Felipa Pabellon de los Santos 1884-1969

Felipa Pabellon de los Santos

 is my great grand Aunt. 
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Felipa is the older sister of my great grandmother Petra.

The first time I even knew of Felipa was when I saw her listed on the 1910 census. She is listed as single among the 7 other living children from Maria de los Santos & Matias Pabellon. 

Sometime after 1910 she marries a man who is a bit older then her by the name of Jose Perez. I received this clue by finding a Catholic church birth record for one of their children together. In 1913 they have a daughter together named Juana Perez Pabellon. 

I also found a death record for 2 children Felipa & Jose Perez have together.  One in 1916, another daughter of theirs named Fundadora Perez Pabellon dies at 2 years old from colitis. Then a son the year after in 1917 named Francisco Perez Pabellon dies at one month old also from colitis. 

After this I'm not sure what becomes of her husband Jose Perez. I haven't located any death records for him yet but by 1920 Felipa appears as married on the 1920 census with a man named named Jesus Monserrate. What's very unusual is that I found a birth record for Felipa's daughter named Salvadora who is born in 1923 & her father is named to be Jose Perez but in 1920 Felipa is not shown living with him & possibly married to someone else. Did they get back together sometime after this census was taken? It is not likely but  possible.

In the 1930 census there appears to be another twist. This census shows Felipa in a new relationship with a man named, Balbino Colon Reyes. From this point on they are stated as living in a "contracto consensual". In 1930 Felipa is also living with 4 of her children from her previous marriage which are:
Justo Perez Pabellon (birth 1909)
Conception Perez Pabellon
Emilia Perez Pabellon
Salvadora Perez Pabellon (birth 1923)

Felipa & her new partner are both working. He works in a Sugar cane plantation while she works in a tobacco one.  


By 1935 & 1940 it doesn't look like much has changed for them. They all still live together in Juncos, except by 1940 Felipa has a new daughter-in-law whom I assume is Justo's wife named Rosa. 

I found a death record for Felipa. According to her death record she was born in Juncos in 1884. Her husband is stated as being Balbino which makes me wonder if they ever legally got married. Felipa dies in December 1969 in Juncos at the age of 85. 

I'm so curious about this aunt of mine. I am very interested in her companions & wonder if Jose really did father all of her children. I also wonder what happened to Jose & then to Jesus.

I wonder how both her deceased children came to die of the same digestive disease. Was it poor living conditions or food poisoning? I wish I knew more about her & her children. I recently made a connection with someone on Ancestry.com that maybe one of her descendants. I really hope our information matches so that I learn more about her life.

Maria de los Santos 1847-1937

My paternal great-great grandmother is named Maria de los Santos. According to her death certificate she was born in March 1847 in Gurabo, Puerto Rico. Unfortunately, Family Search.org does not have birth records that go that far back for the town of Gurabo. This means I'll have to go into a family history library soon to locate her Catholic church record to confirm her birth date & see if I can obtain any more clues about her life or parents. 

Her death record also says she is the natural child of Ramona de los Santos from Juncos, Puerto Rico. "Natural" means her parents were not legally married which is why no father is documented for her. This is the second time I've come across a record with no father. It makes me so sad that there isn't much I can do about it & will primarily just have to focus on the line of her mother since that is all I have to go off. 

If the birth year on Maria's death certificate is correct that would mean that at the time the 1910 census was taken, Maria would be 63 years old. In 1910 Maria is recorded as working, having 10 children, 8 of which are still living & are all living with her in Juncos, Puerto Rico. 
Maria's children are named as:  

Ynes Pabellon de los Santos
Casimira Pabellon de los Santos born 1883-1970
Felipa Pabellon de los Santos born 1884-1969
Ricardo Pabellon de los Santos born 1886-1976
Petra Pabellon de los Santos birth unknown, death 1938
Agustina Pabellon de los Santos
Lorenzo Pabellon de los Santos
Eustaquia Pabellon de los Santos

She also has 3 grandchildren living with her. There names are: Juan Perez Pabellon, Rosario Perez Pabellon, & Justo Perez Pabellon. I know 2 of these children belong to Felipa & I assume the third is hers as well. 

Maria declares the status of single on every census despite the fact that on every birth or death record I found for her children or grandchildren she is stated as married to a Matias Pabellon who is the father of all her children. This is an example of one of the many I've found.

In 1925 Matias dies & in 1935 Maria changes her status to widow. I'm not positive that they were legally married yet. I would assume that at one time they were because of how often I found their names together stated as married. 

In 1920 Maria is only living with one of her daughters, this is Petra, who is my great grandmother. You can read more about Petra here. Along with Petra, Maria is living with 2 of Petra's daughters Jovina & Andrea. At this time Maria would be 73 years old & is no longer working. Petra seems to be the main provider in the home working in a tobacco factory. 

In 1930 Maria lives alone with her granddaughter named Andrea Pabellon. Neither of them work but live right next door to Petra & her new husband. Petra along with her husband are both working, I assume that Petra is still helping her mother financially.

The 1935 census is the last census taken for Maria. At this time she is still living with her granddaughter Andrea & neither of them are working. Two years later in 1937 Maria dies at the age of 90.

Oh what I would give to be able to speak to Maria. I have so many unanswered questions about her & her family. According to her death record her mother Ramona is from Juncos. In 1910 Maria is living there, I wonder if it was to be close to her mother since then Maria is a single-mother. By 1920 Maria moves to Gurabo, I assume to be closer to all of her children that are taking care of her.

I'd also love to know what happened to the 2 of her 10 children she says in the 1910 census were not living. How did they die? How old where they? 

I've also noticed the slave census taken for Puerto Rico in 1872 names various slaves with the last name of De los Santos. I wonder how Maria is related to these slaves since she herself was black. I also wonder if her mother Ramona was a slave. At the time slavery was abolished in Puerto Rico in 1873, Maria would of been 25 years old. I haven't found a Ramona de los Santos on the Puerto Rico, Registro Central de Esclavos, 1872 but have found many Maria de los Santos'. I can't prove that any of these "De los Santos" are linked to my family but seeing as how their are so many & seeing as how my family is black I can only suspect that they are. Maybe with time I will be able to make the connection.

Petra Pabellon de los Santos

My great grandmother's name is Petra Pabellon de los Santos. I have yet to find her birth record. According to her death record she was born on August 5, 1900. I have a strong feeling that this birth date is wrong for two reasons. First, her name was recorded out of order as Petra de los Santos Pabellon. Second, they have her gender incorrect. 

Everything else as far as the name of her husband & parents & race is right.  I'm not sure how all these mistakes came to be but according to the death record the person giving the information for her was named Julio Ortiz. It does not specify if Julio is related or not. I'm guessing he's not but who knows.

Petra was born in Juncos, Puerto Rico I'm guessing sometime around the 1890's. I have searched Juncos birth records for her birth record around this time, before & after & always come up empty. I'm not sure what I'm doing wrong but I can't find anything for her or any of her siblings in Juncos or Gurabo, which are the two towns where she primarily lived all her life. 

According to the 1910 census Petra was 20 years old. She is 1 of 10 children born to Maria de los Santos & Matias Pabellon. She is living in Juncos at that time, unmarried with no children of her own.  She lives with her mother & 8 siblings. Along with her other 5 sisters she is a domestic worker that either works from home or works from others homes. 

For some reason her father Matias Pabellon is shown living in the town right besides them in Gurabo, alone. I'm not sure how involved in her life her father was. I'm sure at some point they all lived together. I can't help but wonder why Matias is living alone. Although he does not live far from his children, I know something must of happened to have them apart. 

In July 1912 Petra gives birth to her first child, a daughter she names Jovina Pabellon. After Jovina, Petra has a second daughter in 1913 named Andrea Pabellon, this is my grandmother. You can read more about Andrea here. In 1916 Petra has a third daughter named Jesusa Pabellon. Sadly Jesusa only lives to be 2 years old & then dies on March 1919 from the flu epidemic. 

All 3 of these daughters are born out of wedlock. No father is ever recorded for their church or civil records. I wonder if they are all from the same father. Since they were all so close in age I would assume that they are but can't be sure.

By 1920 Petra has moved to Gurabo with her mother & 2 remaining daughters Jovina & Andrea.

In June 1920 Petra marries a man named Vicente Ortiz from Toa Baja.  I assume after their wedding she moves out of her mother's house & they move into their own home because by the 1930 census Petra is shown living with Vicente her first daughter Jovina & 2 new children that she's had with her new husband. The names of her new children from this marriage are first a daughter Filiberta Ortiz Pabellón (born 1922), another daughter Maria Ester Ortiz Pabellón (born 1924 & death 1925) then her only son Luis Ortiz Pabellón (born 1926). 

My grandmother Andrea remains living with her grandmother Maria. I assume Andrea & Maria must have been close. I wonder if Andrea stayed to help take care of Maria since Maria would of been in her late 80's by then, or if maybe she didn't get along with her new step-father. 

By 1935 Petra is still declaring the status of "married" but is living alone with her 2 children from Vicente Ortiz. She is working in a tobacco factory. On September 5, 1938 Petra passes away from what I can read lung complications. 

I've thought about Petra lots. I imagine that she must of had a challenging life. She lived in a time where having a child out of wedlock was really looked down upon. She was black & lived in a time where the color of your skin represented more about you then anything else. I assume loosing her third little girl at the age of 2 must of also been very difficult. Then again loosing another little girl at the age of 1 must of been crushing. I wonder how this affected her. She must of been strong. I only wish that there was a photo preserved of her. I would love to put a face to the name I've discovered so much about. 

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.