(The Saga Continues: La Segunda Parte De Muertito Heaven)

The book I had grabbed was the 1818 Confirmation book. It's the pits, I said, the pits. So I opened it up to make the best of it when I realized that the binder had reversed the first page so that the back of the first page was now the front. It was really the pits, I said to myself, turned the page and began to read but it was difficult because someone had glued an onion skin edge around the termite eaten page. I vociferated, promised myself I'd go to confession later and grabbed my magnifying glass with it's built in light. It sure was difficult to read that handwriting done in a hurry in 1818, termite eaten, humidity spoiled, ink stained and glued. I squinted and slowly I understood what I was looking at. A four letter one slipped out...... I promise I didn't mean to say it but one of the first entries was a Calletana, hija de Dominga, esclaba de Don Francisco López, but there was no father! At that point, the secretary came in, she'd forgotten the umbrella on such a sunny day, so I asked her for the first baptism book. She decided to leave the door open for me. Oh joy, oh deliriousness! Paging through the books, I found Cayetana's 1800 baptism record and sure enough she was una hija natural. This was gold. It was the first time I had seen her own record. I kept looking and saw an 1813 baptism record of a María Nicolasa, daughter of Antonio de la Cruz and a Bárbara Veléz, freed by the father. The record also mentioned her mother was a slave to Don Josef Lorenzo Navedo. Those names appeared familiar but I was still too shocked by the Cayetana find to be able to reason and deduct.

One thing led to another, until I proved that María de Jesús was the granddaughter of Antonio and Bárbara and she carried the surname Navedo and not de la Cruz because her father Ignacio de la Cruz Navedo Veléz was the son of Bárbara, so he was given the masters' surname. The real clincher was when I consciously realized the obvious, that these two women were related to us (Cayetana was our 3rd great grandmother through Cristina's father side and Bárbara was our 4th great-grandmother on Cristina's mother's side), that their descendants reached down to us, that we descended from these slaves! I was shocked silly. I stupidly dropped the book knowing I had finally reached our slaves, our poor muertito slaves. ----AY DIOS MIO! I grabbed my cellular phone and called Dr. Ana Cristina. She flipped, I sure hope she wasn't dealing with suppositories at the time, cause whatever happened would have been my fault, and she was in no position for a malpractice suit. I HAD FOUND OUR SLAVES. NAGHH, NAGHH. I HAD FOUND OUR SLAVES. Then, the questions began to revolve around my poor head: Were Antonio and Bárbara married? When were they freed? Was Antonio slave or a freedman?

Who were their parents? How many children did they have? These were the questions that came up as I found up to eleven scions and then, when double checking in 1811, a Josef Segundo. That made me suspicious as I knew that Josef Lorenzo and his wife Juana Francisca Correa had a son José Joaquín baptized in 1898 and since he had his own children and grandchildren this José Segundo was not named in memory of him.

This was pretty suspicious. But hold on there, Juana Francisca Correa? Where had I seen that before? Ah, Francisco López's widow was a Doña Feliciana Correa and in a baptism record in 1825 I had seen a Dominga Correa, slave of Doña Feliciana, as a grandmother. Could it be the same woman, known first by her master's and then by the mistress' surnames! What a mess! I turned once again to José Segundo and took a long look at the almost evidence, wondering if I could find a marriage record for his mother. And wonders of wonders, I DID, todavía se me paran los pelos. And here it is, and unless I make a mistake this better receive a copywrite: © Dr. Ana Cristina and Rev. José Antonio Oquendo Pabón for the first public printing of this record:

Parroquia Nuestra Señora del Rosario, Vega Baja, Puerto Rico, circa 1900
Foto cortesía Fotos Jimmy
"En la Ysla de San Juan Bautista de Puerto Rico en la Ribera de la Vega Baxa del Naranjal a los diez diaz del mes de febreo de mil ochocientos doze años, Yo el Presbitero Dn Fran.co de Torres, Cura Rector por el Real Patronato de esta Parroquia de Nuestra Señora del Rosario, habiendo explorado las voluntades para efecto de contraer matrimonio, y allandolas conformes, procediendo el examen y aprobacion en la doctrina christiana y las tres proclamas dispuestas por el Santo Concilio de Trento, de que no resultó impedimento alguno canónico, precenci‚ el matrimonio que in facie eclesiae por palabras de presente exprecibas de similar concentimiento contrageron, Antonio de la Cruz, viudo de María Calderón, hijo legítimo de José Antonio y María José Doles, morenos libres, y Bárbara Veléz, esclaba de José Lorenzo Navedo, hija natural de María esclaba de Don Francisco Bélez de este vecindario. A quienes di simul las bendiciones nunciales, fueron testigos, Dn José María Torres y Andrés Antonio Navedo. De que doy fe,
Fran.co de Torres."

"I raced to the Defunción Tome and found several "María Calderón", but none fit. As I kept looking, I forgot about the dates and "wasted time", thank God, for in 1938 I found Antonio de la Cruz's death certificate, he was buried in el tramo tercero del cementerio for which the cemetery officials have no records - and of course that section has been closed for years! Then, I found Bárbara's 1867 death record and then I called Dr. Ana Cristina again. I told her what had happened and how I had discovered Antonio de la Cruz' parents and that the mother appeared to be English (could it be the reason for Antonio Ynglés?) and also Bárbara's mother's name and that..............................................
Meanwhile, I've been praying, almost conjuring: Dear patron saint of the genealogists (and all of you heavenly hosts of the muertitos anonymous) please lend an ear to my plea. Please, pleeeeeeaaase, let me find out about the Doles, and about the freedom of my muertitos, and also about José Segundo, and about the others, please, pretty please? I promise to celebrate one big one for all of you, in honor of you, and because of you. So cough up, before I have a conniption, DO YOU UNDERSTAND ME??!!
I don't know if anyone heard me but before I left for home there was one small note I had to write, maybe it is a sign of things to come. As I looked over the records I had found, I looked at the marriage certificate of a brother of José Segundo, Ignacio de la Cruz Navedo Veléz with María Seferina Rodríguez de la Torres. Guess who was the padrino of the marriage? José Joaquín Navedo, son of Don Josef Lorenzo!!! And all of this, because grandmother Cristina's records could not be found en el Registro Demográfico de Vega Baja. Oh and about Cristina. The reason the death certificate hadn't been found was that her birth was registered as Navedo, her baptism as Rivera and her death as Ramírez. Figures. I found out searching for the descendants of Cayetana, Cristina's paternal great-grandmother. And then, I had the joy of talking to my father's maternal first cousin, a foster sister who knew where Cristina's grave was and had visited it frequently until she got sick. I took her there, not just to be nice, but because I wanted to pray there. I visited her grave and the graves of her brothers and sisters and cousins... and I now know that güeli Cristina and a number of other muertitos are pleased with our search. Yes, our muertitos are really helping us, that's life for you.

elpadre.

Regresar al Intro de Muertito Heaven, El Agora y el Metabuscador.

"DOS CUENTOS" y enlaces a nuestras otras páginas.

El Primer Cuento de Muertito Heaven: How It Got Its Name
La Tercer Parte de Muertito Heaven: La Petición "El Patrón, Más Claro No Canta Un Gallo
"The Puzzle: The Maldonado Connection"
New Story: The Dream/El Sueño Pase al recuerdo de Los Navedos en español

Origin of the OQUENDO surname
OQUENDOs in the middle ages

INDEX OF SURNAMES"

Postales Electrónicas de Muertito Heaven
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10/06/98
©1998 by Dr. Ana Cristina and Rev. José Antonio Oquendo Pabón on this article. All rights reserved.
©1997 by Dr. Ana Cristina and Rev. José Antonio Oquendo Pabón for "Nuestros Muertitos" and "Muertito Heaven". All rights reserved.

Copyright© Oct. 30, 1996. Ana C. Oquendo-Pabón, M.D., José Antonio Oquendo Pabón, Pbro., STL. All rights reserved.

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