The Languages They Spoke…

This is just a quick post looking at genealogy through another aspect --- linguistic heritage.

When I learn about ancestors, I always try to learn different aspects of their lives, and for me that includes even the languages they speak. Luckily, most of my ancestors spoke Spanish (in some form or another) and is the language I was raised in by my parents. However, there are other ancestors who spoke different languages that came into my family. Those languages so far are Catalan and French (creole as well).

Catalan

Even though Catalan is very similar to Spanish, it is for sure another language. This language can be found in the eastern parts of Spain near France and on the balearic islands. Now a days, the language is blossoming again with Catalan pride where the language is used in everyday life, school, and government.

Catalan speaking areas of Europe [Wikipedia]

Recently, I found out that Duolingo in Spanish has a course for Catalan, which I had no idea since I usually take the courses for learning a foreign language from English. It has been cool to learn Catalan and see the similarities with Spanish and/or French. I'm not sure how good I'll get with it through Duolingo but I want to have some working knowledge of Catalan. It was most likely the language (or one of the languages) Damián Magraner spoke in Sóller, Mallorca and I would love to be able to converse and/or read in it. Hopefully if and when I return to Mallorca I'll have a good handle of Catalan and use it while I'm there!

Duolingo Catalan course tree 

French (Creole)

With my ancestors coming from the French islands of Guadeloupe and Martinique, I knew that I would like to relearn French and get much better at it. My goal is to one day head to both of the islands and use my French to get around. Chat with some people about life on the islands and who knows --- maybe even find some long lost cousins! But these islands also speak their own version of French, which are both creoles. From what I have seen it's hard to understand any of the creoles without some kind of base with how their grammar works; even though they are rooted in French they vary enough that not anyone could easily understand some of their words (think Jamaican Patois and English).

Similarly on Duolingo you can learn French which has been fun to relearn a lot of what I forgot from high school. Also, on Amazon I was able to find two books about Martinican and Guadeloupean Creole so hopefully I can learn a thing or two about speaking those languages. 

Guides to Créole Martiniquais & Guadeloupéen [Amazon]

Why learn a language?

Even though you might not have any plans on becoming fluent in the language, just learning some of the simple phrases can do a lot for you. It's never a bad idea to try and learn a foreign language especially if you have plans to travel there. Also, seeing as how your ancestor spoke this language it could bring you that much closer to understanding their life and even struggles in a new country. They say when you learn a new language you develop a new personality, so even though your 2nd great grandmother was known as stern and quiet in English, she might have been comedic and quick witted in her native tongue. Also, if you do decide to advance a lot in the language, it can help you read and study records in the original language. By taking French in high school and college, I was fortunate to be able to read records from the French islands and not have to hire a translator, allowing me to delve right into the documents myself and with the help of Google Translator I was able to fill in the gaps of words I didn't know. Having that knowledge provided, for me at least, some comfort knowing that I could at any moment read the documents and analyze them at my own pace. 

Languages play such important roles in our day-to-day lives, so why not take a look at what some of your ancestors spoke when they were around! 

Emigration/ Migration / Immigration (Book of Me -- Prompt 43)

I bumped into this topic from the Geneabloggers emails which posts prompts (amongst other links) from a blog by Anglers Rest. Pretty much the prompts are created for you to fill out, that way you are building up some genealogical information about yourself as well! I think it's a great idea, especially since we focus so much on the past that sometimes we forgot -- one day we'll be a part of that past! And prompt #43 is a great prompt for me for many reasons, so I decided to give it a go!

Here are the questions for the prompt. I've reorganized a bit to my liking since I want to tackle them in a certain way. 

1. Have you ever lived overseas from your place of birth? Would you want to? Could you?
2. Did your ancestors or even a more recent generation?
3. Do you feel akin to another country from that in which you were born?
4. If so have you found any ancestral links in your research that perhaps explains those feelings?

The process of emigration, migration, or immigration have always been completely interesting to me -- And I think mostly because my parents are Puerto Rican. When they came to this country they technically weren't "immigrations", yet a lot of the experiences we share are those of "immigrants" (The language barrier, custom/cultural differences, etc.). I never saw my family as immigrants but more so as emigrants. Yet, I can't fathom the courage it takes to uproot your family (or yourself) and completely move away from everything you know, love, and cherish. 

I've experienced living abroad through my experiences from study abroad. I was able to spend a semester in Yaroslavl, Russia as an exchange student. And those four months changed my outlook on life completely. Being disconnected from the outside world (barely any internet to Skype back home properly) and the complete change of culture and language was definitely hard on me. Don't get me wrong, I thoroughly enjoyed my time in Russia yet I had the luxury of emails, Facebook, and occasionally Skype. I can't imagine how my mom came here at the age of 18 and her only communication with her own mother was through the occasional phone call and letters (and she 'migrated' in the late 1980s). I definitely think living abroad (even for just a short period of time) definitely makes you a stronger, more independent, and just overall livelier person. Now with my next adventure of living abroad on the way, I'm excited to compare and contrast how living abroad in Spain will be to Russia. Obviously, language, locality of country, and similarities in culture will play a huge role in my "easing" into the country but I wonder how easy it will be in Spain. I actually didn't suffer from culture shock in Russia but will I in Spain? 

Before my parents coming to the USA, pretty much every generation dating back to the 1800s/mid 1700s had been living in Puerto Rico. I can't imagine the jump from (A) to (B) being easy, both in the case of A being Puerto Rico and B being the United States. But also the jump of A being Spain and B being the new territory of Puerto Rico. Did the fears and concerns my family had in the 1980s mirror those of my ancestors in the 1600s/1700s? Leaving family and friends behind for a new land which they had only heard about through stories. 

My fourth great grandparents are currently super, über intriguing to me -- they immigrated (since they were crossing territories of countries) respectively from Guadeloupe and Martinique. I can't even begin to imagine their journey from a land of French/Créole to that of Spanish. A least when I went to Russia I had an idea of what Russian sounded like; I could read, write, and speak in the language pretty well by the time I landed in Moscow. But what about Gustave Jean-Charles and Julienne Malvina Lautin? Where did they muster up the courage to travel from their home islands and make their way to Vieques (a small island of Puerto Rico on its eastern coast). Were they scared they wouldn't fit into the culture there? Had they heard such wonderful stories of Puerto Rico and its people that they had to see, experience, and live it for themselves? 

How well did they 'mold' into the culture when they first arrived and in their first years? Living on Vieques probably wasn't an issue, they must have known some other immigrant families settling themselves in the island. But were they nervous when the appeared before the church in 1869 to get married? Or when they had to baptize and register the birth of their children? Did Julienne whisper songs in créole to Paulina and Tomás as small children? Did she feel the need to preserve her Martinican traditions, words, and mannerisms? Did she lug them from Martinique to Vieques and finally to Río Jueyes, Salinas or did they stay behind in Rivière Salée?

I often wonder and worry that as time continues I'll begin to lose my "Puerto Rican-ness". That I won't teach my children Spanish, how to sing La Borinqueña, or share with them the traditions, customs, and superstitions my family passed down to me. (Never walk with one shoe off and one shoe on, it means you want your mother to die!). Yet, deep down I know (and hope) this won't happen. My ties to the island, my culture, and the way I was raised are too strong and too important to just let go. But yet I still worry -- did Julienne and Gustave feel the same way? In just three generations, it seems that the ability to speak French/ Créole was lost (my great grandfather being one of the few who I was told spoke French). Will three generations after me not care what their 4th great grandfather Luis Rivera talked and preached about culturally? 

Hopefully, living in abroad in Spain will give me some more insights. Remind what it is to be in a land that isn't your own (no matter how similar they might seem). I wish to learn more about the immigrants who came from El Puerto de Santa María, from Huelva, and from Pastrana and made their way to Puerto Rico. To learn the stories of those who came from unknown towns to the beautiful island of Borikén and settled there. To learn the stories of those who against the odds made the various towns of Puerto Rico their home, their nest, their humble abode. Did other people in my family move to Puerto Rico without knowing Spanish? Or maybe those of different religious backgrounds into a Catholic territory? 

I don't know where I'll end up -- where I ultimately will set up my own nest and home. But I do hope that wherever that may be (either here in the USA or else where), that I bring along my heavy yet important Puerto Rican bags. That I open them up, air out the contents inside, and let them breathe old yet new life into my home. That my children and grandchildren will run around saying "Bendición papi, bendición abuelo". That most importantly, they'll know and care what it feels like to be Puerto Rican. Because I know I definitely do!

Post #100 – Happy 10 Years of Genealogy!

Happy 10 Year Anniversary!

Who would have thought that 10 years would have flown by this fast!? It feels like just yesterday I began talking to my relatives, asking them about my ancestors, and typing names into Ancestry.com to begin my search. I have definitely come a long way since then! Equally, this also marks the 100th post of my blog – who would have thought that would come whizzing by as well? I've learned so much over the years and have made some great discoveries. Looking back at my beginning years I of course was naïve at times (Hey, I was only 14!) and I have definitely learned from many rookies mistakes, and I'm still learning to this day. So I guess I just want to take some time to talk about my research from the last past 10 years – the good, the bad, and the ugly!

How I Got Started

I will never forget what fueled my now semi-obsessive passion – a photograph, some curiosity, and some elusive stories. Granted, at the time when I first became interested as a kid I had no idea what genealogy was and the internet wasn't even a thing yet, but I wanted to learn about my family. Who was that man in the photo? Why did that woman look native? Were they related to me? What?! My great great grandfather was from Spain and married a Taíno Indian? Why are abuela's eyes green?

I was always curious about my family and our origin; it wasn't until I was 14, however, that I began to search for my roots. I started asking questions but this time expecting answers: Who was my great grandmother? What was her name? When and where was she born? Who were her parents? Initially, I was greeted with a few genealogical-rich responses sprinkled her and there. Oh, that's your great grandmother Epifania Dávila Orozco. She was born in Yabucoa, Puerto Rico on the 6th of January 1914. Her parents were Pedro Dávila Ruiz and Francisca Orozco Santiago. However, after a while the well of knowledge in my family began to dry up and I had to turn to records. I wanted to prove whether or not I had Spanish and Taíno blood. Wanted to know where my family was from on the island and where our roots took us back to. I wanted to know where my grandfather's pride of his African roots came from. While working for the NYPL, a co-worker had mentioned that I could access the records from Ancestry.com for free through the Public Library and off I was exploring through Census Records (1910-1930 at the time), as well as WWI and WWII Registration Cards. My mind was buzzing with new names, dates, and places in Puerto Rico.

Familia Vélez Avilés [Personal Photo]

What I've Learned

First and foremost – Patience! Don't expect to type in one name and find an extensive tree on your family dating back to Adam and Eve. Especially if you're the first one in your family creating a tree like I was, initially there might not be much. Expect to sit there for hours making sense of dates, names, and relationships. Expect to sift through hundreds and if not thousands of records and turn up empty handed. Expect to feel defeated at times because that one pesky ancestor is hiding somewhere in the records. But also expect pure bliss when finding that one record to connect your lines. Expect happiness and elation when you find a record to prove your theory. Expect to yell and scream with happiness when you've pushed your lines further back. Ultimately, expect to learn more about yourself.

10 years is definitely a lot of time – I have dedicated probably easily over 1,000+ hours (If not WAY more) to researching my family's lines. I regret none of that time, it was time well spent. For the moments I've felt most defeated and hopeless, I learned that I most search harder and find new methods. I also learned that staying optimistic is key! Cooped up in room and sitting there for hours on end to find absolutely not one record on your family can be nerve-racking – but I would do it again any day! I've also learned to be prepared to make mistakes, to back track, and to doubt yourself. Document, document, document! Make notes for yourself and leave clues about records that have been searched or need to be searched. I'm still working on how to perfect these techniques but I'm learning everyday!

My Favorite Discovery

I think hands down my favorite discovery (so far) of all time would have to be discovering my 4th great grandmother Julienne Malvina Lautin. For those of you who might have been following my posts for a while now you know how frustrated at first I was. Records from Puerto Rico mentioned any variation of the name Lautin as Lotten, Lotin, Lote, Lotett, Lotiz, Sotin, Soti. Records mentioned that the family could have been from Martinique, Guadeloupe, England, France, or Saint Thomas. To get an idea of some of the confusion about Julienne and her husband read the post "Tracing a Surname" to catch a small glimpse. With the help of a fellow genealogist I was able to learn about the BNPM which would eventually unlock the mystery of my slave-born 4th great grandmother Julienne and her mother Eglantine. I would discover that Julienne was born in Rivière Salée, Martinique on the 6th of February 1844 on a sugar plantation to an African mother (and likely to an African slave father). Unknowingly, this is where the pride of being negro came from within my grandfather. To learn more about the discovery feel free to read "Sparks, Sparks, Sparks, A-Flyin'".

I think the only other discovery that will top this one is of Julienne's husband Gustave Jean-Charles. I think once I have solved that mystery I'll be eternally happy! Of course there are many more brick walls in my family tree – who doesn't have more than a few good uncrackable walls?! And can a genealogist even be eternally happy?

My Worst "UH OH" Moment

Ramona Rivera Rivera [Personal Photo] 

One of my worst (well, worst is a heavy word but I'll use it) "Uh Oh" moments happened while researching Ramona Rivera Rivera, my 2nd great grandmother. At the time I was researching her I was using only the census records and stories -- my grandfather originally said her name was "Ramona Rivera Rodríguez". So I found a woman with the same name, from the same town, and around the same age to match the information I had on my 2nd great grandmother. I began to build this branch with the information I had discovered. When I found out about FamilySearch I quickly began to continue researching the line and didn't really bother to backtrack and see if I had the right woman (a bit naïve I know). It wasn't until I found my great grandmother's (Ernestina Miranda Rivera) birth record in Vega Baja that I realized I had the wrong woman and wrong line. I had been able to extend this other woman's line for a good 3-5 generations on various lines and with the help of another genealogist she was able to provide information from the family's origin outside of Puerto Rico. Again, things happen for a reason and I definitely learned a lesson from this experience – always double check your sources and cross-reference with other information on your tree. In Puerto Rico, since both surnames are used it's usually a bit easier to avoid these issues but when you work with common names like Juan, María, José and common surnames like Rivera, Rodríguez, Ortiz -- then it's more likely to have to double check!

Here's a quick post from 2011 where I talked about clearing up this little mix-up!

Words of Advice 

Advice for novice genealogists or for anyone wanting to get started in general? I would say document your family's stories first!! This is something that I'm actually going back and doing now! At first I sat and listened to others and only pulled out important information like names, dates, and places. But over the years I began to notice that even the smallest details or the family stories turned myths had some sort of truth or clues in them. Now when I ask my family about a certain ancestor I make sure to document what they told me even if they were unsure. Not only does this help for referring back to previous conversations but you never know when that person will leave this Earth. Listening to a story is a wonderful thing but when you try and recall details it might get foggy and you yourself unknowingly add twists to the story. Did she say this or that? Also, documents can't tell the full story of your family! And that's why stories, anecdotes, and family lore are important to your search. You never know if what you were told was fiction is actually reality. Never doubt the power of storytelling!

If I Could Tell Myself Something 10 Years Ago

If I could go back in time and talk to myself 10 years ago when I first began my search I would have probably told myself to record stories. I have definitely learned and done a lot in the 10 years I have done genealogy, I have cold-called relatives and cousins I never really knew and have asked all the important questions about my family even when sometimes the answers weren't so direct and informative. I would definitely tell myself to record some of the stories from older family members and ask them everything I wanted to know. The good thing however is that I'm fairly young and have enough of my family around to ask questions and start recording. The bad thing is that many of them are in Puerto Rico! Hopefully in the coming years (as early as this summer -- starting with my grandmother), I'll begin to record short interviews with my family members where I'll be able to ask them questions and record their answers. This will not only give me information to have for years to come but also an audio file of the voice of my family members. I wish I would have started early on so that I could have gotten the chance to interview my great grandfather before he passed away. Audio recordings will definitely add another layer to my researching and family tree.

Hopes, Dreams, and Aspirations

I hope to continue doing genealogy for another 10 years (and hopefully even 50+ years)! I have thoroughly enjoyed searching for my family's past and learning the stories of the people that have contributed to making me who I am today. I aspire to becoming a professional genealogist one day with a focus on Puerto Rico and potentially the islands of Martinique and Guadeloupe since I have ancestors from there, meaning I would also have to brush up on my French (another aspiration!). I would love to tie in my obsession for genealogy with my everyday life/profession. I don't know where my life will lead me but I know that having genealogy there with me will make me a happier person. I would love to become an expert on Puerto Rican Genealogy and help others discover their past and ancestors. I dream of traveling around Puerto Rico discovering the lands my families lived, worked, married, and were born on – I have only seen a limited amount of Puerto Rico and I dream of visiting the different municipalities my ancestors lived on and the churches they would have attended and married in as well. I dream of visiting Rivière Salée, Martinique, Basse-Terre, Guadeloupe, and other places my ancestors immigrated from. I hope to find new names in my family tree, meet new cousins, and hear new stories. I dream of connecting Eglantine to a country and tribe in Africa.

These have been a great 10 years and can't wait for the next set of 10 years to roll by -- here's to 2024, my 20th anniversary of genealogy!