A couple days ago, I blogged about finding the Información Matrimonio (Premarital Investigation) record for my 2nd great grandparents Silverio Robledo Nieto and Maria Jesus Sanchez Carbajal.1 I mentioned in that post that an actual marriage date is not referenced in that record. This is typical for Información Matrimoniales; the marriage event is documented in a separate marriage record, the matrimonio.
The full two-folio long record 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.2
Finding the Matrimonio Record
On Sunday, I found that matrimonio record.
Knowing the dates on which the banns were read often makes locating the matrimonio record an easy task. This task, for me, was made even easier in this case because both FamilySearch and Ancestry (which pulls the data from FamilySearch) provide an index entry record for this record…this index entry just doesn’t cite the actual matrimonio record or link to the digitized record. But the index entry notes a marriage date of 25 August 1877, which led me first to the información matrimonio record and then the matrimonio record.
FamilySearch index entry for the matrimonio for Silverio Robledo and Maria jesus Sanches. The event date is marked in red, the green arrows indicate that the index is not tied to a digitized copy of the record, and the name of the indexed collection is marked in orange.
What Does the Matrimonio Record Tell us?
Matrimonio for Silverio Robledo Nieto and Maria Jesus Sanchez Carbajal, dated 25 August 1877. 3On 25 August 1877, in the church serving Yturbide [also spelled Iturbide, now called Villa Hidalgo], Presbitero [priest] Jose Manuel Hernandez performed both the casamiento [marriage] and the velación [blessing[ for Silverio Robledo and Jesus Maria Sanchez. Yturbide/Iturbide [now Villa Hidalgo] is a municipio [municipality, similar to our counties] in the state of San Luis Potosí, in central Mexico.4
The casamiento and velación were performed in accordance with the stipulations mandated by the Council of Trent in the 16th century. These stipulations include a premarital investigation and the reading of the banns. This marriage record indicates that the banns were published on 29 July, 5 August, and 12 August. It also confirms that no impediments to marriage were discovered.5
The groom and bride are noted as residing in Temascal [a village in the nearby municipio of Armadillo de los Infante]. It is unclear from this record [or just my interpretation of this record], if both the bride and groom resided in Temascal prior to the marriage [brides traditionally married in the home parish, where baptized], or if just Silverio resided there.5
Jose Maria Nieto and Jose Maria Vazquez served as witnesses to the marriage, as they did during the premarital investigation.5
This record mentions padrinos. Padrinos are generally thought of in terms of baptisms; they serve as the godparents. But in the context of marriage, they serve as the sponsors, basically like a best man and maid of honor. In this marriage, Reynaldo Robledo and Adelaida Robledo served as the padrinos.5
It is worth noting that, unlike the información matrimonio, the matrimonio itself does not mention the names of the bride and groom’s parents.9 This is why those with Mexican ancestry should not ever settle for just the matrimonio record…dig for that premarital investigation as well.
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Next Steps
Did both the bride and groom reside in Temascal, or just Silverio? If they both did, this tells us that Maria Jesus’s family probably moved away from Yturbide sometime after her baptism [since brides usually married in their home parish, where baptized]. Identifying the names of any siblings for Maria Jesus, and then locating a baptism record for each of them (as well as Maria Jesus) should help me plot where the family lived at various times prior to Maria Jesus’s marriage.
What was the relationship of the padrinos Reynaldo Robledo and Adelaida Robledo to the couple? Robledo is the groom’s paternal surname, so they are likely related to the groom Silverio. If this were a U.S. Marriage record, one would assume that Reynaldo and Adelaida were spouses because they are noted with the same surname. However Mexican women did not take on the husband’s surname after marriage. So we should work off the premise that Robledo is Adelaida’s paternal surname. I will need to identify the names of Silverio’s siblings and his father’s siblings.
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.
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
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.
If you haven’t read my recent series of posts the past couple of weeks, I have been focusing my current research efforts on my husband Jeff’s Pace and Fields line, in preparation for a trip I am taking to Texas next month. His great-grandparents were Andrew Jackson “A.J.” Pace (d. 1961) and Laura Mae (Fields) Pace (1896-1933). Little is known about Laura Mae because she died from meningitis at the age of 36, leaving behind a husband and ten children ranging from 19 years old to just a few months old.
The Research Question
One of the key questions in this current phase of research was simply, when and where did my husband’s great-grandparents marry?
When and where did Andrew Jackson “A.J.” Pace (likely born in Alabama, lived in Texas, died 1961 in New Mexico) and Laura Mae Fields (born around 1896 likely in Texas, died early 1930s in Texas) marry?
The Evidence
I have been unable to locate an actual marriage certificate or even a marriage index entry for the couple in the collections available online through Ancestry and FamilySearch. Since, according to the FamilySearch Wiki, duplicate copies of marriage records are/were not sent to the state archives like is done for birth and death records, I will not be able to find a copy of the marriage record at the state archives when I visit Austin next month.1
My only choice is to go it old school, and request the marriage record from the county clerk in Dallas County. But thanks to these newfound documents, I now know a specific marriage date and place, which will make the county clerk’s work easier.
The 1930 U.S. Census
Prior to one week ago, the only piece of evidence I had that referenced a marriage date for Andrew Jackson Pace and Laura Mae Fields was the 1930 federal census.
I wrote a little while back that the ages for Andrew Jackson and Laura Mae at the time of the census and and ages at time of first marriage do not jive. Andrew Jackson is noted as age 52 (born about 1878), and first married at age 38. Laura Mae is noted as age 34 (born about 1896), and first married at age 16. This would make the husband and wife about 18 years apart in age at the time of the census, yet 22 years apart when each was first married.2
So either the two sets of ages for Andrew Jackson and Laura Mae were mis-reported (wrong info or bad math) to the census taker, or Laura Mae had a prior marriage. I have not yet exhausted the search for a possible earlier marriage for Laura Mae, but based on documents I have have since found pertaining to Laura Mae, I am leaning towards this census information discrepancy simply being a case of wrong information or bad math.
I have not found the family on the 1920 U.S. census.
Laura Mae’s Obituary
I blogged this past Sunday about just discovering the first document I have come across that references a specific marriage date and place for my husband’s great-grandparents,
This big discovery was the the 23 February 1933 obituary for great-grandmother Laura Mae, published in their local newspaper, the Lamb County Leader. The obituary–for which husband A.J. Pace likely served as the informant, since he did so for her certificate of death–reports that the two were married on 24 November 1912 in Mesquite, Dallas County, Texas.3,4
Courtesy of the Southwest Collection/Special Collections Library.5
Marriage Announcement
Within hours of publishing Wednesday night’s blog post tracking and mapping Laura Mae’s life events across the state of Texas, I scored again. A big time score…from a tiny little reference in the tiny little newspaper in the then-tiny little rural farming city Mesquite, Dallas County, Texas. The first contemporaneously created record I have found documenting the marriage of Andrew Jackson Pace and Laura Mae Fields–a newspaper announcing their marriage. Sitting right there in one of my favorite digital archives, The Portal to Texas History, which I visit almost weekly (see the first segment in a series I am writing about the Portal on my professional blog).
The Record
On 29 November 1912, The Texas Mesquiter (Mesquite, Texas) published a small brief on its front page, which reports that “A.J. Pace and Miss May Field were married Sunday [the 24th] morning at 10:00 o’clock, at the home of the groom’s uncle, J.A. Pace.” It also reports that the couple “will probably make their home after the first of the year in Bell county.”6
As with the obituary, this newspaper announcement provides direct evidence since it directly answers the research question…”When and where were Andrew Jackson Pace and Laura Mae Fields married?”, whereas the 1930 census record only provides indirect evidence because it does not specifically answer the research question.
The marriage date and place mentioned in the newspaper announcement are in agreement with the evidence provided in Laura Mae’s death certificate and obituary; these records do not conflict. The marriage date from the newspaper announcement and the obituary are also in agreement with what the 1930 federal census reports for Laura Mae’s age at first marriage, age 16. They are not, however, in agreement with (meaning they conflict with) what the 1930 census reported as A.J.’s age at this marriage, but since I have not yet analyzed his life records, I cannot yet resolve that particular conflict. My hunch is still that the information reported for A.J. on the 1930 U.S. census is just wrong info and bad math, likely reported by wife Laura Mae who would not have had firsthand knowledge of Andrew Jackson’s birth and age.
What new clues does this new record yield?
The couple was married in a private home, not in a church, so it is unlikely that there is a church marriage record for them, which could function as a vital records substitute for a marriage certificate if a certificate does not exist.
Great-grandfather Andrew Jackson Pace had an uncle who went by J.A. Pace, and who lived in Mesquite.
The couple was planning to move to nearby Bell County in early 1913, which helps me narrow down the geographical scope in which to search for a record of birth (which I have not yet found) for their oldest child, my husband’s grandfather Roy Delmar Pace, who was born 19 October 1913. I have not been able to identify a place of birth for Roy, only that it was in Texas.
The Discovery Process
Why couldn’t I locate this record before?
I have spent months scouring The Portal to Texas History for information pertaining to my husband’s Pace and Fields lines. How have I never come across this newspaper brief until last night? That is the topic of a future tutorial on my professional blog. A lesson I have learned twice this past week, and which I now need to incorporate into my regular search tactics for online records and repositories.
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Next Steps?
Tasks to formally prove my answer to this current research question, and to formulate and answer new research questions.
Continue looking for an actual marriage certificate for Andrew Jackson Pace and Laura Mae Fields. This requires contacting or visiting the Dallas County Clerk’s Office.
Look for Dallas County records referencing Andrew Jacksons’s uncle J.A. Pace. This may help me locate where Andrew Jackson was living in Texas prior to marriage, and provide additional kinship clues to begin documenting the history of Andrew Jackson’s parents, siblings, and grandparents.
San José Cathedral, Villa Hidalgo, San Luis Potosí, Mexico. If this same building dates back to 1883, it is where my 2nd great-grandparents married.1I like to immerse myself in the history and geography of an area when researching my ancestors. The roll I have been on lately with Mexico church records has allowed me to finally identify specific municipalities (similar to our counties) and localidades (cities, towns, villages) in which my ancestors lived or experienced life events. Videos and photos of those areas are a key part of this research. They provide me with a glimpse–even if just a modern day one–of the surroundings in which my ancestor lived, worked, and traveled, and they are an essential part of scouting out areas for future research trips.
Family Ties to Villa Hidalgo
In my last post, I mentioned that my 2nd great-grandparents Refugio Nieto (1863-1908) and Aurelia Compean (1864-1963) were married on 18 October 1883 in the parish of San José, located in Villa de Yturbide (now Villa Hidalgo), a municipality in the state of San Luis Potosí.2 Until finding that record back in May, I had never heard of an association between my ancestors and Villa Hidalgo.
About Villa Hidalgo
Villa Hidalgo is both a municipality and a town (similar to a county seat) in the Mexican state of San Luis Potosí. It was elevated to the civic administrative designation of municipo in 1854 and named after Don Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla, a Catholic priest and leader in the war for independence (1810-1821) against Spain, who is considered the “padre de patria” (founding father) of Mexico. By the end of that same year, however, the municipality and village were renamed to Villa Iturbide.3 Iturbide was the name of the royal house of Mexico, during the short-lived post-independence first Mexican Empire period from 1822-23.4 In 1928, the local legislature changed the municipo seat name back to Hidalgo.5
Two parishes serve the municipality of Villa Hidalgo–Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe in the nearby town of Peotillos, and San José in the actual municipo seat.6 San José is where my 2nd great-grandparents Reguio Nieto and Aurelia Compean married in 1883. The archdiocese website notes the parish founding as “28/08/06,” but with just an “06” I cannot determine the century. It would have to be 1806 at the latest, due to the marriage year of my 2nd great-grandparents. FamilySearch has parish records dating back to 1850. From what I am able to tell from Google Maps Streetview, photos, and videos, San José cathedral is located right on the town plaza. A festival is held each year on March 19 in honor of San José.
San José Cathedral, Villa Hidalgo, San Luis Potosí, Mexico. If this same building dates back to 1883, this is the view my 2nd great-grandmother saw when she walked down the aisle to marry her husband.7Another part of the exterior facade of San José Cathedral, Villa Hidalgo, San Luis Potosí, Mexico.8
Virtual Tours
These videos show quite a bit of footage of Villa Hidalgo, including the cathedral where my 2nd great-grandparents married in 1883.9,10 The town looks quite poor, but is full of color and historic architecture. I find it a bit humorous that the opening scene of the first video is an exterior shot of a cantina–perhaps Dad and I will enjoy a cold drink there next year.
My 23rd 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 23 is– Wedding: June is time for weddings. Write about a June bride in your family or highlight a favorite wedding photo. Maybe there’s a serial marry-er in the family — that could be a fun post!
I am quite behind on this blog challenge, hence the late wedding post.
My 23rd ancestor is my 2nd great-grandfather Refugio Nieto (1863-1909), who was born about 1863 in the state of San Luis Potosí, Mexico. I have not yet identified the specific location, but it likely was in the municipality of Armadillo de los Infante.1
Marriage
Refugio married my 2nd great-grandmother Maria Aurelia Compean on 18 October 1883 in the parish of San José, located in Villa de Yturbidge (now Villa Hidalgo), a municipality in the state of San Luis Potosí.2
Aurelia (called “Little Grandma” by our family) immigrated to the U.S. in 1919 joining some of her children and great-grandchildren in Long Beach, Los Angeles County, California.3,4 Refugio died before the family immigrated.5,6 Consequently, my living family members never knew anything about him, including his given name.
The Original Record
Maria Aurelia Compean.
I wrote just a couple months ago about the recent discovery of this marriage record and of my 2nd great-grandfather’s given name of Refugio. Finding Refugio and Aurelia’s marriage record provided the first piece of (long-awaited) primary and direct evidence of their marriage as well as of my 2nd great-grandfather’s name. But I did not spend much time in that post analyzing the actual marriage record.
At that time, I was able to glean some key pieces of information from this Spanish language record (I do not speak Spanish, and my reading ability is very rudimentary). But to properly analyze the record for genealogical evidence, I needed to understand this record better.
That’s where my Spanish-fluent retired Dad comes in; I assigned a translation to him as homework last week. I think Dad enjoyed getting to read in-depth the marriage record for his great-grandparents and helping me piece together their history.
Pre-Marriage Investigations
The record referenced in this blog post is what the Spanish Catholic church refers to as a pre-marriage investigation report (called informaciones matrimoniales in the Mexican church). These investigations were conducted by the parish priest, prior to marrying a couple, to ensure that the couple met the church’s requirements for marriage.
The honor of the Catholic Church as an institution was maintained by being certain that a full investigation was conducted and the parties were free from (that is, they were not in violation of) the impediments imposed by Catholic canon law.7
Informacion Matrimonial
Below is the digitized copy of the marriage investigation record for my 3rd great-grandparents. Note that it spans two pages in the volume, and is rich with genealogical information.
Marriage investigation record for Refugio Nieto and Maria Aurelia Compean. Courtesy of FamilySearch. Click image for a larger view.
The Record Translation
Following is the verbatim translation provided by my father. Since Dad used parenthesis and brackets for his notes, I am enclosing mine {in braces}.8In Dad’s own words, “The translation is a bit rough partially because the document is in old Spanish.” 9
For each part to the record, I have inserted the corresponding section from the digitized record above, to more easily refer to it while reading the translation.
{Introduction by the Priest & Statement by the Groom}
Marriage information {for Refugio Nieto}
Male spouse
In the village of Ytarbido (?) {Yturbide} on 20 September, 1883, before me Father Domingo Torres, Refugio presented himself to reveal his desire to marry with Aurelia Compeon. Declaring his petition, and understanding the importance of the obligation of his desire, understanding well the Christian doctrine and the gravity of his affirmation, I received before God and the cross, by his faith he answered all the questions he was asked, agreeable to the general instructions of the diocese, that he is a resident of the district of Temascal {also Temazcal, a village in the muncipality of Armadillo de los Infante}, unmarried of 21 years of age, of Tedra {possibly Pedro} Nieto and of Fabriana {likely Fabiana} Mesa who are alive, who desires to wed Aurelia Compeon per the requirements of the Roman Apostolic Catholic Church, with his petition he affirms that he has no ties of consequence to another marriage, nor to another woman, nor to the sister of the proposed spouse, nor a vow of chastity, nor any liability of criminal or civil dishonesty. By this proposed marriage contract with respect for the spouse, being of clear conscience free of any burden I declare by the Church to enter marriage of my own free will without urging, force, or compelling, and I believe this to be true of my future spouse. All I have put forth is true and honest.
[The signatures may be from a church witness and Father Torres]
{Statement by the Bride}
Female spouse
On the same date, Aurelia Compeon appeared to declare her intention to marry Refugio Nieto. Declaring her petition, and understanding the importance of the obligation of her desire, understanding well the Christian doctrine and the gravity of his affirmation, I received this statement as required, by her faith she answered all the questions she was asked, agreeable to the general instructions of the diocese, that she is a resident of the district of Temascal {same village as Refugio}, unmarried of 18 years of age, of Santiago Compeon now deceased and Eutimia Sanches who is alive, who desires to wed Refugio Nieto per the requirements of the Roman Apostolic Catholic Church, with his petition he affirms that he has no ties of consequence to another marriage, nor to another man, nor to the brother of the proposed spouse, nor a vow of chastity, nor any liability of criminal or civil dishonesty. By this proposed marriage contract with respect for the spouse, being of clear conscience free of any burden I declare by the Church to enter marriage of my own free will without urging, force, or compelling, and I believe this to be true of my future spouse. All I have put forth is true and honest.
[The signatures may be from a church witness and Father Torres]
{Statement by the First Witness}
First witness
The petitioner Refugio Nieto in support of his declaration presented his first witness Antonio Flores who understood the importance of his oath, rightfully offered to speak the truth to answer all that was asked, and doing so for this matter, that he is a resident of the district of Temascal, 57 years of age married. He knows the petitioners to free of marriage and knows of no obstacles about what has been asked. All I have put forth is true and honest.
[The signatures may be from a church witness and Father Torres]
{Statement by the Second Witness}
Second witness
The petitioner Refugio Nieto in support of his declaration presented his second witness Vicente Garcia who understood the importance of his oath, rightfully offered to speak the truth to answer all that was asked, and doing so for this matter, that he is a resident of the district of Temascal, 69 years of age married. He knows the petitioners to free of marriage and knows of no obstacles about what has been asked. All I have put forth is true and honest.
[The signatures may be from a church witness and Father Torres]
{Certification by the Priest}
Consent with the required waiting, this petition is made public from September 23 to October 7, 1883.
This marriage was verified October 18, 1883.
Evidence Analysis
What sort of new information items did this record present to me to analyze as evidence?
My rudimentary Spanish reading ability at the time of discovery allowed me to:
Identify their date and place of marriage.
Identify the given name for my Nieto 2nd great-grandfather Refugio.
Identify the names of Refugio Nieto’s parents (my 3rd gg).
Confirm the names of Maria Aurelia Compean’s parents (my other 3rd gg).
What new information did I learn from Dad’s translation?
That 3rd great-grandfather Jose Compean was already dead by this time. This helps me narrow the scope a bit in searching for a church death record for Jose.
Because the parish is located in Villa de Yturbide, I assumed that was also the home town of Refugio when I attempted to read the original document, but Dad’s translation indicates both parties lived in the village of Temascal. Since Temascal lies in the municipality of nearby Armadillo de los Infante and is served by the parish of San Isabél (established 1610), I have a bit of research to do to determine why my 3rd great-grandparents married outside of their home parish.
My last two blog posts focused on my 2nd great-grandmother Maria Aurelia Compean (1858-1963), and in particular on the discrepancies over her birth year and age. Aurelia immigrated to the U.S. in 1919, with some of her children, from their home state of San Luis Potosi, Mexico. She spent the last 44 years of her life starting anew in Los Angeles County, California. Aurelia, according to U.S. Census records and family recollections, primarily lived at different times with two of her children — her daughter (my great-grandmother) Maria Hermalinda “Nana” Nieto (1887-1973), and her son (my 2nd great-uncle) Juvenal Joseph Nieto (1898-1978).
Aurelia, affectionately referred to as “Little Grandma” was well known by my paternal grandfather and his siblings, and also by my dad and his own cousins. Because Dad went to live with his grandmother (our “Nana”) when he was five years old, he also lived with and grew very close to his Little Grandma, who resided with her daughter Nana at that time. Dad recently shared with me how traumatic it was for him to lose his great-grandmother in 1963. Although I have only just started to make progress on Aurelia’s history, her name has been well known to me despite never having met her.
The name of Aurelia’s husband, however, has been a big mystery. All we have ever known is that his surname was Nieto, and that he died in Mexico before his family immigrated here.
Name Not Known
Dad doesn’t remember ever hearing a first name for his great-grandfather (Little Grandma’s husband). No one in our branch of the Nieto-Robledo family knew his name. Not even Nana’s lone living child (my great-uncle, and Aurelia’s grandson). In a family history questionnaire that I asked my great-uncle to fill out back in 2003, my great-uncle left the name of his maternal grandfather blank (he only filled in the name of his grandmother, Aurelia). The 1963 obituary for Aurelia fails to include my 2nd great-grandfather’s name — he is simply referred to as “her husband.” How does a spouse’s name get left out of an obituary? Aurelia still had living children at that point, who certainly knew their father’s name. Didn’t they realize what sort of frustration this would plunge future generations of family historians into???
Clipped obituary, from family files. Independent. Long Beach, California, United States Of America.
And for years, I have struck out on locating a Mexico marriage record for Aurelia and her husband, or a baptism record for their children Maria and Juvenal.
Possibly Raphael
Over the last handful of years, I have come across other grandchildren, grandchildren-in-law, and great-grandchildren of Aurelia who have public trees on Ancestry. Those that identified a spouse for Aurelia recored him with the name Raphael — although no source documents are attached on any of the trees as evidence to support that name.
But, Raphael became the working name for my 2d great-grandfather, as I kept searching on Ancestry and FamilySearch for records that might substantiate that fact.
Last month, I finally received a copy of my great-grandmother Nana’s 1973 death certificate from Los Angeles County. Noted on her death certificate is the name of her father (Aurelia’s husband)…Raphael Nieto.
The same name in those Ancestry trees. We were starting to get warmer.
Personal data section of the 1973 Los Angeles County death certificate for my great-grandmother, Maria Hermalinda Nieto (married name Robledo).
The death certificate identifies Nana’s second youngest son, my now-deceased uncle Alfred Robledo, as the informant. So Uncle Alfred was most likely the person who provided the names of his mother’s parents. Nana’s father is listed as Raphael Nieto. But the maiden name of Nana’s mother is incorrect. Nana’s mother (Aurelia) is identified with the maiden name Sanchez. It should be Compean. Sanches is Aurelia’s maternal surname (apellido materno), not her paternal surname (apellido paterno) — or what we call a maiden name. Uncle Alfred was clearly not too sure about his grandparents’ names.
I also ordered a copy of Aurelia’s death certificate from Los Angeles County at the same time, however the county sent me a notice that the were unable to locate a death record for her. I had hoped her death certificate would identify a spouse’s name, a name that was hopefully identified by one of Aurelia’s children, who had to know the name of their father.
Possibly Refugio
In that same batch of Los Angeles County vital record requests, I had asked for the 1978 death certificate of my 2nd great-uncle Juvenal, hoping it would provide some clues about Juvenal and Maria’s parents — particularly their father, my 2nd great-grandfather Nieto.
When I received Juvenal’s death certificate in the mail, I encountered a new name for my 2nd great-grandfather — Refugio. The informant on Juvenal’s death certificate is his wife Mary, who might likely have known my 2nd great-grandfather back in Mexico. Mary also got the surname correct (Compean) for Juvenal’s mother, my 2nd great-grandmother Aurelia.
Personal data section of the 1978 Los Angeles County death certificate for my 2nd great-uncle, Juvenal Nieto.
This is the first time I encountered the name Refugio used in connection with my 2nd great-grandfather. But it wasn’t the first time I had heard that name used in connection with my family. Refugio is the name that Aurelia’s daughter Maria (my great-grandmother Nana) gave to her first-born son. My great-grandparents Maria Hermalinda Nieto and Jose Robledo named their first boy Refugio Raphael Robledo (born 1915 in Mexico). There were both of those names…Refugio…and Raphael. It would seem my Nana named her first son after her father.
Was Refugio Raphael the name of my 2nd great-grandfather? Was Raphael the name he preferred to go by, which might explain why those Ancestry trees and my uncle Alfred identify him as Raphael?
The namesake grandson, my now-deceased great-uncle Refugio Raphael Robledo (the baby born in 1915) also preferred to go by the name Raphael, or his parents just called him Raphael, because much of the documentation I have identifies him as Raphael. Although his sole living sibling, and his nieces and nephews, say that he actually went by the nickname of Ray.
The search to learn my 2nd great-grandfather’s name was definitely getting warmer now.
Refugio Confirmed
And then last week, that search grew hot. Really hot.
As stated in my last blog post about my 2nd great-grandmother Aurelia, on May 6th I finally — after 15+ years — found the marriage record for Aurelia and her husband, in the non-indexed/non-searchable browse-only collection of Mexico Catholic church records on FamilySearch! The marriage records identifies my 2nd great-grandfather as Refugio Nieto.
Maria Aurelia Compean married Refugio Nieto (1863-1909) on 18 October 1883 in the Villa de Yturbide (now Villa de Hidalgo), a municipality in San Luis Potosi, Mexico.
Marriage declaration made by Aurelia Compean to Refugio Nieto. From the full record of marriage. FamilySearch.”México, San Luis Potosí, registros parroquiales, 1586-1970,” images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-1951-20440-23372-37?cc=1860864&wc=MC48-NZS:167672101,167668102,168345101 : accessed 6 May 2015), Villa Hidalgo > San José > Información matrimonial 1880-1886 > image 491 of 755; parroquias Católicas, San Luis Potosi (Catholic Church parishes, San Luis Potosi).
Now that I had my groove down browsing through those non-indexed/non-searchable Mexico records on FamilySearch, I was on a roll. That same afternoon I came across another record I had been hunting for 15+ years — the Mexico Catholic church baptism record for my great-grandmother Maria Hermalinda “Nana” Nieto. Nana’s baptism record identifies her parents as Aurelia Compean and Refugio Nieto.
Baptism record for Maria Hermalinda Nieto, 08 November 1997. “México, San Luis Potosí, registros parroquiales, 1586-1970,” images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-1951-20131-27076-52?cc=1860864&wc=MC4Z-RP8:167672201,167672202,167990403 : accessed 13 May 2015), Armadillo de los Infante > Santa Isabel > Bautismos 1877-1892 > image 629 of 943; parroquias Católicas, San Luis Potosi (Catholic Church parishes, San Luis Potosi). Click to view larger image.
I think I may also have found the baptism record for my 2nd great-grandfather Refugio Nieto, but I will save that discussion for another post.
What About Raphael?
At this point, I have to consider Raphael to be a nickname. The name is used by family members too often for it to be dismissed as simply a mistaken name. And since Refugio’s granddaughter Maria Hermalinda (my Nana) named her first-born son Refugio Raphael, I have to think that the name Raphael is rightly associated with my 2nd great-grandfather.
Visiting with Dad this weekend, he had another suggestion. That Raphael might be my 2nd great-grandfather’s Catholic confirmation name. That theory will have to wait to be explored when I have time to browse through the non-indexed/non-searchable Mexico Catholic church confirmation records.
My last post discussed the discrepancies that exist among records regarding the birth year and age of my 2nd great-grandmother Maria Aurelia Compean (1858-1963), whom my family affectionately called “Little Grandma.”
In that post, I explained that my extended family has always claimed Little Grandma lived to be 105 years old, which would indicate she was born in 1858. But after reviewing the records generated throughout her life that provide an age, I concluded that the best evidence indicates that Aurelia was actually born in 1864, the year of her baptism.
Maria Aurelia Compean Sanches (using the traditional Mexican naming convention) was baptized on 10 January 1864 at the age of 10 days old. This would make her date of birth 01 January 1864, and would mean she lived to be 99 years old at the time of her death on 17 February 1963, not 105 years old as my extended family has thought for most of our lives.
Baptism transcription index card. Ancestry.com. Mexico, Select Baptisms, 1560-1950 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2014.Aurelia’s baptism record is the record, among those I have identified so far, most contemporaneously created at the time closest to her actual birth. But the only record I had for her baptism is a translated transcribed index entry (shown above) in Ancestry and FamilySearch, which leaves at least a couple opportunities for human error. As stated in my last post, I needed to find a copy of her original Spanish-language full baptism record. But those records are not yet fully indexed and searchable on FamilySearch, meaning I would have to browse image-by-image in the collection — something I had not set aside time for just yet.
The digitized copy of Aurelia’s original Spanish-language baptism record confirms that she was baptized on 10 January 1864 at the age of 10 days old — making her date of birth 01 January 1864. There are no translation or transcription errors in that English index entry. Pretty strong proof to refute my extended family’s longtime claim that Little Grandma was born in 1858 and lived to be 105 years old (claims made on her death record and in her obituary).
But, as stated in my last blog post, I had more record types to review in this attempt to verify Aurelia’s birth year.
Digitized Marriage Record
The next day I scored another big find…the 1883 marriage record for Aurelia and my 2nd great-grandfather
Declaration of intent for Aurelia Compean to marry Refugio Nieto. From the full record of marriage. FamilySearch.”México, San Luis Potosí, registros parroquiales, 1586-1970,” images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-1951-20440-23372-37?cc=1860864&wc=MC48-NZS:167672101,167668102,168345101 : accessed 6 May 2015), Villa Hidalgo > San José > Información matrimonial 1880-1886 > image 491 of 755; parroquias Católicas, San Luis Potosi (Catholic Church parishes, San Luis Potosi).
Maria Aurelia Compean married Refugio Nieto (1863-1909) on 18 October 1883 in the Villa de Yturbide (now Villa de Hidalgo), a municipality in the state of San Luis Potosi, Mexico. Aurelia’s section of the prerequisite declaration of intent to marry (dated 20 September 1883) notes that she was 18 years old at the time.
The age on this marriage record is still off. If Aurelia was 18 years old in October of 1883, her birth year would calculate out to 1865 (since she was born in the month of January). Yet she was baptized in 1864. She had to have been 19 years old at the time of her marriage, since one cannot be born AFTER being baptized.
Further Analysis & Investigation
My hope had been that finding Aurelia’s marriage record would substantiate the birth year implied in her baptism record, or at the very least would substantiate one of the other conflicting birth years — not offer forth yet ANOTHER birth year possibility. However, since (as stated above), Aurelia could not have been baptized prior to being born, the 1864 birth year provided on her baptism record still seems the most likely candidate. The baptism record remains the most contemporaneously created record for the time of her actual birth. And since the church wrote these baptism entries in chronological order in a log book, it’s not like the hand-written entry for Aurelia got mistakenly filed in the wrong year — the baptism entries immediately before and after hers are for the same date, with those three January 10th 1864 baptisms sandwiched between records for January 9th and 11th.
Obtaining copies of the actual baptism and marriage records does at least allow me to check off two of the four “next steps” I identified in my last post. I need to also try to find civil registration records for Aurelia’s birth and marriage. And a discussion with my father this past weekend raised another record source to investigate as well — a church confirmation record.
Until then, I’m still leaving Aurelia’s birth year noted as 1858 in my database, research log, family tree, and Snapshot Box below. I will also have to change the birth year built into the custom URL I use to pull together all posts in this blog pertaining to Aurelia, which means writing a permanent URL redirect so people don’t land on a broken link — hence, the wait until more hopeful birth year confirmation.
My 23rd ancestor is my 2nd great-grandfather 
