Hola Cabán Family! Welcome to 2018! (OK, it's almost the end of January, but we'll just ignore that).

It's a grey windy COLD day, on the island where I sit. Needless to say that island is NOT Puerto Rico. However I would like to start by commenting that I was gutted and very worried about the terrible hurricane that hit PR. One of my first cousins, who is 80 years old, found himself and his family right in the path of it all. Fortunately they had a very sturdy house, built of concrete, and so no one was hurt, but everything around them was devastated. Through the GoFundMe method we all donated enough money to get them out, back to New York, and provide them with the money for winter clothing. He is very optimistic about the future and really, that's what really helps when one faces a trail over which there is no control.  Hope and a positive outlook can help a person to cope with the most terrible circumstances. (There is a wonderful book about this: called "Man's Search for Meaning" by Nazi death camp survivor, Viktor Frankl)

So I would like to say that I hope that the rest of our family and friends in Puerto Rico, are all ok and getting back on their feet. The lack of support from the government has been shocking and sad, but we are living in challenging times world wide. 

Perhaps that is why I enjoy genealogy so much. Maybe that's why you do too. Or maybe you have a mystery to solve. Or want to reach out to family. Or find out about a story you've heard.

One thing that has come up is further refinement of the Ancestry.com DNA information. Looking at the connections there are so MANY cousins out there! It really amazes me... 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th cousins! That's why I like the hello shout outs that people post to this page. Please take time to read them, if you get a chance, because you never know how close the next one might be to you!

Feel free to shout out hello right HERE!!

Here is a comment I want to bring up to the top.

" Hello Geno researchers, this is Randy Caban-Rosario my DNA results show Haplogroups I-L161 paternal and A2AM maternal, This was done through National Geographic and Family Tree DNA. Another breakdown is Mediterranean 42%, Northern European 25%, Native American 12%, Southwest Asian 11% and Sub-Saharan African 7%."

Randy, that's fantastic! I can't do the Y-DNA testing but I did the Ancestry.com test and the results amazed me. Here's mine:

Italy/Greece - 30%
Great Britain - 21%
Ireland - 15%
Iberian Peninsula - 10%
Native American - 9%
African - Senegal - 5%

If you have done the test and want to share your ethnicity, please feel free to do so here in the comments area! 

 This is my sister and me with our grandmother, Margarita Rodriguez Y Soto de Cabán. 1957.

I have not been able to find any documentation or published articles about the Cabáns coming to PR as early as 1720. I believe it, because some respected people have said that the information is there, but does anyone know where it can be accessed?

Also, when doing your family tree... how do you do your surnames? Do you put it as Cabán Y Rodriguez (for example?) Or Cabán Rodriguez? Or do you use a singular patriarchal surname (Cabán) the Anglo way?

Finally, an anonymous commentator suggested looking at Saludos Webzine (http://content.yudu.com/Ax0fa/saludos/resources/1.htm) for articles on Cabán origins. Has anyone had success with this? I can only see the current issue, which has some interesting articles on Hispanic employment but nothing on genealogy of any sort!

I am going to publish some of the comments we've gotten in this post. Hopefully this will make you feel connected and help your own family research!

1. Hello familia. My name is Luis Manuel Cubero Caban. My grandfather was one of the santeros, Manuel Caban. I came across this website looking into my ancestry and am very happy to come across this site. I will be moving to Puerto Rico later this year and I am surely going to look into my Caban family roots over there. Best wishes. Luis.

2. My Name is Marilyn Caban. My Father Waldemar Manuel Caban Garcia was from Aguadilla. My Grandfather Manuel Anotonia Caban was from Moca born 1898, My Great Great Grandfather was Francisco Caban born around 1840.

3. Hi my name is Israel Caban Jr. and i also was always curious about my last name and the only info i ever got from dad Israel Sr. was its french Jr., which left me saying thats not enough info for me to be satisfied. I know dad is from Moca P.R and i have met a few of his cousins which they all gave me similar answers, but i'm still wondering who was our first father

4. Hello, My name is Peter Seguí-Patiño, live in The Netherlands but originally from Puerto Rico. Have Caban ancestors in my family tree, but hardly any dates. My g.g.g.grandfather was José Caban married to Concepsión Marrero. Their son Ebaristo Caban Marrero( born Aguadilla , Puerto Rico) married María Genara Seguí Aldarondo. Their daughter my g.grandmaother was Everalda Caban Seguí born in 1845 in Isabela Puerto Rico. Should you have dates to go with these names it would be greatly appreciated. You can write to me at p.seguipatino@hotmail.com Thank you in advance.

5. Peter, I took a look at the census and think that Everalda probably had two siblings or more in Bo. Arenales Alto, Isabela-- Lugardo b. 1851 (Viudo) and Josefa, b. 1855 who was also married to a Juarbe. On PReb.com there's one child of Francisco Cabal m. Maria Concepcion Marrero Rosalia Cabal Marrero (1807-1827) m. Francisco Oival PReb.com- Aguada- Libro de Defunciones, Parroquia San Francisco de Assis de Aguada http://www.preb.com/documentos/aguada/dag27C.htm There were other Caban & Segui families in Aguadilla and Moca. Saludos, Ellen efsacco@gmail.com

4. Hi my name is Sandra Velez Saludos, My mothers name was Daisy Feliciano Caban,My grandmothers name was Maria Caban del Valle she was the daughter of Apolinar Caban y nieta de Ludgardo Caban Sequi and we are from Isabela.My grandmother would always talked to me about her family,and their spanish roots dont know why I made my research and she was right.My great great grandfather was Ludgardo Caban Sequi and yes the Cabans is a very old family from the northwestern side of the island dating back to 1851 my gggrandfather could not find more information about them.And there is a relative of mine in this bloquer psequipatino his grandfather was my grandmothers cousin,como diria el jibaro que chiquito es el mundo .Proud to say I am a descendant of the Caban from my mothers side .My grandmother only had one sister Anselma Caban,may all rest in peace.Soy una rama de este arbol frondoso de los :Caban

4. Hi I'm from NYC my family is caban from piletas flares Puerto Rico, my dad was Rafael Cab an and my grandparents were Dionisio and Dorotea Cab an if anyone has info please email ljrocha78@gmail.com. thanks a lot:)

5. My name is Francisco Galeno Caban Vega IV I was told as a child that My Great Great Grandfather Francisco Galeno Caban I ran for public office in Utuado. My Grandfather was born 1910ish and attended college in Pennsylvania in 1930s My Father was born in PR July 23 1941 in Viejo San Juan and came to America. He grew up in the Bronx and now resides on Long Island. I was born November 9th 1984 and I live in Bushwick Brooklyn. My Email is frank.caban@yahoo.com . Please contact me if you know anything about this particular line of Cabans.

Here is a very interesting post from Tommy Ramirez - a Caban cousin:

"I have been doing much more research and have found that the Cabans were involved with the Sosa’s who founded Aguadilla. But they are Irish in origin not Jewish. And they were In Puerto Rico many decades before the founding of Aguadilla. One account I found was in an article about Don Juan de la Rosa Velazco y Hernandez del Rio(?-1820, who was born in Santo Domingo and came to Puerto Rico. He was married to Dona Rosa Olavarria y Caban(1747-1843) in Aguada. Dona Rosa Olavarria y Caban was daughter of Don Juan Baustista Olavarria, who was a native of Bilbao Spain. Her mother was Dona maria Caban y de Aviles, who was born in Aguada.

“El apelllido Caban, no es de procedencia espanola. Es un apellodo solariego irlandes que en su origen se escribia “carvan” y que sufrio alteraciones en su escritura, segun el genealogista Rafael Reichard Sapia. Esta familia es muy Antigua y hoy se encuenta disminada por toda esta Zona oeste.”

To Tommy - and our other cousins:

There IS a Cavan County in Ireland. In Spanish the "v" is pronounced "b" so an Irish tie wouldn't at all surprise me. 

Being female a DNA test would only tell me about ancient mitochondrial DNA. There have been DNA tests taken by our male cousins and here is a list of the results, starting with Tommy.

1. Tommy Ramirez:
Thank you I looked at the link but didn’t find much information there. I have since done a DNA test and found that I am Italian , Greek ,Spaniard, African ( from various locations in Africa), Irish , Taino) the farthest I have gone back in my family tree is to Raimundo Caban who married severa antonia maria segui ( she was born in St Agustine florida, when it was a Spanish colony) and on another branch of the family Sinforian Caban who was married to Laureana Acevedo De Caban

2.Annonymous: Family Tree DNA - confirms as follows Haplogroup I2a -Shorthand I-P 37.2 with following Test
M161- M170+ M21- M22- M227- M253- M258+ M26- M307- M72- P19+ P30- P37.2+ P38+

3. Randy Caban: Hi this is Randy Caban and I can confirm as a member of FamilyTree DNA that the published DYS values are the same as mine.

4. CabanR (Randy?): "Hi interested in your posting and I also have been curious about the Caban origins - I can shed some new light having done Y DNA testing myCaban heritage traces back to Ireland - they have a county in Ireland call Cavan county - I also thought they were French but there is more to that having Polish origins is another mystery but the Y DNA also indicates Haplogroup I1b originating in the what are the Balkans in Europe

My grandfather Manuel Caban-Vera is a descent of the Caban santeros who settled Camuy-Quebradillas area. Manuel was born in Quebradillas - with DNA testing Y chromosome from the male the Haplogroup ia I1b - originating in the Balkans - they are also Celts - as the DNA mutations show origins in Ireland with matches - There is a county in Ireland call
Cavan county during the Irish disporta - Royal Decree of Grace - 1815 the Caban santeros are known from about 1850 to 1950 as multi-generational family of santeros."

5. Lucita: I have a 4th great-grandfather, Alejandro Caban. I had my Mtdna done. I also convinced one of my male cousins to have the Y-DNA test done. Here are the results:
DYS# 393 390 19* (aka 394) 391 385a 385b 426 388 439 389-1 392 389-2

 I will say again that I can't read these figures, butif someone can break this down I will be happy to publish it as a post rather than a commentary!

Thank you EVERYBODY for taking an interest in our mysterious family roots!!
 




 

"La Real Cedula de Gracias de 1815 y sus efectos en PR & Emigrantes llegados a PR procedente de Venezuela 1810-1848" by Raquel Rosario Rivera

Ellen Fernandez Sacco (who is an awesome genealogist)  commented:

 I enjoy reading your blog. I also have Caban in my family, which I am currently researching. There are Caban in Puerto Rico before 1800 on the west coast. Unfortunately none are listed in Raquel Rosario Rivera's book on the Real Cedula de Gracias. There seem to be several lines, one indigenous another of European origin. Cabal, Caban, Caval are some of the variations i've seen for the records ca. 1780s-1790s. Raquel Rosario Rivera has two books, La Real Cedula de Gracias de 1815 y sus efectos en PR & Emigrantes llegados a PR procedente de Venezuela 1810-1848. You can probably get them from Libreria Tertulia.

Boabdil said...

Ellen Fernandez Sacco: Madam, I believe I have seen your writings somewhere else related to the genealogy of the Cabans. My name is Boabdil Perez Caban, I am from Moca and family of Lorenzo Caban Alonso. This is what I have found from my tree. Based on church records in Moca, the earliest caban I found so far (going back to Moca in 2 weeks) is Alejandro Caban, father of Jose Maria Caban, father of Lorenzo Fermin Caban lopez, father of Lorenzo Caban Alonso, wich was my grandfather. I just saw this series of posts and have to read them to see if it relates to my line and how to trace it out of PR. Good luck to all..

Anonymous wrote:

   The first Cabán to arrive in Puerto Rico came with the Sosa family, which founded Aguada, a town in the Western part of the Island, next to Aguadilla. I strongly sugest that you look up articles written by Dr. Adolfo Pérez Comas, a prestigious historian and descendant of Bernardo de Sosa, who has done a lot of research about the Cabán de Avilés branch of the family, who came to Puerto Rico in the XVIIIth century. Raquel Rosario Rivera does not include any Cabán in her book about the Cédula de Gracias.

Conclusion (for me) - Ok, the Cabans didn't come to Puerto Rico on the Decree of Graces, if  Raquel Rosario Rivera's books are correct. The Sosa lead is a good one, though I have also heard that Cabans come from Cavan county Ireland - v is pronounced as a soft b many times in Spanish. There are also DNA links that put us in the Balkans and  there are Cabans living for centuries now in Poland! So, still work to be done. 

Shar

Comments with Interesting Research Leads...

There have been some interesting comments (44 to date!!) left on an older post I made a few years back. They include various greetings and the reaching out of our family members to each other. They also include research or information discovered by our cousins around the world!

Genealogical research is a collaborative effort in all ways. Whether you do what you can on-line, via various websites, or you are able (and lucky enough!) to go into old churches or record offices, it is all based on collaboration with dead family who left records, log ago census takers, ancient tax officials and anyone else who recorded social history or data publicly or privately. Even old family legends are not to be discounted, particularly if the keep popping up in several separated branches. The legends may prove to be a myth, but the fact that they pop up here and there shows that some sort of communication is going on, or has gone on between family members at some point.(It's amazing how quickly family members can disconnect! I have many cousins and try to know all of their children, but it takes effort as we are scattered. And yet I find ones who live in the same town - the younger ones - have no knowledge of their connection to each other. Very sad to me.)

So my purpose, beginning with this post, is to put up some of the comments scattered around the blog for you to think about and chew on. If it sparks anything please share!!! 

Thank you!

Shar