52 Ancestors – #38 Cruz Rivera Collazo (1860-19??)

Okay, finally moving our way out of Toa Alta (just for a bit, since I have some more Toa Alta ancestors in the near future to write about). On this post I want to focus on my 3rd great grandfather, Cruz Rivera Collazo - another man of much mystery!

I was first introduced to Cruz's name when I came across my great grandfather's birth record in 1920. It mentioned that his maternal grandfather was Cruz Rivera, mestizo, native from Patillas (where he currently lives in 1920) and his wife Luisa Masantini, native of Patillas and deceased (another ancestor of much mystery!).

Cruz Rivera & Luisa Masantini [FamilySearch]

Cruz Rivera, appears on the 1910 census with a daughter named Amalia Rodríguez who I'm pretty sure are my Cruz Rivera and Amalia, since Luisa's surname was also "Rodríguez", this further solidifies that Cruz Rivera Collazo, born about 1860 and living in barrio Guardarraya, Patillas, Puerto Rico is my 3rd great grandfather.

Cruz Rivera Collazo - 1910 Census [Ancestry]

Since his daughter married in 1919 and was living in Salinas, we find Cruz Rivera living in Patillas with his grandson, Felix Santiago y Rivera, son of Amalia but from an unknown father. Both times we see Cruz listed as single, since he never officially married Luisa and unable to read or write.

Cruz Rivera Collazo - 1920 Census [Ancestry]

Unfortunately, that's the last time Cruz officially appears on a record for me. It is possible that he moved to Salinas and lived the rest of his life there, but I haven't been able to find a "Cruz Rivera Collazo" in census records past 1920; I did find a Cruz Rivera living with a cousin surnamed Santiago in Salinas, potentially related to Felix's father. However, I don't have conclusive evidence that it's the same man. I also have no idea what Cruz's parents' names were. Since Amalia was born out of wedlock, I have found a record (which I think is her baptism) that only lists a Luisa Rodríguez but no Cruz Rivera. This was pretty common for children born out of wedlock, to list one of the two parents and sometimes a father would "recognize" their child in the record. We know Cruz is the father from records, yet we don't know who the parents Rivera and Collazo are. I'll have to keep searching for more information and ties to try and figure this out, I haven't even been able to find brothers and sisters for Cruz who might help fill in some gaps.

Here's to hoping that I'll be able to crack this brick wall soon and find out more about my ancestors in Patillas! Patillas is on the southern coast of Puerto Rico and the barrio in which Cruz and Amalia lived in faces out to the Caribbean Sea! I would love to visit Patillas one day! Also Patillas is about 2-3 towns away from Salinas so I wonder how Amalia and my 2nd great grandfather met! Here is a picture of where Patillas geographically is on the map of Puerto Rico as well as its barrios. 

Patillas, Puerto Rico [Google]

Guardarraya, Patillas, Puerto Rico [Google]

52 Ancestors – #19 Luisa Rodríguez Masantini (1878-1913*)

My 3rd great grandmother has been one of my tougher genealogical brick walls and so I write this post in hopes that one day I will shed some more light on her and her past.

My 3rd great grandmother has been been written down with two names on documents, the most common one was Luisa Rodríguez and the second as Luisa Masantini. I have no idea where the name Masantini came from and whether or not it's actually a surname in my family but records have shown this as a surname for my 3rd great grandmother and 2nd great grandmother. Luisa's daughter Amalia was born in Patillas in the mid-1890s and so that is the only thing I know for sure – that Luisa lived at some point in Patillas, Puerto Rico.

Patillas, Puerto Rico [Google]

Since Luisa and Amalia's father, Cruz Rivera Collazo, never married it makes the search for her even more difficult. I have searched for the name Masantini in Puerto Rico and haven't found anyone else with it. I've also searched the Foreign Records of Puerto Rico and have found nothing as well. I did a search for the surname Masantini in Italy and got some hits in Firenze; I wrote about the experience here in What's in a (sur)name?. The 1910 census provides some interesting information about Luisa's life. I know that she was alive in 1910 and was deceased by the 1920 census, but she wasn't living with Cruz in 1910 -- so where was she? I think I may have found her in the 1910 Census in Guardarraya, Patillas, Puerto Rico living with a Juan Carrasquillo and their seven children, the last being a step-daughter named Amalia Rodríguez! It is interesting to note that this Luisa was noted as "N" for negra (colored). In her daughter's marriage record in 1919, it listed the mother as Luisa Rodríguez, de raza de color (of the colored race).

Luisa Rodríguez - 1910 Census [Ancestry] 

Amalia Rodríguez - 1910 Census [Ancestry]

Since Juan and Luisa were listed as CC this would mean they were never married by the church and the children were most likely listed under Rodríguez since they were all natural children, just like Amalia was. I had searched the death records of Patillas for a Luisa Rodríguez Masantini or Luisa Masantini and had no luck finding anything, the years I searched were from 1910-1920 since I knew she was deceased when her daughter married in 1919 to Julio Correa.  

Recently, in preparation for this post I began to look through some of my old documents and I came across an image of a baptism I had discovered in the Patillas church records. The record was a baptism for a Amalia Rodríguez in either 1895-1896, the daughter of a Luisa Rodríguez. This matches the date from the 1910 census record! In this record however the grandparents are listed as Dionisio Rodríguez and Francisca Laboy – no mention of a Masantini! Could this Luisa Rodríguez Laboy be the same Luisa Rodríguez, my 3rd great grandmother?

I decided to further research Luisa Rodríguez Laboy, could I find more evidence to plead a stronger case? I checked the 1910 Census records for a Luisa Rodríguez Laboy living in Patillas, PR. I found one living with a Guillermo Laboy but it seems she was alive in 1930 and no Amalia daughter was listed. I searched the death records from 1910-1920 in Patillas for a Luisa Rodríguez Laboy this time. I ended up finding the death record of Luisa Rodríguez Laboy in 1913, daughter of Dionicio Rodríguez and María F. Laboy (written that way in the death record). She is listed as single and twenty-five y/o (I think the age is off by a few years, it doesn't mention how the person who declared her death is related to her). 

Luisa Rodríguez Laboy - Defunción 1913 [FamilySearch]

I have researched this Luisa's line but I have no clue if she is my 3rd great grandmother. So far, there are a few pieces of evidence that help support my case: 1) This Luisa had a daughter named Amalia born in Patillas in the same timeframe my 2nd great grandmother was born, 2) She died in the same timeframe as my Luisa Rodríguez, 3) Was classified as the same race and around the same age as my 3rd great grandmother, and 4) Wasn't married like my 3rd great grandmother. Hopefully this is her, but I won't know for sure until I find a few more pieces of evidence. If this is her then it makes me question where the surname Masantini originated from. I haven't researched Dionisio's side of the family yet so who knows if it's hidden in there somewhere!