A Puerto Rican Look at: Y-DNA111 (Correa)

Like my Avilés/Magraner line, I tested my Correa Y-DNA line while I was in Puerto Rico, this time with my maternal grandfather. Though I originally tested this line at Y-DNA67, I have upgraded the line to Y-DNA111 on FTDNA and with the recent Thanksgiving sales I have finally upgraded the line to Big-Y 700. The results will take a while to upload, especially with what I can only imagine are a bunch of people taking advantage of the sale. So I figured I would write about what I know at this level and see what else comes from the upgrade.

CORREA - SURNAME ORIGINS 

Though I have posted about the Correa surname before (post here and here). I'd figure I cover this quickly again to tie it into the genetic understanding of this line. The Correa surname comes to me via my mother and her father, and from there runs via the paternal line up to the 1700s. This is what the paper trail has shown me at least, remember that there is always the possibility of a NPE (Non-Paternity Event) which are usually not traced on paper. Below you can see me, Luis, at the bottom and my line all the way until my 6th great-grandfather Juan Francisco Correa (I have blurred of people who are still alive).

9 Generations of Correa [Personal Photo]

In an ideal genealogical world, this would mean that my Correa cousins and any other male Correa tied to this line would all descend genetically via their Y-DNA from this same man. Matching other Correa men would help attest to this, but unfortunately so far there haven't been other men in my family or relatives that I know who have tested. Y-DNA testing (and rightfully so due to its cost) is something more serious geneticists/genealogists use to trace lines that either ran dry via paper-trail, experienced traumatic events such as slavery, the holocaust, wars that disconnected them from information, and/or was adopted and not sure of their origins. I personally have not tested all of my Y-DNA possible lines, especially since I would have to find distant males cousins to test for lines that have "daughtered out". So far, I have tested my own Rivera line (since I wanted to know more about it since it's a common surname), my maternal Avilés line (said to be tied to Mallorca via a NPE), the Charles line (arrived to Puerto Rico from Guadeloupe and was previously enslaved), and my Correa line (surname interest/since the paper trail ran out). 

When I mean surname interest, I have always been interested in this name for two reasons. 1) It's not that common of a surname in Puerto Rico, though there is always the mention of Capitán Antonio de los Reyes Correa it's not a surname I often hear when I meet other Puerto Ricans, and 2) I have always heard that the surname is tied to Sephardic Jewish origins in Spain. 

The surname for example appears in Amsterdam via Isabel (Rebecca) Correa, a famous Dutch Sephardic poetess who was born in Portugal.

Isabel (Rebecca) de Correa [Jewish Virtual Library]

It has also appeared amongst those tried for "judaizantes" ("Judaizers") during the time of the Spanish Inquisition. A quick search of Correa + Inquisición gave me various hits. 

Tribunal de la Inquisición en Llerena [PARES]

Tribunal de la Inquisición en Llerena [PARES]

Does this mean that my own Correa family were Jewish as well? Not necessarily but the genetic information is interesting to add. Let's see what my grandfather's genes say about this line!

CORREA - GENETIC ORIGINS

When I got the autosomal and haplogroup results for grandfather on 23andme, I was very interested since it seems that his haplogroup isn't that common amongst men in their database/that have tested. So I wanted to see what it would be like in FTDNA.

FTDNA Landing Page [FTDNA/Personal Photo]

My grandfather's haplogroup is current listed as "J-Z18271", this name is expected to change once I get my Big-Y700 results - expected to arrive sometime in February. Below you can see where this specific SNP (Z18271) has been found in Europe. This specific branch can be found in various parts of the world, but it's interesting to note that it's mainly found amongst Eastern European countries. This is a very different result than expecting to find many "genetic cousins" scattered amongst the Iberian Peninsula and other parts of western Europe.

SNP MAP [FTDNA/Personal Photo]

CORREA - HAPLOGROUP ASSIGNMENT

The main haplogroup my grandfather belongs to is "J" which you can see how it got into Europe below. Further below is an image of my specific haplogroup for my grandfather as well, currently at Y-DNA111.

Migration Map [FTDNA]

Correa Haplogroup [FTDNA/Personal Photo]

This group has its origins mainly in the Middle East amongst the Arab and Jewish populations. This was interesting to me taking into consideration the Sephardic Jewish theory of this surname. Remember that genetics predate current religious, political, geographic divides. It is possible that somehow my Correa family was a part of the Arab/Morsico or Jewish/Sefardí population in Spanish which was later pushed out during the reconquista. It made it's way into Puerto Rico where it has been present for the last 300 years.

Some research places the haplogroup amongst the "Kohanim" or Cohen branch of Jews, which is the "priest" class. If this is the case for my family, this would obviously be very far back and probably not in recent times, though it would be very interesting nonetheless! My family has likely been Christian/Catholic for at least the last 300 years while in Puerto Rico. Since I haven't been able to trace them off the island yet, I am not sure what their history and religious practices were before arriving to Puerto Rico.

J-Z18271 Branch [GenoGenea]

GENETIC MATCHES

Currently, I have one match from the entire database of FTDNA for my Correa Y-DNA111 test, and it's a genetic cousin who shares another line with me, so it was interesting seeing him match me on the Y-DNA level on another completely different line as well. As you can see the surname for his earliest ancestor is not "Correa", if not "Santiago". So somewhere along our lines there was a NPE, we're not sure who's line it comes from but we're thinking it might be his. Currently, this cousin is tested at Y-DNA37 so their haplogroup isn't as specific as mine. The genetic distance is 3 meaning that our relationship is further back in generations, but I'm not sure if this distance "closes" once they upgrade their Y-DNA test.

Y-DNA Match [FTDNA/Personal Photo]

CONCLUSIONS

I'm hoping that upgrading the test will give some more insight into whether it's more likely to be Arab or Jewish in origin. I have been in contact with some of the administrators of the FTDNA project I am a part of via my results in the J haplogroup. They are also interested to see what comes out of this result since I don't match many other people. This is very fascinating for me and definitely something I am learning along the way with. I'm not super well-versed in Y-DNA analysis so learning via my multiple accounts has been pretty helpful! Hoping my results come faster than I expect!

ARE YOU A CORREA FROM PUERTO RICO? 

HAVE YOU TAKEN A Y-DNA TEST? 

Testing, Testing...

DNA tests ready to go! [Personal Photo]

Just like that I'm back home from my spring break trip to Puerto Rico! Though it was a quick trip I was able to get a lot of genealogical work done, among one of those tasks was fulfilling my goal to get DNA testing done from various companies (FtDNA, 23andMe, and AncestryDNA) from various relatives. These test are in line with my genealogical New Year's Resolutions of getting my Avilés and Correa line Y-DNA tested and adding more autosomal cousins to the mix of relatives currently tested. Here's the breakdown of the testing I got done while in Puerto Rico.

AncestryDNA

This DNA test was only one and it was an autosomal test for my maternal grandfather. I wanted to add him to AncestryDNA since they also have an African breakdown that I would like to see how he scores in and also to widen the pool of genetic cousins I receive. Though AncestryDNA isn't my first choice for autosomal DNA testing since you don't get the maternal/paternal haplogroup(s) or chromosome segments, I decided to add him anyways. 

23andMe

For this one, I got two autosomal DNA tests done. I brought an extra DNA test just in case I came across another cousin but I decided to test two Avilés cousins from Lares, Puerto Rico since I was already there and could benefit from having two cousins from this line. One test was for my 1st cousin 2x removed, his father was my great-grandmother's full brother, and he's a male descendant from the Magraner line - having him tested will help separate out my DNA from my 2nd great-grandparents in DNA Painter. I also tested my 2nd great-uncle, son of my 2nd great-grandfather and from his second wife. I'm hoping that by testing another generation closer to my 2nd great-grandfather connections to Spain will be stronger. Interestingly enough, my 2nd great-uncle's mother, though not my 2nd great-grandmother is my 2nd cousin, 4x removed - her paternal grandfather is my 5th great-uncle via a line that came from Yauco to Lares, Puerto Rico... that'll be interesting to see how it interferes with the DNA segments we match together!   

FtDNA (Y-DNA 67)

Y-DNA Test [Personal Photo]

This was my first time getting a Y-DNA test done in recent years, I had tested a Gustave/Charles cousin a few years back and so far I don't have any super helpful/relevant matches, besides the fact that it's a European line that matches men from the UK/Ireland/Scotland area. It was, however, the first time I administered a Y-DNA test myself. I tested two men on this trip - my 1st cousin, 2x removed and my maternal grandfather. Some people aren't very interested in haplogroup testing but for me these two tests will help shine some light into two very mysterious lines. My Avilés line which is supposed to be Magraner from Sóller, Mallorca and my Correa line which I'm not sure where it's from and 23andMe says the line is commonly found amongst Arabs/Jews. Hopefully these tests will help better understand those lines in my family. 

Cheek swaps ready to go! [Personal Photo]

Once my DNA results appear for these various tests I'll update with some posts my findings. I'm glad I was able to get this done and excited as well to learn more about my family!

At a Complete and Utter Standstill...

In the last couple of weeks, I've taken another stab at researching my Correa side of the family but as the title suggests I am going nowhere! Though I haven't be able to move much further into the family tree, I've decided to post about them and what I do know about the family and hopefully get some clarity or ideas for new places to search.

Salinas

Back in 2015 I visited Salinas, Puerto Rico. Here I was able to meet some cousins who were Correa distant cousins as well and was able to chat with them about our history. Since this is the more recent town in our family's history finding baptism, marriage, and death records has been fairly easy. My great-grandfather was born there in 1920 along with my 2nd great-grandfather born there in 1895. My 3rd great-grandfather Manuel Correa Ortiz, was either born in Salinas or Coamo, I have yet to find a baptism record for him. His siblings born before and after him are registered in the baptismal books of Salinas yet my Manuel is estimated to have been born around 1858 and he doesn't appear in the 1st baptismal book of Salinas which covers the years 1854-1867. Maybe he's a bit older than I expected or maybe he was actually born in Coamo?

Coamo

My 4th great-grandparents married in Coamo in 1850, They were Juan (Nepomucino) Correa and Bibiana Ortiz. They're both listed as "pardos libres" and being natives of that town. Their parents are listed as José León Correa and María de la Cruz Rodríguez for Juan Correa and Antonia Ortiz for Bibiana Ortiz. It is possible that the first children from this relationship were baptized in Coamo and honestly I'm not sure if I've ever checked the first years after their marriage to see if any children were born in Coamo. However, by 1854 they had registered their daughter María Asunción Correa Ortiz.

A quick look at the baptismal book of Coamo between 1851-1855 show no "Correa" children indexed at the end of the book.

Marriage Nº 193- Juan Correa & Bibiana Ortiz [FamilySearch]

Moving up to my 5th great-grandfather José de León Correa, he married twice in Coamo - once in 1809 to Rosa Ortiz and a second time in 1819 to my 5th great-grandmother María de la Cruz Rodríguez Ruiz. In his first marriage in 1809 it seems that the church in San Juan was aware of his marriage seeing as how it mentions ... "Santa Yglesia Catedral de Puerto Rico". It seems that José León Correa had permission or was approved by the church in San Juan to marry and the priest in Coamo was aware of that. No race is mentioned here for them but in other records José León Correa appears as "pardo libre".

Marriage- José León Correa & Rosa Ortiz [FamilySearch]

The question now is: Where in San Juan are they registered?

San Juan

In San Juan for the 1700s there was one church that appears on FamilySearch which is the "Iglesia Católica, Nuestra Señora de los Remedios". What's interesting is that in the notes it states: "La iglesia también se conoce por las denominaciones Catedral de San Juan, Basílica Menor o Sagrario de la Santa Iglesia Catedral" (FamilySearch). Here we see the same terminology of Catedral de San Juan and Santa Iglesia Catedral, so my hunch is that my family should be somewhere within these books.

But unfortunately... I can't find ANYTHING!

I've searched between 1783-1800 in the San Juan pardos baptisms searching for José León Correa. According to the records I have he would have been born around 1790, so technically this range of years should be enough to find him... Nothing!

Next I checked marriages for Juan Francisco Correa and María Eugenia Carcaño - my 6th great-grandparents. I searched the white marriages from 1772-1778, the pardo weddings between May 1797-1818... Nothing! I even checked in Guaynabo which is nearby between Aug. 1771-Dec. 1790 and nothing there as well. I know there is a chunk missing before 1797 in the pardo marriages so it's possible that they're in there somewhere.

I've also checked the confirmations of San Juan between 1792-1808 for any Correa Carcaño children... nothing! Here there are a mix of white, mixed, and slave children so I would technically catch one of their confirmations one way or another, but still no hints of a Juan Francisco Correa or María Eugenia Carcaño.

My last searches were the death records of San Juan, I've searched between 1803-1809, 1820-1834 for my 6th great-grandparents and of course... nothing!

Something I do suggest is keeping track of these searches in the notes of your family tree, I have mine on Ancestry and so I have notes on what and where I have searched. That way I'm not searching in circles for their records, especially when you stop and pick up searching months later.

Notes on José León [Personal Family Tree]

Elsewhere?

It's possible that they were registered somewhere else and that José León Correa really wasn't from San Juan. Usually when someone says they're from another town, jumping into those records I have been able to find them. This is the first time that I'm having such a hard time finding even any hint of them. There are actually very little mentions of "Correa" in San Juan to begin with. Some people have suggested that he might have been from Arecibo where there are a good number of Correas, but seeing as how the records for this town aren't online I haven't been able to search their church records.  Coamo is another town with Correas, but as you can see my family is from there and I have searched those years to no avail.

Conclusions

Really there aren't any! My next guess would be to push back the years and see if possibly José León was born before the 1780s. This would make him a bit older than Rosa Ortiz when they married seeing as how she was born about 1791 but honestly in this time and even recently, men could be older than their wives and no one would blink any eye. Another theory is that they were not consider pardo in San Juan but "mulato" or even "blanco" but I feel that might more of an off theory. Still, it's important to keep an eye open for changing of races across documents which definitely happened back in the days.

Also, I'd have to continue searching in nearby towns for any hints of Juan Francisco Correa and María Eugenia Carcaño. Hoping that sooner rather than later I'm able to crack this wall once again and push these lines further back! 

Those Places Thursday – Salinas, Puerto Rico

Finally a prompt I can use on the actual day! This post is similar to Tuesday's prompt so I want to focus on a specific town I visited back in March 2015. One of the main towns I wanted to visit while I was in Puerto Rico was Salinas in the southern region of Puerto Rico. I mainly wanted to visit Salinas because my great grandfather Manuel Correa Rivera was from this town – who was a very hard line to crack! This was also the town my 4th great grandparents Jean Charles Gustave and Julienne Malvina Lautin settled in after reaching Puerto Rico through Vieques and traveling down the eastern coast. So I knew this town meant a lot to my family history and I wanted to set foot here.

My first stop in Salinas was the church which was located downtown. I stopped by to see the church where many of my ancestors had married and were baptized. While there, I started talking randomly to some people who were there setting up for an outside mass. The man had keys to the church so let me in to see this inside which was nice of him. He gave me a quick little tour giving me some information about the church and the parts that were recently renovated. I appreciated the fact that he took the time to give me this little tour though he had something else to do – Puerto Rican hospitality at its best!

Iglesia de Salinas, Puerto Rico [Personal Photo]

Inside the church [Personal Photo]

Cuna del Mojo Isleño - Salinas, Puerto Rico [Personal Photo]

My next stop was heading towards Playita or Playa, the area of Salinas I knew my family had last lived in. I knew distant family had owned a restaurant there named "Ladi's Place", so I headed there with the help of GPS to see if family still lived nearby. We parked the car and headed towards the water to get a view. It was amazing to see how close to the shore things were in this area of Salinas. Literally the ocean was the backyard to many families here!

As I stopped to take pictures we were approached by a woman selling lottery tickets. My grandmother decided to buy one and this is where my genealogical trip took a turn for the best! 

The ocean and mangroves [Personal Photo]

As my grandmother bought the ticket I worked up the courage to ask her if she knew of any "Correa" families living in the area. She stated that she herself was a Correa (from Río Jueyes… which is another area my family is from though she didn't want to engage me on her family history) and she pointed across the street and said that the man there was a Correa himself. I was excited because he was probably a cousin as well! We knocked on his door and he came out to speak to us – turns out he WAS a cousin! I think I scared him though when I started rattling off names and relations to his family and mine. He said that if I wanted to learn more, there was a cousin who would know more information about the family and that she was another cousin who lived down the street and was 100 years old.

100, I thought?! I asked him for her name and was surprised when he said the name, as I already had her on my family tree with the help of census records! We walked over and knocked and luckily she was there! We were let in and we chatted about our family's connections, she showed us pictures, and talked about our family's origin in Salinas. Apparently our family had been one of the first families to arrive in Playa, Salinas, Puerto Rico and helped to settled the area. They had come from Coamo before that which was nice to hear because it is true on paper trail as well! She told me stories of how her father was referred to as "Monsieur" because of his mother's Martinican & Guadelupean mix; her father and my 2nd great grandfather were brothers! 

Salinas, Puerto Rico [Personal Photo]

I was amazed to have met this family and yet kicking myself in the butt for not having a DNA kit with me at the time to see if she was willing to test!! Pro-Tip: Have at least one DNA kit with you as you travel just in case you meet distant family members willing to test! I'm hoping she's still alive and that I can write to them and send a letter over explaining my interest in getting her tested! I imagine her African percentages are higher than most Puerto Ricans seeing as how she is a descendant of slaves on various lines and fairly recently as well. Fingers-crossed she's alive and able/willing to do it!

My family in Salinas were mainly fishermen and sugarcane workers while they lived there. This statue below is dedicated to those fishermen in Salinas who day-in and day-out worked in the waters to provide for their families. I'm glad I was able to take a picture of his statue while there. Here's to returning to Puerto Rico soon and returning to Salinas!

A Puerto Rican Look at: Colorized Pedigrees!

I've been seeing these style of pedigrees online for a while now and decided I should give it a go! Thanks to Zalewski Family Genealogy blog  I was able to use the template and create my very own pedigree. Because my family has been on the island of Puerto Rico for over 200+ years, I didn't think it would have made sense to create a chart with just the same color over and over again to represent Puerto Rico. With this template I was able to include up to my 3rd great grandparents, which are 32 different ancestors! I was able to include their surnames on the side as well, giving you an idea where my family surnames originate from on the island. It was interesting seeing how diverse my family tree is in terms of locations. If you notice, it was only recently that my family came to the capital of San Juan with 3/4 of my grandparents being born there, though all of them spent their formative years growing up and living there. If you take a further look, my family has been present on the island for those 200+ years in almost all my branches, there is only one ancestor that made the cut for being from another place and that's my 3rd great grandfather from Mallorca, Spain.

I definitely had a lot of fun doing this pedigree and there are so many other styles you could do as well! Though morbid, I'm thinking of creating a pedigree with family deaths to see if there are any recurring patterns and to have an idea of what is potentially passed down in my family. You could also even create a pedigree with signatures of your ancestors! Though I would love to create one, unfortunately most of my ancestors didn't know how to write since they were all farmers and barely attended school past what we know as elementary/middle school.

Colorized Pedigree [Personal Photo]

I'm not sure how common it is to move so much to different cities but if you notice my mother's side of the family, they were notorious for making moves across the island. My father's side on the other hand seems to stick more to certain towns. For example, we have been in the towns of Corozal, Lares, and Toa Alta for many many years on my dad's side of the family. To give you an idea, here's a list of all my family locations which include 20 different locations on the island, those being: 

• Adjuntas, Puerto Rico
• Barranquitas, Puerto Rico
• Corozal, Puerto Rico
• Jayuya, Puerto Rico
• Lares, Puerto Rico
• Maunabo, Puerto Rico
• Manatí, Puerto Rico
• Morovis, Puerto Rico
• Patillas, Puerto Rico
• Quebradillas, Puerto Rico
• Salinas, Puerto Rico
• San Juan, Puerto Rico
• San Sebastián, Puerto Rico
• Toa Alta, Puerto Rico
• Utuado, Puerto Rico
• Vega Baja, Puerto Rico
• Vieques, Puerto Rico
• Yabucoa, Puerto Rico
• Yauco, Puerto Rico
• Mallorca, Spain

I recommend any genealogist who enjoys working with their tree to give this a go. It was super easy to create and could make a very cool poster for a wall! You could even include names and dates to give it more importance as well! 

52 Ancestors – #41 María Paulina Gustavo Lotten (1867-1948)

Yay for writing a new post (and on time!) Today I want to focus on my 3rd great grandmother who I've mentioned multiple times throughout my blog but I wanted to dedicate a section of the 52 Ancestors challenge to her.

My 3rd great grandmother on my maternal side was María Paulina Gustavo Lotten, and boy did it take me a long time to figure out all of that information. Officially, my 3rd great grandmother's should either be A) María Paulina Jean-Charles Lautin or B) María Paulina Gustave Lautin. And I'll explain why!

María Paulina was born on the island of Vieques, a island on the eastern coast of Puerto Rico on the 15th of January 1867, and later baptized on the 14th of February of the same year. Paulina was the daughter of two immigrants who had probably just recently arrived to the island when she was born. Her father was Gustave Jean Charles (also known as Gustavo Juan Carlos/Charles or Juan Carlos Gustavo- know you can see why there are two options for Paulina) and her mother was Julienne Malvina Lautin (also known as Juliana Malvina Lotten). Both were from French islands, Gustave hailing from the island of Guadeloupe and Julienne from the island of Martinique. So far, I've hit a brick wall with searching Gustave's origins on the island of Guadeloupe. I was very fortunate to find Julienne's original town in Martinique, which was Rivière Salée, a section of Trois Bourgs. We know that Gustave was married previously in Basse-Terre, Guadeloupe around the years 1851-1865, when his first wife Françoise Jackson passed away from Cholera. Hopefully I'll be able to find out where Gustave Jean Charles was from, whether it be Guadeloupe or another town!

My 3rd great-grandmother was the first born of seven children, as the family traveled the children were born along the way in different towns. María Paulina and Tomás Octavio were born in Vieques, Areopajita and Valentina were born somewhere between Vieques and Fajardo. Dionisio was born in Fajardo, Alberto Fermin in Salinas, and Martina Isabel in Santa Isabela. As you can see the family did some traveling! Finally the family would settle in the southern coast of Puerto Rico in the Salinas, Guánica, Ponce area. My 3rd great grandmother lived and married in Salinas, but later moved up north to San Juan, PR.

María Paulina married in the town of Salinas in 1896 to Manuel Correa Ortiz, son of Juan Nepomucino Correa Rodríguez and Bibiana Ortiz. Together they would have eight children together, my 2nd great grandfather being the 3rd to last born.

It's important to note that my 3rd great-grandmother probably received her name as a namesake from her mother's deceased sister. Julienne was born in 1844 and later a sister named Pauline was born in 1846, Pauline would later pass away in 1855 at the age of 8. I'm pretty sure this is where she gets her name, as a memory and dedication to her mother's deceased younger sister; both born into slavery and freed together with their mother in 1848.

By the year 1940, María Paulina (who sometimes went by the name 'Octavia') is found living alone in San Juan, Puerto Rico on Calle Progreso. Eight years later, on the 20th of September 1948 Paulina would pass away from cardiac troubles.

I wonder a lot about María Paulina and what kind of life she would have lived. Would she have been raised bilingual by her parents? Could she speak French, Martinican or Guadeloupean Créole and Spanish? Her mother would have been 23 when she was born and probably a recent immigrant to Puerto Rico, had she already begun to learn Spanish when Paulina was born? Did María Paulina know much about her parents' origins and about their past lives in the West Indies? Did she raise her own children by speaking créole to them and telling them stories about her parents?

Unfortunately, any of those stories would be cut short from me when my 2nd great-grandfather died in 1929 leaving my great grandfather without a lot of that information if he had any of it at all. I wish I knew more about this family and their cultural ties to Guadeloupe and Martinique. Did the children dream about visiting these islands themselves and seeing where their parents had spent the beginning years of their lives? Did Julienne or Gustave ever what to return? When I found out about this family and my sudden connection to Martinique and Guadeloupe I was completely surprised, flabbergasted, shocked (positively), and every other adjective there could possibly be. How could this information slipped by my grandfather, had his own father had no idea about their créole roots from the French West Indies??

I so far have met one other descendant from the Gustavo-Lotten clan but I would love to see if there are any other children from my other 3rd great-grandaunts/uncles. Were they raised with stories about the French West Indies and maybe kept some Créole words in the families? Maybe they use the names Paulina, Juliana and Gustavo/Juan Carlos in their families? Maybe they have pictures of those Gustavo-Lotten children/grandchildren of the family?

I would love to meet some more descendants and share the stories of our mutual ancestors if they don't know the stories already! When I found out I was very excited and I definitely want to visit these islands and walk the streets my ancestors walked. And maybe pick up on some French Créole! 

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 – #27 Sebastián Rodríguez Rodríguez (1779-1819)

This post will focus on my maternal 6th great grandfather Sebastián Rodríguez Rodríguez.

Sebastián according to his death certificate would have been born around 1779 in Coamo, Puerto Rico. It was very exciting when I found his death certificate because Sebastián is part of a maternal line that took a VERY long time to crack, this line coming from my Correa ancestors. By the time Sebastián was born the town had already been founded for over a good 100 years. The town is located in a valley towards the center of the island and original was known as "San Blas Illescas de Coamo" to its first settlers.

Coamo, Puerto Rico [Wikipedia]

Iglesia San Blas de Illescas [Wikipedia]

Sebastián Rodríguez Rodríguez was the son of Donato Rodríguez and Prudencia Rodríguez. His death record states that he died in Coamo on the 29th of December 1819. His wife, María de Gracia Ruiz Sánchez was still alive at the time of his death. Together they had ten children (to date) and one of them, María de la Cruz Rodríguez Ruiz, was my 5th great grandmother.

There are a few interesting things to note about Sebastián: He was written as "pardo" on his death certificate. I have talked about this identity in records a while back and there are theories that pardo means a mix of Spanish and Taíno parents/ancestors. 

Also, there is a part that states: "...del Baño fue…" and literally that means "he was from the bathroom" (which was pretty hilarious to read at first). After some digging, I ended up finding out that he wasn't actually from a bathroom but likely from an area of Coamo known as "los Baños de Coamo". Los baños are actually the only thermal spring source on the island of Puerto Rico. Originally used by the natives, the springs were thought to have healing powers and eventually drew the interest of the Spanish to that area. Due to the attraction, a resort was built and incorporated the springs. 

According to Wikipedia: "According to local legend, the first governor of Puerto Rico Juan Ponce de León, heard about the healing powers of the Baños from the Taínos. Believing that the baths were the Fountain of Youth which he was seeking, Ponce de León asked where they were located, however he misunderstood the instructions given to him and instead headed by sea towards a new land which resulted in the discovery of Florida and his death". 

I'm not sure if that story is true or not of course but it's a pretty good story to tell! And even more interesting knowing that one of my ancestors lived in that area!

Here is a picture of the baños from Google Maps based on the coordinates. When you zoom in on Google Maps you can actually see the waters and the hotel/resort built around it. 

Los Baños de Coamo [Google Maps]

Besides that information, I don't know too much else about Sebastián Rodríguez Rodríguez. For example: could his parents have been cousins/distant cousins since they both share the surname Rodríguez and live in Coamo in the mid-1700s? Also, was Sebastián actually born in Coamo? I searched the church records of Coamo between 1778-1783 for a Sebastián Rodríguez Rodríguez and didn't come across anything. Could his family have been from a nearby town or the capital of San Juan? Also interesting that he is pardo, I have other ancestors with that racial categorization yet I haven't been able to find a Spanish ancestor on those lines since they are very old and the documents aren't readily available for many of the years. 

None the less, super interesting and I can't wait to find out more!!

52 Ancestors – #11 José de León Correa Carcaño (1778?-1856)

Today's ancestor is a maternal ancestor who I'm kind of stuck on and would love to learn more about! He is my 5th great grandfather and his name is José de León Correa Carcaño.


This ancestor is the earliest documented "Correa" on my family tree so far. Growing up, I was aware of my Correa family as it would have been my 2nd last name had I been born in Puerto Rico, yet I was unaware of the family's origin. I have written previously about this family and all of the information and even misinformation I had on them. Luckily, I was able to crack my Correa brick wall and learn more about my maternal family.

José de León Correa Carcaño was born about 1778 in San Juan, Puerto Rico to his parents Juan Francisco Correa and María Eugenia Carcaño. As you can see, José was born a long time ago and thus would not appear on any census records. So I must rely on church records in order to find out more about my ancestors. José's son and my 4th great grandfather was named Juan Nepomucino Correa Rodríguez and according to records he was born in Coamo yet he lived and passed away in Salinas, Puerto Rico in 1883 – he is the first generation of Salinas inhabitants of the Correas. As you can see we are dealing now with three different towns: San Juan, Coamo and Salinas. This Correa family moved around pretty quickly, within two generations they had covered three towns and finally settled in Salinas probably around the mid-1800s.

San Juan – Coamo – Salinas [Google Maps]

José de León had two marriages and both occurred in Coamo, PR. I was fortunate and lucky to use the microfilms from Coamo in order to try and find José's marriages. Jose's first marriage in 1809 was to Rosa Ortiz, a illegitimate daughter of Luisa Ortiz, both natives of Coamo. With Rosa, to date, I know that José had four children: Antonio, María, Maximo and Juana. 10 year after his first marriage, José married my 5th great grandmother María de la Cruz Rodríguez Ruiz – they married on the 21st of November in 1819 in Coamo, Puerto Rico. Since they lived in Coamo, they most likely married in the Church of San Blás de Illescas, which began construction in 1661 making it one of the oldest churches on the island.

San Blás de Illescas, Coamo, Puerto Rico [Wikipedia]

I'm not sure however of where or when José de León passed away. It is very possible that José moved to Salinas with his son and died there, but it would have to have happened before 1885 as I've checked the books after that year or possibly José stayed in Coamo and lived out the rest of his life there [UPDATE: I have found José de León Correa's death record in 1856 in Coamo, Puerto Rico]. I also don't know where my 5th great grandmother María de la Cruz passed away. I'll have to order the church records from Salinas and Coamo again to search and see if I can find their death records. María de la Cruz was the daughter of Sebastián Rodríguez Rodríguez and María de Gracia Ruiz Sánchez, and it seems that both her parents and grandparents were from Coamo as well. Coamo was founded in 1579 and who knows how long my family had lived there! Salinas on the other hand wasn't founded until 1851!

Coamo, Puerto Rico [Google]

What's interesting is that my Correa line's Y-DNA is J1/J1e. This group can commonly be found in the Middle Eastern area which to me is super interesting. What's interesting is that Correa is commonly referred to as a Sephardic Jewish surname and there are males with a J1e paternal haplogroup who are Jewish. Could my male ancestor originally have fled Spain during or after the inquisition? Or was he a male that arrived in Spain from Africa via the Muslim Conquest? So far these are two possible theories, until I can truly document my Correa males with a paper trail or take a more in-depth Y-DNA test I'll have to settle for the hypotheses I have so far.

Haplogroup J1 Frequency [Eupedia]

Hopefully, I'll be able to find out who José de León's grandparents were and hopefully get a step closer to learning more about my Correa family origin. I haven't come across too many Correas in my life (besides my family) and/or in my genealogical search so hopefully finding them in documents will be easy peasy! 

52 Ancestors – #5 Manuel Correa Rivera (1920-1993)

Post #5! I'll dedicate this post to a man I knew soooo little about until recently. Literally, growing up I only knew his name and that was about it. Yet now with how much I know about him, I feel a strange connection to this ancestor. I wish I would have meet him, but unfortunately he has passed on and so now I can only carry his stories and listen and learn about the life of my great grandfather, Manuel Correa Rivera.

Manuel Correa Rivera, was actually born as Isidro Correa Rivera in Río Jueyes, Salinas, Puerto Rico. Our family isn't sure why he took on the name Manuel, but that was also his grandfather's name so it could easily have been in his honor or because he looked so much like him. Manuel was the eldest of three children, Manuel was born on the 4th of March 1920, his brother Alejandro on the 17th of March 1923 and his sister Modesta on the 16th of January 1927. Their parents were Julio Correa Gustavo (son of María Paulina Gustavo Lotten) and Julio's wife has gone by the names Amalia Rivera Rodríguez and Amalia Rivera Masantini.

Salinas, Puerto Rico [Google]

Living on the coast and literally by the water meant that being fishermen was probably an accessible business and easy job to get into. My great grandfather never officially worked as a fisherman from what we know but his father Julio certainly did. Odds are Julio's father Manuel Correa was also a fisherman in Salinas. Unfortunately, at the age of nine my great grandfather lost his father Julio to Tuberculosis in 1929. Three years later, Manuel and his siblings would lose their mother to what is known as Pre-eclampsia. Most likely, Amalia was pregnant at the time of her death (In the 1930 Census, she appears living with a Francisco Giraud López who could have been the father of the child). I imagine this was a tough time for Manuel and his siblings, by the age of 13 he had lost both of his parents leaving him, his brother and sister orphaned at a young age.

Luckily, the 1935 Census can tell us where the children were sent to live. Manuel Correa Rivera appears in the 1935 Census living with his aunt Senovia Correa Gustavo and her husband Francisco Alvarado Santiago. Modesta Correa Rivera was also living in this same household. I can't however find Alejandro Correa Rivera anywhere on any of the census records. Could he have passed away as a child? 

By 1940, Manuel is living and working in San Juan, Puerto Rico. In the 1930 Census, Manuel had appeared living in San Juan (briefly I guess), with his cousin Celedonio Sécola Correa – son of his paternal aunt Luisa Correa Gustavo. In 1940, Manuel (recorded with his nickname 'Manolo') was living with Luis Sanchez-Vahamonde Oller and his wife Sarah Aparicio on Calle Padre Berrios in San Juan. Luis Sanchez-Vahamonde was working as a lawyer in San Juan and my great grandfather was the family chauffeur. 

Between 1940 and 1944, my great grandfather would meet my great grandmother Ernesta (Ernestina) Miranda Rivera, originally from Vega Baja, Puerto Rico. Together they had two children, the first my grandfather and the second his little sister who passed away from Meningitis at the age of 5. This picture below was taken sometime between 1944-1950 (my guess probably 1948-49), pictured is my great grandfather in the middle with his two children on his side. When I showed my grandfather is picture, he remembered that they nicknamed his father "Joe Louis" because he looked so much like the boxer. 

Manuel Correa Rivera – Center [Personal Family Photo]

For many years I had known so little, there were rumors that he might have been from Ponce or Guayama, until I finally discovered he was from Salinas. We knew that he worked for the AMA (Autoridad Metropolitana de Autobuses) company in San Juan and apparently had become one of its first drivers when it first started. Recently, this summer I learned more about my great grandfather from my half great-uncles who were his children from a second marriage. Manuel was apparently a very intelligent man who loved to read the newspaper and complete the crosswords in the back, always finishing them completely. He was apparently very musically talented, he was able to play the guitar, the marímbola and even the accordion. The accordion to me was interesting because it makes me think of French people right away, could he have learned to play from his father when he was young?

I was also told that he loved to speak to foreigners in San Juan when he was driving for the taxi company. Manuel apparently was able to speak four languages: Spanish, English, French and another they couldn't remember. I was floored when I heard he spoke French! Did he inherit French as a language from his father and maybe other family members he lived with when he was younger? Could the fourth language my uncles couldn't remember be Créole?

This small fact drew me closer to my great grandfather, especially being the only one in my family greatly interested in languages. I talked before about genetic memory, could Manuel have passed down a love of languages to me? I had always wanted to learn French and travel to France when I was younger, when I completed my goal it just felt right. Was it encoded in my DNA?

I unfortunately don't know what my great grandfather passed away from but I know he passed away on the 7th of May, 1993. I also don't know where he is buried but I imagine it is somewhere in the San Juan/ Hato Rey area. Hopefully I'll be able to visit his grave someday and pay my respects to him. I would have loved to hear his stories of his childhood in Salinas and find out whether or not French was a household language used between family members. Hopefully there are more stories of him and his family somewhere in Salinas, waiting to be found! 

Tragedy in the Family

When researching my family, I have always seen it important to research other branches of the family. While looking into my Charles/Gustave side of the family I came across a cousin who went through some pretty serious tragedies practically year after year.

My 1st cousin 4x removed, Pedro Juan Gustavo Siman (who's last names later would becomes 'Charles Siman') was born in Guánica, Yauco, Puerto Rico on the 6th of April 1904. His parents were Alberto Fermin Gustavo Lotten and María Siman Rodríguez. His father, Alberto, was my 3rd great grand-uncle and his family's branch extends in to Guánica since he raised his family there. My branch stayed in Salinas, which is a neighboring town and to this day I have Charles cousins in the Guánica area who I one day will hopefully get to meet!

In 1910 and 1920, Pedro lived with his parents and in 1926 Pedro would marry. On the 12th of June 1926, Pedro Juan Gustavo Siman married Petra Claudio López in Guánica. Two years later their first daughter, Luz Celeste Charles Claudio was born on the 6th of January 1928. There was another son, Alberto Luis, shortly born after her who's birth certificate I can't find yet and then I have four more children born after Alberto Luis. This is sadly when the family's luck turns for the worst.

Every child after Luz and Alberto Luis didn't make it past a year.

There was Eddie Nelson born 8th of July 1934 and passed away the 15th of July 1934.
Then a daughter Daisy was born on/about November 1935 and passed away the 10th of January 1936.
After, a son named Benjamin was born in June 1939 and passed away on the 23rd of November 1939.
Lastly (from what I have), there was Pedro Juan Jr. born the 25th of May 1943 and passed away on the 14th of June 1943.

Among the reasons for death are: Acute Enterocolitis, Chronic intestinal indigestion, Chronic gastroenteritis, and one death even was said to be caused by congenital syphilis.

What struck me the most was that despite infantile death rates probably being somewhat high at the time, this family didn't really suffer too much from early deaths. Most of the children continued into their late adulthood lives before they passed. And in this case there were back-to-back cases of child deaths. Three of four death causes seem to be connected to virus/bacteria exposure, were Pedro and his wife Petra living in bad conditions or unknowingly had something in the home that was harboring these viruses?

It was very sad to find these records trying to find and connect my family. Did Pedro and Petra have a strained relationship? They seemed to live out their lives together seeing as I haven't found a record for him remarrying. Was the family supportive of the couple and what they were going through? I imagine that it must be expensive to bury four children in the span of 9 years. Did the family blame it on witchcraft? (Sometimes when things can't be explained, many in the Caribbean turn to the idea of someone placing a curse on the family or giving the "evil eye"). Did Pedro and Petra remain hopeful?

I hope that their branch extends beyond my knowledge and that I might one day learn more about Pedro and his wife Petra! 

52 Ancestors – #2 Jean Charles Gustave (1819-1891)

This second post will be about a challenging ancestor of mine who I have mentioned a lot before but I
want to dedicate a post to him since he has been a troubling ancestor to pinpoint. This post will be about my 4th great grandfather Jean Charles Gustave.

Jean Charles Gustave has been very elusive since the first moment I set eyes on his name in a birth certificate of his grandchild, Julio Correa Gustavo (my 2nd great grandfather). When Jean Charles was registered in Puerto Rico with his wife, he was registered as living in Fajardo, Puerto Rico as a "domestico" from Martinique, married, and 55 years old. They were registered on the 30th of May 1874 as domiciled in Fajardo but were still French subjects. In his registration his name became "Juan Carlos Gustavo" and in subsequent documents his name remained in the Spanish form. Yet every time Jean Charles Gustave signed his name in documents he consistently used the French form of his name.

Jean Charles Gustave's Signature

We also know that by the time he was registered in 1874, he was already living at least 7 years in Puerto Rico because his first child and my 3rd great grandmother, María Paulina Gustavo Lotten, was born in 1867 on the island of Vieques, a municipal of Puerto Rico. Jean Charles and his wife "Juliana Balbina Lotten" who I later came to learn was Julienne Malvina Lautin, a native from Rivière Salée, Martinique had 7 children (to date) that I know of. I've decided to use the surnames "Gustavo Lotten" because it is the most similar to its original form, Gustave Lautin. There have been many variations of both surnames used throughout documents and the family eventually switched over to the surname "Charles". Here are the children in order:

1) María Paulina Gustavo Lotten 1867 – 1948
2) Tomás Octavio Gustavo Lotten 1869 – 1957
3) Valentina Gustavo Lotten 1878? – 1938
4) Areopajita Gustavo Lotten 1879 – 1900
5) Dionisio Gustavo Lotten 1880 – 18??
6) Alberto Fermin Gustavo Lotten 1882 – 1953
7) Martina Isabel Gustavo Lotten 1886 – 1888

Gustave Lautin Family

I have been able to track five out of the seven children from the Gustave Lautin line but I don't know what ever happened to Dionisio and Martina Isabel. Dionisio was born in Fajardo while Martina Isabel was born in Santa Isabel yet they never appear in census records and I have not found death records for them yet.

Something very interesting that I have noticed (and probably literally just right now), is that the family has always stuck by the ocean. For whatever reason, in whatever town they lived in, it was always by the coast. Vieques, Fajardo, Santa Isabel, Salinas, Guánica, Ponce – all coastal towns of Puerto Rico. Jean Charles Gustave was a carpenter by trade, so wouldn't he have found better work in San Juan? The family would later become fishermen with some carpenters here and there but I think it's interesting that they were always near water (most of their children and grandchildren were born in parts of the town called "playa" – in Santa Isabel, Ponce, and Salinas). Could Jean Charles Gustave originated from a coastal town in Martinique?

Despite knowing where Jean Charles Gustave has lived I have yet to find his death certificate. I know that his death had to have taken place between November 1887 – August 1891, with the help of his grandchildren's records. The question is where?! This span of 4 years is a pretty small gap to look for someone yet I have had no luck finding his death record in Salinas, Yauco/Guánica or Ponce (I'll be double checking again shortly!)

Jean Charles Gustave always seemed to me to be of a créole background for various reasons. 1) He didn't appear in the Actes D'individualités in Martinique – This could mean he was born free or freed before 1848. 2) He was able to sign his name in 1885 – which I think is a big feat for a black man in the mid-1800s from a colonial island. 3) His wife was much younger than him which makes me think she married "up" for a better life – either love brought them together or his status did.

After researching the Gustave line for quite a while, I was able to find a cousin who shared a connection with me. Her great grandfather, Alberto Fermin, and my 3rd great grandmother, María Paulina, were brothers and sisters. This 3rd cousin, 2x removed is more connected to the Charles family and thus was able to find a male descendant of Jean Charles Gustave who was willing to take a Y-DNA test to figure out our Martinican male haplogroup.

I was able to get a Y-DNA test through FTDNA from a 2nd cousin, 3x removed, the grandson of Alberto Fermin Gustavo Lotten. I was very excited when the results started coming in this week. I was caught between hoping it was an African haplogroup and a European haplogroup, but my gut feeling was that it would come back European – due to the créole theory. The group came back R-M269 (shorthand) also known as R1b1a2, which turns out to be part of one of the biggest European haplogroups. Hopefully I'll be able to pinpoint a surname through FTDNA which would give me a clue for my male ancestor in Martinique!

Haplogroup R1b Distribution [Wikipedia]

Take a look at this new blog post called "A New Piece to the Puzzle! The Jean Charles Gustave Mystery Continues…" with some new information regarding my 4th great grandfather!

1935 Social & Population Census of Puerto Rico

Recently (as in just yesterday), ancestry.com uploaded the 1935-1936 Census for Puerto Rico. I have been waiting for this census for a while and I'm glad it's been released! It adds another set of records available on ancestry for Puerto Ricans to use for researching their ancestors.

Here is some background information given by ancestry:

This census is particularly helpful because it's right between the 1930 and 1940 censuses so if someone died between those years you'll be able to find out if it was after or before 1935. Also, there is a 1935 agricultural census which if your ancestors owned land on the island they would appear on and give you information on that.

So far the 1935 census has helped me in a few ways. I've been able to find all of my direct ancestors that were alive for that time period in the records, except for one pair of great grandparents who I'm still trying to track down.

Before the 1935 Census, I wasn't sure when my 2nd great grandfather Nicodemus Vélez Ríos died. I knew that it was sometime between 1930-1940 but that was a pretty wide area to cover. Luckily, I was able to find his wife Domitila Mercado Cruz living in Arenas, Utuado, Puerto Rico with her children and widowed. Now I know that Nicodemus must have died sometime between 1931-1935 and probably in Adjuntas where they had lived for a little over 12 years. Now I'm trying to track his death record between those years. Here is the 1935 census record of Domitila as a widowed woman living with her children in Arenas, Utuado.

1935- Arenas, Utuado, Puerto Rico

Secondly, the 1935 Census gave me another piece to the life of my great grandfather Manuel Correa. Manuel Correa was born in 1920 as "Isidoro Correa Rivera"; his father would later die in 1929 and his mother in 1933 leaving him and his siblings orphaned. From the information I have, Isidoro, who went by the name Manuel lived in 1930 with his cousin in San Juan, Puerto Rico while his sister Modesta still lived with her mother in Río Jueyes, Salinas, Puerto Rico. It seems that 5 years later, Isidoro moved back to Salinas and lived with his sister and their aunt Senovia and her husband Francisco Alvarado. Also in the house was Luisa another aunt, mother of Celedonio. Later in 1940 he would move back to San Juan and work for a Luis Vahamonde-Sanchez and it seems that Manuel would stay there for the rest of his life until his death. Speaking with a great-uncle confirmed that I have the right family but I hope that Isidoro and Manuel really are the same person! Here is the 1935 Census of them in Río Jueyes, Salinas.

1935- Salinas, Puerto Rico

As I search for extended family, the 1935 Census will help with tracking movement across towns, births, deaths and even new relationships that formed between 1930-1940. Now for finding my missing great grandparents in this census!!