Traciing Claveria's Genealogy through the Internet

One of the ironies in the genealogical world is the fact that though Narciso Z. Claveria will always be associated with family history research for those with Filipino roots, his own genealogy has not really been explored. In fact, before I realized how far-reaching the Claveria decree has been in terms of Filipino genealogy I wasn't even aware of the name of his parents or if he even had descendants today. For someone whose Renovacion de Apellidos decree made genealogy research easier, not one Filipino researcher has really bothered to trace his family.

So today, on the anniversary of his death, let us get to know the man whose decree will always influence Filipino family history research. Although this has nothing to do with Filipino genealogy I believe that it is about time that we pay our due to the person who systematized our naming culture. This is also another exercise of using the internet in tracing a family tree. Of course, I had about two months to work on this as I wanted to make sure that the information I used were reliable. Although I made use of newspaper articles, too, even these were digital copies and thus still count as a product of the internet.

Early Life

Narciso Claveria y Zaldúa was born in Gerona, Spain on May 2, 1795, the son of Antonio María Nicolas Jose de Claveria y Portu and Maria de Jesus de Zaldúa y Murrieta. His father, Antonio de Claveria, was the Colonel of the Royal Artillery Corps as well as the Political and Military Governor of the city of Huesca, located in Aragon. Probably a tradition in the family, Narciso was officially welcomed into the Army on November 22, 1801 when he was only six years old.

Due to his military upbringing it wasn't surprising that his wife would be from a military family, too. He married Anna de Berroeta y Villar on December 12, 1831. Anna was born in Cartagena de Indias (now Colombia) on April 9, 1808, the daughter of Manuel de Berroeta y Ozaeta and Ana Sanz del Villar. Anna's father was the Captain of the Royal Navy.

He followed in his father's footsteps by entering the Military Academy of Segovia when he was 14 years old.  In 1813 he was assigned to the Andalusian army and participated in military actions during the siege of Pamplona in 1814.

Although he died at the relatively young age of 56, he nevertheless lived a full life.  Throughout his long and distinguished career he held several important positions that included being the Captain General of Navarre's Tenth Military District, the Chief of the General Staff of the Central Army, Captain General of Aragon's Sixth Military District, and later the Governor, Captain General, and President of the Philippine colony.

Governor-General of the Philippines

Clavería, who by this time held the title of Lieutenant General, arrived at the port of Manila on the evening of July 13, 1844, aboard the British ship Margaret and was accompanied by one of his children, an aide, Joseph Roche, and a servant. His wife followed days later. He landed on the next morning at the King's Wharf, given military honors befitting his status, given temporary accommodation, and received the congratulations of all the dignitaries of the city. He was given a banquet that very night and he officially took possession of his position as Chief Executive of Las Islas Filipinas on the 15th.

At the start of his official working day on the 16th Narciso Claveria gave two impassioned speeches. He first addressed the military and told them that their exploits were well known in the Peninsula. He then reminded them to fulfill their duties to the public. After this he addressed the general public and told the colony that compared to other colonies the Philippines appeared to be more prosperous. He finished his speech by expressing the hope that by the end of his term the Philippines would become a rich, flourishing, and tranquil state.

Based on most of the existing documents is becomes very clear that Claveria was a man who was very cultured. hard-working, courteous, and extremely honest. The slightest concerns in the colony caught his attention and it is said that he invited different people from different walks of life to join him at his table so he could get a better feel of the colony. He also believed that in order to understand the diversity of the people and problems facing the colony he needed to see them firsthand, and thus he was perhaps the most travelled Governor-General throughout the 333 years of Spanish occupation of the Philippines.

One of the most pressing issues Claveria faced was the problem of piracy in the south of the colony. While there were many Spanish defeats from pirates during his term he also had many victories. One of these was a military expedition to the Isle of Balanguingui located in Joló, Sulu Achipiélago, Balanguingui was always considered as one of the main pirate havens, and this victory against the pirates set back piracy in that area for the next few years. This victory was also the primary basis of the conferment of the title of Count of Manila to Claveria, which was granted by the Spanish crown on July 29, 1848.

Overall, Claveria's exploits against the pirates were lauded in Spain and even some of the European powers which had possessions in nearby colonies congratulated Claveria for his victories. What was more amazing about Narciso Claveria was that he personally led his troops in these expeditions; unlike many of his predecessors or successor, including modern Philippines's leaders, Claveria was not afraid to lead his troops against the enemies of the colony. Historians agree that this is another trait that made Claveria a very interesting and deserving leader.

Other than military exploits, and as already mentioned in previous articles in this blog, Claveria also managed to correct some cultural and social concerns. This included the correction of the Philippine calendar, which was a day behind the rest of the world, as well as the decree on adopting surnames for all indios. He also empowered the alcade mayores as well as created the first social security system for administration officials. True to his cultured nature his regime also saw the establishment of several newspapers.

Return to Spain and Death

Because of his work load, his unending zeal to spread prosperity in all parts of the colony coupled with his ceaseless travels and the climate of the Philippines, Claveria's health took a disastrous turn. By 1849 Claveria was said to be quite emaciated and very sick, and the Spanish crown allowed him to return to Spain to recuperate.

Amazingly, Claveria first decided to go to the sea and hoped this would cure him. He travelled the various provinces in the Visayas but this only contributed to his deterioration. He declined to return immediately and instead asked that he first be certified by a medical commission to see if his declining health could be cured in the Philippines.

The medical team concluded that he would need the mild climate of the Spanish Peninsula to heal and continued stay in the warm, moist envirnment of the colony would seriously jeopardize his life. Before departing the colony he made sure that there would be a smooth transition of power and he appointed Antonio Ma. Blanco as interim Governor-General.

Claveria, together with his family, left the Philippines on Christmas day of 1849 aboard the steamer Reina del Castile, first stopping by Singapore then on a Suez route to Marseille and finally to Madrid, where he was presented to the Queen.

Although he became a Senator for life, he died on June 26, 1851, barely two years since returning to Spain, having served 49 years in the army. At the time of his death he was also awarded the Knight Grand Cross Order of Isabel of the Catholic, San Fernando & San Hemergildo while his widow Ana was a Dame of the Order of Maria Luisa.

Progeny and the Counts of Manila

The Claveria family tree (Copyright T. Cabrera Lucero)

Many Filipino historians throughout the years have disparaged historical figures who bore titles of nobility, usually writing them as self-styled. Claveria was one of these accused of calling himself Conde de Manila. However, patents of nobility were indeed granted to Narciso Claveria on July 29, 1848, giving him the right to bear the title of Count of Manila, a title that still exists to this very day.

One interesting trait of the Claveria family is their small size as a family. Narciso Claveria, for instance, had just one sister and 2 brothers. Narciso and his wife had three children, 2 girls and a boy. This son, Jose Claveria y Berroeta, succeeded Narciso as Conde de Manila in 1851 upon Narciso's demise.

Jose Claveria, the 2nd Count of Manila, was born on August 31, 1839. He married Basilia Matilde Palacio y Lopez and they had a son, Narciso Claveria. After Basilia's death Jose remarried to Maria Salome Sanchez Molero La Torre and they had one child, Luisa Claveria.

Jose's only son, Narciso, became the 3rd Count of Manila upon the death of Jose Claveria on October 17, 1897. Narciso II became a very famous architect and his most famous work was the Toledo Railway Station, considered as one of the historical architectures if the early 20th century and is now touted as one of the most beautiful stations in Spain. Narciso married Carmen de Babe y Roda de Porras and had four children: Jose, Manuel, Matilde, and Ana Ignacia.

The next two Condes de Manila were the brothers Jose and Manuel de Claveria. It does not appear that they were married or had children. Jose took over the countship in 1935 upon the death of his father and bore the title until his own death in 1969. He was then succeeded by his brother, Manuel, who only received the title in 1972 and held this title until his death in 1998. His nephew, Jose Roda-Claveria, succeeded to the title in 2000.

The Current Conde de Manila

With Manuel's death the direct male lineal descent of the Countship of Manila ended. The title was then passed on to the nearest male relative of Manuel, Don Jose Roda-Claveria y Cassinello, the son of Ana Ignacia de Claveria, Manuel's sister. Ana Ignacia was married to Don Camilo de Roda, an engineer whose family was also of the Spanish nobility. Don Jose still holds the title of Count of Manila today.

View the Claveria family tree here.
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Sources:

1. ABC Madrid, 1916, 1946, and 1988.
2. Miguel Luque Talavan, Narciso Clavería y Zaldúa: Gobernador y Capitán General de las Islas Filipinas (1844-1849), Universidad Complutense Madrid, 1997.
3. http://www.mcnbiografias.com/app-bio/do/show?key=claveria-y-zaldua-narciso
4. http://toledoolvidado.blogspot.com/2011/09/toledo-comienzos-del-siglo-xx.html
5. Blasones Hispanos

Tracing Rizal's Ancestry through Austin Craig's Book

For the very lucky few, the journey to one's genealogical past may be discovered with just one book.

Books have been produced throughout the centuries to chronicle the lives of families famous, infamous, or even the ordinary. Some bygone member or members of families were smart enough to research and preserve their genealogies for a variety of reasons. Whatever their purpose, those who descend from these families are lucky because the bulk of the research has already been done for them.

In the Philippines, however, this isn't as common. For one thing the subject of genealogy is not as popular among the population and the concept of writing a book about a family is not also a common practice. But again, for those lucky enough to have relatives who have done the research then searching secondhand bookshops, public libraries, and online bookstores and other sources is worth it.

Today, in celebration of Jose Rizal's birth, I decided to show how his genealogy was discussed thoroughly by just one book.  Although Rizal's family tree is a fascination of many researchers and history buffs, and books like Lolo José: An Intimate and Illustrated Portrait of José Rizal (written by Asuncion Lopez Bantug, a grandniece of Jose Rizal), Rizal without the Overcoat (by Ambeth Ocampo), and José Rizal: Life, Works, and Writings (by Gregorio Zaide) have extensive discussions about Rizal's family history, no one has written a more comprehensive genealogy of the National Hero than Austin Craig's Lineage, Life and Labors of Jose Rizal, Philippine Patriot: A Study of the Growth of Free Ideas in the Trans Pacific American Territory.

This New Yorker is considered one of the very first biographers of Rizal. He arrived in the Philippines  on July 25, 1904. He taught under the Bureau of Education, and worked in various places: Lubang Island; Calapan, Mindoro; and finally in Manila where he taught in Philippine School of Arts and Trades, the Philippine Normal School, Manila High School, the University of the Philippines, and the University of Manila. He held the Rizal professorial chair at the University of the Philippines in from 1912 to 1922 and was considered one of the experts on Rizal. 

His book begins with Rizal's Chinese ancestor, Domingo Lam-co, whom he described in the book as a sort of leader among the various Chinese migrants who left their country for a better life in the colony. He was said to have had a certain prestige among his own people (from Chinchew) as shown by his leadership of those who later settled with him in Biñan, Laguna, as well as the fact that he acted as godfather, which suggests that he was above the ordinary standing. Craig wrote that this prestige was because of his marriage to the daughter of an educated Chinese, an alliance that was not likely to have been made unless he was a person of some education, and education is the Chinese test of social degree. Lam-co was baptized in the Parian church of San Gabriel on a Sunday in June of 1697, hence his name. His age was given in the record as thirty-five years, and the names of his parents were given as Siang-co and Zun-nio. 

(Although some researches have given Lam-co's real name as Cue Yi-lam and have claimed that he belonged to the Cua clan of south China, being one of the descendants [a 19th generation descendant, in fact] of Shu Du, the 5th son of Zhou Wu Wang, the political genius who started the Chou dynasty, there is nomention of these facts in Craig's book.)

Domingo Lam-co married Inez de la Rosa whose father was Agustin Chinco, also of Chinchew, a rice merchant, who had been baptized five years earlier than Lam-co. His baptismal record suggests that he was an educated man. Agustin Chinco's parents were Chin-co and Zun-nio and he married Jacinta Rafaela, a Chinese mestiza of the Parian, who was the daughter of a Christian Chinese and a Chinese mestiza. Aside from Inez, Agustin Chinco's other children were Magdalena Vergara, Josepha, Cristoval de la Trinidad, Juan Batista, and Francisco Hong-Sun.

Domingo and Inez's only surviving child was named Francisco, and this son was the first to use the last name Mercado. He was already a grown man when his mother died. Domingo followed a few years later.

Francisco Mercado lived in the hacienda of St. John the Baptist at Calamba where there was a great dam and an extensive irrigation system which caused the land to rival in fertility the rich soil of Biñan. He only married on May 26, 1771, rather later in life than was customary in Biñan, though he was by no means as old as his father, Domingo, was when he married. His bride, Bernarda Monicha, was a Chinese mestiza of the neighboring hacienda of San Pedro Tunasan, who had been early orphaned and from childhood had lived in Biñan. They had two sons, Juan and Clemente. A well to do man, his name appears so often as godfather in the registers of baptisms and weddings that he must have been a good-natured, liberal and popular man. He died in 1801.

Francisco Mercado’s eldest son, Juan, built a fine house in the center of Biñan, where its pretentious stone foundations yet stand to attest how the home deserved the pride which the family took in it. At twenty-two Juan married a girl of Tubigan, who was two years his elder, Cirila Alejandra, daughter of Domingo Lam-co’s Chinese godson, Siong-co.

Juan later changed the status of his family in the tribute list from mestizo sangleyes (Mestizo Chinese) to indios. As Craig put it, Juan must have felt that four generations after Domingo Lam-co qualified them already as indio and not Chinese anymore. Juan's children were Gavino, Potenciana (who never married), Leoncio, Fausto, Barcelisa (who became the wife of Hermenegildo Austria), Gabriel, Julian, Gregorio Fernando, Casimiro, Francisco, Petrona (who married Gregorio Neri), Tomasa (later Mrs. F. de Guzman), and Cornelia, the belle of the family, who later lived in Batangas. Francisco was Rizal's father.

A year after his sister Potenciana’s death, Francisco Mercado married Teodora Alonzo, a native of Manila, who for several years had been residing with her mother at Kalamba. Though Craig found the paternal line easy to trace, he felt that Teodora Alonzo's was unfortunately not so easily traced.

Her father, Lorenzo Alberto Alonzo (born 1790, died 1854), was said to have been “very Chinese” in appearance. He had a brother who was a priest, and a sister, Isabel, who was quite wealthy; he himself was also well to do. Their mother, Maria Florentina (born 1771, died 1817), was, on her mother’s side, of the famous Florentina family of Chinese mestizos originating in Baliwag, Bulacan, and her father was Captain Mariano Alejandro of Biñan.

Lorenzo Alberto was municipal captain of Biñan in 1824, as had been his father, Captain Cipriano Alonzo (died 1805), in 1797. The grandfather, Captain Gregorio Alonzo (died 1794), was a native of Quiotan barrio, and twice, in 1763 and again in 1768, at the head of the mestizos’ organization of the Santa Cruz district in Manila.

Lorenzo met Brigida de Quintos while he was a student in Manila, and that she, being unusually well educated for a girl of those days, helped him with his mathematics. Their acquaintance apparently arose through relationship, both being connected with the Reyes family, and soon they were married. They had five children: Narcisa (who married Santiago Muger), Teodora (Mrs. Francisco Rizal Mercado), Gregorio, Manuel and José. All were born in Manila, but lived in Kalamba, and they used the name Alonzo until in 1850 when, with their mother, they adopted the name Realonda in accordance with the Claveria decree. This latter name has been said to be an allusion to royal blood in the family, but other indications suggest that it might have been a careless mistake made in writing by Rosa Realonda, whose name sometimes appears written as Redonda. This is also similar to the common belief that the Rizals changed their last name Mercado to Rizal as they were farmers, that the surname Rizal came from the Spanish ricial, which means green fields. However, ricial does not seem to appear in the Catalogo Alfabetico de Apellidos but there is Risal, which is very likely the original surname but was made to look better -- hence Rizal.

Brigida de Quintos’s death record, in Kalamba (1856), speaks of her as the daughter of Manuel de Quintos and Regina Ochoa. The most obscure part of Rizal’s family tree is the Ochoa branch, the family of the maternal grandmother, for all the archives,—church, land and court,—disappeared. So the only sources for this line's history are the ones told by elderly people.

The first of the family is said to have been Policarpio Ochoa, an employee of the Spanish customs house whose son was Estanislao Manuel Ochoa, with the blood of old Castile mingling with Chinese and Tagalog in his veins. He was part owner of the Hacienda of San Francisco de Malabon and one story says that somewhere in this family was a Mariquita Ochoa, of such beauty that she was known in Cavite, where was her home, as the Sampaguita of the Parian.

There was supposedly a Spanish nobleman in Cavite in her time who was deported for political reasons and it was said that this particular noble was the Marquis de Canete.

To make a long story short, this nobleman fell in love with Mariquita but because of his political color he was not allowed to marry Mariquita. Thus, she became a common-law wife. One of their children, José, had a tobacco factory and a slipper factory in Meisic, Manila, and was the especial protector of his younger sister, Regina, who became the wife of attorney Manuel de Quintos. A sister of Regina was Diega de Castro, who with another sister, Luseria, sold chorizos and tiratira, the first at a store and the second in their own home, but both in Cavite, according to the variations of one narrative.

Manuel de Quintos was an attorney of Manila, graduated from Santo Tomás University, whose family were Chinese mestizos of Pangasinan. The lawyer’s father, of the same name, had been municipal captain of Lingayan, and an uncle was leader of the Chinese mestizos in a protest they had made against the arbitrariness of their provincial governor.

All the branches of Teodora Alonzo’s family were much richer than the relatives of her husband; there were numerous lawyers and priests among them—the old-time proof of social standing—and they were influential in the country.

Some historians, and this includes Austin Craig, have hinted that Jose Rizal was a Lakadula descendant through Teodora Alonzo, but as there has not been archival documentation for this then it remains nothing but a legend.

The book goes on to chronicle Rizal's life and death, but suffice it to say that this book is indeed the first of its kind to explore comprehensively Rizal's genealogy. Until today, it remains perhaps the most authoritative of the National Hero's family tree.

Imagine how easy our genealogical quest would have been if we all had someone like Austin Craig to have researched our family trees for us.

To view Jose Rizal's family tree, click here.