Category Archives: Santiago de Compostela

Sisters of fortune, sisters of misfortune

Oh, that wonderful, childish excitement that we all get when we know we are onto something big! I mean of course that funny feeling we all know and love, when out of the blue we stumble across new pieces of … Continue reading

Posted in Death, Galicia, Genealogy, Illness, Marriage, Money, Property, Santiago de Compostela, Spain, Women | Leave a comment

Hit a brickwall? Look for answers… within the family!

Aside from spending hours sitting quietly in my local archive listening to my iPod as my brain races while I read through endless pages of baptism records, I do love looking at old newspapers in search of new clues. You … Continue reading

Posted in Birth, Death, Famous Genealogy, Galicia, Genealogy, Illness, Marriage, Money, Property, Santiago de Compostela, Spain, Women | Leave a comment

Tribute to a father

Tomorrow, March 19th, is Father’s Day in Spain. A year ago exactly, a short letter from our newly-discovered Aunt Rita enclosing pictures of my up-to-then unknown grandfather arrived on our doorstep. And my, have we gone a long way since … Continue reading

Posted in Birth, Death, Galicia, Genealogy, Illegitimacy, Marriage, Santiago de Compostela, Spain, Women, Work | Leave a comment

The day that Great-granddaddy met the King

The other day I walked into one of my favourite bookshops in town: Librería Arenas. As I am writing researching and writing about the history of my grandmother’s family, I was wondering whether there might be a good reference book … Continue reading

Posted in England, Galicia, Genealogy, La Coruña, Lyonshall, Royalty, Santiago de Compostela, Ships, Spain, War | 1 Comment

Tips on how to trace your Galician genealogy

If you have ancestors who, like mine, came from the region of Galicia (NW Spain), then please read on. Here are a few facts and tips about how you can start tracing the family history of the gallegos in your … Continue reading

Posted in Birth, Death, Divorce, Emigration, Galicia, Genealogy, Illegitimacy, Marriage, Santiago de Compostela, Spain | 27 Comments

A family of stonemasons

I don’t know about you, but at least in my case there aren’t many trades or professions which have been passed down the family generation alter generation. For some undisclosed reason, when the time came to choose a profession, most … Continue reading

Posted in Death, Galicia, Genealogy, Santiago de Compostela, Spain, Work | 6 Comments

The first Ronquete

Up until a couple of years ago, I had always been struck by the odd-sounding last name of my grandmother’s paternal grandfather, Miguel Ronquete. This unusual, very un-Spanish surname always seemed to me rather mysterious, particularly as most of the … Continue reading

Posted in Death, Emigration, France, Galicia, Genealogy, Italy, Santiago de Compostela, Ships, Spain, War | Leave a comment

Mad as a March Hare

It was the year 1854. Cholera broke out in many parts of the world, and decimated countless families. My family was among those affected, and very probably among one of the epidemic’s numerous victims was my 6x great-uncle, Elias de … Continue reading

Posted in Death, Engagement, France, Galicia, Genealogy, Illness, Marriage, Money, Property, Santiago de Compostela, Spain, Women | Leave a comment