Finding out what it means to be Boricua through a genetic & genealogical journey through my family history
April 25, 2014 [DNAart] I know I am a day behind with this post but I still wanted to publish it! DNA has truly changed the way I view myself, my culture, my history, and my view on the world. I wanted to share a bit why taking a DNA test was important to me. …
It’s probably only been just about a full year that I have known about my 5th great grandfather Bartolomé Dávila Cantos. Having returned to New York City from college I was able to visit the FamilySearch center more and got to use more microfilm rolls for the churches of Puerto Rico. One of the towns …
One of the mysteries that I’m currently facing (one of the many, of course!) is the name of Julienne Malvina’s father. Since Julienne was born a slave in Martinique, I was lucky to have found the birth record of my 4th great grandmother in 1844. Julienne was recorded as a négresse which most likely means that …
Recently while searching through ancestry’s database I noticed there was an update on the “San Juan, Puerto Rico, Passenger and Crew Lists, 1901-1954” and even though I didn’t have many different ancestors that traveled to the US and elsewhere I decided to search for my Charles/Gustave ancestors who indeed traveled a bit. My first and main …
When looking through records for my family in Puerto Rico, I have been fortunate that many of my ancestors have lived either in the same town or a neighboring town for many years if not generations. Some of the migrations across the island in my family happened early when many of the towns were being …
52 Ancestors – #16 Cayetano Mercado Cajigas (1855-1905) Read More »
I write today about my oldest male ancestor from whom I inherited the surname Rivera, my 4th great grandfather. I don’t know too much about him, so I’ll just add what I do know and see where it goes from there! When I first began my research at the age of 14 (yup, I was that …
I know I have talked plenty about this ancestress but I love talking about her and she definitely deserves a spot in my 52 Ancestors Challenge! This ancestor is my 4th great grandmother, Julienne Malvina Lautin- a woman who was born a slave, later freed, and immigrated to another country with another culture and language. …
52 Ancestors – #14 Julienne Malvina Lautin (1844-1897) Read More »
Today I want to focus on my 4th great grandfather Juan Calderón Nazario, a native of Vega Baja, Puerto Rico and the father of my 3rd great grandfather Augustin Calderón Meléndez. But the story gets interesting here! Juan Calderón Nazario according to his death certificate was born about 1829 and the legitimate son of Juan …
52 Ancestors – #13 Juan Calderón Nazario (1829-1889) Read More »
After a two week hiatus, I’m back and ready to continue my 52 Ancestor series- which means I have to catch up on past posts I missed. Today I will focus on ancestor #12, a paternal ancestor named Estefania Marrero Rivera (my 5th great grandmother). Puerto Rican Records [FamilySearch] When I first learned about the …
52 Ancestors – #12 Estefania Marrero Rivera (1809-1890) Read More »
I have been away the last two weeks of this month on spring break and being in China and South Korea definitely did not allow me the time to write about my ancestors and work on my blog. So now I have some catching up to do! I have to post two new posts for …