Originally, I had planned to post about my Ayala family with origins in Arecibo who later appeared in Guaynabo and Toa Alta where my family ultimately settled for close to 300 years; however, in search for more information on the Ayala family I stumbled across a record I had been searching for and had never found – my 5th great-grandmother’s death record!
The reason, I could not find the record was because of two issues: (1) The record was indexed incorrectly, and (2) My ancestor’s surname was written as Fernández and not Ayala.
So let’s dive into this record and the importance of verifying what is indexed!
Using Indexed Records
Now more than ever, genealogists (both hobbyist and professionals) rely on the power of indexed records, AI, and new cutting edge technology when it comes to research. However, there is probably one big defining quality that separates a hobbyist from a professional and it is that a professional will (and should!) always refer to the original record when citing and analyzing the information. Too many times there are error, both caused by humans and computers, that can hamper out effort to locate a record or the right individual. It happened to me today!
Below, a “Máxima Fernández” was identified in Bayamón, Puerto Rico. She was listed as 28 years and and the daughter of Juan Fernández and Constancia Medina, as well as the wife of Manuel Román. Though Máxima was not the name of my 5th great-grandmother, I decided to take a look at the record in cause it was a sister or someone else of interest.
It was my surprise when I began to read the record that it was indeed my 5th great-grandmother Margarita Ayala!
Catching an Error
Reviewing the record above shows that there were a few errors, one on the indexers part and the other on the recorder/provider of information. Had I never opened the record and if I would have immediately discarded it, I would have never realized that it was the record I had been looking for!
Since the image is fairly difficult to read, here is a transcription of what it says:
“En la Ysla de San Juan Bautista de Puerto Rico en esta Parroquia de Santa Cruz Partido de Bayamón a los cuatro días del mes de Octubre de mil ochocientos treinta y un años. Yo el infrascrito Cura Rector de ella, hice los oficios de Entierro llano cantado, y di sepultura Ecclesiastica en el tercer tramo del Cementerio de Nuestra Señora del Carmen de dicha Parroquia, al cuerpo difunto de Margarita Fernández, natural de la Villa de Arecibo, y de este vecindario, como de setenta años de edad, hija legítima de Juan Fernández y de Constanza Medina difuntos, y viuda de Manuel Román. Recibió los Santos Sacramentales de Penitencia y Extrema unción y no el Sagrado Viático por haber muerto? en el campo a muy larga distancia de este Pueblo de que doy fe =”
Pablo Martínez [rubricado]
Right away, you can notice a few errors – the person of interest was named Margarita and not Máxima and she was not 28 years old, not if “about 70 years old”. These small errors make a world of a difference as at first glance I would have not thought this was my 5th great-grandmother.
As I had no idea that Margarita ended up living in Bayamón, I would have not taken a second look had I not noticed that the parents’s and husband’s names matched well with my 5th great-grandmother’s information. The only bit of information that is “wrong” is Margarita’s surname listed her as Fernández instead of Ayala.
This is something that I am actually trying to figure out as my family used the surname Ayala for three generations; however, my 7th great-grandfather was named Juan Fernández de Ayala and the jury is still out on whether or not Fernández was a part of his middle name or a compounded surname as in his marriage record it only listed him as the illegitimate son of Magdalena de Ayala. So it is possible that he added Fernández later as his father’s surname; however, in other records he appeared as Juan Fernando – which makes more sense as a middle name.
This will have to be another post for another day as it also seems that he was a slave owner in both Arecibo and Guaynabo and I will need to sort out his life a bit more.
Takaways
Always, always, always look at the original record! Especially if a computer or some AI tool was used to transcribe or index a record. I was able to fix the information on the record and hopefully in the future other descendants will be able to easily identify the record. It was exciting to be able to find this record and close off her life providing me a timeframe of when and where she died. It was interesting to note at the end of the entry that it mentioned that Margarita was unable to take the sacred viaticum (Eucharist) since she lived far away from the church – I imagine that by the time the priest arrived, Margarita had already died and was not able to make it time. Which makes me question where exactly in Bayamón she lived since it was only referred to as los campos (the countryside) and no barrio (neighborhood) was mentioned. Lastly, there was no mention of a last will and testament left by Margarita as well. Similarly, when Manuel Román died there was no mention of a last will and testament as well.
Moral of the story – always read an original record if you are able to!