Finding out what it means to be Boricua through a genetic & genealogical journey through my family history
While researching my Magraner family in Lares via various online databases, I came across an interesting record that allowed me to learn more about my ancestor (in this case my ancestor’s brother) and the act of coartación in regards to slavery on the island of Puerto Rico. So in this case I will talk about Gabriel Magraner …
Last week on May 23rd, I was able to attend an event in Paris just two days shy before leaving France. I had been living abroad teaching English the last eight months and my last wish was to attend this event hosted by CM98 (Comité Marche du 23 Mai 1998), a genealogical group I am …
Back in 2019, I read an interesting book that combined genealogy and non-fiction story telling. The book is called: The Man Who Stole Himself:The Slave Odyssey of Hans Jonathan. The book was written by Icelandic professor of anthropology, Gísli Pálsson, and documents the journey of a former Caribbean slave from St. Croix to Denmark and finally to …
The Caribbean, Western Africa, and Iceland: An Unlikely Trio Read More »
It’s been quiet a while since I’ve posted on my blog! Taking a quick look, my last post was in March of this year (which sadly means I won’t hit my goal of posting at least twice a month for my genealogical resolution). However, it was not intentional and unfortunately genealogy had to take the …
I wanted to share this record I found while searching the Toa Alta baptism records again. In all my years of researching, I have rarely come across an entry this detailed for a slave’s baptism. Four years ago, I posted “Whispers of the Past” where certain entries for slaves in the Registry of 1872 contained …
Connecting to DNA Cousins from Guadeloupe [Google Maps] DNA testing is something I initiated about 10 years ago, and I was fortunate to have stumbled upon it when I did. With testing, I have been able to make great discoveries – some of them thanks to the DNA itself and others to the people I …
Chromosome 7 – Myself [Personal Photo] With the continued use of DNA Painter, I have been able to see (in a sense) my results through a more magnified lens. Being able to break down genetic cousins via a comparison to my other tested family members has allowed me to better parse down a bit from which …
Currently I am in Puerto Rico for Spring Break, and instead of laying down at the beach soaking in the sun, I have been visiting various genealogical places in order to get research done that I can only do while on the island. One of the places I visited was the Archivo General de Puerto …
In line with my goals for the new year, I’ve been taking a look at my lines trying to push them back in the 1700s. Many of my Coamo lines have been pushed back to 1700s but I always like to take another look at them and see if I’m missing any children or to …
Recently, I bought a few AncestryDNA test during their Black Friday/Cyber Monday sale. With those tests I was able to add 3 new members of my family to the site: my father, my mother, and my maternal grandmother. I still have one more test left and I’m hoping to test my maternal grandfather, but I’d …
A Puerto Rican Look at : A Generational Exploration of African Ancestry Read More »