When Tragedy Strikes…

Genealogy can be a lot of fun, discovering your ancestors, their stories, and new information that can tell you more about your past. But there is a darker side to genealogy and that is death. It isn't an easy topic to stomach and as humans we have to deal with this throughout our lives; but as genealogists we have to sort of harden ourselves around the topic of death as it is heavily linked to our hobby/profession. As you dig deeper into your past you begin to uncover the deaths in your family and the different circumstances that may have affected someone's life. Though morbid, I do think it's an important topic to talk about since it does give a glimpse into why certain things might have changed during a person's lifetime. So I want to focus on some things I have discovered myself that have definitely changed the way I have looked at my family.

Losing a parent/spouse

One of the main deaths you see in genealogy is the lose of a spouse or a parent. These events commonly occur and for various reasons, whether it be disease, sickness or accidents. It is never easy losing one but losing both spouse and parent can be especially difficult. I came across this situation with my 6th great grandmother Catalina de Madera Troche.

Catalina lived most of her life in Yauco and potentialy was from Yauco herself or a nearby town. Catalina married Cosme Santana Velázquez around the 1780s-90s. By the early 1800s, Catalina and Cosme had various children from their marriage: Faustino, Anastasia, Benita (5th great grandmother), and Ramona. 1810 is the year Catalina's life would change, specifically the month of June.

On the 13th of June 1810, Catalina would lose her mother Ambrosia Troche del Espíritu Santo, her mother was about 80s year old living a rather long life for the time. Ambrosia was married to Vicente Madera and both were potentially from San Germán, Puerto Rico. I can imagine though Ambrosia had lived long, it was difficult for Catatalina... and three days later the situation would be no easier.

Catalina's husband Cosme Santana passed on the 16th of June 1810. Cosme himself was in his 60s and was the son of Juan Santana and Francisca Velázquez. No cause of death is mentioned on the records so I am not sure what was that caused both of their deaths that year. Equally, Catalina had lost a sister in 1807 and later another sister in 1809. To make matters worse Catalina lost two children in 1813 and 1814. So in the span of of 7 years Catalina lost: two sisters, her mother, her husband, and two children - 6 people in total.

I can only imagine that this was neither easy for Catalina or the family. It makes me wonder how the family was able to deal with these deaths and how they were able to bury the deceased and what kind of financial and economic burden this might have caused the family. Many of my ancestors died and left no will behind to their children or spouses. Which means that each death was a costly or difficult event to swallow financially. I'm not sure how much the cost was back in the 19th century but I can imagine that burying 6 people in the span of 7 years was no easy feat. Catalina herself would go on to pass away in 1822, around the age of 60 in Yauco, Puerto Rico. One can only imagine what type of life Catalina lead towards the end of her own and how these circumstances might have changed the way she interacted with others and just her general outlook.

Infant deaths

Growing up my parents said, "no parent should ever have to bury their children", and this quote comes to mind a lot when I come across infants on deaths records. It seems to be pretty common in the early history of the island and some of the main causes was due to lack of nutrition and/or something as simple as diarrhea. One has to remember that at times like these, access to basic healthcare was difficult when people lived in remote areas of the island such as up in mountains and in smaller towns where maybe a doctor who could help would not be seen until days later when it was too late.

One specific infant death that specifically caught my attention occurred while I was searching through the Salinas records searching for any mention of my Correa ancestors. I came across a death record for a child of Inocencio (also sometimes known as Ignacio) Correa Rodríguez, my 5th great grand-uncle, and his wife Cándida Gómez. What caught my attention was that in 1862 they had lost a child... and another... and another. So at first, I figured that due to lack of nutrition various children of various ages passed. But when I took a closer look I realized that they were actually a set of triplets! I was actually fairly shocked since I had never come across triplets, that I know of, in any of my searches for my family or any others. This makes me wonder how often these kinds of births occurred on the island and how long they lived to adulthood. 

These triplets were:

• Demetrio, deceased, 23rd of December 1862, one day old. 
• Juana, deceased, 25th of December 1862, three days old. 
• Blaviana, deceased, 26th of December 1862, four days old. 

Demetrio Correa Gómez - Defunción 1862 [FamilySearch]

Juana Correa Gómez - Defunción 1862 [FamilySearch]

Blaviana Correa Gómez - Defunción 1862 [FamilySearch]

As you can see each child passed a different day across the span of three days. It makes me wonder what was running through the couple's mind as they went through this tragic event. Were they aware of the situation prior to the deaths? Did they think it would affect all three of their children? How would they have felt in this situation? Out of the 8 children I found for this couple, I can confirm through records that 6 did not make it passed the age of 9 - one child even passed a year later in 1863 after Inocencio and Cándida had lost the triplets. This must have been very difficult for the family and I can't imagine what they had gone through at this time and how it changed their outlook of their marriage and life.

Accidents

This story I knew fairly well growing up because it had to do with my 2nd great grandfather, Pedro Dávila Ruiz, my own grandmother's grandfather. She was alive when this occurred and so the story was passed down to me directly from her. My 2nd great grandfather was out with his grandson when all of a sudden he heard a screech coming down the street as if a car was dragging a piece of metal, apparently the driver had already hit a fence as he came down the street and was already on the sidewalk. Pedro acted quickly and pushed his grandson out of the way but he himself was hit, the injuries from the hit would ultimately cause his death. He was about 79 years old at the time and passed away in San Juan, Puerto Rico, though Pedro Dávila was originally from Maunabo, Puerto Rico.

As you can see from his death certificate below it mentions that he had trama to his brain and that his death was an accident caused on the street. The description mentions that he was hit/run over by a car, which matches what my grandmother had told me. It occurred at 11:45AM which means that Pedro and his grandson were probably out for a stroll or on the way to get something for lunch, given the time. My grandmother had always lived with her grandfather when she was a girl and has stories of how he was a devoted Catholic and how he was able to tell the time from just looking at the position of the shadows cast by the sun on the ground. My grandmother was only 16 when she lost her grandfather and I can imagine it took a toll on her because this was an accident and not a death that was expected.

Pedro Dávila Ruiz - Defunción [FamilySearch]

Taking one's own life

This topic can be fairly heavy and so if it is something that you are sensitive towards I would skip entirely over this section. This form of death does not come up too often in my tree (this might be the only case that I can remember) and so when I found it I was fairly surprised. This has to do with a direct ancestor of mine, my own 2nd great-grandfather José Miranda Santos, who took his own life. For whatever reason, this happened at the age of 52 having been married at the time and having 7 out of 8 children alive. José Miranda and his wife Ramona Rivera would have been in Orocovis at the time with their children. I wasn't raised around this side of the family so I'm not sure what the circumstances were, my mother however was aware that this was how her great-grandfather had passed. Below you can see that in his death record, he was marked has having been asphyxiated by a rope, it was also marked as suicide and not as an accident or homicide.

José Miranda Santos- Defunción 1938 [FamilySearch]

I know this was probably one of if not the heaviest post I have written but I think to discuss these events, if not it's like trying to ignore the elephant in the room in genealogy. I think it's important to see these kinds of events and interpret how they might have influenced or changed someone's life. Unfortunately we have to go through this quite often and each time it changes our lives. So to look back and see how these deaths changed our ancestors, it can give us a better understand of certain generationally beliefs or certain outlooks obtained by older family members as they went through these deaths. 

Plotting Puerto Rican Property

Recently in a Yahoo post, a member from one of the genealogical groups I am a member of sent us a link with the ability to search for property your family held/currently holds. This link allows you to search the island for property and then plots it for you showing you the size of the property. Also, there is information such as name of owner and if it was recently purchased it shows you from who it was bought. It seems to be current property and there is no option to see if property was held in the past, so for example, if your family held land but has since sold it the property won't appear as belonging to your ancestors. The only thing I don't really like about the website is that it shows current addresses for people living on the island still. I confirmed this by searching for aunts, uncles, great-uncles, and great-aunts that still live in Puerto Rico; I guess that information is available somewhere on the internet already but I found it kind of creepy to have that information so easily readily available to whoever wanted to search and see it Google Earth-style.

Nonetheless, I think this website can be useful for people searching for property their family has owned and I was told that with the help of those "parcela" numbers you can search at your local Registro de Propiedad to find out more information about the land, such as who bought it and how it was passed down. I personally haven't done this but I hope to do so when I visit the island. I was fortunate to find some property my ancestor owned in Río Prieto, Lares, Puerto Rico. As you can see below, it is highlighted the property that was under his name, equally you can click on the adjacent property and see who neighbors are, sometimes their own siblings and/or cousins.

Land Property in Lares, Puerto Rico

If you click on the blue binocular on the bottom left hand corner there is a option called "dueño" where you can search for your family ancestors who might have held land. Play around with this because for example I searched for my 2nd great-grandfather without his maternal surname and he didn't show up, but when I searched for him with both he appeared. Equally, if you don't find an ancestor trying searching for their wife or the combined searched of them and their spouse to see if any children held the land. Also, there are other options where you can trace the land and mark it on the map and other interesting options. I haven't played around too much with the site and from my understanding it is fairly new so there is a lot to be learned still.

Hoping to keep digging and find some more property for my ancestors and hopefully when I'm Puerto Rico be able to learn about how and from who the land was acquired! 

Another Mystery Solved?

As you can tell by now I've been away for a while but I'm happy to say I have finally completed my last semester and I officially have my Master's degree! But enough about that, more importantly I am here to update something I have been searching for a LONG time now and I think I have finally come to the end of that search. I've had many searches and brickwalls throughout my genealogical years and some have been tough, for example like searching for my ancestors in Martinique and Guadeloupe. This mystery though has been with me since the beginning of my searches in 2004 and even from before when I was being told tales of my ancestors; but today (hopefully finally) I have written proof on the father of my ancestor José Avilés Magraner.

For those who have been reading for my blog (many thanks and I hope you are enjoying my posts!) you know by know the mystery that surrounds José Avilés' father. And for those of you who don't a quick recap: José was said to be the son of a Spaniard who lived in Río Prieto, Lares and that his said surname was "Magraner". After searching for some years through various records, I was able to bring it down the potential father to Damián Magraner or one of his brothers who owned land in Río Prieto, Lares. I deduced that Damián had to be the father for multiple reasons: 1) My 2nd great grandfather and his brother Lorenzo both carried the surname Magraner after their mothers, 2) There were tales in the family about the relationship between a Spaniard and a Puerto Rican woman that produced José, 3) My ancestor worked Damián's land, therefore there was some sort of connection there already in place, and finally, probably the most important 4) Both José and Lorenzo named a son "Damián".

Now the problem lied in proving this relationship. In NO document that I have does Damián appear as the father of the children. This I ended up deducing had to deal with the fact that Damián was a married man back in Sóller, Mallorca to an Antonia Morell Pons and that a man of his status could not recognize bastard children. I was pretty convinced that Damián was the father and even traveled to Sóller, Mallorca while I was abroad to learn more about Damián, his family, and his life on the islands (both Puerto Rico and Mallorca). But I left with no real clue, still with just coincidences and theories in my head. But recently I discovered a single document that could finally piece it all together!

Recently I learned about the "U.S. Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007". At first glance I thought it was just the SSDI but when I typed in the search engine family names, I was getting information that the latter didn't have. For example, the Applications and Claims Index sometimes provides names of parents which the SSDI (Social Security Death Index) does not do. So I wondered, could these new documents shed light on my Avilés Magraner ancestors? At first, I started searching just for José Avilés Magraner with both surnames and just one, but I couldn't find anything. I actually have been having a lot of trouble finding his SSDI and death date since no one in my family is too sure when it was. My next best thing was Lorenzo Avilés Magraner who I did have a death record and date for, so I decided to give it a shot. My first results gave me a Lorenzo Avilés from Lares, Puerto Rico and I figured it definitely had to be my 2nd great grand-uncle.

Search for Lorenzo Avilés Magraner [Ancestry]

Even though it didn't mention a Magraner surname, I figured I should just click on it and see what the results would yield. There were the odds that nothing would come back besides his name and his birth and death date, so I crossed my fingers. Keep in mind that I've been constantly faced with a blank spot in the section of "father's name" so I really didn't expect anything new. Except this was the FIRST time that I was thoroughly surprised and completely elated. This time there WAS a father's name! And it mentions exactly who I thought it was: Damián Magraner!

Granted there is always room for error, and that goes without saying for everyone, not just me when dealing with names and genealogy. But I'm happy to FINALLY see a name for a father and that it was the one who I have been betting my money on this whole time. I've ordered Lorenzo's Social Security Application (form SS-5) and I'm hoping that there it does mention Damian Magraner as his father. I really am glad that I now have a record which mentions Damian as the father! I guess I can officially say I have a third great grandfather from Spain and that the tales that were told had some truth to them! 

I would still love to find an Avilés descendant and test their Y-DNA to hopefully one day find a Magraner descendant and see if they match up, this would truly be the only way to once and for all close shut this mystery. Until then, I'll wait for Lorenzo's social security application and be happy with how far I have gotten.

Take a look at those documents, you never know if they can answer some questions for you as well! Just remember the years are from 1936-2007! Happy hunting! 

52 Ancestors – #44 Alejandro Rivera González (1883-1958)

So I'm not gonna lie -- this is kind of a cheat post! Before the 52 Ancestor challenge was created I had gone about doing my own little series back in 2012 (has time flown by that fast already?), in which I would focus on ancestors' stories via the records I had of them. I started with Alejandro Rivera González and probably added a few more before I officially decided to go and join the 52 Ancestors Challenge bandwagon. So if you want to read some more about Alejandro's life click here  to see what I already knew about him through the records I had. I'll give a quick overview just in case the other post is too long or not worth reading (don't worry, no judging is happening here!). I want to add more to his story which I'll be doing here by closing any ends of the story which I previously didn't have information for and might have now!

Summary: Alejandro Rivera González was born in Toa Alta in 1883 to his parents Manuel de Jesús Rivera Díaz and Laureana González Mojica. Alejandro would marry three times throughout his life, his last wife being my great grandmother Mercedes Ortiz Marrero. In total, Alejandro would father 16 children in total from his three marriages. He was also a short little fellow of 5'4" :) who could read and write and owned land in Toa Alta before moving to the barrio La Perla in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

New Details: 

His first wife's death: With the release of the Puerto Rican Civil Registry on Ancestry.com I have been able to track down certain death certificates extremely quickly or with much more ease than through FamilySearch. Fortunately, I was able to find Brigida Hernández Vélez - Alejandro's first wife's death certificate. Brigida passed away in Toa Baja, Puerto Rico on the 28th of June 1913 to gastroenteritis. This would mean that Alejandro would lose his wife on the 28th of june and his last son Pedro from Brigida on the 16th of July 1913. I imagine this must have been extremely hard on Alejandro, losing his last born child from his first marriage and wife only a month apart.

Alejandro's death: Like the record above, I was FINALLY able to find Alejandro's death certificate by playing around with the settings of the ancestry Puerto Rican Civil Registry search. I was able to find out that Alejandro Rivera González passed away on the 5th of June 1958 in Puerta de Tierra, San Juan, Puerto Rico. For whatever reason, he was incorrectly written down as "Alejandro Rivera Marrero" even though his mother is correctly listed as "Laureana González". I imagine this was a mistake caused in confusion with the surname of my great grandmother and his wife "Mercedes Marrero". It says he worked in "obras públicas" which I really don't know what that means; he worked in that "field" up until 1951. Interestingly, the person who registered the death of my great grandfather was my own grandfather Felipe Rivera Ortiz who was probably still living with the family when his father passed away. His cause of death is registered as "senility", as well as fallo cardiaco "a heart attack", and derrame cerebral "a stroke". He was buried one day later on the 6th of June 1958 and thanks to my cousin I now know exactly where he is buried. I was very happy to have found his death certificate since it puts a close on his life and what happened to him and when/where he died. It's also interesting to put into perspective that my grandfather lost his dad at 22 which must have been hard on him, his dad was much older than a "typical" dad was in those days in Puerto Rico but still I imagine they had a close connection.

I would love to meet descendants of the siblings of Alejandro and maybe compare photos (if any are available) of them to see how they each inherited genes from their ancestors and how they similar/different. It's so interesting to see that my great grandfather was a pretty short man when I myself measure 6'0". Hopefully one day I'll be able to learn more stories about his family, his parents and maybe even what life was like for them back in Toa Alta and maybe find out what brought him to San Juan after living in Toa Alta for so many years. 

52 Ancestors – #40 Cayetano de los Santos

I can't believe this is Ancestor #40 already!! Boy has time flown by! I am happy to have finally caught up (yet again) and hopefully I'll be able to continue to post on the regularly scheduled Friday like I had done before. Today's ancestor will be Cayetano de los Santos, my 7th great grandfather.

Cayetano de los Santos, who's surname was shortened to Santos, was my 7th great grandfather via my maternal side of the family. Unfortunately, I don't have documents on him or exact dates but I'm glad to have found him and talk about him nonetheless. Cayetano de los Santos was from, you guessed it, Toa Alta, Puerto Rico! Except this time it's interesting because he's from my maternal side of the family. This means that my paternal and maternal side of the family lived in the same town and in the same time frame as one another. It is also very possible that my parents are related to one another through these ancestors, they do share certain surnames with each other from Toa Alta so who knows if they lead back to common mutual ancestors.

Cayetano would have been born sometime in the early 1700s in Toa Alta, there he would marry Gertrudis Rivera Rodríguez and to my knowledge have three children together. It is very possible and likely that they had other children but being that I haven't found anymore in the church records of Toa Alta I can only for sure say that there were three.

Cayetano and Gertrudis' children would eventually make their way into Corozal, from Corozal they'd make their way into Morovis, then Vega Baja, and eventually back up towards San Juan. The family did a loop of sorts throughout the generations. I can't be sure that Cayetano and Gertrudis died in either Toa Alta or Corozal, it is very possible that just the children moved into the next town and the parents stayed behind. Or also, that they all moved into Corozal together and start a new life there. Until I have further records I can't be too sure about where they died.

Interestingly, I have found a document that could potentially point to my parents' families knowing one another in the town of Toa Alta, Puerto Rico. My 3rd great-grandfather had a brother named Ruperto Rivera Román born on the 25th of March 1819, son of Joseph de Rivera and Gertrudis Román. The family came forth on the 10th of April 1819 to baptize their son. In the document below you can see who the godparents were for Ruperto:

Ruperto Rivera Román - Bautismo,  1819 [FamilySearch]

That's right! Ruperto's godparents were a Cayetano de los Santos and Gregoria Rivera! It is very possible that Ruperto's godparents were my 7th great grandparents from my maternal side of the family. That would mean that my 4th great grandparents and my 7th great grandparents knew one another! I know that they are pretty far apart, 4th and 7th generation ancestors, but due to child birth, longevity, etc. and how some generations waited longer to have children and thus creating such a big gap. The years do coincide and so do the town and the names; I wouldn't be surprised at all if these were my Cayetano de los Santos y Gertrudis Rivera. It makes me think… could Gertrudis and Joseph have been brothers and sisters? Maybe she was an aunt or someone close to him, a cousin? They both are surnamed Rivera and living in 18th century Toa Alta it is very possible that they had some type of family connection. 

It's very interesting to consider that both sides of my family knew each other 200-300 years ago in a town I had no idea my parents had ancestors in. I think it's very cool to find such documents like this, makes you think about whether our future is already "set" and how things work in life. For example, the lady that I met who my 4th great grandparents were godparents to one of her great-aunts. Life works in very mysterious ways!! 

52 Ancestors – #39 María Higinia Ruiz Ramos (1859-1921)

Moving a little over towards the East from Patillas, we get to Yabucoa where my next ancestor entry will take place! This post is about my 3rd great grandmother María Higinia Ruiz Ramos.

María Higinia according to records was originally from Maunabo, Puerto Rico which makes sense since these two towns (Yabucoa and Maunabo) are very close to one another in the south-eastern part of Puerto Rico. Equally, her husband was also from Maunabo, PR. María Higinia would have been born around 1859, the daughter of Manuel Ruiz and Dorotea Ramos. Around 1875, Juan Bautista Dávila González and María Higinia Ruiz Ramos would have gotten married in Maunabo, Puerto Rico. Their marriage would produce ten children, which includes my 2nd great grandfather Pedro Dávila Ruiz.

By 1910, Higinia and the family were living in Calabazas, Yabucoa, Puerto Rico- the place where at least three generations of my family would be born/live in. María Higinia appear as 'white', married for 35 years and a owner of land on which she worked on. I'm not sure if this was an error on the part of the census taker since it's only María listed as the head but I wouldn't be surprised if she herself worked the land. She is listed as living with two children, and three grandchildren; she was also unable to read or write.

María Higinia Ruiz Ramos - 1910 Census [Ancestry]

Unfortunately, I haven't been able to locate most of my ancestors from Yabucoa on the 1920 census, this includes María Higinia. I'm not really sure why this is, they were living in Puerto Rico and never traveled outside the island, they even appear on the 1930 census living in the same town and barrio so it's not like they moved somewhere else. Nonetheless, there is a gap there missing of information on who was where and did what in the 1920 Census. 

I do know however that María Higinia Ruiz Ramos passed away on the 24th of September 1921 in Calabazas, Yabucoa, Puerto Rico. It took me a long time to find her death certificate. I had searched multiple times in Yabucoa and Maunabo but I had no idea when or where she died. Her husband on the other hand died in 1933 and was widowed by the time he passed away, so I had a short range of years for her... but still nothing! It wasn't until Ancestry uploaded the Civil Registry that I was able to type in names and play around with the settings that I was able to find a "María Ramos" passing away in Yabucoa. It turns out that this was my 3rd great-grandmother! For whatever reason, her first surname "Ruiz" was dropped on this document, but it does state she was the wife of Juan Bautista Dávila which helped to prove this was her. 

Her cause of death was kind of interesting/shocking to see. It states that at 10 in the morning of the 24th day of September of 1921, María Ramos asphyxiated (underwater). It doesn't, however, state if this was  on accident or on purpose. She would have been around 62 years old, so I can see this happening as a horrible accident but it doesn't state whether it was home or at a nearby river. I don't have anymore details than what is written on the death certificate and I haven't heard any stories of this as well in my family. I don't think my family even knew about this ancestress, let alone the cause of her death. 

María Higinia Ruiz Ramos - Defunción, 1921 [Ancestry] 

This is the third direct ancestor to die from something that was not of natural causes/ or a sickness. It's a bit morbid to find these death certificates and see sometimes the horrible ways someone passed away. For example: my 2nd great-grandfather, José Miranda Santos, who unfortunately hung himself at about the age of 50. It is however important to learn about the birth, lives, and deaths of each of my ancestors - the good, the bad, and the ugly. 

I have pretty deep roots in Maunabo, dating back to the early 1800s/late 1700s so I would love to head down there and see the area; as well as with Yabucoa which is one town over. I really need to head to Puerto Rico and discover these towns and barrios that my families were from… I'm seriously itching to do it in the near future!! Hopefully I'll collect more stories, see the lands they lived & worked on, and even meet some distant cousins!

52 Ancestors – #37 Gertrudis Román (1790-1844)

I'm going to keep this ball rolling and continue posting about my ancestors. So here's post 37 about yet another ancestor from Toa Alta, my 4th great grandmother Gertrudis Román.

When I first discovered Gertrudis through the Toa Alta church records I was really excited, being the wife of my 4th great grandfather, Joseph de Rivera, it made her a part of the oldest set of ancestors on my direct paternal lineage.

I started digging deeper into the records searching for their death records, I was fortunate to stumble upon a "Gertrudis Romana" who I'm pretty sure is my 4th great grandmother. It states… "al cadaver de Gertrudis Romana [sic] como de veinte y seis años viuda de José Rivera, pardos libres". 

Gertrudis passed away on the 29th of December 1844, having already been widowed of her husband José Rivera. Her age is listed as "26 years old" which would mean she would have been born about 1818 which I know is incorrect. This is the only little bit of information that is very inaccurate, and for now I do believe this is my Gertrudis Román but it does bother me a bit that it's so wrong. Very possibly, her age was guessed at the time of her death. She could have been in her late 40s and someone gave a wrong age and that's what was written down. I'm not sure if there was another Jose Rivera and Gertrudis Roman couple in Toa Alta, Puerto Rico at the time (at least I haven't found one) so even though the age is wrong I believe firmly she is my 4th great grandmother.

What's interesting is that it states she is a "pardo libre", and the fact that it's in plural probably means it was referring to her late husband as well. I have talked about this term before in other posts, how "pardo" for a while was a term used to describe people of color in Puerto Rico and later the term "trigueño" kind of substituted this word, sometimes the word 'mulato' was used as well. However, there is some debate to what the "pardo" mix actually entails. I'm under the impression (and agree with) the belief that pardo was a term used for mixed Spanish and native Taíno people. It is also very possible that it was used for mixed Spanish and African people (and possibly for someone of all three). We know for sure that José Rivera would have been a descendant on his paternal side from a European man seeing as he (and I) are I2a1*, a European haplogroup. This is the first time I noticed on the record that it was in plural and that it could be a reference to the husband. Potentially both José and Gertrudis were mixed free people of color in the Toa Alta society and married because they were in the same social class.

Gertrudis and José would have nine children in total, from what I have so far! I'd have to look and see how they were identified in terms of "color". In my 3rd great grandfather's death record there is no note of his color, probably because the entries were much shorter during the time period he passed away in. None the less, it's very interesting to see my 4th great grandmother listed as "pardo libre", I would love to do some more research into that term and see what kind of life - whether they enjoyed certain privileges or hung in between two worlds - and how this category would impact their lives and that of their children. 

52 Ancestors – #36 Isabel de la Fuente

Okay, finally getting into my September ancestors! I can't believe that this is ancestor #36, so let's get started! This will be about my 5th great grandmother Isabel de la Fuente.

Isabel is also another ancestor from the town of the Toa Alta who I don't have clear years of birth and death due to her being only present in church documents. Isabel, like Juan de Dios Marrero, was most likely born in the early 1700s since her first child I have documented is in 1809. Isabel after a while dropped her surnamed to just Fuentes, which was common amongst those who had compounded or longer surnames; you see the same thing happening with the surname de la Torre/Torres. Isabel's husband was Paulino Vásquez and together I have been able to document 14 children - that's a lot of kids! From the information I have children births span across 50 years!! Paulino and Isabel passed away after 1828, where and when I don't know. What is interesting to note are the godparents of the children for Paulino and Isabel. Usually, a godparent is someone close to the family - either a family friend or uncle, aunt, cousin, etc. There are various couples who have come forward to become the godparents of the Vásquez Fuentes children, and amongst them there are various Fuentes individuals. Here are the list of godparents I have been able to accumulate for their children, listed by year of baptism:

1809- José María Ferré y Rosa Fuentes 
1811- Pedro Ferrer y Bárbara Martínez
1813- Marcelino García y Eugenia Fuente
1816- Fermin Fuentes y Juana Quiles
1817- Juan Angel Quilez y María Vásquez
1818- Marcelino Fuentes y Gregoria Fuentes
1820- Julian Fuentes y Juana Quiles
1823- Juan de la Fuente y Gertrudis Vásquez
1824- Manuel Ortiz y Cayetana Rosado
1826- Juan de la Fuente y Feliciana de la Fuente
1828- Remigio Vásquez y Juliana López

As you can see there are quiet a few Fuentes/de la Fuente godparents, both men and women. I haven't been able to tie them to Isabel de la Fuente so far. Julian Fuentes for example appears in my family tree as the son of Joseph Luciano Fuentes/de la Fuente, potentially this is someone in Isabel's family whether an uncle or even her father. I can't be too certain until I have Isabel's death record or some mention of grandparents for the Vásquez Fuentes children where it lists their grandparents. Truly, I wouldn't be surprised if all of these Fuentes godparents were related by blood to Isabel, it would definitely explain why she and Paulino chose them as godparents.

Again, Isabel probably died in Toa Alta but I have no record yet to prove that. Based on all the information I have of her I only know that must have been after 1828 (officially), there are a few 1840-1850 children born to Paulino and her but since they aren't officially documented with birth/baptism records I'll only go off the last official one I do have. One can only hope to extend their lines further, myself included! 

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!

52 Ancestors – #1 Felix Vélez Mercado (1905-1953)

I guess I'll start this challenge with a man who I know both some about but yet know nothing about. This man is my great grandfather Felix Vélez Mercado. Felix's family photo was what catapulted me into genealogy and it was featured in my first post ever in my blog!

L-R: Felix (standing back), Carmen (kneeling),
José (standing), Rosalia (sitting w/ baby)
[Personal Family Photo]

Felix Vélez Mercado was born on the 17th of November 1905 in Salto Abajo, Utuado, Puerto Rico. Interestingly, when my great grandfather was born, he was listed as an illegitimate child since his parents hadn't yet married. His father, Nicodemus (sometimes written as Nicodemo) Vélez Ríos, was the one who registered his son's birth yet no mother was listed! His father later married in the same town on the 14th of December 1906, just a little over a year after Felix was born, to Domitila Mercado Cruz. I worry about this not being his mother since he was born out of wedlock but being that the parents married soon after his birth and we always knew his last names were "Vélez Mercado", therefore I assume that Domitila is his biological mother. 

The reason why Nicodemus and Domitila probably weren't married during Felix's birth is evident in their marriage record. When Nicodemus Vélez and Domitila Mercado appeared to get married, it stated the Nicodemus Vélez was 32 years of age while Domitila Mercado was only 15 years old!!! In Puerto Rico, since many people weren't literate or properly knew their birth years, ages were either exaggerated a few years or people scratched a few away here and there. Nicodemus during his marriage was actually 26 years old- this I know because I have his baptism record from Adjuntas, Puerto Rico where it states he was born in the year 1878. I have yet to find Domitila's birth record but it's probably somewhere in the 1890s. What's also interesting is that according to the 1910 Census record, Felix had an older sister and younger sister both named "Amelia" yet in the column where it asked how many children has the wife had and how many of them are alive it only states "1" and "1". So something there isn't adding up. Could it be that it only states "1" because that was the number of children born "officially" since their marriage?

"who has 15 years of age"- Domitila's marriage record

Felix appears in the 1910 Census living with his parents and two sisters in a rented home in Arenas, Utuado, Puerto Rico. However, in the 1920, 1930 and 1935 Census Felix has disappeared! My great grand-aunt told me that Felix would travel around selling goods and so this could potentially be the reason why he doesn't appear with his family. In 1940 he resurfaces in San Juan, Puerto Rico living in the Santurce area already living with my great grandmother and one of his children. It seems that his profession of selling is still with him since he is listed as "vendedor de billetes"and as "ambulante" which means he travels.

My family says that Felix Vélez Mercado passed away around 1953 in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Which means my grandmother was about 13 years old when her father passed away leaving her mother widowed with three children (there was another child born around the 1940s but passed away in his infancy). Despite Felix coming from a gigantic family I know very little about his family. In totally I have about 17 different children listed for Nicodemus and Domitila, including Felix himself. 

1) Amelia Vélez Mercado 1902-?

2) Ramón Vélez Mercado 1904-?

3) Felix Vélez Mercado 1905-1953

4) Amelia Vélez Mercado 1912- 1942

5) Amelio Vélez Mercado 1911-1936

6) Ana Vélez Mercado 1914-?

7) Juana Vélez Mercado 1918-?

8) Evaristo Vélez Mercado 1919-?

9) José Miguel Vélez Mercado 1922- ?

10) Jesús María Vélez Mercado 1925-?

11) José Vélez Mercado 1926-?

12) Nerco Vélez Mercado 1926?-?

13) Ramón Vélez Mercado 1927-?

14) Jesús Vélez Mercado 1928- ?

15) Monserrate Vélez Mercado 1930-?

16) María Mercedes Vélez Mercado 1931- ?

17) Juan Moises Vélez Mercado ?-?

Seems like the family also spent time moving between Utuado and Adjuntas, the parents' respective towns of origin. So while Felix was born in Utuado, Puerto Rico, his sister Ana Vélez Mercado was born in Adjuntas, Puerto Rico in 1914. His daughter (my great-aunt) says that he met my great grandmother while traveling which means he might have met her in her hometown of Lares, Puerto Rico. Hopefully I can learn more about Felix, his life and his siblings. I wonder if there are more pictures of Felix somewhere in my family's possession? 

Día de los Muertos- Recognizing One's Ancestors

From November 1-2, a popular holiday from Mexico also known in the USA due to its closeness in date to Halloween was celebrated- Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead). And even though it's been a week since the holiday, I've been thinking a lot about how we remember our ancestors and the importance of remembering them.

Serendipitously, as a few members of 23andme chatted about our African results from AncestryDNA, someone posted a few links which I found interesting. They all dealt with remembering our African ancestors and how passing traditions along helped these communities remember their past.

The first article I read dealt with the Cuban town of Perico and how their strong connection to Africa allowed them to reconnect with their slave past. I'll post the link below and let you read about it, I don't want to ruin it for you too much!

How Cuban Villagers Learned They Descended From Sierra Leone Slaves.

The next two videos deal with the Gullah people near the Carolinas, Georgia and the sea islands nearby. This one was truly amazing because they were able to connect to their past both by music and lifestyle.

The first one I saw was "The Language You Cry In"which was AMAZING to watch! And the second one was "Family Across the Sea" (Both deal with the same topic and overlap a bit). They are a little over 50 mins in length so make sure to set up some time aside if you plan to watch them!

They made me think a lot about my African past- which I have discussed in length on some other posts, mainly about my Martinican connection.

However, it is also makes me think about Puerto Rico and its past. Are there places on the island where language is tied strongly to certain dances and traditions? I know of Bomba and Plena but have never heard of certain African languages being used to sing the songs. I know there are words in Puerto Rico that originate in Africa but how strong is the overall connection?

There are many questions that I would love to research and learn more about. Just as our history is connected to the native Taíno and the Spanish, we must remember that our history is just as connected to Africa and we must reconnect there as well!

Hints to the Past?

Things have been pretty slow on my end here! I've been searching through church records in different towns in Puerto Rico trying to locate more ancestors and documentation. Just two days ago I found two sets of maternal 5th great grandparents which is awesome to add to the tree.

But more interestingly, the 23andme feature called "Countries of Ancestry" has given me some new interesting matches. Way back in the beginning I mentioned this feature and some of the interesting matches I've received. For example, my great grandfather tends to get some Irish matches while my dad's side has some Eastern European matches. Recently though, on my mom's side (specifically my maternal grandfather) I've gotten two very interesting matches.

Both are from Africa! Which is why I've titled this post "Hints to the Past"; the question mark, however, shows my uncertainty. The two places I've gotten in my grandfather's matches are Angola and Cape Verde. This was very interesting and a great surprise to me because these are my first matches to a Sub-Saharan area in Africa with their 4 grandparents born there. I've gotten Morocco but that isn't as surprising with my Spanish roots.

Angola and Cape Verde are very surprising for many reasons. We know that slaves were exported out of many parts of Africa, especially the western coast where they were taken to many different countries in the Western Hemisphere (as well as to Europe!). Angola was a Portuguese colony and gained independence in 1975. Cape Verde was also another Portuguese colony and also gained independence in 1975. Cape Verde on the other hand are a set of islands off the coast of Africa but were also important in the Atlantic slave trade because of their geographic location.

Here's a picture of the matches on the chromosomes!

Angolan cousin on Chromosome 7

Cape Verdean cousin on Chromosome 6

What's interesting to me is that these countries could be potential hints or clues to an ancestor's past. What I found the most interesting was that these cousins only matched me on my maternal side and specifically on my maternal grandfather's side who has Martinique ancestors. Could these be distant cousins to my slaves ancestors from Martinique? We know that Eglantine Lautin was from Africa, but whereabouts? If only these cousins were public so I could communicate with them about their families. What worries me though is that they'll be just Portuguese settlers who have stayed- but only time will tell! It would be amazing to find out that I have Angolan and Cape Verdean ancestors through my maternal family whether through Martinique or even through Puerto Rico.

This genetic genealogy adds SO much more interesting stuff that can not be seen through paper trails! Hopefully I'll learn more soon!!

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!!

Cultural Exchange: A Piece of Germany in Puerto Rico

I'm always interested and amazed by the diversity our small island of Puerto Rico has! Every time I'm doing genealogy and I come across a person from Corsica, France, Italy, Spain, Guinea, or whatever other country they were from, I just go "wow, where are my cool Puerto Rican ancestors?"- which I have found through my Martinican line ;)

While searching through the Utuado birth records I ran into a child being born in 1892, and what caught my attention was that both of his parents were from Germany. So I decided to jot down the information and see how far I could trace this family outside of Puerto Rico with the information I have. (I like to challenge myself in genealogy as you can see).

Deutschland/Germany

The child born was Heriberto Leopoldo Hess Klinger in Santa Rosa, Caguana, Utuado, Puerto Rico. He was born on June 26th 1892, the legitimate son of Jorge Hess Jung, a mechanical engineer from Freiburg, Baden, Germany and his wife Elisabeth Klinger "Wetterolh", a native of Nieder-Modau, Hessen, Germany.

What surprised me (which it shouldn't have) was that the grandparents of Heriberto were listed. Since they were from Germany, I imagined that maybe there wouldn't be able to communicate names besides their own to the person jotting down the information. But a lot was provided very accurately and as I would soon find out.

The paternal grandparents were John Jorge Hess, from Freiburg where he passed away and his wife Anna Maria Jung, a native of Emmendingen, Baden, Germany but lived in Freiburg. Her maternal grandparents were John Adam Klinger and Anna Wetterolh, both natives of Nieder Modau, where they passed away.

So right away I knew that these families originated in Freiburg, Germany and Nieder Modau, with one grandmother a native of Emmendingen.

My search took me to FamilySearch where I tried to see if they had civil records for Baden, which they did but truly I could not navigate that part of the site since I don't know the proper provinces and what was what back in those times. But I did find Marriages, Death & Burials, and Birth & Baptism sections which would provide me the information for these families.

I began by typing in the last names Hess, Jung, Klinger and Wetterolh into the different sections. Hess and Jung haven't provided anything so far but through the mother's family I found a lot! I was able to find Elisabeth Klinger was christened on 27 January 1856 and born 13 January 1856, the daughter of Johann Adam Klinger and Anna Wetteroth which matches with (John Adam) Klinger and Anna "Wetterolh". As you can see they were also residents of Nieder Modau which was awesome to see since they had it right in Puerto Rico!

Elisabeth Klinger's christening record

Now that I knew Elisabeth's parents' "German" names I would check for their marriage. Awesomely, I found that Johann Adam Klinger married Anna Wetterroth on September 18 1851 in Nieder Modau and the record stated both of their parents' names! Johann Adam's parents being Johann Adam Klinger and Anna Maria Rodenhäuser (sometimes spelled Rodenhäußer) and Anna's parents were Georg Nikolaus Wetterroth and Eva Maria Hiller.

Johann Adam Klinger and Anna Wetterroth's Marriage

Also notice that it mentions when they were born. Johann in 1829 and Anna in 1831, how awesome! To take it a step even further I found Johann Adam's father marriage to Anna Maria Rodenhäuser. However, one record states they were married in 1839 while another says 1828. The 1828 marriage only mentions the dads while the 1839 mentions both parents (with the dads being the same from the 1828 marriage). The 1839 marriage says Anna Rodenhäuser was widowed but to who? Did she remarriage and to a brother of Johann Adam Klinger? None the less, Johann Adam's father was Georg Wilhelm Klinger and Anna's father was Peter Rodenhäuser. This traces the Klinger and Wetterroth to the earlier 1800s!

More amazing is that I was able to find Georg Nikolaus Wetterroth's marriage as well!!!

Georg Nikolaus Wetterroth & Eva Maria Hiller's Marriage

Georg Wetterroth was born in 1795 and Eva Hiller in 1811, Georg's parents were Johann Conrad Wetterroth and Sussanne Haas while Eva's were Johann Adam Hiller and Anne Marie Funck. Here you can also see they are living in Starkenburg, Hesse-Darmstadt. 

To tell you the truth I can even go a bit further with the Hiller family as I found Johann Adam Hiller being christened in 1787 while living in Altheim, Hessen, Germany and marrying Anne Marie in 1810- but I think you get the point. 

Just with the name of Heriberto's parents and grandparents I was able to push the family's pedigree to the late 1700s in Germany, and potentially could go a bit farther if I put more energy into it. Also, it shows you the AMAZING work that has gone into FamilySearch indexing and cataloging of records. From sitting in my home I could track down 5-6 generations of Heriberto's family without having to travel to Germany and sit for hours searching records. Of course, going to Germany and visiting the Baden region would be amazing to really get the feel!

Seems that the Hess family stayed in Puerto Rico (not sure how many Hess siblings stayed and spread out throughout the island). Heriberto himself did father a son named Jorge Francisco Hess Garcia with a Puerto Rican woman . Maybe a Hess descendant will find this post and either contribute, verify or even learn more about their Germany ancestry. 

Goes to show how a family with deep roots in Germany uprooted themselves and came to the tiny island of Puerto Rico helping to enrich our culture. I know that in my tree somewhere lurks families like these who I hope to one day uncover and push back like how I was able to do for Heriberto's family. 

I really had fun doing this and maybe I'll give it a go another time with a different family! But for now I'll shake my tree a little more and see what falls out! :D

Small World, Smaller Island!

It's always crazy when something finds you serendipitously, especially in genealogy! So far throughout my searches I've come across some interesting things that have made me say "WOW! What a small world!". I'll talk about 3 different events that have happened to me that showed me that not only is this a small world but that Puerto Rico is indeed a small(er) island!

Look up! 

Looking for baptisms of my umpteen grandparents can sometimes be a taxing job. Especially in a town like Toa Alta, Puerto Rico where in the early 1800s the baptism books were divided by race categories such as Blanco (White), Pardo & Moreno (People of color/Black) and Esclavos (Slaves). If you didn't know what category your family was placed under, you'd have to search and search until you found them.

Finding my 3rd great grandmother Feliciana Mojica González wasn't to hard of a task. I knew her family was usually categorized as "pardo" so I checked those books first and found that she was baptized in Toa Alta on the 14th of March 1813. Easy enough! But finding my 4th great grandmother, Martina Vásquez Fuentes wasn't too easy. Her descendants moved into Corozal, Puerto Rico where my great grandmother Mercedes Marrero Ortiz would be born. So I thought that she too was born in Corozal. Yet looking over Feliciana's baptism record and looking at all the names I noticed that right above her was a "Marta" being baptized- turns out to be my Martina!! Since Corozal originally started out as a part of Toa Alta, many families originally had roots in Toa Alta before moving into Corozal or just falling into the section of the new town. These two women are not related but Feliciana's grandson and Martina's great granddaughter would father my grandfather! It would be so funny if these women either lived near each other or were behind each other on a line to baptize their children in the church. Small world!! Here is the record of Feliciana and Martina!

Baptisms in 1813 of Martina Vásquez and Feliciana Mojica
Toa Alta, Puerto Rico

An odd reunion

While doing some genealogy at one of the centers I visit, I met a nice woman who's family was also from Puerto Rico. As we started to chat we realized that we both had family in Toa Alta but no similar surnames. She was stuck with finding some records and so I decided to help her out since I knew the Toa Alta church records pretty well. While searching for her great grandmother's baptism record, I came across a great-aunt of her's being baptized in 1856. While looking at the names, I noticed something super interesting- the godparents of this great-aunt of her's were my 3rd great grandparents! So our families 157 years ago gathered at a church to baptize her great-aunt. Finding that record revealed that we actually had the surname Rivera in common! So far I haven't been able to confirm that we are connected by blood but our families did know each other. How weird that 157 years later in a different town and a different country, two strangers would meet who's families once knew each other!

My 3rd great grandparents: Pedro Rivera & Eusebia Diaz
as godparents in 1856.

At last!

Earlier last week, I had one of the best moments of serendipity. While looking for my paternal 2nd great grandmother's birth certificate (or her sister's) in Utuado, Puerto Rico I came across very unexpectedly someone else. I saw the surnames "Sánchez Arvelo" and right away realized those names were on my mother's side of the family! Oddly enough I found a 2nd great granddaughter being born in Utuado, Puerto Rico despite her parents being from Quebradillas and San Sebastián. This whole time I was looking through Lares, San Sebastián, Quebradillas and Manatí for them when out of nowhere I find one of them in Utuado! Odds are my 2nd great grandmother was also born there but since the records aren't indexed I'll have to search 1 by 1. Finding this record gave me the name of 2 sets of my 4th great grandparents- I was so happy to find out more names in this family because I had searched for so long to find out more about them.

I'm constantly surprised by how small this world really is!