To Joseph Luarca
Thank once again for emailing me, and sharing your info about our family. You obviously called Uncle Junior about the origin and historty of the Luarcas. I am very sorry if he is not cooperating. I am very uncomfortable talking to Uncle.
In your email, you wrote that the info you have only pertains to the US side of the family. I have been researching,going as far as writing to the World Jewish Congress if they can look the name Von Ruffdocher or Von Roffducher or variations of the name in their list of families who perished or survived the holocaust. My mother used to tell me that her father's family is from Southern Germany(Russelsheim), and they stopped writing her during the early '30s.
I don't know if this is useful in your research, the name Luarca is taken from the local priest who employed our greatgrandmother as a laundry woman (Guieb). The priest was from the town of Luarca in Spain, hence, his use of "de Luarca" after his name. I suspected that our greatgranfather(Heinrich Von R..)was a friend of the priest, and that's how he met the laundrywoman.
My suspicion is that, when she became pregnant she was forced to give up the child since the child's father is already left town.
Our grandmother's name is never spoken in the family. Our uncles and aunt never spoke about her, but sometimes a slip of the tougue gives us some info. She was from the province of Isabela in the northern part of the PI. She was, apparently, remarried and had kids. I don't know how is true about what I just wrote, but since we don't have valid history of our family, these will do for now until they are proven wrong
sincerely,
fluarca=)