Am looking for origins of listed surnames in Cuba.

My father's family (Planas) originates in Blanes, a coastal town in the province of Girona, Catalunya, Espanya. My uncle (Isidre Planas) has researched the family tree up to 7 generations. The earliest ancestor we know of, born in the 1750's, was called Pere Planas just as my own father and brother. I live in Mallorca, Spain.

My Grandfather is Buenaventura Planas from Cuba. His father was also Buenaventura. My great grandmother was Florinda Grondona from Italy. I don't know if it matters, but I was named after my father, Alberto Planas (someone had to end the Buanaventura legacy). I sent this page to my sister Lourdes, so you may be getting a similiar post from her. Please e-mail me if you get a chance. Thanks.

My previous posting was only intended to give some information on which part of Catalunya to look in order to locate the origin of the surname Planas.

None of the members of my Planas family went to Cuba, unlike many catalan businessmen/women. Most of my Planas ancestors were fishermen and remained in Catalunya.

Sorry if I led you on the wrong path.

Barbara

I can trace the Planas' back as far as 1783 (born in Cuba, first name unknown) on my father's side of the family. We have a Ferran born in 1793.Esteban de Ulloa y Rosabal born 1793.Rosa Aguilar:1803. Joaquin Planas y Ferran: 1813-1884. Rafaela De Ulloa y Aguilar 1823-1895. Santiago Rodriguez y Corrozo Catala: 1823. Ana Mozo de la Torre y Grinan: 1833. Antonio Planas de Ulloa: 1844-March 25, 1899. Francisca Rosa Rodriguez y Mozo de la Torre 1854-April 13, 1941. My great grandfather, Dr. Francisco de Paula Planas y Rodriguez April 2, 1887-January 1, 1928, was poisoned for political reasons after losing contact with most of his brothers and sisters. Petra Maria de los Dolores Emilia de la Caridad y de la Santisima Trinidad de la Torre y Hernandez June 29, 1896-March 18, 1963, was my great grandmother (wife of Dr. Francisco). Her son, my grandfather, Carlos Manuel Planas March 9, 1922- March 18, 1989, was from Banes, Cuba (died at the same age and on the same date, March 18, as his mother.) On Petra's side we have Maria Belen Hernandez y Ulloa October 23, 1859-May 18, 1927. Jose Manuel Toribo del Sacramento de la Torre y Betancourt April 16, 1862-September 2, 1937. Antonio Hernandez y O'Conor 1820-April 24, 1895. Blah Blah Blah. There are so many more. If any of these names are familiar, E-mail me.

[ADMINISTATOR NOTE: The original e-mail address shown in this message bounced on 28 Aug 99 for the following reason:
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En mi familia hay un Manuel Betancourt y de la Torre, hijo de Mariana Betancourt y Guerra casada con ? de la Torre.
Mariana era hija de Gaspar Betancourt y de Varona casado con
Ana Maria Guerra y Velez.
Saludos,
Sylvia L. Betancourt

Dear Sylvia,

In my Barranco family from Cuba there are Betancourt, Guerra, de La Torre, Napoles and Zayas Bazan.

- Josefa Zayas Bazan (my GGGrandmother) married Tomas Betancourt in Puerto Principe, 13 Dec 1810;
NOTE: Josefa's first husband, Jose Agustin Barranco (my GGGrandfather) died abt 1809 in Puerto Principe and she remarried Tomas Betancourt.

- Teresa Barranco (GGrandaunt) married Tomas Betancourt in Cuba,1823;

- Pedro Barranco (Granduncle) married Marianna Guerra y Cisneros in San Jose Parish House, 23 Jan 1858;

- Maria de Las Mercedes Barranco (Grandaunt) married Florestan de La Torre in Key West, Florida abt 1878.

Do you think there are any family connections?

regards,

Stephen Barranco
sbarranco@worldnet.att.net

Actually, Josefa was my paternal grandmother.

I have a Manuel Betancourt in my family tree. He was born around 1880 and had an older sister named Carmen. Their mother was Ana Marquez, who was born in the Canary Islands, Spain, around 1860. Manuel fathered three children. The oldest was also named Manuel. Let's call him Junior. The middle child may have been named Ernesto. The youngest child, a daughter, was named Emelina. Junior married a woman named Evangelina. Carmen, Manuel's sister, married Manuel Gonzalez in Cuba. She gave birth to three children: Oscar (b. abt 1899), Ana María (b. abt 1901), and Josefa (b. 6 May 1903, d. 26 April 1969). Josefa was my maternal grandmother. I noticed that there is a Josefa in Stephen Barranco's tree. It's entirely possible that there may be some connections here. How does the above information compare with yours?

Jorge,

My Tomas Betancourt (#1) married Josefa Zayas Bazan (my GGGrandmother) in Puerto Principe, 13 Dec 1810;
NOTE: Josefa's first husband, Pedro Agustin Barranco (my GGGrandfather) died abt 1809 in Puerto Principe and she remarried Tomas Betancourt.

Teresa Barranco (my GGrandaunt) married Tomas Betancourt (#2) in Cuba,1823.

I checked my parish records for Camaguey,Oriente,, Las Villas, Matanzas and Habana, but didn't find any parish records matching Manuel Betancourt or Ana Marquez between 1860 and 1900. I found marriage listings in Camaguey for two Manuel Betancourts - 24 April 1850 and 2 Jan 1853. Could they have been father of your Manuel Betancourt? Do you have any information on the father of your Manuel Betancourt? There are many Betancourt listings in Camaguey which is the province where most of my Barranco family lived between 1810 and 1870.

Stephen Barranco

Jorge,

I unintentionally overstated in my earlier message about looking at copies of Cuban Parish Records. What I have are documents (Computer Database-generated) obtained through the Cuban Genealogical Society in Salt Lake City, Utah which are an index of Parish records in surname order for parishes in Camaguey Province. The records were originally obtained through research accomplished by Francisco Xavier de Santa Cruz and his associates - about 40-50 years ago. He and his associates transcribed the parish records in Cuba firsthand.

My Camaguey document lists the type of record (marriage, etc), event date, name of Parish, name of principals, witnesses, etc.

I also have the documents (Alphabetical Index) of Parish Registers from Matanzas, Orients, Las Villas, Matanzas and Habana.

These indexes (indices) have been published in 'Revista', the quarterly magazine of the Cuban Genealogical Society (CGS). The actual transcriptions for a record are available throught the Cuban Genealogical Society and also through the Family History Center in Miami.

If interested in contacting these organizations, you can reach them at following addresses ( Idon't have e-mail addresses):

Cuban Genealogical Society
attn: Mayra F. Sanchez-Johnson
P.O. Box 2650
Salt Lake City, UT 84110-2650

Family History Center
8500 SW 8th Street - Suite 248
Miami, FL

I hope this helps. If I can provide additional information, just send me an e-mail.

Good luck on your genealogy and family history research.

Stephen
sbarranco@worldnet.att.net

Stephen,
Thanks so much for the information and for taking the time to respond. If I may impose on you further, How did you get copies of the parish records for Camaguey and other places in Cuba? I'd love to get my hands on them but am new to genealogy and could use the help. As you know, Cuban genealogy is very difficult to do from outside the Island.
Gracias,

Jorge

Any info on these families would be apreciated

Father was born in Camaquay state in 1903, 5/2. Victoria de las tunes. Any relation to him?

The only items you and I have in common is the last name Betancourt and Camaguey province, which used to be known as Puerto Principe in colonial days. According to "Cuba: Isla Abierta", written by Levi Marrero, the Betancourt surname entered Cuba through Puerto Principe in the seventeenth century. That's all I have.
Regards,

Jorge

Jorge,
Try contacting the church personally in Camaguey by phone. I have experienced lost letters and no response but when I telephoned I found alot of my information via phone. I might have some phone numbers for you if you want to call
Jorge

My name is Jose Grinan. My father (1910 to 1988) was Jose Luis Tranqulino Grinan, his father was Quintin, his mother was Luisa Falero. They lived in Remedios de Las Villas before moving to La Habana la vieja's garment district en la Calle Bernaza entre Tiniente Rey y Murallas. They were brought to the U-S in the mid 50's.
My mother's maiden name was Sylvia Cecelia Grillo (1915 to 1993), her mother was Amparo and her father was Antonio. They lived in Tampa, Florida after moving from Cuba.
If any of these names sound familiar, please send me an e-mail.
Thanks... Jose

My Grandfather was Serapio Enrique de la Torre y Adam of Camaguey, Cuba. He was the Father of Miguel de la Torre, Adela de la Torre, Enrique de la Torre. Miguel is my father. I don't know much else.

Interested if you have any family connection with Florestan de La Torre who married Maria de Las Mercedes Barranco in Key West, Florida abt 1878-1885. Mercedes Barranco was from Camaguey, Cuba.

Mi apellido es planas y soy catalan .
E_MAIL aqwe@ole.com

My father, Roque Planas Piña, was a cuban medical doctor from Manzanillo,Cuba. He passed away in Miami Florida. He had another brother, and a sister; Hector and Margarita. Hector was also a medical doctor. The ancestors were originally from LLoret de Mar in Cataluña, but I don't know of any relatives there on the Planas side.
There are several families with the Planas surname in Miami; some not related. There is a catholic priest in the archidiosesis of Miami, father Planas, not related to me, but who was in my parish church of Saint Agatha. He lived in my home town of Manzanillo, Cuba, but was originally from LLoret de Mar. His father was a ship captain, and was lost at sea in a hurricane. The family (mother and children) returned to Cataluña with the financial help of my grandmother, Ana Utset. He knew the Utset family in LLoret de Mar. Coincidence? Maybe.

Stephen, in your vast list of Betancourt and Cespedes would you have any info on America Betancourt y Cespedes, well-known "poetisa" during the independence war of 1898. She was married to a Gen. Hernandez and later to a Jose Mole?
She is my children's GGM (my mother in law's mother) and I'm trying to put some history into my children's lives.

Your help, or any one else's is appreciated.

Maria del Carmen Lancis Rudd

María del Carmen,

It is possible that América Betancourt Céspedes, might be the daughter of Luis Betancourt, from Puerto Príncipe, and of Antonia de Céspedes y Orellana(this could be Arellano), from Bayamo.

Luis and Antonia had a daughter Delfina, born 1866 in Bayamo, and married to Emilio Aguirre Alvarez.

Do any of these names sound familiar? Is there anything else you could tell us about América?

Nicolás.

Mi abuela paterna, Julia Valdes y de la Torre, era hija de Mariana de la Torre y Betancourt, una hermana de Manuel de la Torre y Betancourt. De acuerdo con el mensaje de Sylvia Lora de 8/28/99, Mariana y Manuel eran hijos de Mariana Betancourt y Guerra, y esta ultima era hija de Gaspar Betancourt y de Varona y Ana Maria o Mariana Guerra y Velez. Toda esta informacion coincide con la informacion de los antepasados de mi abuela que yo tengo. Tengo dos preguntas:1)Tienes informacion adicional de las personas nombradas arriba (Fecha/Lugar de nacimiento/matrimonio, etc.)? 2)Conoces los antepasados de Gaspar Betancourt y de Varona o de Ana Maria (Mariana?)Guerra y Velez? Estaria muy agradecido de recibir esta informacion.

hello...
my name is nick pacheco...filipino..but gringo now...my grandfather's name was jaime masferrer y planas. her mother's name was eulalia planas from barcelona. i can only go this far in the family tree.circa 1830--18900
thanks.

I am looking for anyone named de las Torres............

Not de las Torres, but de la Torre. Family arrived in Cuba, from Spain in 1575-1580. Some of the family, retaining the original Gonzalez de la Torre name, settled in Havana, while other members of the same origin settled in Puerto Principe (present Camaguey) under the de la Torre and Sifontes last names. The origin of these de la Torre is found in the Visigothic royalty of Spain (King Alarico, etc.) which ruled prior to the Moslem/Moorish invasion of the peninsula. That is probably the reason why the Duke of Sevilla, Francisco de Borbon y Castellvi, married Maria Luisa de la Torre y Bassave, in New York, circa 1857, and why Prince Rainier of Monaco's maternal grandmother was named Susana de la Torre y Mier. Members of this branch of the de la Torre were prominent in the development of Cuba throughout its colonial history (naturalist Don Carlos de la Torre, the first Cuban geography book, written by a de la Torre, a de la Torre who was governor of Pinar del Rio Province, and several professors of the University of Havana. I hope that this serves as an orientation. From the documents I have been able to observe, the origin is the province of Santander, Spain. Information on the Gonzalez de la Torre and de la Torre can be found on the books published by the Conde de Jaruco.

Not de las Torres, but de la Torre. Family arrived in Cuba, from Spain in 1575-1580. Some of the family, retaining the original Gonzalez de la Torre name, settled in Havana, while other members of the same origin settled in Puerto Principe (present Camaguey) under the de la Torre and Sifontes last names. The origin of these de la Torre is found in the Visigothic royalty of Spain (King Alarico, etc.) which ruled prior to the Moslem/Moorish invasion of the peninsula. That is probably the reason why the Duke of Sevilla, Francisco de Borbon y Castellvi, married Maria Luisa de la Torre y Bassave, in New York, circa 1857, and why Prince Rainier of Monaco's maternal grandmother was named Susana de la Torre y Mier. Members of this branch of the de la Torre were prominent in the development of Cuba throughout its colonial history (naturalist Don Carlos de la Torre, the first Cuban geography book, written by a de la Torre, a de la Torre who was governor of Pinar del Rio Province, and several professors of the University of Havana. I hope that this serves as an orientation. From the documents I have been able to observe, the origin is the province of Santander, Spain. Information on the Gonzalez de la Torre and de la Torre can be found on the books published by the Conde de Jaruco.

Hi Alberto,my name is Eric Pesantez Planas.....see if we are distantly related.....my mother is Yolanda del Val Planas .....born in Puerto Padre in 1929.Her father was Enrique Planas Ochoa (1891-1956).Enrique's siblings were Hortensio,Rafaela....whose son was Buenaventura Planas,Zoila ,Anita and Maria....My source is Belinda Planas Ulloa,daughter of Hortensio (74 yrs. old)....Yolanda (my mother ) and Belinda are first cousins.....she has said that there was another Buenaventura Planas but I guess her age is getting to her,unfortunately....so check dates.One thing that I know for sure is that my great grand-father was a General in Cuba's final War of Independence and his name was Gen. Joaquin Planas Ochoa....not sure if he was born in Barcelona or Santiago de Cuba........Rafaela,my grandfather Enrique and the others(c.1890-1900) were born in Santiago de Cuba and Hortensio's daughter Belinda and her siblings were born in Palma Soriano and Santiago de Cuba.I hope it has helped.I am as I said Eric,I live in Manhattan (NYC) and I am 38 years old.I also speak,read and write Spanish quite well....Cuidate,si te enteras de algo avisame y buena suerte con la busqueda,un saludo....ERIC

Hola Barbara,Com va ?? te'n recordes de mi ? Jo t'he escrit molt temp fa respecte al nostre cognom comun,"PLANAS"....He aprengut a llegir i escriure una miqueta de catala`....m'agrada molt i gairibe` puc parlar !! He tornat des de Valencia fa uns dies,cercant mes informacio` pero` no he pogut trobar res.....espero estiguis be` de salut i reps una abracada des de New York !!! Has vist com hi ha PLANAS a Cuba ?? Tothom orgullosos dels nostres arrels !!!.....Eric Pesantez PLANAS,NYC....

Soy descendiente de la misma rama que tú. Vivimos en España, desde 1850 aprox. que vino mi bisabuelo Antonio de la Torre Figueroa, hijo de Joaquin Gonzalez de la Torre Rives, muerto en La habana en 1839, hijo de Rafael Glez. de la Torre Meyxeles.( Creo que ya puedes vernos en Jaruco).

Me gustaría saber cómo has podido ir más lejos de Alonso Glez. de la Torre, en el siglo XV, ya que para mi ha sido imposible, aún buscando en Eslés (Cantabria).

Mi dirección es Bergantín 17, Puerto 11500, Cadiz (España)
y mis teléfonos en casa 956855935 y en el despacho 956543348.

Espero tus noticias como ya las he tenido de Silvia de la Torre, en Miami. Un abrazo.

Desgraciadamente, la persona que me dio la informacion )Raimundo de la Torre) ya murio, pero el paso por mi oficina en Miami y me ense~o los pergaminos que tenia, asi como el arbol genealogico que habia compuesto. En este, la genealogia de los de la Torre se remontaba hasta Alarico, el rey visigodo. El tambien me dijo que habia estado en Esles, en la casa/torre que habia sido de los Gonzalez, y de ahi el Gonzalez de la Torre. Tienes que darte cuenta que esto tiene que ser cierto, pues alguna tiene que ser la razon por la cual algunos miembros de las casas reales de Europa (tanto Borbon, como el abuelo materno del Principe Rainiero, que se caso con Susana de la Torre y Mier) se han casado con los de la Torre. Siguiendo tanto este apellido, como el de Hita (que se casaron durante tres generaciones con los de la Torre, en La Habana), que tambien es de origen real, he hecho contacto con uno de los genologos mas conocidos de Espa~a, y pienso que lograre darle camino a esta gestion en un futuro cercano. Yo sigo las dos lineas, por el apellido de Hita mio proviene del Infante Fernando Garciez de Fita/Hita, hijo del rey desheredado de Navarra, exiliado a Toledo, conocido como Garcia Rey (circa 1076). Este infante estuvo casado con una hija de Alvar Fa~ez, que fue el conquistador de Hita (Provincia de Guadalajara). Su padre, Garcia Rey, estaba casado con una hija de Alvaro, Conde de Fita/Hita, y de ahi el origen del apellido. El hermano del Infante Fernando, el Infante Ramiro Garciez de Urroz y Monzon se caso con una de las hijas de El Cid, y fue su hijo, y nieto de El Cid, el que recupero la corona de Navarra en el a~o 1134 (fue conocido como el El Restaurador). Espero nos mantengamos en contacto. Te prometo mantenerte informado.

Si me envias tu e-mail, te envio una copia de mi linea de la Torre

Querido Oswaldo: Me parece que tienes que ser familia muy cercana de Silvia de la Torre, de la que tengo sus telefonos y E-mail y de Francisco Borbon de la Torre, que vivía en Nueva York y ahora está en Málaga. ! Qué inmensa alegría si pudiéramos conocernos. En fin, ya nos iremos contando nuestras vidas.
Mi correo es jtbseguros@terra.es y mis teléfonos 956855935 en España, claro, y 956543348 (despacho).
Ya Silvia me contó algo de los documentos a los que te refieres. No sabes lo que te agradecería que me enviases algo.
Por mi parte ya sabes que somos los únicos de la Torre que estamos en España, descendientes de mi bisabuelo, Antonio de la Torre Figueroa, cubano, y su padre Joaquin de la Torre Rives, que ya puedes encontrar en tu árbol o en la publicación del Conde de Jaruco.(si no lo tienes me lo dices y te enviaré una copia por correo postal.
Si te parece podemos dejar la página web y nos escribimos a nuestros correos.
Hasta entonces un fuerte abrazo.

Hola, mi nmbre es Amparodela Torre Navarro, soy nieta por parte de padre de Jose Ramon de la Torre, casado con mi abuelaConsuelo Mesa, de Jaruco, mi padre llamado Guillermo de la Torre, todos de Jaruco, vivo en Australia, por eso mi apellido de casada aqui es Amparo Rojo, mi E-Mail es amparorojo@hotmail.com, megustaria saber si tenemos algo de familia, mi abuelo siempre decia eran ellos de origen espanol, por favor contesta este por este medio o por mi E-Mail. Gracias, Amparito

Mi nombre de soltera en Cuba Amparo de la Torre Navarro. Mi padre Guillermo de la Torre Mesa, mi abuelo por parte de padre Jose Ramon de la Torre, no me recuerdo del otro apellido, mi abuelo casado con mi abuela, Conselo Mesa, todos de Jaruco si cree tenemos alguna relacion por favor conteste mi E-Mail Gracias

thank you for your reply to my message..........

Yo pienso que siendo de Jaruco es posible exista un enlace familiar. Yo estableci mi ascendencia por medio de la coleccion del Conde de Jaruco (existen dos secciones, de la Torre, y Gonzalez de la Torre) y contactos que hice hace tiempo con una bella y atenta dama que trabajaba en la Catedral de La Habana, pero que hoy en dia esta retirada. Los libros del Conde de Jaruco se encuentran el la Biblioteca Publica principal en la ciudad de Miami, o en la coleccion de Cuba de la Universidad de Miami. La rama de Puerto Principe/Camaguey en la coleccion de Jaruco son los de la Torre, aunque en realidad ambas ramas se originan con el nombre completo, Gonzalez de la Torre

My GGGrandfather was Marcial Betancourt Camejo, he was born in Spain, but he moved to Las Villas, Cuba. I believe he lived in Camaguey before that. He married Isabel Lumpuy. Any information about them would be greatly appreciated.

Elaine,

Do you have any addtional iniformation on your Marcial Betancourt Camejo, such as birth date, date he emigrated from Spain to Cuba, etc. Also, any information on his children in Cuba. I checked the Cuban parish register indices I have, but found nothing. Sorry for delay in responding to your message. Let me know if you have additional informaiton. Stephen.

Stephen,
Thank you so much for taking the time to reply to my message. I do not have any additional information on Marcial Betancourt, except that his son Agustin Betancourt was born in Las Villas or in Camaguey around 1886. Thanks for all your help, I really appreciate it.

hola , me interesa contactar los registros de la iglesia de camaguey para construir el arbol familiar .por favor ,contacteme con cualquier informacion .muchas gracias.

Ms. Betancourt,
My mother´s family name is Lumpuy!.
They DO come from Las Villas, and as far as I now, they originaly came from France (a certain Jean Lumpuy is the furthest we know, altough not quite sure for the family records were left behind in the homeland) We currently live in Venezuela. Please contact us through my email,
Elisa.
PD: Isabel is a common family name, in fact, my aunt, and my sister bear it.

Los Betancourt de que hablas, de acuerdo con el tomo IV del Conde de Jaruco en que se refiere a ese apellido dice que:

Don Gaspar Betancourt y Varona testo en 11 de enero de 1845 . Caso en la villa de Pto. Principe , parroquia de la Soledad, el primero de sep. de 1820 con Dña. Maria Ana Guerra y Velez, hija del capitan Jose Guerra y Quesada y de Dña Margarita Velez y Borrero.

Tuvieron por hijos a:
Maria de las Mercedes, a Mariana, a Ana,
a Francisca Margarita., a Blas y a Jose Manuel Betancourt y Guerra.
Las dos primeras hermanas , Maria de las Mercedes y Mariana, se casaron con dos hermanos de otra familia: de la Torre y Varona.

Mariana Betancourt y Guerra , caso en la catedral de Pto. Principe el 24 de octubre de 1853 con Dn. Manuel de la Torre y Varona, hijo de Esteban de la Torre y Cisneros , Coronel de Milicias y de Dña. Josefa Cupertina Varona y Guerra.

Nota curiosa: Ese Gaspar Betancourt y Varona era hermano de mi tatarabuelo: Francisco Betancourt Varona. y todos empezaron la Rama Tercera de los Betancourt en Camaguey.
( Pag. 90 del libro de Jaruco Tomo IV.)

De Gaspar Betancourt Varona:
Sus padres: Don Blas Manuel Betancourt y Agüero y su primera esposa Isidora Varona y Varona, tuvieron 4 hijos: Diego Alonso, A Blas, ( mi tatarabuelo ) a Gaspar ( tu antepasado ) y a Jose Manuel Betancourt y Varona .

Blas Manuel Betancourty Agüero se caso dos veces en la villa de Pto. Principe : la primera vez en la Soledad el 17 de enero de 1791 con Isadora Varona y Varona .
El segundo matrimonio fue el 3 de marzo de 1816 en la Catedral de Pto. Principe con Doña Rosalia Recio. No aparecen aqui notas de hijos.

Todo parece indicar que pertenecemos a la misma rama.

Espero que esta informacion te sea util. Se que tu mensaje es de hace tiempo, pero ahora es que lo vi.!

Saludos, Maria S. Miranda

Does anyone know Antonio Lazaro Planas he is my boyfriend and i am trying to supprise him with finding his family history. If anyone has any info that would be great please email me at sublimecpm@yahoo.com

i read your posting on the name Justiz. I would like to know if you have a
Angela in your list of names.

Thank you,
Joyous Vincent

Hi, I believe I now of whom you are speaking. Her name was Ursala Betancourt y Cespedes she was actually a sister or cousin of Manual Cespedes, the rebel fighter that freed his sleves in order to help free Cuba from Spain. My Great, great, great grandmother was Antonia Betancourt y Cespedes. She had daughters named Delphina and Eva. Delphina's family has a family tree which is now residing in Mexico and Eva's is mostly in the Eastern United States. Ursula, the poet, took a picture of herself with her hair down and a flag wrapped around her and gave it to a military officer . It was very risque for a woman of her stature. She was a cousin to Delphina & Eva. There is an entire family tree that already exists that we would love to have you be part of. We thought that Ursala never had children. Please contact me so I can email you the website. It is taken care of by the Maguirre Family in Mexico.I believe you may be able to fund it on cubangenweb.org.

Jo-Ann, it is never too late, thanks for writing......Ursula is not the one I am looking for, however, your description of her with the flag and the "risque" attitude in the late 1800's is very similar to America's.......America lived in Manzanillo and was also related to Carlos Manuel de Cespedes, I think they were first cousins. Ursula and Antonia could have been her sisters, but you obviously know much more than I do. From what you tell me you must be very young, since America would have been George's grandmother and he is 73 now. His mother was born in 1910, and was the youngest of her children.

I'll try to find that website, but please email it to me, just in case......I'll try to provide as much information as I can remember from the stories I have heard.

Two of the granddaughters of America were America (Meca qepd) and Eva. They were the daughters of Salvador Hernandez, son of America with her first husband, whose name I can't remember now, but who was a ranking officer in the military.

My mother in law, Silvia Mole Betancourt, was from her second marriage to Jose Mole, particulars unknown. He later married a teacher and had I think four daughters, one of them was Teresa and another one Pura, but I have forgotten the names of the others. From what my mother in law use to tell me it was a very large and complicated family.

If you want you can write to me at my email, ruddlaw@prodigy.net. Thanks again for writing.......

Hi, I just read your message, a friend and myself are trying to find info. re. ORELLANAS in Cuba and Puerto Rico. My friend called Cuba but her call was blocked. Will you be so kind and give the phone #s to call the Church in Camaguey or Habana.

Thank you very much in advance
Macky Lebron Montalban Rlebron42@aol.com

I am looking for ORELLANAs in la Habana (1700s), Cuba and Puerto Rico, late 1700s and 1800s. The one in Pto. Rico either Maria de los Santos Orellana or Emilia Orellana. Thank you, you can reply to my at Rlebron42@aol.com

I'm looking for my roots. If you have any comments on the De la Torre name, please contact me.
Thaks.