Colleen & Jeff's Roots – The family history of Jeff Greene and Colleen (Robledo) Greene.

Yngenio Rascon, San Luis Potosí, Mexico: Birthplace of Great-Aunt Lupe Robledo

My great-grandparents and their ancestors lived for centuries in the Armadillo and Villa Hidalgo area of the state of San Luis Potosí in central Mexico. Most of their births, baptisms, marriages, deaths, and burials took place in these two present-day municipios (similar to counties) and accompanying parishes, or within what now amounts to a one hour driving radius. This ancestral home region is dry arid ranching and farming country.

Robledo Nieto Regional Map San Luis Potosi — Custom Google Map showing the four main towns, villages, and ranchos where my family has lived for centuries in the state of San Luis Potosí. These are shown in proximity to the capital city.

Looking for Great-Aunt Lupe

One particular record has stuck out in my mind since discovering it in late 2015 when Ancestry released its indexed Mexican civil registration collection—the 1910 birth registration for my great-aunt Lupe Robledo, who I knew as a very young child. Maria Guadalupe “Lupe” Robledo Nieto (1910-1975) was the oldest child of my immigrant great-grandparents, José Pablo Robledo Sanches (1879-1937) and Maria Hermalinda Nieto Compean (1887-1973). According to her civil birth registration, Lupe was born 4 July 1910 in her parents’ home.¹ But that home was not at all where I suspected.

I had looked several years for a birth or baptism record for Lupe to no avail, until Ancestry released that indexed civil registration collection in October 2015. My hunt had been focusing on the municipios and parishes of my ancestors’ traditional homelands for centuries. But Lupe was not born in that part of the state—the same part of the state in which her parents married 2 years prior to her birth.

The newly released indexed civil birth registration collection was literally searchable for the first time, and a quick search for children born to my great-grandparents revealed that Aunt Lupe had been born outside of our ancestral region. She had been born 155 miles southeast of the family home, in a place identified on her birth record as Yngenio Rascon, located in the muncipio of San Nicolás de los Montes (now in the muncipio of Tamosopo), still in the state of San Luis Potosí.²

Guadalupe Robledo Nieto 1910 Birth Record — The 21 July 1910 civil birth registration for my great-aunt Maria Guadalupe “Lupe” Robledo Nieto, born 4 July 1910 in Yngenio Rascon, municipality of San Nicolás de los Montes.
“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.

The young family did not reside here long. By 3 Match 1913 (the birth date of their next child) they moved back to our ancestral home in the municipio of Armadillo.³

Robledo and Nieto Region Map with Rascon — Custom Google Map showing my primary ancestral region in the state of San Luis Potosí (maroon pins), and Rascon (the blue pin) where Lupe was born.

Yngenio Rascon: What & Why?

Not being familiar with the term Yngenio (also spelled Ingenio), I turned to Google Translate and learned that in this context yngenio refers to a plant, like a manufacturing plant. A little more time searching via Google told me that this was (maybe it still is?) a sugar manufacturing plant.

This was starting to make sense now. The birth and baptism records for his Mexico-born children tell me that my great-grandfather José was a farmer/farm laborer. It is probable that the lure of work on a sugar plantation had drawn my great-grandfather and his new wife Maria away from their family home—possibly while Maria was pregnant with their first child.

According to family lore, Maria’s Nieto and Compean families owned considerable land in their home regions, but Maria’s father had lost the Nieto family lands by the time of his death in 1906. I am uncertain if José’s family (Robledo and Sanches) owned land in the Armadillo area as well. But surely it had to be the promise or prospect of a job on the Rascon sugar plantation that drew this young married couple away from their family region.

So why didn’t José and Maria remain at Yngenio Rascon? Why did they return home by 1913? Had the work just been temporary? Were they homesick? Was the tropical climate too much of a change for this family from a much more dry and arid region. Dad told me just this past weekend that his grandmother said she had contracted malaria back in Mexico. It seems likely this would have occurred during their stay in this tropical region.

Daughter Lupe was born in 1910, the year marking the official start of the Mexican Revolution. This family would flee the Revolution for the U.S. five years later in 1915. Had things become too unsettling for the family between the 1910 and 1913 births of their daughters, due to the revolution, prompting them to move back near their large extended family network?

A Closer Look at Yngenio Rascon

Yngenio Rascon at this time was the principal hacienda on a massive piece of property located in the states of San Luis Potosí and Tamaulipas. It was owned by the U.S.-based Rascon Manufacturing & Development Company, a holding company chartered in 1905 by a group of investors primarily from Louisiana. The lands had been sold by the Rascon family, who received the land patent in 1844 from a Jesuit holding.⁴

It was a large sugar plantation, located in the tropical eastern side of San Luis Potosí,

Map of the Rascon Lands — A 1906 map of the Rascon Lands, with Yngenio/Ingenio Rascon highlighted in red. Public domain.
“The Ancient Hacienda of San Ignacio del Buey,” *The Louisiana Planter and Sugar Manufacturer*, XXXVII (25 April 1906) 123; image copy, *HathiTrust Digital Library* (https://www.hathitrust.org/ : accessed 7 September 2017).

The Rascon lands were described at this time as abundant farmlands, with renters, and with rich pastures for raising cattle and horses.⁵

“The principal hacienda, in that it has been developed more largely than the others, is the Yngenio Rascon, upon which is Rascon Station. This place has an acreage of about 25,000, of which more than 5,000 is irrigable land of the character already described…It has a complete sugar mill of 200 tons capacity, situated at the headquarters of the hacienda about nine miles from Rascon station…There are on this place, at the present time, over a thousand acres in cultivation for the hacienda, and in addition a large acreage farmed by renters…On this place is a handsome owner’s residence, the houses of the administrator and various other employees, store, warehouses, granaries, chapel, etc.”⁶

Ingenio Rascon — What appears to be a manufacturing area. This image is from a public domain publication.
“The Ancient Hacienda of San Ignacio del Buey,” The Louisiana Planter and Sugar Manufacturer, XXXVII (25 April 1906) 122; image copy, HathiTrust Digital Library (https://www.hathitrust.org/ : accessed 7 September 2017).

Aunt Lupe’s birth record just tells us that her father was a farmer who lived at Yngenio Rasco.² It does not tell us if he was hired to work with the sugar cane crops, or if worked on some of the other crops or with the livestock, or if he was one of those farmers or ranchers who rented land from the company. All of these are possibilities.

Ingenio Rascon Banana Plantation - HathiTrust — “The Ancient Hacienda of San Ignacio del Buey,” *The Louisiana Planter and Sugar Manufacturer*, XXXVII (25 April 1906) 124; image copy, *HathiTrust Digital Library* (https://www.hathitrust.org/ : accessed 7 September 2017).

Ingenio Rascon Cane Field - HathiTrust — “The Ancient Hacienda of San Ignacio del Buey,” *The Louisiana Planter and Sugar Manufacturer*, XXXVII (25 April 1906) 124; image copy, *HathiTrust Digital Library* (https://www.hathitrust.org/ : accessed 7 September 2017).

Remember my earlier statement about my great-grandmother Maria telling Dad she had contracted malaria back in Mexico? Malaria was a viable enough risk and worry at this time in tropical areas like Yngenio Rascon that a U.S. sugar industry trade magazine made a point of reporting the area as “demonstrated” to be free of malaria. “The section is singularly free from mosquitoes and files.”⁸

Did exploring Yngenio Rascon help me identify more ancestors for my family tree, or discover any new significant facts about my ancestors? No, but it has provided me with a bigger picture look at a short period in their lives.

Next Steps

Based on what I have learned from taking another look at this birth record and from my investigation into Yngenio Rasco, I have identified a few next steps to dig deeper into this era of my great-grandparents’ family history.

I still have not located a baptism record for my great-aunt Lupe.
Because baptism is a Catholic sacrament that doctrine states affects one’s eternal salvation, Lupe’s parents likely would have baptized her shortly after birth. Most of the Mexico parish records are not yet indexed on FamilySearch, and consequently Ancestry (who gets this data from FamilySearch). Or if they have been indexed, those extracted index entries often are not yet linked to the actual digitized image. So searching for a baptism record on FamilySearch and Ancestry has not yet worked. However, the birth date and location specified in her civil birth registration should help me narrow down where to look (or browse) for Lupe’s baptism record.
I would like to know if any other family members moved with my great-grandparents to Yngenio Rascon.
Families historically did not move in isolation; they moved with other family or community members. Neither of the witnesses identified on Lupe’s birth record have surnames relevant to my family, but civil registration witnesses often were not related to the family. My best bet is to conduct searches for civil registrations in this same muncipio for other individuals with surnames common to José and Maria’s extended family group.
I am curious if any business records exist from this time period for Yngenio Rascon that might mention my family or just provide more context about their life during this time.
Since this was an American-owned company, these records stand a good chance (if they exist) of being held in by a U.S. Repository. I will start by looking at some of the larger archival record and archival finding aid portals, such as HathiTrust, NUCMC, DPLA, etc.

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Sources Cited

Confirming the 1877 Marriage Date of 2nd Great Grandparents Silverio and Maria Jesus Sanchez

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.

Silverio Robledo and Maria Jesus Sanchez Premarital Investigation — 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 Silverio Robledo and Maria Jesus Sanchez Matrimonio — *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?

Silverio Robledo and Maria Jesus Sanches Matrimonio Record — Matrimonio for Silverio Robledo Nieto and Maria Jesus Sanchez Carbajal, dated 25 August 1877. ³

On 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.

Sources

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

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

A Hiatus, While Neck-Deep in Mexican Research

My Father's Paternal Mexican Immigrant Ancestors — My father’s paternal Mexican-immigrant ancestors.

I have only blogged once since my big trip to Texas last October for the Texas State Genealogical Society’s Family History Conference in Austin (where I taught An Introduction to Researching Your Mexican Ancestors and another session), preceded by a week-long vacation in other areas of Texas with my husband and parents for a big family history anniversary. A really really big anniversary! Which I will share later.

October was a crazy busy month, preparing for that 10-day trip. During which time came that HUGE announcement from Ancestry at the end of the month—their release of the indexed, searchable, digitized Mexico Civil Registration collection (3 days before the class in which I was teaching these same records!). This of course meant that I spent the entire month of November researching in that collection…and scoring…big time.

Then came health issues resulting in two surgeries, tests for a third upcoming surgery, the holidays, and the need for a long period of recovery from those two surgeries. With very little time for research, and even less time for writing.

I have made more discoveries in the last 5-1/2 months (due to the release of that new Ancestry collection), than in all the previous 16+ years that I have been trying to research my father’s paternal Mexican line. Searchable indexed records make such a world of difference.

So brace yourself.

We’re embarking on a fast ride. The starting point? Los Angeles, California in 1937.

Celedonia Robledo, the Mexico-Born Sister My First-Generation Grandfather Never Knew

1914 Civil Death Registration for Celedenia Robledo — Two folios from the digitized civil death registration volume for 1914, in the municipality of Armadillo de los Infante, state of San Luis Potosí. The entry for Celedonia Robledo begins on the bottom left and carries over to the top of the next folio. Available on FamilySearch.¹

A couple weeks ago, I wrote about my recent discovery of a third child born to my great-grandparents in Mexico, before they immigrated to the United States in 1915. My great-aunt Celedonia Robledo was born 3 March 1913 to Jose Robledo (1875-1937 ) and Maria Hermalinda Nieto (1887-1974 ).² Celedenia was the second of three children born in Mexico to my great-grandparents. Her birth was reported to local civil authorities three days later in the municipality of Armadillo de los Infante, state of San Luis Potosí, Mexico.

That birth registration record was the first time I ever heard the name of this child, or heard of her existence. Same with my Dad, who was raised by my immigrant great-grandmother, mother to Celedonia. I mentioned in my last post that I suspected the child died before my family immigrated in 1915.

That is indeed the case.

A civil death registration record confirms that baby Celedonia died at just 18 months of age.

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The Death Record

Although generally not as rich in genealogical information as Mexico Catholic church records, civil registration records do also provide highly valuable information and clues.

Research Tip
Mexico Civil Registration
The civil registration system in Mexico is mandated, requiring that all births (nacimientos), marriages (matrimonios), and deaths (defunciones) be reported to local authorities. The system began in 1859-1860, but was not strictly enforced until 1867.³, ⁴

The Original Record

Just as with her birth record, the death registration entry for Celedonia is handwritten across two folio pages. It begins on the back (recto) side of folio 34, in the volume for 1914 deaths, and ends on the front (verso) of folio 35. For ease of reading and translation, I cropped each section to display a larger image and merged them together below.

Translation

Once again, my Spanish-fluent speaking/reading/writing Dad provided the translation.

In the village of Armadillo on the 12th day of September, 1914, in my presence, Memorio Alvarado, judge of the civil state of this village, Decidero Estrada, married 40 years of age, a resident of Temescal, appeared to report that the day before at 10 AM, Celedonia Robledo died of pneumonia at the age of 19 months, the legal [legitimate] daughter of Jose Robledo, married age 39 and of Maria Nieto, married age 28. Eulalio Alvarez, married witnessed this report. The body was sent to be buried in the Temescal Levantando [cemetery]. This report was read to the interested persons by me, Memorio Alvarado.⁶

Analysis

What genealogical information does this record tell us?

Celedonia Robledo died at just 19 months old [per the birth and death records, she was not quite 19 months] of pneumonia on 11 September 1914.
She was the legitimate daughter of husband and wife Jose Robledo, age 39 [born about 1875], and Maria Nieto, age 29 [born about 1885].
She likely died in the village of Temescal, where the informant lived [Temascal is a village in the municipality of Armadillo de los Infante, state of San Luis Potosí].
Celedonia was due to be buried at the cemetery in the village of Temescal.

What doesn’t this record tell us?

It does not directly state that Celedonia or her parents lived in the village of Temescal. Further evidence would need to be evaluated to make a firm indirect claim, but at this point in the research process, Temescal is indeed the likely place of residence since the informant lived there and since Celedonia was to be buried there.
Who is the informant Decidero Estrada? Is he a relative, or is he a friend or neighbor?
The record does not confirm that Celedonia was buried in the Temescal cemetery or provide a burial date; that information is generally not reported in civil death registrations.

Next Steps

What comes next in learning about Celedonia?

I need to look for a burial record from the local church parish. I know that my great-grandmother (Celedonia’s mother) was a staunch Catholic, and Mexico was/is a Catholic country. A Catholic burial would have occurred.

Sources

#52Ancestors: Celedonia Robledo, Discovering Another Mexico-Born Sister for My Grandfather

1913 Birth Record for Celedenia Robledo — Two folios from the digitized civil birth registration volume for 1913, in the municipality of Armadillo de los Infante, state of San Luis Potosí. The entry for Celedonia Robledo begins on the bottom left and carries over to the top of the next folio. Available on FamilySearch.¹

My 32nd 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.

I am still quite behind on the challenge due to a summer school course.

My 32nd ancestor is my great-aunt Celedonia Robledo (b. 1913).

A few weeks ago, while strategically perusing through Mexico Civil Birth Registrations for as-yet-unfound birth records for the two children born to my great-grandparents when the family still lived in Mexico, I made an unexpected discovery. I came across the birth registration for a third child born in Mexico–a daughter named Celedonia Robledo. This is not a name known to the living descendants of my great-grandparents. This is not a name that I have come across in any of their U.S. records.

My great-grandparents Jose Robledo (1875-1937 ) and Maria Hermalinda Nieto (1887-1974 ) apparently gave birth to Celedonia Robledo on 3 March 1913.² This daughter was born in between oldest daughter Guadalupe (b. 1910) and oldest son Refugio Rafael (b. 1915), two years and seven months before the young family immigrated to the United States.

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The Birth Record

Although generally not as rich in genealogical information as Mexico Catholic church records, civil registration records do also provide highly valuable information and clues.

Research Tip
Mexico Civil Registration

The civil registration system in Mexico is mandated, requiring that all births (nacimientos), marriages (matrimonios), and deaths (defunciones) be reported to local authorities. The system began in 1859-1860, but was not strictly enforced until 1867.³, ⁴

The Original Record

The birth register entry for my great-aunt Celedonia is handwritten across two folios. The beginning of the entry is on the back (or recto) of folio 23, and the end is on the front (or verso) of folio 24 (see image at the top of this post). For ease of reading and translation, I cropped each section to display a larger image and merged them together below.

Translation

I have mentioned before that I do not speak Spanish, and my reading ability is rudimentary. I can make out the basic details of these types of records, but I risk missing important information relying on just my own reading ability. So I again enlisted the help of my Spanish-fluent father in translating the birth record for the aunt he never knew about.

In the village of Armadillo on the 6th day of March, 1913, in my presence, Nerusio Maldonado, judge of the civil state of this village, Cinto Oruelas, single 25 years of age, a resident of Temescal, appeared to report the live birth of a girl on the 3rd of this month at 8 AM and was named Celedonia Robledo the legal daughter of Jose Robledo, married age 32 and his spouse Maria Nieto, married age 24. The fraternal [paternal] parents [grandparents] are Silverio Robledo and Jesus Sanchez, both deceased, and maternal parents [grandparents] are Refugio Nieto, deceased, and Aurelia Compeon, alive. Feliciano Ramires witnessed this report. This report was read to the interested persons by me, Nerusio Maldonado.⁶

It turns out that my rudimentary translation skills did indeed miss important information…the reference to the actual date of birth! I only caught the birth registration date. Score Dad!

Analysis

What genealogical information does this record tell us?

A female child was born on 3 March 1913 at 8:00am. The birth was reported on 6 March.
She was likely born in the village of Temescal, municipality of Armadillo de los Infante, state of San Luis Potosí, since that is the village where the informant resided.
She was the legitimate daughter of Jose Robledo (32 yeas old) and his wife Maria Nieto (age 24).
Paternal grandparents, both deceased, were Silverio Robledo and Jesus Sanchez.
Maternal grandfather, deceased, was Refugio Nieto. Maternal grandmother, still living, is Aurelia Compean.

What doesn’t this record tell us?

Who is the informant, Cinto Oruelas? A friend or neighbor of the parents? Or a relative? He is a lead worth investigating.

Next Steps

What comes next in learning about Celedonia?

Because I have not come across this child’s name in the family’s immigration records or any other U.S. records, I have to assume she died before the family left Mexico. This means looking for Mexico death records–both civil registration and church sacrament registers. This step should answer the research question: Why didn’t Celedonia immigrate to the U.S. with her parents and siblings in 1915?
I also want to look for a Catholic baptism record for Celedonia in Mexico, because those records can provide additional genealogical clues about her ancestors.