Cuban Genealogy Podcast: Recent Episodes

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Parish Records: 102 Welcome to the Cuban Genealogy podcast! This podcast is dedicated to helping you research your Cuban ancestors by keeping you up to date on Cuban research: with a focus on digital records. Whether you are new to family history or a seasoned pro, there’s something for everyone at the Cuban Genealogy podcast: we cover everything from parish records to cemeteries to DNA to celebrity stories and family trees…we hope to keep you interested and entertained as you continue to research your Cuban family history. Thank you for tuning in… I’m your host Brian Tosko Bello. Welcome to Podcast 102: using parish records. Before we start we have some quick updates Cemetery news: there are now more than 2,000 interment records for the Colon Cemetery now available on FindAGrave.com. La Salud cemetery is now online thanks to a Cuban family researcher in NJ… and 2 more cemeteries will be coming online soon…those 2 cemeteries are Cementerio de Cardenas and Cementerio de Playa Larga. This is truly an exciting time for online cemetery records for Cuba. You can also check out the complete list of the 23 cemeteries in the Habana area…also under ‘cemetery records’ on the website. There are also 2 Cuban Genealogy presentations coming up soon: Washington DC in November and the New York/New Jersey area in January 2019. You can follow our Instagram, Facebook and website for more information on those, we would also like to add Los Angeles and Chicago to the list as well. Cuban Genealogy Club of Miami also has their meeting at FIU on October 13th. That’s all for the quick updates and now on to the featured topic: finding parish records in Cuba. First, I’d like to give you some quick facts about parishes in Cuba, and then on to a quick case study where you can see how just one parish record can open up a whole new array of research possibilities, making those family connections stronger and more interesting, shedding light on our Cuban ancestors and making it easier to document our Cuban family histories.

Okay, so for this case study we are going to review one parish record from February 1890 of my great grandfather, Inocente Ramon Bello. And in preparing for this podcast, I learned a few new details I had overlooked earlier. I’ve had this document for about 10 years but didn’t realize some of the interesting details, I had most of the names but didn’t realize that this baptismal record listed my grandfather’s parents, occupations, and birthplaces. This baptismal record is from the San Atanasio parish in Placetas, Villa Clara…from the Cienfuegos diocese. So, this is a one page document, hand written…amazing historical record that I am so honored to have since these types of records do not exist online and are virtually impossible to obtain unless you or someone, visits the parish personally. This document was given to me by my grandmother. So 3 new vital record details that I didn’t notice originally are: the baptismal date…which is about a month after my great grandfather’s birthdate in 1889. It also has his birth time listed, at 2am in the morning, I’m sure his mother appreciated being in labor until the wee hours of the morning. And the third interesting fact is that it lists his father’s occupation as Labrador or worker. Not the most helpful but I’m glad they took the time to list that detail. Now there are 7 very specifi items in this one document that I need to add to my research list going forward: this baptismal…parish record…lists 6 other relatives…and 2 padrinos…which may or may not be relatives…as well as the priest…and I mention the priest here because I would be curious to see if other baptismal records for my great grandfather’s siblings are also housed in this same parish. I’m hoping to get sibling baptismal records to complete those branches of my family tree so that I can tie those descendants to my DNA tests. It’s all a very complicated, challenging but enjoyable research puzzle. We will cover DNA Cuban cousins in a future podcast, and we would love to hear about some of your success stories where you have matched up with some long lost cousins. I made a new cousin connection when I was in Miami in May…and she was so sweet and kind…I hope she’s listening to this podcast! And I hope to meet with her again on my next visit to South Florida. Okay, back to the record. Inocente’s father…remember he is listed simply as a laborer…is a natural de Casiguas…his mother: Catalina is a natural de feligresia. Now this word, feligresia, I had to look it up and it means parishioner, so I think they are basically listing her as a local. Paternal grandparents are: natural de Guanabo…natural de Jaruco. And then maternal grandparents are: natural de Cifuentes and Placetas. So, I now have geographical locations for these 4 grandparents…and of course, they are all spread out between central Cuba up to the Havana area. For the late 1800s they sure did move around. It is interesting to note here, that Cuba was in some historic turmoil during this period. My great grandfather was born after the 10 years war and just before the Spanish-American war that would start around 1895 up to 1898…he would be about 5-8 years old during this time… but this whole later half of the 1800s was filled with independence struggles and challenges. And now to the final research discoveries from this parish record: the padrinos. Listed are Jesus Rivero Moya and Eusebia Jimenez Bello. Now I have never heard of either of these two before but the Bello last name is a tip off that she might be an aunt of some sort, so I will add these 2 to my follow up list and see if they show up in the future. Where I will be looking for these 2 specifically, will be in other baptismal records for Inocente’s siblings as well as cemetery records or marriage records. I hope to have one of those blinking light bulb over my head moments if these names resurface in other records. Isn’t this fun? You can find this record on the ‘parish records’ page on DigitalCuba.org…in case you would like to review all of the discoveries from this one…priceless…document. This podcast is brought to you by DigitalCuba.org: Digital Cuba is focused on preserving Cuban historical records by preserving original documents and establishing digital indexes for cemetery and parish records. Researching in Cuba has it’s challenges. Cuba Digital has launched a project to digitize parish index records, this will enable family historians a way to research parish records without knowing an exact birthdate or exact death date. For example, I have my great grandfather’s birth and death dates, but I don’t have his siblings, parents or extended family’s birth or death dates. Having parish index records digitize will help all those researching Cuban family members. So, in a future podcast I would like to explore more parish records, most notably marriage records and how to use parish records and or registry records for marriages in the 1800s as well as the 1900s. Not all marriages in Cuba had a church connection…so our research checklists have to accommodate for a variety of record sources. And when we come back from this quick break, we will talk briefly about the next podcast, which I hope is an interesting topic for everyone…Freemasons and other secret societies in Cuba and are they in your family tree? They are definitely visible at the cemetery… I didn’t think my family had a connection…but surprisingly…we do! [music] Please make sure you download the next Cuban Genealogy podcast, podcast 103, where we will explore if there are any freemasons in your Cuban family tree. Did you know that freemasonry dates back to 1763 in Cuba? Did you know that women also participated in secret societies in Cuba? This will be a fascinating look into a part of Cuban history that is…a little more on the hidden side. Make sure you follow us on Facebook, Instagram and on our website: www.DigitalCuba.org! Stay tuned for the next Cuban Genealogy podcast where we explore these topics and hopefully enrich any hidden or overlooked family histories in your Cuban family research. In a future podcast we will discuss the need for Cuban parish records to find a digital home…possibly the Catholic Heritage Archive! Thank you for tuning in y nos vemos hasta la proxima!

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Welcome to the Cuban Genealogy Podcast. This podcast is dedicated to helping you research your Cuban ancestors. Cuban history is just so rich and fascinating. By collecting family stories and furthering your research you just might make some new discoveries for you to share with your family. Thank you for tuning in… I’m your host Brian Tosko Bello. You can find my Cuban tree on ancestry.com by doing a member search… btoskobello. You can also visit the Digital Cuba website at www.DigitalCuba.org or FamilyDrama.org and make sure you follow us on Facebook under Digital Cuba. Like you all, I have difficulties finding my relatives online using the big family history websites. Through this podcast, I want for us to be able to share our stories with each other…we have so much in common and the Cuban culture is so rich and interesting. And the more I study Cuban history, the more captivated I become. So how are we going to enrich and expand our Cuban family trees in this digital age when information is so limited? In my opinion, it is through collaboration. Collaboration is the most important way to successfully research your Cuban family tree. Again, we have very limited information online, but we have some great projects in the works to help assist those of us researching Cuban relatives. What projects you ask? Well, Digital Cuba is focused on 2 main vital record sets: Cuban cemetery records and Cuban parish records. And Cuban parish records could include, birth, marriage, death and other records that parishes have been recording. So, in this podcast we are going to start with the importance of oral family histories…then we will discuss cemetery records in Cuba. Parish records in Cuba. We will end the podcast with calendar of events where you can participate in genealogy events and get to work on further expanding your tree, or even starting you tree. And while you listen to this podcast, please take notes on what you’d like to hear about in future podcasts. Interviews you’d like to hear…we can talk about DNA testing. How to find a researcher in Cuba. Or any other interesting topic on your mind, we would certainly like to hear how we can make this podcast valuable and entertaining. You can reach me at DigitalCuba.org@gmail.com. Alrighty, here we go to our first topic…the importance of oral histories.

Importance of oral histories Thank you to the Cuban Genealogy Club of Miami for providing this podcast with their Cuban Genealogy 101 presentation. Recording oral histories is of particular interest to me since we don’t have easy access to Cuban records, we can’t just stop by a cemetery in our family’s hometowns and hope to stumble across some family details. My oral histories led to the next phase of my research. Gathering stories, names, dates and places from my grandmother enabled me to strategize deepening my research. As you will hear in the cemetery segment coming up next, I was only able to search for my relatives at the Colon cemetery once I had the exact death dates. I did my oral interviews over 3 meetings. I didn’t want to tire out my grandmother or overwhelm her with questions. But once we got started she enjoyed reminiscing about Cuba. Sharing me stories about her siblings and her parents and Havana during the 30s and 40s. So, when you do your interviews. Make sure you have your audio recorder (Google Play for android recorders and iTunes for apple options)…or an old fashion mini tape recorder. These recordings may even be precious heirlooms one day. By recording the interviews you can focus more on the conversation and less on writing down and verifying the details. I would recommend writing down some notes while you are interviewing. And make sure you ask permission to record and tell your relative why you are recording. There are so many interesting Cuban family history stories out there…I discovered some funny stories about how my grandmother first tried to speak English when she came to the US, how her and her mother had different views of women’s role in the family. I was always curious how my great grandmother fed 9 children and what her daily life was like in Cuba during the teens into the 20s and up to the 40s and 50s. Let’s take a quick break and we can review some family interview tips:

Here’s a breakdown of the interview hints: 1. Audio recorder: test it a few times before you start 2. Take notes as well, especially if a topic comes up that you'd like to circle back to later in the conversation 3. Be patient and open minded: sometimes stories change over time 4. Make a back up recording or back up copy of your oral history notes 5. Use this information to make your strategy. For example, my grandmother didn’t know the birthdates of her father’s siblings but she did know the birth order so I listed the siblings that way. Now when I go to investigate Inocente Ramon Bello’s siblings, I have a better year estimate of birth years for his other siblings! Coming up next: researching cemetery records in Cuba. Take it away Beny More!

Cemetery records in Cuba: Okay, so I am passionate about cemeteries. Cemeteries are such peaceful places. And usually they are easy to document, you just can quietly walk around and get to work. No document fees, etc. First of all, for Cuba, I reviewed the big 2 cemetery record databases: FindAGrave and BillionGraves. Less than 1% of these records are online. Colon Cemetery has over 600 records of an estimated 2 million interrments. As of July 2018, I have uploaded 300 of my 3,000 Colon cemetery photos. Both of these cemetery record websites are missing cemeteries in Cuba. BG is missing the Cementerio de Cardenas in Matanzas. FaG has the Cardenas cemetery but only 2 photos with zero headstone records. FaG lists a few hundred photos for 141 cemeteries in Cuba, but this includes some statue memorials and I know of a few missing cemeteries like the abandoned cemetery in Playa Larga. BillionGraves: when you search under Cuba, it says listing cemeteries with 100 photos or more, so none show up. But don’t get frustrated. If you zoom in you will begin to see some cemeteries and monuments show up. The frustrating part is when you zoom into Havana and you see the Necropolis Colon…it shows 0 photos and 0 contributors. But if you scroll to the bottom, it shows my 16 photos that I uploaded. Frustrated, I stopped. My 3,000 photos are considered supporting documents and not full on headstone records because I didn’t upload them on my phone with the GPS turned on. This is unfortunate, as I can’t take thousands of photos on my phone and certainly not in Cuba where I don’t have cell phone service. I didn’t even want to use my phone there as a camera out of fear of being charged a roaming fee. So basically, BillionGraves is now a low priority as my high-res photos have been demoted to supporting documents that don’t even show up in the top stat section of the cemetery descriptor. I am going to contact BillionGraves and let them know researchers might be missing what the website has to offer since I know that I wouldn’t think to scroll down to the bottom of the page. Internment.com has only one cemetery listed, Colon cemetery and it has 108 listings and last updated in 2011…and no headstone records. Time to take a long…sigh. Digital Cuba.org is currently actively applying for research grants to document Cuban cemeteries and get the digital records online for researchers to access. This is an enormous undertaking but we have to start somewhere. In the next podcast I will share my personal experiences at the Colon cemetery when I was studying in Cuba in June 2018. The Colon Cemetery is a fascinating, historic cemetery, full of romance, scandals, and unique last names that certainly hold even more interesting Cuban history. Coming up next, researching parishes around Cuba.

Parish records: importance of the indexes DigitalCuba.or Digitization project: cemetery records and parish records RootsTech.org ’19: Feb 27: Salt Lake City Support CGC of Miami: cubangenclub.org Mystery Cuban of the Month Secretos de mi Abuela Do you have a great podcast idea? Tips? Suggestions? Please email us at DigitalCuba.org@gmail.com