Andrea Pabellon

This is my paternal grandmother. 

Her name is Andrea Pabellon 

& my search has started with her. 

I've written about her a little in a previous post but I wanted to write more about what I've learned about her life. I only had the privilege of meeting her a few times when I was very little. She lived in Puerto Rico all of her life, so I didn't get to see her very often.

Andrea was born in Juncos, Puerto Rico in March 2, 1913. Her mother is Petra Pabellon de los Santos. Andrea's birth, marriage nor death records ever indicate a father. In the place of a father is states "No Costa" which means there was no father present. Back then this was called a "natural" birth. Which pretty much just means her parents were never legally married. Which is why she carries her mother's first surname of Pabellon.

Later on in life, Andrea sometimes uses the last name of Jimenez. I wonder if maybe that was her real father's last name. No one living remembers & I have no evidence to prove this theory. 

Andrea's family moves & she grew up most of her life in the town right besides Juncos which is Gurabo. Census records show that she grew up with her mother Petra & her mother's mother which is Maria de los Santos. In 1920 Andrea's mother marries a man named Vincente Ortiz. Census records show that Petra moves out to be with her new husband & her 2 new children from this marriage (her only son named Luis Miguel Ortiz Pabellon & another daughter named Filiberta Ortiz Pabellón. However by 1930 Andrea is still living alone with her grandmother Maria de los Santos. I imagine that they must of been really close. In March 1937 Maria dies. 3 months later in June 1937 Andrea marries my grandfather Antonio Rodriguez Torres (read more about Antonio here). About a year later they have their first baby, a son named Efrain Rodriguez. He would be the first born of 14 children, 9 boys & 5 girls.

In January 1978 Andrea's husband of 41 years dies. From what my Dad tells me they were already separated for some time before his death. Andrea goes on to live the rest of her life in Gurabo, Puerto Rico. She dies in January 1990 at the age of 79. 

Since I didn't know her well I asked my father to describe what she was like to me. He says all his memories of her are good. She was kind & a good mother. He remembers that growing up she would do the laundry by the river not far from their house. It was also then that she would bath all the children in the river. He remembers she took them all to Mass on Sundays & she made sure they were all baptized when they were young. I can tell he misses her when he speaks of her. He says they were pretty close. 

Even though I didn't really know her well & only saw her a small handful of times growing up, for some reason, I've always felt a connection with her. This is why I chose her to start with. 

-I would love to learn who her real father was.
-I would also love to know if he's the same father of the 2 other sisters (one younger & then one older) that  Andrea had that also were born out of wedlock before her mother married Vicente Ortiz. I'm hoping that one day & with more digging I'll be able to answer these questions.