Gregorio Alvarez Cueto

In a prior post about PARES,Spain’s online archives, I mentioned how I located Teresa Cueto in the records.  However I don’t believe I explained how I knew who she was.  I’ve also posted about her granddaughter, Maria Florentina Alvarez Castillo.  So how did I make the connections?  Very easily!

You see wedding records are the best way to figure out who is who.  When Maria Florentina was married, her father was deceased and it stated so.  So I started looking in the Defunciones church records starting from her marriage date and working my way back.  It turns out her father, Gregorio Alvarez Cueto died the year prior.

I located him in the book 1799 to 1802 on Folio 187; folio means page.  There in the record it lists that he was from Cadiz, Spain and that he was the legitimate child of Antonio Alvarez and Teresa Cueto. It also states that he was married to Ana Maria del Castillo; Maria Florentina’s mother.  What surprised me was that in the record it states that he received the sacraments but that there was no will since he was destitute.

I wasn’t expecting to read that he was poor.  I can see why Maria Florentina had to marry as women didn’t work outside the home.  Women had no way of respectfully sustaining themselves than through marriage.

Gregorio Alvarez Cueto Death Record in San Juan

In finding Gregorio’s death record, I then decided to search for his wedding record to Ana Maria del Castillo.  I calculated 15 years and went backward from there to look for this couple. I located him getting married to Ana Maria del Castillo Ximenez (Jimenez) on the 27th of May in 1777.  Here in this record it notes his parents again along with Ana Maria’s parents.  Her parents are Juan del Castillo and  Antonia Ximenez. 

I ended the search with this generation as your eyes do get tired from reading really old records, especially in old Spanish style.  I decided to search in PARES and it paid off since I found Gregorio’s mother writing to the Spanish crown; read the PARES blog post to see those records.

In addition, I am lucky since my maternal grandmother wrote similarly to some of the old styles which helped me in reading many records.  I’m sure she would be shocked at how well I am able to read them since I didn’t speak the language until I went to live with her; my 11th birthday.

Gregorio Alvarez Cueto & Ana Maria del Castillo Ximenez Wedding Record

Most importantly when looking at records, abbreviations to names are common in these old records so it is important to know how to decipher them.  Hoping this post helps you with adding another generation to your tree.

Desktop:  To see other blog posts for your island or country, click on the menu that appears at the top right of this post. It will take you to the page containing posts for your island or country.

Mobile Devices (Smartphone & Tablets):  To see other blog posts for your island or country, at the top of the page, click on the “Most Recent Post”, a popup menu will appear, select an option. It will take you to the page containing posts for your island or country.