Hola Primos, 

Let me introduce myself.  My name is Lillian Gunderman.  If I were in Puerto Rico I would be Lillian Resto Y Marin, because my father is Raul Resto Y Mijon and my mother is Maria Teresa Marin Y Ramos.  In Puerto Rico you take on both surnames.  Your father’s surname is first and your mother’s surname is second.  This rule is an important rule to remember because it will help you on your ancestry journey. 

I seriously became interested in my family history two years ago.  My uncle, Miguel Angel Resto Y Mijon wrote a Resto Y Mijon family history book in August 2015, which I now had time to read.  I read how my grandmother, Mama, Rafaela Mijon Y Rivera, had been orphaned at a very young age.  

Tio Miguel was told by his mother that she was born in Humacao, but lived and was a servant  in Rio Blanco, Naguabo.  She was raped and became pregnant by someone whom she served.  Shortly after she met my grandfather, Etanislao Resto Y Lopez who proposed marriage and after a series of questions about love, living arrangements, and financial support she quickly agreed.  I’ll assume it was a quick courtship because my oldest uncle Candido was born and my grandfather legitimized him as his son.  

I had many burning questions.  Who was “Mama’s” father?  Who was “Mama’s mother?  Who was her family?  Why didn’t they take her in?  Why was she a servant?  I had so many questions and not one of my living aunts or uncles could answer my questions. I needed help finding the answers to my questions.  I started looking for podcasts, you tube, facebook, anything that might help me in my quest.  I decided to enlist the help of my sister, Melanie Resto.  Together Melanie and I decided to tackle this assignment.

We started with Ancestry.com and quickly found the death certificate of Rafaela Mijon Y Rivera.

Rafaela Mijon Y Rivera, 

Death: 18 Feb 1982, Canaboncito, Caguas, Puerto Rico. 

Birth: 1905, age 76, Humacao, Puerto Rico.

Spouse: Etanislao Resto.  

Declarant: Ana Resto, daughter. 

Father: Guadalupe Mijon Y Rivera, Humacao. 

Mother: Juana Rivera.  

Great, we found some information!  Little did we know some of it was wrong.  I learned that death certificates are considered secondary information.  Which means it’s only as good as the person giving the information at the time of death.  

We continued with Ancestry.  Melanie and I searched for Guadalupe Mijon Y Rivera, zero, nothing! Juana Rivera, over 1,000 hits!  What?  How were we ever to find our ancestors?  Would we ever find the answers to our questions?  There had to be another way!  

One day, by Divine Intervention (at least that’s what I call it) I learned about Familysearch.org. I learned there is One world tree and that we are all one big family.  Which reminds me of a Sister Sledge song, ”We Are Family, I Got all my sisters with me”

I searched Guadalupe Mijon, and just like that I found him on the death certificate of Juana Rivera.

Juana Rivera Y Hernandez 

Death: 30 Mar 1893, Humacao, Puerto Rico.  

Spouse: Guadalupe Mijon

Cause of death hemorrhage. 

Father: Juan Pablo Rivera

Mother: Ramona Hernandez

Did she die from giving birth to a child?   Now I have another question to add to my list of questions.   I learned the name of her father, Juan Pablo Rivera and her mother, Ramona Hernandez.  Juana’s father is the one giving this information so I believed the information to be true.  I now have a second surname for my great grandmother, Juana Rivera Y Hernandez.  At least I now knew why “Mama’s” mother wasn’t around.  Now what happened to her father?  

I found the birth registrations for Rafaela Mijon Y Rivera.

Rafaela Mijon Y Rivera, 28 Nov 1890, Humacao, Puerto Rico.  

Father: Jose Guadalupe Mijon Y Cintron, Naguabo, Puerto Rico.  

Mother: Juana Rivera Y Hernandez.  

Grandparents Father’s Side: Don Francisco Mijon and Dona Visitacion Cintron, Naguabo, Puerto Rico both are dead.  

Grandparents Mother’s Side: Don Pablo Rivera and Dona Ramona Hernandez, married and living in Naguabo.

More Clues!

The purpose of this channel is to help you find your family and make connections.  I have had some profounding, life changing experiences on this journey.  Number one is spending more chat time with my sister who lives in Italy.  Number two, is speaking to my Aunts and Uncles, some of whom have now passed.  Number three is being able to make connections with 1st, 2nd, 3rd cousins, etc.  Many of us are all on the same journey.  Where do we come from?  What makes us who we are?  How has our DNA affected our lives?  Sam Cooke wrote and Louis Armstrong sang “What A Wonderful World”  Let’s take this journey together.  Let’s find what connects us and makes us the people who we have become.  Let us make this world a better place by connecting our tree and learning that we are all one big family.

Hasta la vista. Until we meet again.

Adios,

Lilly Resto Gunderman