(I drafted this post to document my research on Alejandra Gusman. Its a bit dry. Its often difficult to remember why I hit dead ends without extensive documentation. I plan to refer to this post in the future to save me from doing duplicative research.)
Who are the parents of Alejandra Gusman and why have I been unable to find them? The proverbial brick walls I’ve encountered in the1800’s have been surmountable except for one - Alejandra Gusman’s genealogy. My usual research strategies have been futile. Sometimes, it strikes me as if she doesn't want me to find her roots.
I first read Alejandra Gusman’s name in the marriage informational record of Juan Rico (my 2nd great grandfather). In 1880, Juan Rico married Anastasia Patino (what a beautiful name) in Tarimoro. My father mentioned Juan and Anastasia as ancestors on his maternal side over 20 years ago when I did a genealogy project for school. Their marriage records, along with those of their children, support my father’s oral history.
Martin Rico & Alejandra Gusman were listed as the parents of Juan Rico in his marriage informational record. I imagine that there are very few people alive, if any, that know Juan was the son of Martin & Alejandra. It gives me great satisfaction to read the name of an ancestor that hasn't been spoken in scores of years. I searched for a marriage informational record for Martin & Alejandra to learn the names of their parents. I figured it might be easy to find because Gusman is an uncommon name in Tarimoro.
Marriage Certificate
The search for the marriage records of Martin & Alejandra came up empty. Also, I should note that I’m confident that they were married because their children were always listed as ‘legitimate’ and not ‘natural.’ The former is only used if the parents are married. The latter is used if the child is born out of wedlock. Its possible that Martin & Alejandra are indigenous, thus they might have only been listed by their first names in their marriage records. If this is the case, the lack of identifying information would make it difficult, if not impossible, to find their ancestors.
Neither a general search or a targeted search produced any matches. Below are the specific parishes I checked. All but Rincon de Tamayo have indexed records for the time period when they could have married. Martin & Alejandra are the only 3rd great grandparents from Tarimoro for whom I have been unable to find their marriage record(s).
I am also hoping that Martin Rico & Alejandra Gusman were married in a parish where the records have yet to be indexed. The fact that I can't find a marriage record for them leads me to believe that they were married outside of the region. Additionally, I have to consider the possibility that Alejandra might not have been from Tarimoro.
Parish
|
Matches (1832-1862)
|
| Salvatierra |
No
|
| Apatzeo El Grande |
No
|
| San Bartolo Aguas Calientes |
No
|
| Rincon de Tamayo |
No
|
When I encounter a brick wall along a certain genealogical line, I try to find as many records for the family in question as possible. The other records might contain clues to help me get over the brick wall. I found three of Juan’s brothers: Jose Guadalupe, Francisco, and Ignacio. This is the information my searches produced:
Baptisms
|
FN
|
Year
|
location
|
Father
|
Mother
|
| Jose Guadalupe Rico |
1848
|
||||
| Francisco de la Soledad Rico |
640418
|
1856
|
Tarimoro
|
Martin Rico
|
Alejandra Gusman
|
| Ignacio Rico |
1860
|
||||
| Juan Rico |
640420
|
1862
|
Aguacate, Tarimoro |
Matin Rico
|
Alejandra Gusman
|
Groom
|
FN
|
Father
|
Mother
|
O y V
|
Parroqia
|
Marriage Yr
|
| Jose Guadalupe Rico | Martin Rico | Alejandra Gusman | Aguacate, Tarimoro | Tarimoro |
1870
|
|
| Francisco Rico |
-
|
- | - | - | - |
Soltero
|
| Juan Rico |
657194
|
Martin Rico | Alejandra Gusman | Aguacate, Tarimoro | Tarimoro |
1880
|
| Ignacio | No Information |
| Deceased | Father | Mother | Vecino | Location | Death Year | Spouse |
| Martin Rico | Augustin Rico | Maria F Peres | Tarimoro | Tarimoro |
1895
|
Alejandra Gusman |
| Jose Guadalupe Rico | Martin Rico | Alejandra Gusman | Tarimoro |
1898
|
Ma. Solome Resendiz | |
| Francisco Rico | Martin Rico | Alejandra Gusman | Tarimoro |
1911
|
Soltero | |
This is what I know about Alejandra Gusman based on my research:
Born: Around 1830-36
Married: Martin Rico between 1845-50.
Likely outside of Tarimoro or Salvatierra, GTO
Children:
Jose Guadalupe Rico ( b. around 1846-50)
Francisco Rico (b. 1856 in Tarimoro)
Ignacio Rico (b. around 1860)
Juan Rico (b. 1862 in Tarimoro)
Death: January 1880, Aguacate, Tarimoro, GTO
I have been unable to find Juan Rico's death certificate, which I hoped would provide me with additional clues. I didn't find his death record in the Tarimoro civil or Catholic death records. I searched all the years after 1905. In 1905, he was listed as being alive in Josefa Rico's marriage informational.
 |
| Juan Rico & Anastacio Patino's Marriage Informational |
 |
| Francisco Rico MI "México, Guanajuato, registros parroquiales, 1519-1984," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-1951-20593-942-13?cc=1860831 : 20 May 2014), Tarimoro > San Miguel Arcángel > Información matrimonial 1870-1873 > image 187 of 645; parroquias Católicas, Guanajuato (Catholic Church parishes, Guanajuato). |
 |
| Juan Rico Baptism "México, Guanajuato, registros parroquiales, 1519-1984," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-1942-20400-64826-23?cc=1860831&wc=3VH8-3TG:167585501,167585502,167866703 : 20 May 2014), Salvatierra > Salvatierra > Bautismos 1859-1862 > image 537 of 720; parroquias Católicas, Guanajuato (Catholic Church parishes, Guanajuato). |
 |
| Alejandra Gusman Death Certificate |
