erič?) on September 10, 1894.  Therefore, we are about to arrive at the balance of 30 years and we are running the risk of losing possession.  They have the documents of rental receipts.  After my father died, they didn’t pay any more rent and we don’t have proof. During the time the most informed have  died …therefore ….quickly….without wasting time if you don’t want to lose everything. 
Greetings to everyone, husband and family.
Sparone, November 7 
Your distressed cousin,
Magnino Marianna
I implore you, a quick reply.

Mary

[brashergirl]

Hi brashergirl,

Here is the last part.  Sorry, but there are some words that I just haven't been able to decipher.

Page 3 and 4
Dear Cousin Madalena
Even though I am surrounded by troubles, we are healthy. I hope that so are you all.  So, the ……news of your interest.  Your brother Domenico, my son-in-law, came while he was alive, saying that he was waiting on the proxy from you sisters, but he didn’t receive anything.  So, he died September 10, 1923 without clearing up any business neither for himself nor for you.  Now I want to tell you that my father your …..before dying gave(told?) to me that at the post office of Sparone there existed thee booklets stipulated? and left there in custody.  Now going in search? to deliver the death certificate of your brother, the postal clerk gave only one existing of  over 7,000 Lire, one of your brother Antonio, of 5,000 Lire. 

Also, my father, before dying gave to me registered in Crič(Erič?) on September 10, 1894.  Therefore, we are about to arrive at the balance of 30 years and we are running the risk of losing possession.  They have the documents of rental receipts.  After my father died, they didn’t pay any more rent and we don’t have proof. During the time the most informed have  died …therefore ….quickly….without wasting time if you don’t want to lose everything. 
Greetings to everyone, husband and family.
Sparone, November 7 
Your distressed cousin,
Magnino Marianna
I implore you, a quick reply.

Mary

Well, not the happy correspondence I was hoping for, but it does show the reality of their lives. I look forward to sharing it with my mom. I am very grateful for your help... is there a way for me to compensate you for your time and effort?

[Mary50]

Hi brashergirl,

Yes, unfortunately, sometimes life in the "old country" was not easy, and that's why so many chose to leave.  Land, and its use, was like money in the bank for their livelihood, so there were always fights and disagreements.  I can't even tell you how many instances of fights around land there have been with my own ancestors, including a murder.  As for compensation, thank you for offering, but I do this for the love of my native language, and to pay it forward as people in this forum have very generously helped me with my own research.

From what I understand, it was the law in Italy that when the parents died, the land had to be divided equally among the children.  It seems that in your case the land/house was rented and the money divided.

All the best
Mary

[brashergirl]

Hi brashergirl,

Yes, unfortunately, sometimes life in the "old country" was not easy, and that's why so many chose to leave.  Land, and its use, was like money in the bank for their livelihood, so there were always fights and disagreements.  I can't even tell you how many instances of fights around land there have been with my own ancestors, including a murder.  As for compensation, thank you for offering, but I do this for the love of my native language, and to pay it forward as people in this forum have very generously helped me with my own research.

From what I understand, it was the law in Italy that when the parents died, the land had to be divided equally among the children.  It seems that in your case the land/house was rented and the money divided.

All the best
Mary

Thanks for that extra information! Hope you don’t mind if I ask you another question. I’m trying to fit Onorina and Marianna into my family tree. In their letters they use the terms “cousin” and “sister-in-law” in relation to Maddalena. Would those have the same meaning then as they do today, or could they have had a broader meaning?

[Mary50]

Hi brashergirl.

I think "sister-in-law" is exactly that.  "Cousin" may also be a second, third and so on.  In my own family there was a couple that my mother called "cousins" but she could not explain how we were related even though they had the same last name.  In my research I found out that my mother's and the other family were two branches of the same ggg-grandparents.  Of course, this might not hold true in the part of Italy where your ancestors come from.

Hope this helps.
Mary

[brashergirl]

Hi brashergirl.

I think "sister-in-law" is exactly that.  "Cousin" may also be a second, third and so on.  In my own family there was a couple that my mother called "cousins" but she could not explain how we were related even though they had the same last name.  In my research I found out that my mother's and the other family were two branches of the same ggg-grandparents.  Of course, this might not hold true in the part of Italy where your ancestors come from.

Hope this helps.
Mary

Thank you!