Help Finding 2Great Grandparents Joaquin Serra and Felipa Vasquez
Hi everyone!
A little about me: I have been researching my family since 2009 and have gotten to my 2great grandparents (still working on it, have limited info).
So far, I have exhausted the search in FamilySearch.org, I have contacted the parish in Ponce where they allegedly lived, I have contacted in Spain all the churches in Catalunya who tell me they need the exact date and place, I have exhausted the diligences in the Dominican Republic, consulates, etc.).
Joaquin Serra was born in Spain. It is understood that in Girona, Catalonia. I do not know the date of entry to Puerto Rico (I could not locate a document of leaving Spain or entry to PR). I'm not sure if he married in Spain or in PR (with Felipa Vasquez). He had at least one son (the Serra family used to have 15-18 children usually but I have not found traces of Serra Vasquez in PR (checked cemeteries and churches/parishes, censuses, etc. in the databases available at familysearch, findagrave, church, etc). His son, Juan Jose (my great-grandfather) appears as a Spaniard born in Ponce in his certificate of nationality of 1917 and marriage certificate of 1887, after checking with the Church there is no record of his birth the 24th of june of 1855 but there is a justification record of 1884 when he was 29 approx. where he went to the church and said he was born there. There is a similar situation with his son, Elio Euripides Serra Rodriguez (my grandfather) that the family indicates was born in Mayaguez, PR on November 21, 1909 but was baptized with other siblings in 1912 when they apparently returned to the Dominican Republic (they travelled a lot from PR to DR).
I checked the church records in Ponce for the year 1855 (actually from 1850-1870) and there are no Serra Vasquez born there.
It is estimated that Joaquin and Felipa died before 1884 (based on the justification record of the church in Ponce) and in 1887, Juan's marriage certificate to Angela Maria Eulalia Rodriguez, it is indicated that Joaquin and Felipa were deceased.
In the files of declaration of nationality of 1899 and 1900 in Ponce (via familysearch) for Joaquin and Felipa and didn't find them there (checked 4 times) nor any Serra Vasquez -- there is one Serrano and Two Sierras but nobody related. I understand that being born in PR when it was a Spanish province indicates that they should still have declared their loyalty to the crown during the peace treaty. Hence Juan's declaration in 1917.
Anyways, that is all i know. Please let me know of any suggestions or documents i can go to or info that you may have because they are your family too... that would be amazing.
I'm at a dead end right now...
Laura
Ps. I speak Spanish too, should it be needed.
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Hi, Laura:
I see that you have received no feedback on this.
Have you checked Ancestry for information? Do you have an account? If you do not have an account and will give me full names, as many dates as possible, I will look. If I find something, I will post back to you. Then you can go to a FamilySearch Center near you and look for free. PaulaAnn
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Yes, i have checked ancestry, myheritage, familysearch, findagrave, billiongraves, newspapers online, google, anything and everything you can find online... i have worked with the church in PR and no record. The only thing that is there is a justification record my great grandfather (the son of the person i'm looking for) made when he was 29 saying he was born in Ponce... I know my family is from Gerona, Cataluña... but without the dates i can't find the records in Spain. So i want to find the death records so i can go from there coz i only have the first name and first surnnames (Joaquin Serra and Felipa Vazquez). I can't find anything else :((((
I can't even find any other sibling of Juan Jose's and they used to have from 5-18 kids. Which is super strange...
Thank you so much Paula!!!!!!
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Dear Laura:
My heart goes out to you on this. Let me share one of my stories.
My grandmother was illegitimate here in the US. She knew who her father was, who his parents were, who he married, and the name of his kids. However, it took me 40 years to find. him. It turned out that she knew him by a nickname. I share this to let you know that some people just take time. I know that you will find these ancestors--in time.
Keep me informed of the journey, Laura. I will continue to be your cheerleader--one of my favorite hobbies. PaulaAnn
P.S. Have you checked "Public Member Trees" in Ancestry? They are located under "Search"
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