identity – Colleen & Jeff's Roots

Finding the Mexican Premarital Investigation Record for 2nd Great Grandparents Silverio Robledo and Maria Jesus Sanchez

I blogged last week about finally discovering the names of my Mexican-immigrant great grandfather’s parents.

My great-grandfather (who died before Dad or I were born) José Robledo Sanches was born in Mexico and immigrated to the United States on 27 October 1915 with his wife Maria Hermalinda Nieto Compean, and their small children.

The parents of José were identified as Silverio Robledo and Maria Jesus Sanches, my 2nd great grandparents.¹

Two days after that blog post, I located the Información Matrimonio record for Silverio and Maria Jesus, completing one of the next steps that I outlined at the bottom of that post. They were married in Villa de Yturbide (this is also spelled Iturbide, now called Villa Hidalgo), a municipio (municipality, similar to our counties) located in the state of San Luis Potosí in central Mexico.²

Silverio Robledo and Maria Jesus Sanchez Premarital Investigation — Premarital investigation record for Silverio Robledo and Maria Jesus Sanchez. The record takes up one full folio, a front and back. I have merged the front and back folios together here, for easier reading. The front folio is shown here on the left, and the back folio is shown here on the right.³

About this Record Type

The Información Matrimonio, literally translated as Marriage Information, is one of the types of marriage records created by the Mexican Catholic Church (by the entire Spanish-speaking Catholic Church). The plural form is Información Matrimoniales. In English, Catholics call these by the name Premarital Investigations or Prenuptial Investigations. In what is now present day New Mexico, these records are called Diligencias Matrimoniales.

This purpose of this record was to give a couple permission to marry, after a pre-marital investigation was conducted, to make sure there were no impediments to marriage.

What the Record Tells Us

Multiple events are documented in this single record.

The Groom’s Statement

The pretendiente is the male suitor.

The groom’s declaration, to the parish priest.

(1) This is an Información Matrimonio for Silverio Robledo.

(2) The event happened in the Villa de Yturbide.

(3) The event happened on 28 July 1877.

(4) The event took place before Presbitero [parish priest] Jose Manuel Hernandez.

(5) A man appeared before the priest, who calls himself Silverio Robledo.

(6) Who wants to enter into marriage with Maria Jesus Sanchez.⁴

(7) Silverio Robledo comes from Temascal. I know from my research that Temascal is a village located in the nearby municipio of Armadillo de los Infante. My research also suggests that Temascal was the name of a hacienda (ranch).

(8) Silverio was single.

(9) Silverio was 23 years old [this would make him born about 1854].

Here we find evidence of when my 2nd great grandfather was born! And likely born in the municipio of Armadillo de los Infante [and the village of Temascal], since Temascal [located in that municipio] is referenced as his hometown (see number 7), where he would have been baptized.

(10) He was considered the legitimate child [born in a legal union], (11) of José Maria Robledo (12) and Clemencia Nieto, (13) who were both still living at this time.⁵

Here we see his parents (my 3rd great grandparents) identified by name! And we know they were still alive at this time!

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The Bride’s Statement

The pretensa is the woman whose hand is being sought.

(14) The bride presented herself in this same village [Villa de Yturbide].

(15) Her name is Maria Jesus Sanchez.

(16) She comes from the same place [Villa de Yturbide].

(17) Maria Jesus was honest [meaning pure].

(18) The bride was 24 years old [born about 1853].

Here we find evidence of when my 2nd great grandmother was born! And likely born in Villa de Yturbide, since it is referenced as her hometown (see number 16), where she would have been baptized.

(19) Maria Jesus was considered the legitimate child [born in a legal union] of (20) Cesario Sanches, (21) who was still living, and (22) Susana Carbajal [no indication if she was still living or was deceased].⁶

Here we see her parents (my 3rd great grandparents) identified by name! And we know that the bride’s father was alive at this time!

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The Groom’s Witness

Testigo means witness.

(23) Jose Maria Vazquez served as the groom’s character witness.

(24) This witness also came from Temascal [where the groom lived].

(25) The witness was 35 years old, (26) married, and (27) a day laborer.⁷

The Bride’s Witness

Testigo means witness.

(28) José Maria Nieto served as the bride’s character witness. He has the same paternal surname as the groom Silverio’s mother…could they be related?

(29) The witness came from the same place [where this event occurred, Villa de Yturbide].

(30) The witness was 28 years old, (31) married, and (32) also a day laborer.⁸

Publishing of the Intent to Marry

Their intent to marry was published in the parish on 22 and 29 July [1877] and 4 August [1877], to ensure there were no impediments to this marriage. This is also more commonly referred to as the reading of the banns in English-speaking countries.

Note that the first parish publication (or announcement) was made on 22 July 1877, yet at the top of the records we see that the bride and groom did not make their formal statements of intent to the parish priest until 28 July, the day before the second announcement was posted in the parish. Not that this means anything significant [although it might], but it is always important to pay attention to the timeline of events recorded in a historical document.⁹

Next Steps

These types of records are so rich in genealogical information! It is filled with facts that can serve as evidence to help answer research questions, but is also filled with clues to pursue to help develop and answer additional research questions.

Clues from What the Record Tells Us

Silverio was born about 1854, and likely in the village of Temascal, which is located in the nearby municipality of Armadillo de los Infante. This year pre-dates the civil registration system in Mexico, so there is no point looking for a civil birth registration for that timeframe, but I now know a place and date to focus on looking for a baptism record.
I learned his parents’ names, so can now start looking for their marriage records, and other records generated in their lives.
Silverio’s parents were still alive in August 1877, which helps narrow down a timeframe for searching for their death records.
Maria Jesus was born about 1853, and likely in the municipio of Villa de Yturbide, her hometown. This year pre-dates the civil registration system in Mexico, so there is no point looking for a civil birth registration for that timeframe, but I now know a place and date to focus on looking for a baptism record.
I learned her parents’ names, so can now start looking for their marriage records, and other records generated in their lives.
Maria Jesus’s father was still alive in August 1877, which helps narrow down a timeframe for searching for his death record.

What the Record Does Not Tell Us

It is not clear from this record if the bride’s mother (my 3rd great grandmother) was still alive at this time.
A profession is listed for each of the witnesses, but not for the groom (or bride).
This record does not specify the actual marriage date for Silverio and Jesus Maria. It tells us when their intent to marry was published (reading of the banns) in the parish, and on what specific date they appeared before the parish priest to formally present this intent. But the actual marriage ceremony had to happen after the banns were read three times, and that date is not clear from this record. This means that I have to look for the actual marriage (matrimonio) record in this same parish, and a civil registration record since that system was in place by 1877. I will want to focus on parish and civil marriage records starting from 4 August 1877, the final date on which the banns were read.

Sources Cited

Confirming the Names of Great Grandfather José Robledo’s Parents

The Brick Wall

Jose Robledo — My great-grandfather, José Robledo.

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

Jose Robledo, 1937 Death Certificate — **A close-up look at the parents’ names recorded on José Robledo’s 1937 death certificate.**
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

Parents Identified in Jose Robledo's 1908 Marriage Record — **José Robledo’s parents are identified in his 1908 prenuptial investigation record.**
“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.

Silveño is similar to Celbario (the name noted on José’s death record). Sanches for his mother’s surname is the same on both records, however she is identified as Mary on the death record and Jesus on the marriage record.

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.

Robledo's Parents on Birth Record for Celedonia Robledo — **José Robledo’s parents identified on the civil birth registration for Celedonia Robledo.** Armadillo de los Infante, San Luis Potosí, Archivo del Registro Civil [Civil Registration Archive], 1913; entry 84, Celedenia [Celedonia] Robledo, 6 March 1913, folio 23 (back); digital image, *FamilySearch* (https://familysearch.org/search : accessed 30 September 2015) > Mexico > San Luis Potosí, Civil Registration, 1859-2000 > Armadillo de los Infante > Nacimientos 1913-1919 > image 34.

Silverio looks and sounds very similar to Silveño (from the marriage record) and Celbario (from the death record. Jesus Sanches is the same name identified on José’s marriage record.

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

José Robledo's parents identified on civil birth registration for Guadalupe Robledo — **José Robledo’s parents are identified on the civil birth registration for his oldest daughter Guadalupe Robledo.**
“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.

Sources

Close to Identifying My Immigrant Great Grandfather Jose Robledo’s Birth Date and Parents’ Names

Last week I wrote about successfully finding (after 15+ years!) the final set of border entry cards for the Mexico-born members of my paternal grandfather’s immediate family, who immigrated to the U.S. on 27 October 1915. This family group included my great-grandfather José Robledo (1878-1937), great-grandmother Maria Hermalinda Nieto (1887-1973), oldest daughter Guadalupe Robledo (1910-1975), and oldest son baby Refugio Raphael Robledo (1915-?).

José Robledo Sanchez

In re-reading that post, I noticed that I mention Great-Grandfather José’s maternal surname of “Sanchez” being they key identifying factor in busting down this brick wall. A note written on the back of my great-grandmother Maria’s border entry card, which I had ignored for years, mentions her being seen and caught with a José Sanchez.¹ I also mentioned having only recently discovered that Sanchez was José’s maternal surname. Until this maternal surname discovery, the name José Sanchez meant nothing to me.

Maria Nieto, 1915 Border Entry Card (Back) — Handwritten note on the back of the border entry card for Maria Nieto. Source: Ancestry.com.

This made me realize that I have not yet written about that maternal surname discovery.

I have blogged quite a bit about my great-grandfather’s line being one of my biggest brick walls.This is because nobody in our family seems to know any significant details about Great-Grandfather José Robledo–including his place of birth or the names of his parents. Even his sole living child doesn’t have this information; Jose died when that child was still very young, and before my dad was even born.

The First U.S. Record Clue

I tried a number of years ago to obtain a copy of Great-Grandfather José’s death certificate from the County of Los Angeles, but this mail-in request only resulted in a notice that they could not find his record. So on a work holiday back in mid-March, I set out in-person to order a long list of birth and death records from the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk Birth, Death, and Marriage Records Section in Norwalk, California. This time they found it! On 1 May 2015, I was thrilled to find in my mailbox an informational copy of the certificate of death for my great-grandfather.

My great-grandfather José “Joe” Robledo” died on 4 July 1937 in his Los Angles home, of something “non tuberculor” pertaining to his left lung (family has told me he had pneumonia).² The certificate identifies the informant as Raphael Robledo. This would be Joe’s 22 year old son, my great-uncle Refugio Raphael Robledo.

Apparently even his oldest son Refugio–the baby who immigrated with him in 1915–did not know much about his father’s Mexico origins, or whomever took the information from Refugio did not think it necessary to provide much detail. Because Great-Grandfather José’s place of birth is noted as “Unknown” in Mexico.

But…Great-Uncle Refugio did not let me down!

This death certificate is the first piece of evidence I have ever found that identifies the parents of my great-grandfather José Robledo. Great-Uncle Refugio reported his paternal grandparents as Celbario [?] Robledo and Mary Sanches–both also of Unknown, Mexico.

The First Mexico Record Clue

The following week, I hit quite a roll on those non-indexed, non-searchable, browseable-only Mexico Catholic church records on FamilySearch. Slowly, while painstakingly going page-by-page reading a language that is not my own, the genealogy gods smiled down on me, because I found a handful of key records that I had been seeking for years.

Including the 15 July 1908 marriage record for my great-grandparents!

After 15+ years of searching, for the second time in the span of a single week (on 7 May 2015, to be exact), I came across a piece of evidence providing the names of José Robledo’s parents. The church record for his marriage to my great-grandmother Maria Nieto identifies his parents as Silveño Robledo and Jesus Sanches.³

1908 Marriage Record for Jose Robledo and Maria Nieto — The 1908 Mexico Catholic church marriage record for my great-grandparents José Robledo and Maria Nieto. Santa Isabel parish, Armadillo de los Infante, San Luis Potosí, Mexico.
Courtesy of FamilySearch. Click image for a larger view.

There was that unusual given name again for my 2nd great-grandfather. What was noted as Celbario on my great-grandfather’s certificate of death is written on his marriage record as Silveño. Despite this naming conflict, I lean more towards the one noted on his marriage record, since–according to that record–José’s father was present at the ceremony.

Jose Robledo Marriage, Parents Names — A closer look at the 1908 church marriage record for José Robledo and Maria Nieto, identifying the names of José’s parents. Courtesy of FamilySearch.

Once again, Great-Grandfather José’s mother is noted as a Sanches. That part is consistent across all three records. Although here her given name is noted as Jesus, not Mary, as reported on the death certificate. While Jesus is generally thought of as a male name, I find quite a few women in my Mexican family history with the name Jesus. It is usually a Maria Jesus, applying the traditional Mexican naming convention of a given name (Jesus) preceded by a saint or biblical name (usually Maria for females). Although in this case, Maria and Jesus are both biblical names ;-). I discussed this convention in a post I wrote back in April, about my 4th great-grandfather José Victoriano Compeán.

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Two new records, in the span of one week, identifying my 2nd great-grandmother’s paternal surname as Sanches, turned on that lightbulb in my head last week when re-reading the note on the back of my great-grandmother Maria Hermalinda Nieto’s border entry card, which referenced a José Sanches.⁴ I had found José Robledo’s border record at long last!

Birth Date Discrepency

Aside from disagreement over the names of his parents, these two new documents bring forth a discrepancy over great-grandfather José Robledo’s date of birth. Many of the U.S. records I have for José indicate an 1875 year or birth. However his death certificate clearly states 1878 as his year of birth.⁵ And his 1908 marriage record, which identifies him as 30 years old, also supports an 1878 birth year.⁶ Yet, oddly, that border entry record from 1915 also indicates an age of 30 years for Jose, which would have him born about 1885.⁷

So I certainly have some work to do here.

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Next Steps

While these two significant finds (three really, including the border record confirmation) put me 99% closer to verifying the names of my great-grandfather José Robledo’s parents, I still have more work to do for that task. The key missing document is a baptism record and/or a civil birth registration for José Robledo. Either of these documents should allow me to verify:

The correct/full name of José’s mother. Is it Maria Jesus Sanches? Just Maria Sanches? Or just Jesus Sanches?
The correct name of José’s father. Is it Celbario Robledo? Or Silveño Robledo?
The correct date of birth for Jose.

In the last couple of days, I looked through every single page of those non-indexed, non-searchable, browseable-only Catholic church baptism records for 1878 and 1879 in the parish where José and my great-grandmother married, and found nothing at all referencing a male child with parents’ names similar to Silveño or Celbario Robledo and a Jesus or Mary/Maria Sanches. So I need to check the records for neighboring parishes and/or for additional years. Once I exhaust that effort, I will look into civil registrations for birth.

Sources

#52Ancestors: First DNA Step Towards Confirming the Identity of Black Sheep Great Grand Uncle William E. Hayes

William Eugene Hayes, long after he quit using that identity. Courtesy of Cousin E.

My 20th entry in Amy Johnson Crow’s “52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks” family history blogging challenge for 2015.

The challenge: have one blog post each week devoted to a specific ancestor. It could be a story, a biography, a photograph, an outline of a research problem — anything that focuses on one ancestor.

Amy’s 2015 version of this challenge focuses on a different theme each week.

The theme for week 20 is – Black Sheep: Each of us has an ancestor who was the troublemaker or the ne’er-do-well. This is their week.

My 20th ancestor (or in this case, relation) is my great grand uncle William Eugene “Gene” Hayes (1885-1952).

Black Sheep? I do not know his story well enough to actually label Great Grand Uncle Gene a black sheep, troublemaker, or ne’er-do-well. But I do know that there was something fishy going on that caused Great Grand Uncle Gene to disappear from the Hayes family, and to assume a new identity.

About Great Grand Uncle Gene

William Eugene Hayes was born 30 December 1885 in Ovid, Clinton County, Michigan. He was the oldest son and the second of five children born to my 2nd great-grandparents William James Hayes (1861-1903) and Goodwith Sophia (Shippee) Race (1867-1937), of Ontario, Canada and Allegany County, New York. His granddaughter–who we will call “Cousin E” in this post–says he went by the nickname Gene. Gene was the older brother of my great-grandfather James Bruce “Bruce” Hayes (1888-1970), on my maternal line.

William James Hayes Family — William Eugene Hayes (top, center) with his siblings and mother. Their father is already deceased. Mother Goodwith Sophia Race is seated in the middle, with my great-grandfather James Bruce Hayes next to her (far right). Hayes family photo.

Other than being a sibling of my great-grandfather, Great Grand Uncle Gene was never even on my research radar until about 7 years ago when his granddaughter (Cousin E) first made contact with me, trying to gauge what I might know about her grandfather. And even then, William Eugene did not start capturing my interest until a few years ago, when Cousin E and I started to more frequently correspond.

Cousin E was trying to prove that her grandfather was my William Eugene Hayes. Her entire life, Cousin E knew her grandfather by the name Eddie Eugene Williams. But she knew almost nothing else about him. Except that somehow–through decades of pursuing his paper trail–Cousin E and another of our Hayes/Race cousins (Cousin L) came to the conclusion that Cousin E’s grandfather Eddie Eugene Williams was the same person as my great grand uncle William Eugene Hayes. Cousin E’s mother–the now-deceased daughter of William Eugene Hayes (aka Eddie Eugene Williams)–started trying to find her father’s long lost family in 1952.

They just never found that smoking gun document that verifies this hunch. Because there probably is no such document.

His Many Identities

By corroborating Great Grand Uncle Gene’s parents’ names and his date and place of birth against other documents, I have been able to track his evolving identity as follows.

Records I Have Corroborated

(30 December 1885) William E. Hayes ¹

Event: Birth
Place: Ovid, Clinton County, Michigan
Note: Parents listed as W.J. Hayes of Canada and Goodwith Hayes of New York.

(06 June 1900) Eugene Hayes ²

Event: Residence/Enumerated
Place: Wayne Township, Wayne County, Michigan
Birth: December 1885 (age 14)
Occupation: Carriage body__
Note: Parents listed as William Hayes of Canada and Goodwith Hayes of New York (corroborates with birth record).

(21 January 1928) Eugene E. Haynes [Hayes] ³

Event: Married Mildred (Brown) Standish (1st marriage for him, 2nd for her)
Place: Cedar Rapids, Linn County, Iowa
Birth: Age 42 at next birthday (b. abt. 1895)
Occupation: Baker
Place of Birth: Ovid, Michigan (corroborates with birth record)
Note: Parents listed as William James Hayes and Goodwith Shippey (corroborates with birth record).

Records from Cousin E’s Tree

The death record and marriage info for Oagle Barksdale were gleaned from Cousin E’s tree as clues to her grandfather’s assumed identity. Those details led me to a 1940 census and possibly a second marriage to Oagle. Corroboration against his birth identity is a little more sketchy here, but it’s plausible. I am also pursuing a lead on a possible marriage that preceded his 1928 one to Mildred.

If these facts do indeed belong to Cousin E’s grandfather, it would appear that my great grand uncle William Eugene Hayes assumed a new identity (name, birth date/age, and sometimes birthplace) about the time of his 1934 marriage to Oagle.

(31 March 1934) Eddie E. Hays ⁴

Event: Marriage to Oagle Barksdale
Place: Nevada County, Arkansas
Birth: Age 45 (b. abt. 1889) [real age should be 48]
Note: Claims a residence in Prescott, Nevada County, Arkansas. No corroborating evidence, such as birth location or parents’ names.

(20-21 May 1940) Edward Williams ⁵

Event: Residence/Enumerated with wife Oagle
Place: St. Petersburg, Pinellas County, Florida
Birth: Age 48 (b. abt. 1892) [real age should be 54]
Occupation: Baker [corroborates with occupation at time of 1928 marriage]
Note: Both are noted as born in Arksansas, with a 1935 residence in Memphis, Shelby County, Tennessee.

(09 November 1942) Ed E. Williams ⁶

Event: Applied for marriage license with Oagle Aline Barksdale
Place: Marion County, Florida
Birth: Age 52 (b. abt. 1890) [real age should be 56]
Note: Not sure if they actually married. This would be a remarriage for them. Claims a residence in Prescott, Arkansas. Claims to have been married before, but claims spouse is deceased [despite previous marriage to same woman]. Birthplace noted as Ovid, Michigan [corroborates with birth record].

(01 May 1952) Ed Eugene Williams ⁷

Event: Death
Place: Atlanta, Fulton County, Georgia
Birth: Age 60 (b. abt. 1892) [real age should be 66]
Note: No corroborating evidence on death index; would need to review actual record.

I have no idea what prompted William Eugene Hayes to leave his family and his birth name, and to assume these other identities. Was it criminal in nature? A falling out with his mother? An emotional breakdown? Wanderlust? I suppose any effort to answer this question would have to start by paying a research visit to the courthouse.

I doubt, however, that I will spend more time on the paper trail of William E. Hayes, or on a possible new assumed identity. I have too much work to do still on his brother and parents (my ancestors), and since this collateral relative evidently broke off ties from his family, Great Grand Uncle Gene’s post-marriage life probably will not help me much with further research on his family history.

DNA Confirmation

Why I am telling his story now, though, is that Uncle Gene was the focus of my first DNA effort to confirm or refute a hunch. Cousin E and Cousin L’s hunch that Cousin E’s grandfather Eddie Eugene Williams is the same person as my great grand uncle William Eugene Hayes.

Mom and Cousin E - AncestryDNA Hint — AncestryDNA Hint for Mom and Cousin E. Correctly predicting a 2nd cousin match, and showing my 2nd great-grandparents as their MRCAs (Most Recent Common Ancestors).

When Mom’s autosomal DNA results became available on AncestryDNA on 31 March 2015, I immediately took a quick peak through her matches for familiar names, and Cousin E showed up as the closest match, with an estimated 2nd-3rd cousin relationship and extremely high confidence level. On 25 April 2015, after transferring Mom’s AncestryDNA autosomal DNA data to GEDmatch, I was able to run a one-to-one test that showed Cousin E and Mom match on 12 segments and share 3.681% of their DNA, which calculates out to a 2nd cousin according to the ISOGG Wiki.⁸ Cousin E also showed up on the list of one-to-many matches for Mom’s kit when GEDmatch finished processing it on 01 May 2015.

Mom and Cousin E - GEDMatch 1 to 1 — GEDmatch one-to-one comparison for Mom and Cousin E, showing 3.681% shared DNA.

I quickly emailed Cousin E to break the good news that both AncestryDNA and GEDmatch confirm she and Mom are genetically related, as 2nd cousins. Cousin E’s response back was very emotional, thanking me for being the first person to provide her with genetic evidence that her grandfather really was a Hayes/Race.

BIG YAY!!!

But unfortunately this only confirms that Cousin E and Mom are genetically related (they share too much DNA to be Identical by State). Not that her grandfather is indeed William Eugene Hayes, nor that he is definitely genetically related to Mom’s Hayes/Race line. Just that they are genetically related as estimated 2nd cousins. We need to test other Hayes/Race cousins (or identify Hayes or Race matches who have already tested) in hopes of a triangulation that can verify the genetic connection exists on the Hayes/Race line, instead of on one of Mom’s other lines–including her paternal line. And as far as proving that Cousin E’s grandfather is definitely my great grand uncle William Eugene Hayes…well, that will take even more testing and paper trail sleuthing. Something I just don’t have the time for when I have so many other DNA tests and lines to analyze. Besides, my autosomal DNA analysis skills aren’t honed enough yet for that sort of project.

For now, I am content to have made my Cousin E very happy just by confirming she is genetically related to Mom.

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