Ignacio Maldonado y Maria Teresa Centeno Rico.

The Maldonado branch of my family tree has been fairly easy to track, even when hitting a brick wall.  The records have made themselves available for the last five generations.  I ran into some trouble with my 4th great Maldonado grandparents due to a name change. My 4th great grandmother, Teresa, used her paternal and maternal surnames interchangeably.  In the post below I’m arguing that Maria Teresa Rico, Maria Teresa Centeno, and Leuteria Teresa Zenteno are the same person.

Background

The marriage informational record of two confirmed ancestors (meaning I have sufficient evidence to support their inclusion in my tree), Adrian Maldonado and Emiliana Lara, list the names of my 3rd great grandparents, thus allowing me to go back another generation.   Adrian and Emiliana were married in Tarimoro, GTO in 1874.  Adrian’s parents were listed as Yndalesio Maldonado and Manuela Martinez.  The uniqueness of  the name Yndalesio made it easy to find his marriage records.  

Yndalesio and Manuela were married in Salvatierra, GTO in 1839. In their marriage testimonial, Yndalesio was listed as a 19 year old bachelor from San Nicolas de la Condesa. His parents were identified as Ignacio Maldonado and Maria Teresa Rico (difunta/deceased).  In the marriage record for Yndalesio & Manuela, the padrinos were listed as Guadalupe Allala & Ma. Loreto Maldonado.  The names of the padrinos is an important piece of information that supports my argument, but more on that later.  

Armed with this information, I went looking for the baptism record of Yndalesio and the marriage records of his parents.  My research came-up empty and I hit a brickwall.

Breakthrough 

In my research, I found a close match - Jose Ignacio Maldonado and Leuteria Teresa Centeno.  I also found about six baptism records for children where the parents were listed as Jose Ignacio Maldonado and Maria Teresa Centeno.  As this point I began to wonder if Teresa varied her name throughout her life.  I decided to investigate the records I could find between Ignacio Maldonado and Teresa Centeno to look for clues. 

Below are the particulars of the marriage event between Jose Ignacio and Leuteria Teresa:

Name: Jose Ygnacio Maldonado & Leuteria Teresa Zenteno

Event Date: 16 May 1797

Event Place: Salvatierra, Salvatierra, Guanajuato, Mexico

Father's Name: Jose Lorenzo Maldonado

Mother's Name Maria Getrudes Azevedo

Spouse's Father's Name: Domingo Zenteno

Spouse's Mother's Name: Juana Antonia Loreto Rico

Evidence

I will argue that Maria Teresa Rico, Maria Teresa Centano, and Leuteria Teresa Zenteno are the same person.  Here is why. 

1.  As noted in the marriage document for Ignacio & Teresa, her mother’s maiden name is Rico, so its possible that she could have preferred to use her mother’s name over Centeno from time-to-time. Establishing Rico being within the realm of possible last names for Teresa leaves open the possibility that Teresa Centeno and Teresa Centeno are the same person.

2. The earliest record I have for Jose Ignacio Maldonado and Maria Teresa Rico is a death record for their child.  The death of Maria Josepha de la luz Maldonado was recorded on January 28, 1798 in Salvatierra, GTO. This lets me know that its possible, timeline wise, that Ignacio and Teresa Rico could have been married in 1797 in Salvatierra.  The marriage record for Ignacio &  Leuteria Teresa was in 1797 in Salvatierra. 

3. Ignacio Maldonado and Maria Teresa Rico baptized Maria de Jesus Loreto Maldonaldo on April, 7, 1809, in Salvatierra.  Loreto Maldonado married Guadalupe Ayala on Sept 24, 1831. Her parents were listed as Ignacio Maldonado and Maria Teres Centeno, both living.
   a. This record is important because Loreto and Guadalupe were listed as the padrinos on the marriage record for Yndalesio and Manuela.  The facts that they are from the same rancho (San Nicolas) and have the same surname, demonstrates a possible blood relationship.  Family members often serve as padrinos.

      b.  The second reason why this record is important is because it lets us know that Ignacio and Teresa were alive in 1831.  Teresa was listed as deceased in Yndalaceo’s 1839 marriage record.  Its gives us a time period for Teresa’s death.

   

4.    I have a record showing that Joe Ignacio Maldonado remarried on November 6, 1833.  The marriage document mentioned that he is a widow of 14 months to Teresa Rico.  The death date of Teresa, approximately August 1832, is consistent with the marriage informational records of Loreto and Yndalesio.  The marriage informational for Ignacio and his new wife (Caterina Garcia) mentioned that Teresa was buried at the Church of Santo Domingo.   

5.   I was unable to find a death record for for Teresa Rico in the Salvatierra records around August 1832, but I did find a death record for Teresa Centeno.  Look at the record at the top left hand corner of the link below.  It list her widow as Ignacio Maldonado. She was buried in the Santo Domingo Parish cemetery.  This record exactly matches the information for Teresa Rico’s passing in Don Igancio’s marriage informational to Caterina Garcia.

My research suggests that Teresa Rico and Teresa Centeno are the same person.  The marriage and death dates all line up.  Additionally, all the records are from the same geographical area.

My areas of concern.

1. Yndalesio was born in the rancho of San Nicolas de la Condesa, while Ignacio was from San Nicolas de la Marqueza.  I think these two ranchos might be the same place, or near each other.  I have located San Nicolas de la Condeasa.  I’ve never heard of San Nicolas de la Marquesa.  
2. I have no Idea why Teresa used the name Zueteria in her marriage to Ignacio.  
3. Don Ignacio and Caterina had a child as late as 1850.  Its possible that this is another Ignacio and Caterina, but I haven't researched it further.  This would mean that Ignacio was nearly 70 years old when this child was born.  I know its possible for a 70 year old man to father a child, but it gives me some pause.

https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QKZX-XSNK

For now, I will add Ignacio & Teresa to my family tree. 

  

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"México, Guanajuato, registros parroquiales, 1519-1984," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33SQ-GG2N-4N4?cc=1860831&wc=3VHD-JWL%3A167585501%2C167585502%2C171375001 : 20 May 2014), Salvatierra > Salvatierra > Matrimonios 1831-1839 > image 319 of 338; parroquias Católicas, Guanajuato (Catholic Church parishes, Guanajuato).

México, Guanajuato, registros parroquiales, 1519-1984, database with images, FamilySearch(https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QKZX-DHV8 : 17 February 2017), Jose Ygnacio Maldonado and Leuteria Teresa Zenteno, 16 May 1797; citing Marriage, Salvatierra, Salvatierra, Guanajuato, Mexico, parroquias Católicas Guanajuato (Catholic Church parishes, Guanajuato); FHL microfilm 643,222.

"México, Guanajuato, registros parroquiales, 1519-1984," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33S7-9GR2-L2D?cc=1860831&wc=3VHY-4W5%3A167585501%2C167585502%2C169528701 : 17 February 2017), Salvatierra > Salvatierra > Defunciones 1685-1807 > image 367 of 416; parroquias Católicas, Guanajuato (Catholic Church parishes, Guanajuato).

"México, Guanajuato, registros parroquiales, 1519-1984," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33S7-9G2N-CHP?cc=1860831&wc=3VHD-JWL%3A167585501%2C167585502%2C171375001 : 20 May 2014), Salvatierra > Salvatierra > Matrimonios 1831-1839 > image 87 of 338; parroquias Católicas, Guanajuato (Catholic Church parishes, Guanajuato).

"México, Guanajuato, registros parroquiales, 1519-1984," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33S7-9GRK-483?cc=1860831&wc=3VHT-BZ9%3A167585501%2C167585502%2C168928601 : 20 May 2014), Salvatierra > Salvatierra > Información matrimonial 1833-1834 > image 268 of 454; parroquias Católicas, Guanajuato (Catholic Church parishes, Guanajuato).

"México, Guanajuato, registros parroquiales, 1519-1984," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33SQ-GGT7-5KG?cc=1860831&wc=3VCS-HZ9%3A167585501%2C167585502%2C169680201 : 20 May 2014), Salvatierra > Salvatierra > Defunciones 1807-1835 > image 238 of 292; parroquias Católicas, Guanajuato (Catholic Church parishes, Guanajuato).

Alejandra Gusman (3rd great grandmother)

(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

Juan Rico

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

"México, Guanajuato, registros parroquiales, 1519-1984," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-1951-20583-7442-8?cc=1860831 : 20 May 2014), Tarimoro > San Miguel Arcángel > Información matrimonial 1878-1881 > image 451 of 699; parroquias Católicas, Guanajuato (Catholic Church parishes, Guanajuato).

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

"México, Guanajuato, registros parroquiales, 1519-1984," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-1951-20419-27809-64?cc=1860831 : 20 May 2014), Tarimoro > San Miguel Arcángel > Defunciones 1878-1886 > image 94 of 482; parroquias Católicas, Guanajuato (Catholic Church parishes, Guanajuato).

Ancestors #7 & #8: Jose Maria Trejo y Eugenia Flores --- Married 1824 --- (4th Great Grandparents)

If there is one person I could back in time to meet, it might be Jose Maria Trejo to confirm his spouse and ancestors. I hit a brick wall with him & his wife that took me over a year to climb.  

I did not find a marriage record for Jose Maria & Maria Eugenia after searching through all the indexed parish records in the vicinity of Tarimoro.  Tarimoro did not have a parish at the time of their marriage.  Salvatierra, San Bartolo Aguas Calientes (Apatzeo el Alto), Apatzeo el Grande, and Rincon de Tamayo were the nearest parishes to Taliscoya.  I found the record after searching page by page in the only parish without indexed records, San Bartolome - Rincon De Tamayo.

Map of churches near Tarimoro. The churches are in red. 

Parish/City	Baptisms (first records)	Marriage  (first records)
Salvatierra	1679	1653
SAN JUAN BAUTISTA,APATZEO EL GRANDE	1627	1605
San Bartolo Aguas Calientes	1731	1736
San Bartolome, Rincon De Tamayo	1730	1750
Apatzeo El Alto	1867	1869
Tarimoro	1870	1870

Baptism Years	Years	file number	San Bartolome Rin De Tamayo		Trejo	Juan Antonio	Bernardo	Jose Maria
1730	1760	648480	Not Indexed	castas
1753	1760	648480	reviewed	castas			None
1761	1775	648481	indexed				None
1775	1793	648482	indexed
1793	1802	648483	Not Indexed
1804	1810	648483	Not Indexed
1810	1832	648485	indexed
1810	1840	648484	Indexed	Indios
1832	1848	648486	indexed

When I first found the record, I wasn’t sure it was the right one because the name of Jose Maria Trejo's spouse didn’t match other church records.  For example, in the marriage record for Rafael Trejo, his mother is listed as Maria Eugenia Flores, while in his baptism record his mother is listed as Maria Eugenia Gertrudis.  I figured her name was a combination of Maria Eugenia Gertrud's Flores.  

Jose Maria Trejo y Maria Eugenia Gertrudis 1824

What is interesting about this record is that it lists the spouse of Jose Maria Trejo (JMT) as Maria Eugenia Gertrudis (MEG), with no surname.  Her parents were Juan Francisco de Gomes and Maria Marselina Boverta Mejia.  If this is indeed the correct record, when and why did she use Flores later in life?  She was a 15 year old bride from Carrizo, a small rancho in Tarimoro, at the time of her marriage.    JMT was a 20 year old bachelor from Taliscolla (Taliscoya or Tlalixcoya).  His parents were listed as Bernardo Trejo and Maria Josefa Merina. The padrinos were Jose Antonio Trejo and Maria Josefa Nunes, the former being Bernardo's brother.  

I’m very paranoid about incorporated an incorrect record into my family tree, so I decided to find all the records for where Jose Maria Trejo and Maria Eugenia are listed as spouses to discover any patterns.  What I did below was to document all the baptism records where JMT was listed as the father and a variation of Maria Eugenia Gertrudies was listed as the mother.  Some of the Trejos below have a mother with a surname as Gomez, and others as Flores.  

I searched for a baptism record for the child of JMT & MEG where it listed MEG with the surname Gomes and a corresponding MI record for that child where it listed MEG with the surname Flores.  I believed that such a record would be proof that Maria Eugenia used Gomez as her surname early in life and Flores later in life.  I found one child, Jose Pascacio Margarito Trejo, that met the aforementioned search.  In his baptismal record from 1830, it states that he was born in Taliscolla to JMT & Maria Eugenia Gomes.  In the MI record below, the groom is listed as being 24 years old (which means he was born around 1830) resident of Taliscoya, and the son of JMT & Maria Eugenia Flores.  One of the witnesses was Jose Thimotheo Trejo,  the brother of JMT.  All the evidence points to Maria Eugenia Gomes and Maria Eugenia Flores being the same person.

	Jose Maria Trejo	Baptism Date	Parrish	Residence	Race	Padrino	Padrina	Marriage Name	MI Mom's Name	Marriage Residence	Parroqia
spouse:	Maria Eugenia Gertrudis
child:	Jose Rafael Hilario Trejo	24 Oct 1827	San Bartolomé, Rincón de Tamayo,	Taliscoya	not mentioned	Julio Trejo	Maria Juliana Trinidad Lara?	Jose Rafael Trejo	Maria Eugenia Florez	Encinal	Salvatierra
spouse:	Maria Eugenia (unmakeable)
child:	Jose Polin Roque Trejo	16 Aug 1825	San Bartolomé, Rincón de Tamayo,	Rancho de las Canoas	Espanol	Benito Trejo	Maria Francesca Olivera	Roque Trejo	Eugenia Flores	Huapango	Salvatierra
spouse:	Maria Eugenia Flores
child:	Jose Guadalupe Cesario Trejo Flores	30 Aug 1841	San Bartolomé, Rincón de Tamayo,	Taliscoya	not menitoned	Benito Trejo	Maria Francesca Olivera
spouse:	Maria Eugenia Gomez
child:	Maria De La Trinidad Trejo Gomez	9 Jul 1832	San Bartolomé, Rincón de Tamayo,	Taliscoya	Mestiza	Benito Trejo	Maria Francesca Olivera
child:	Jose Tiburcio Antonio Trejo Gomez	15 Aug 1838	San Bartolomé, Rincón de Tamayo,	Taliscoya	NL	Jose Maria Montoya	Maria Dorotea perez
child:	Jose Pascacio Margarito Trejo	23 Feb 1830	San Bartolomé, Rincón de Tamayo,	Taliscoya	NL	unmakeable	Maria Rafaela Rico?	Jose Pascacio	Maria Eugenia Flores	Taliscoya/ Encinal	San Bartolo Aguas Caliente

Jose Pascacio Trejo Baptism (4th Great Uncle)

Jose Pascacio MI (4th Great Uncle)

This was the first brick wall I encountered on the Trejo line. I found greater pleasure in scaling the wall than I did seeing the Giants win the world series for the first time.  There is another brick wall on the Trejo line that for the time being, I can't pass.  

Maria Eugenia Gertrudis (1808 - ???)

Eugenia was baptized on November 20, 1808.  I have been unable to located her death record.  The other records I have for her are the baptism and marriage records of her children.  

Jose Maria Trejo (???- about 1850)

I don't have a definitive record for Jose Maria's baptism.  I located what I believe to be his death record, but I unfortunately did not save it.  The other records I have for him are the baptism and marriage records of his children.  

*****************************

Marriage Record
"México, Guanajuato, registros parroquiales, 1519-1984," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-1942-20400-63964-94?cc=1860831 : accessed 9 April 2016), Rincón de Tamayo > San Bartolomé > Matrimonios 1810-1868 > image 178 of 482; parroquias Católicas, Guanajuato (Catholic Church parishes, Guanajuato).

Pascario Trejo Baptism
"México, Guanajuato, registros parroquiales, 1519-1984," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-1951-20400-17256-97?cc=1860831 : accessed 9 April 2016), Rincón de Tamayo > San Bartolomé > Bautismos 1810-1832 > image 351 of 397; parroquias Católicas, Guanajuato (Catholic Church parishes, Guanajuato).

Pascario Trejo MI
"México, Guanajuato, registros parroquiales, 1519-1984," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-1951-20620-41638-96?cc=1860831 : accessed 9 April 2016), San Bartolo Agua Caliente > San Bartolo > Información matrimonial 1847-1857 > image 249 of 898; parroquias Católicas, Guanajuato (Catholic Church parishes, Guanajuato).