The Brick Wall
My great grandfather José Robledo has been one of my MAJOR brick walls for 16+ years. He immigrated to the United States from Mexico, before settling in Los Angeles County, California (by 1918) with his immigrant wife, my great grandmother Maria “Nana” Hermalinda Nieto Compean, and their two Mexican-born children.1, 2 José only lived in his new country for a couple decades. He died in 1937, in Los Angeles, Los Angeles County, California.3
I first started talking about this brick wall in a post from February 2014, explaining that his lone living child and his living grandchildren never knew where in Mexico José was born and lived, or the names of his parents.4 By January 2015, when I next profiled great grandfather José, I had made no further progress…very frustrating.5
The Research Question
Seeking a handful of answers about great grandfather José (the names of his parents, where in Mexico they came from, and when he was born), I had to make myself focus on answering one question at a time.
What were the names of the parents of my great-grandfather José Robledo, who married Maria Hermalinda Nieto Compean in Mexico, with whom he had two children—daughter Guadalupe Robledo Nieto and son Refugio Robledo Nieto—before the young family immigrated to the United States around 1915?
My big breakthroughs came in the summer and fall of 2015.
Breaking Down the Brick Wall
It so often takes just that one small lead.
01 May 2015: I received a copy of Jose’s 1937 certificate of death in the mail from Los Angeles County, California. Jose’s oldest son Refugio served as the informant, and Refugio identified José’s parents as Celbario Robledo and Mary Sanches.6
Los Angeles County, California, standard certificate of death no. 10138 (1937), Joe Robledo; County of Los Angeles Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk, Norwalk.
07 May 2015: After 15+ years of looking, I FINALLY located a marriage record for my great-grandparents José and Maria, their Informacíon Matrimonio (prenuptial investigation) dated 13 July 1908, from Santa Isabel parish in Armadillo de los Infante, San Luis Potosí, Mexico. This document identifies José’s parents as what I initially thought was Silveño Robledo and Jesus Sanches, both of whom were still living at the time.7
“México, San Luis Potosí, registros parroquiales [parish registers], 1586-1970,” digital images, FamilySearch (http://familysearch.org ; accessed 07 May 2015), José Robledo [and] Maria Nieto, 13 July 1908, p. 111 (stamped); citing Santa Isabel parish (Armadillo de los Infante, San Luis Potosí, Mexico), Información Matrimonios [Marriage Information] 1900-1909.
30 September 2015: When painstakingly browsing through digitized (non-indexed, non-searchable) microfilmed civil birth registrations on FamilySearch, I came across a 1913 birth record for a then-unknown daughter born to José and Maria, Celedonia Robledo.8 Ironically, less than 30 days later, Ancestry released a fully indexed, searchable, collection of those same records. But the civil birth registration for Caledonia Robledo provides the names of both sets of her grandparents, and identifies great-grandfather José’s parents as Silverio Robledo and Jesus Sanches.
19 November 2015: I FINALLY located the civil birth registration for José and Maria’s oldest daughter, my great-aunt Guadalupe Robledo, the daughter that immigrated with the family in 1915. Like Caledonia’s civil birth registration, this record for Guadalupe’s 1910 birth provides the names of both sets of grandparents, identifying Silverio Robledo and Maria Jesus Sanches as her paternal grandparents.9
“San Luis Potosi, Mexico, Civil Registration Births, 1860-1947,” entry for Guadalupe Robledo, 21 July 1910 [born 4 July 1910]; database with digital images, Ancestry (http://search.ancestry.com : accessed 19 November 2015; citing Registro Civil [Civil Registration] del Estado [state] de San Luis Potosí, México; San Nicolás de los Montes, 1909-1912; 1910, folio 3 front.
Evidence Analysis
José’s Father
This prompted me to take a closer look Jose’s 1908 prenuptial investigation. What I initially read as Silveño does indeed read now as Silverio.10 The combination of this being a name I had not read or heard before, and the priest’s handwriting on that marriage record, caused me to guess the wrong given name. This source provides direct evidence to answer the research question, and it contains strong primary information pertaining to that question. José would have been one of the informants for this record, having been interviewed by he parish priest. His parents would have been present as well, also serving as informants.
The civil birth registrations for Jose’s two Mexican-born daughters were more clearly written, identifying his father as Silverio Robledo. The 1913 birth registration for daughter Caledonia provides direct evidence to answer the research question, however the informant (relationship not yet unidentified) was likely a relative or neighbor of José’s, so it is unclear if this is primary or secondary information.11 The 1910 birth registration for daughter Guadalupe provides direct evidence to answer the research question, and José himself served as the informant, noting his parents by name and that they were still living. José would clearly have had primary firsthand knowledge of his parents’ names, or at least the names they chose to go by.12
As for Jose’s death certificate, which recorded his father’s name as Celbario?13 The spoken “b” and spoken “v” in Spanish sound identical, and were even used interchangeably in historical writings. In Spanish and in English, the spoken soft “c” sounds identical to the spoken “s”. The official who took down the biographical information provided by José’s oldest son Refugio wrote down the name that he/she thought they heard spoken. This source yields the most unreliable evidence anyways. While it does provide direct evidence to answer the research question, it is only secondary information, since son Refugio, the informant, did not know his paternal grandparents (he immigrated as an infant).
| Source | Fact | Evidence | Informant | Information |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| José’s death certificate | Celbario Robledo | Direct | José’s son | Secondary |
| José’s premarital investigation record | Silverio Robledo | Direct | José, his mother, parish priest | Primary |
| Celedonia’s civil birth registration | Silverio Robledo | Direct | Relationship TBD | Unknown |
| Guadalupe’s civil birth registration | Silverio Robledo | Direct | José | Primary |
Silverio Robledo seems the clear winner here.
José’s Mother
What about José’s mother?
His prenuptial investigation record, and the 1913 civil birth registration for daughter Celedonia identify José’s mother’s name as Jesus Sanches.10, 15 As discussed above, both records provide direct evidence to answer the research question. This premarital investigation record contains strong primary information pertaining to that question. As explained above for Silverio, José would have been one of the informants for this record, having been interviewed by he parish priest, and his parents would have been present as well, also serving as informants. However it is unclear if the informant for Celedonia’s birth registration had primary or secondary knowledge of the names of José’s parents, since the relationship of that informant to José’s (possibly a relative or possibly just a neighbor) family is not yet known.
The 1910 civil birth registration for daughter Guadalupe identifies José’s mother as Maria Jesus Sanches.16 As with all the other sources consulted, this one provides direct evidence to answer the research question. For this record, José and Maria’s first child, great grandfather José himself served as the informant, and he would have had primary firsthand knowledge of his mother’s name.
José’s death certificate identifies his mother as Mary Sanches.13 As stated above for Silverio, despite providing direct evidence, this record is the least reliable of these sources since it contains secondary information from an informant who never knew José’s parents.
| Source | Fact | Evidence | Informant | Information |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| José’s death certificate | Mary Sanches | Direct | José’s son | Secondary |
| José’s premarital investigation record | Jesus Sanches | Direct | José, his parents, parish priest | Primary |
| Celedonia’s civil birth registration | Jesus Sanches | Direct | Relationship TBD | Unknown |
| Guadalupe’s civil birth registration | Maria Jesus Sanches | Direct | José | Primary |
Considering Historical & Cultural Context
Jesus Sanches, Maria Jesus Sanches, or Mary Sanches?
In Mexico, Jesus is both a male and female name, as is Maria. According to traditional Mexican naming conventions, children are given a biblical or saint’s name when baptized, used alongside their common name, creating a dual given name. Jesus Maria is a common male name, and Maria Jesus is a common female name. José’s wife (my Nana) Maria Hermalinda went by just Maria (sometimes Mary, once in the United States), whereas Nana’s mother Maria Aurelia went by just Aurelia.
So it is highly plausible that José’s mother’s name was Maria Jesus Sanches (locating her baptism record should clarify this), but that she went by both Maria and Jesus at different times in her life.
Forming a Conclusion
Based on this evidence, the answer to the research question is:
My great-grandfather José Robledo’s father was named Silverio Robledo, and his mother was named Maria Jesus Sanches, going by Mary or Jesus.
Silverio Robledo and Maria Jesus Sanches are my 2nd great-grandparents.
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Next Steps
What comes next in researching my great-grandfather José’s family?
- Locate a baptism and civil birth registration for great-grandfather José Robledo. I have yet to succeed at that.
- Locate a marriage record for his parents, Silverio Robledo and Maria Jesus Sanches.
