A Look at my 5th Great-Grandmother's Testament

Currently I am in Puerto Rico for Spring Break, and instead of laying down at the beach soaking in the sun, I have been visiting various genealogical places in order to get research done that I can only do while on the island. One of the places I visited was the Archivo General de Puerto Rico (AGPR) in search of my 5th great-grandmother's testament (amongst others). This post is in fact two fold, today March 22nd is the day Puerto Rico celebrates its abolition of slavery. Though I want to bring to light the possibility of finding records such as wills & testaments while here in Puerto Rico, it is also important to highlight the information found in them - in my case, the fact that my ancestor(s) had owned slaves in the 1800s. This fact has been something I have been aware of for a while now but seeing these names listed in her will was both saddening and raw. I think it's important to acknowledge the role our ancestors played in the past, whether good or bad, and to acknowledge the benefits we have reaped from them and learn from their actions.

Gazeta de Puerto Rico, 03 May 1873

Visiting the Archivo General de Puerto Rico

There was a lot of worry that after Hurricane María, many genealogical places would be closed or have received irreversible damage. Luckily, the AGPR is open and running and even offers visiting hours on Saturday. With a simple email of the information of my ancestors (their names, year they made their testament, and name of the notary) they were able to find two protocolo boxes. Unfortunately, other ancestors' testaments were not available for viewing - some because their records might have never made it to the AGPR or because they never came before a notary and just made their testament amongst witnesses. Luckily, María de la Cruz Román, my 5th great-grandmother, did leave behind a will in front of a notary and they were able to find the box. So I headed to the archive to find out more about her life and the worldly possessions of my 5th great-grandmother.

María de la Cruz Román - Defunción 1854 [FamilySearch]

Going into this search, I knew that Bernardina Sepúlveda Román, my 4th great-grandmother, had owned slaves right before their freedom in 1873 but I wasn't sure if they were inherited from María de la Cruz Román (her mother) or purchased separately. Taking a look at my 5th great grandmother's testament provided me with some more clues and information. 

Viewing her Testament

Notary Records, AGPR [Personal Photo]

Notary Records, AGPR [Personal Photo]

Getting to see the testament was very cool, the documents were very old and fragile but in fairly good shape and very easy to read. I was lucky the notary had an index of all of his transactions of the range of years I was searching, such as: transferring of power, selling land, testaments, freedom records, etc. I was easily able to find María de la Cruz Román's record, as well as while sifting through I was also able to find other documents that I'll focus on in another post. My 5th great-grandmother's testament was 5 pages long which started with fairly religious jargon about her soul, forgiving her sins, and believing in God and the Trinity, etc, etc. She left behind money to pray for her in the church (30 masses of San Gregorio) and to pay her debt mainly to her son (Juan Lorenzo Sepúlveda) and to a neighbor (Juan Soto, originally from Lares) residing in Adjuntas. In her will she left behind 450 cuerdas (acres) of land which she states has planted coffee, plantain, fruit trees, pastures and "montes" (which depending on how you use it could be wooded area, hills or mountains). She listed having 8 cows (5 with their offspring), 1 bull, 1 calf, 2 horses, 2 mares, 2 cows, and 1 sow. Interestingly enough, she left behind 18 cuerdas of land in Limón, Mayagüez. I find this interesting since she was originally from San Sebastián while her husband was the one from Mayagüez. It is possible that when he passed in 1829, he passed this land onto his wife who then passed it to her son Juan Lorenzo Sepúlveda Román. Unfortunately his testament was made in front of witnesses so it is likely to have never been officially recorded and sent to the AGPR. 

What shocked me, but I expected, was a list of slaves she left behind, which on her will she lists as "siervos" - known as serfs or servants in English. They are given no value, nor age, or relationship between them but only listed by first name. Listed are: (1) Pedro José, (2) Teresa, (3) Severino, (4) Belén, (5) Francisca, (6) Tomasa, (7) Miguel, (8) María del Rosario, (9) Juana Bautista, (10) Petrona, (11) María Antonia, (12) Blasina, and (13) Manuela. In total, 13 slaves are listed in her will. There is nothing in her will about who they are going to, whether they received freedom, or what the plan is after she passes away. She made her will in 1852 and passed two years later in 1854, freedom from slavery didn't come until 1873. So what happened to these slaves? 

I have only been able to track a few so far (some of those who passed before María de la Cruz's will, which means they aren't included in the total 13 at the time of her will) and those that had children which Bernardina Sepúlveda inherited. Before 1852, María de la Cruz would have 7 slaves pass away (so far this is the number I have, which is possible to raise as I continue to search Adjuntas church records). These are those who passed: 

• 1829, Rafael 40 years old, married with María
• 1833, Ignacia, 35 years old, married with Ramón
• 1834, Saturnino, son of Pedro José and Teresa
• 1835, Juan Xavier, son of Ramón and Ignacia
• 1836, Marcos, son of Martín and Petrona
• 1836, María Cipriana, daughter of Pedro José and Teresa
• 1836, Juana Cipriana, daughter of Pedro José and Teresa

Here, you can see that some of the slaves from María de la Cruz's will got married and had children within their group. With these deaths it brings the current total to 20 total slaves. 

The next time slaves appear are in the slave registry of 1872, just one year shy of abolition. These appear listed as Bernardina Sepúlveda's slaves. In total she was 4 slaves: (1) Felipa, daughter of Martín and Petrona; (2) María Tomasa, daughter of Pedro José and Teresa; (3) Juan, son of Gerónimo and Felipa; and (4) Lorenzo, son of Ramón and Felipa. Here we can see some of María de la Cruz's slaves' children belonging to Bernardina. This would make me think that Bernardina inherited some of the 13 slaves and they had children which she continued to own up until abolition in 1873. 

My goal is to try and track down what happened to the slaves María de la Cruz Román listed in her will. Did some of them receive freedom? Did they go to her children or were sold to other families? Part of this mystery could be solved with notary records but finding them could be like a needle in a haystack and take much more time in the AGPR that I unfortunately do not have. Interestingly, two slaves left a "deposit" of money to María de la Cruz Román which after her death is said should be paid back to them with 5% annual interest starting the 19 of August 1848. Was this a deposit for freedom? For insurance of freedom for their children? I don't think it's the latter since one of them was Pedro José and Bernardina owned one of his daughters. 

With the abolition of slavery being today it's an interesting day for me. As someone who descends from both slaves and slave owners, it is hard to understand what this day means for me. Interestingly enough, my slave ancestors were freed before 1873 - those that came from the French islands were freed in 1848 and early where my Puerto Rican slave ancestors seemed to have received freedom in the 1700s, for example like my recently discovered Manuel Ruiz, pardo slave ancestor. Overall, it is a great day to celebrate that equality was somewhat given (though as we know not fully) to slaves and at the same time it stings to know that some of my ancestors took part in a dark part of history. Yet, we need to face our past, as Germans put it - Vergangenheitsbewältigung ("struggle to overcome the 'negatives of' the past" or "working through the past"), in order to better understand the society we currently live in and the struggles people face each day in order to make a better tomorrow. 

Catalog of Foreign Residents in Puerto Rico in the 19th century

I've been looking into my line that potentially is from Guadeloupe and Martinique and trying to find more records that would solidify this line.

Estela Cifre Loubriel wrote a book called Catalogo de Extranjeros Residentes en Puerto Rico en el Siglo XIX which mentions a bunch of residents living in Puerto Rico from foreign countries. Some of these countries include the typical Spain, France and Italy while other immigrants come from countries such as Russia, Yugoslavia and Gibraltar.

There's one entry in particular of interest to me. It states:

33. - GUSTAVO, Juan Carlos. Natural de Martinica; súbdito francés; de 55 años; casado; doméstico; reside en Fajardo en el 1874. W. B. C., W. I., AC 6683-J. 


There is high chance that this man could be my 4th great grandfather who made his way from Martinique to Puerto Rico with his wife. What are the odds of another man with the same name coming to Puerto Rico? Some documents of his daughter, my 3rd great grandmother Maria Paulina (Octavia) Gustavo shows that she was either born in Vieques or Fajardo. Vieques, being an island that must be reached by a boat leaves from Fajardo, so she could easily be from either or. I haven't found his wife in the book and neither his daughter, who could have born after this was taken. There is a so called Balbino Gustavo who could be of some relation to Juan Carlos. Juan Carlos is estimated to be born around 1819 with the dates provided.


I had no idea what the letters at the end meant. So I ordered the book to see if she cited her work and hopefully the letters at the end meant something. Like a good researcher she did and I finally got to understand the letters!


W.B.C. W. I., AC 6683-J stand for Washington, D. C, Biblioteca del Congreso. West Indies, número dado al documento enviado a la autora.

So the documents she used are in the Library of Congress in DC!! I just have to find out what type of document it is and if it states more about the people they documented. Maybe they'll have a name for the wife or maybe his children. That way I can start to piece together who this man was and if he really is related to me!

A Visit to the AGPR (Archivo General de Puerto Rico)

So while I was in Puerto Rico I decided to visit the AGPR which is known to have records. I knew that the Instituto de Cultura Puertorriqueña was located near El Morro and in Old San Juan so I headed there first thinking that was where the AGPR was but I was wrong and so had to head to its actual location which is across the street from the Luis Muñoz Rivera park.

You have to sign in when you go in and to your left is the AGPR. Truth be told, I wasn't too happy with the way the guy treated me. I went in and asked if there were any records available for me to use in order to work with for my family tree. He responded in a snotty manner that I needed to first start with my grandparents and work my way back. Okay, I understand what he means, but at the same time how many random people know about this place that haven't actually already started doing some sort of genealogical research? Also, I'm only 21 so I understand if they don't get too many people my age asking for old records. I told him that I had most of branches to the 1800s and he then asked me what towns I had family in. From all the towns I gave him there were only two which had records which were Lares and Utuado; I listed about 10 different towns and I was surprised they only had records for two of them.

I decided to order records from Lares since I knew my great great grandfather was born there and I still have distant family there, which I haven't had the pleasure of meeting yet. I ordered three different cajas (boxes) which is the maximum you can order and was told to come back the following Thursday. When I came back the next week I was both surprised and upset/shocked. I ordered different records ranging from Population Census in Lares to records of who had what farms, lands, etc. I was excited to touch old records but I was upset at the condition of the records. You are not required to put on gloves and some records are falling apart- have they even microfilmed these records?!?

Going in I was looking specifically for two last names: Avilés and Magraner. I knew that my Avilés line lived in Rio Prieto in Lares where my great great grandfather José Avilés was born while the Magraner name is believed to be surname of José Avilés' father. Since José was born out of wedlock he carries his mother's name. I searched the records for any hint of these families living in Rio Prieto, Lares; I kind of regret not looking at the other barrios but since my great great grandfather was born and lived in Rio Prieto his whole life I didn't want to waste time searching in other places. Sadly, I didn't come across ANY Avilés person in Rio Prieto on neither the 1897 Population Census or property records which was upsetting because where in the world did they go?!? José would be around 6 years old at the time the population census was taken and so he couldn't go wandering off alone. But this isn't the first time I've come across a Houdini act by the Avilés family, for some reason I can't find them in the 1910 Census either! Which is extremely weird because in 1911 José Avilés married my great great grandmother Dionisia Gonzalez. 


However, I was able to find a Magraner living in Rio Prieto. I don't know if this IS my 3rd great grandfather but it could be possible. This Magraner was born in Spain, moved to Puerto Rico and lived in Lares (which all fit the tale my family tells). This man's name is Damian Magraner Morey and was born in Sóller, Mallorca about 1847 and immigrated to Puerto Rico at about the age of 26. He appears as a resident owning a farm and living with other Spaniards who seem to work on his farm. The only thing is that Damian appears to be 'married' on the Census, so where is his family? Could his family be my Avilés family or was his wife waiting back in Spain?

I googled for this Magraner and found a Damià Magraner Morell from Sóller as well and this could easily be the same man since Morey/Morell are very similar just an orthographic difference and my guess is Damià is the Catalan version of Damian. It seems that by the following year in 1898 Damian had returned to Sóller, Mallorca and from the records I've found and from what I can make out from Catalan he assumed some position at a company. For example: 

"Damià Magraner Morell i Guillem Colom Rullan han estat elegits vocals de la junta del Banc de Sóller que, en el darrer any ha tingut uns beneficis de 78.423’04 pts. Ramon Marquès és el nou president."  

"Damià Magraner Morell ha estat nomenat president de la fàbrica de teixits La Solidez en el lloc del recentment desaparegut Pere J. Coll."

While a article written titled "Una Emigració Forçada: la Participació dels Sollerics a la Guerres de Cuba, Puerto Rico i Filipines (1895-1898) i els seus efectes a Sóller" stated that Damià Magraner Morell was a 'tinent de batle' a deputy mayor. So maybe this could be my 3rd great grandfather; part of the tale in my family is that he had come to Puerto Rico because of the Spanish-American War but maybe it was that he had returned to Mallorca to help the Spaniards fight the war. He never appears on any of the census records and neither in the death records of Lares. I have to read the entire article and look for more information on this man to see what I can come up with- I'm surprised that I'm pretty much able to read Catalan since it's a mix of French and Spanish I can understand about a good 85-90% of it.

The only way to be 100% of this Magraner connection would be to find a male descendant from José Avilés and test them for Y-DNA that would match the Magraners from Mallorca. But until then I can only hope this is the actual father, we'll just have to wait and see. 


Here are some of the records I found for Damian Magraner Morey (Morell):

Magraner in Rio Prieto, Lares claiming his home

No. 21 Damian Magraner claiming his land in Rio Prieto, Lares

Damian Magraner in the 1897 Census w/ other Spaniards