Re: New Member/A personal perspective

["Edward Serros" <ed@...>]

--- In ranchos@yahoogroups.com, "Arturo Ramos" <arturo.ramos2@v...> wrote:
>
> Jessica:
> 
> I think you are going to have somewhat of a difficult time since I 
> think that the Valparaiso films are not indexed in familysearch.  I 
> know that Ed Serros is researching family in that parrish so he can 
> probably give you some better tips about what to do, but it may 
> entail simply ordering the films and going through them.  Many of the 
> books from the 19th century have indexes by name, so perhaps it is 
> not as daunting as it may seem.
> 
> Good luck.

Jessica,

I have been trying to figure out how to respond to you and to Arturo's comments. I agree 
with what Arturo has said in general. The Valparaiso data is indexed well in the Mormon 
films after about 1880, so it is fairly straight forward after those dates; the Internet IGI 
(familysearch.org data) is another story and is sparse to say the least. Before 1880 it is a 
real crap-shoot, at least for me. My families came in and out of the Valparaiso area and I 
sometimes wonder if that was not the norm, rather than the exception. A few months ago I 
asked one of my patients who grew up in the area about that migratory movement of the 
Valparaiso people and he stated that people moved to where they had to go in order to 
survive. The extreme example of course is a move to the USA. How true this is I have no 
idea.

I would like to introduce the following type of thinking to the group that perhaps we have 
not discussed much. The surnames (apellidos) typically reflect the paternal lines. With the 
paternal surnames come: Spanish surnames, Spanish Y-DNA, and migratory patterns that 
perhaps can be traced. The maternal lines generally reflect Native American Indian 
processes: NAI mothers, relatively (and I emphasize relatively) stable locations, unstable 
surnames (because of illegitimacy, culture, etc.), and NAI mtDNA. 

Therefore, it is more and more clear to me that I can more easily follow the migration 
patterns of my paternal (Spanish) ancestors and have less of a chance with my maternal 
(NAI) ancestors. Having said that, my paternal Cerros family came to Valparaiso in 1890 or 
so and were essentially gone by 1920. My Felgueres family, who were hacendados, came 
to Valparaiso in 1855 or so and were essentially gone by 1928. The maternal sides, e.g. 
Pinedos, may have been there for centuries perhaps---I don't know.

I leave you with what Arturo Ramos had to say to me about the Pinedo family members 
that we both claim; I hope he does not mind. I find the Pinedos in Valparaiso, Mesquitic, 
Colotlan, amongst other "rancho" places.

"The first Pinedo arrived in Jerez from Spain the 1580s from what Leonardo (de la Torre)
tells me.  The family was quite prolific there and married into many of the 
wealthy families in the area, including the Calderas, De Avilas, etc.  
Branches spread throughout the Jerez/Colotlan area including to Monte 
Escobedo and Totatiche (my branches).  There are a number of ranchos around 
Monte Escobedo called "de los Pinedos" and thus many africans and indiands 
also took on the name... there was one very prolific mulato in Colotlan in 
the 1700s by the name of Diego Pinedo."

Good luck. Let me know of your findings.

Ed