Ancestry Composition Reports and the Evolution of Spanish Caste Terms

Ancestry composition reports from DNA testing services such as 23andMe and AncestryDNA can provide useful clues for investigation into the ethnic histories of particular ancestors. In this post, I want to walk through one recent such case in my family, and detail a bit of method when it comes to using Mexican Catholic sacramental records, especially as it concerns the evolution of Spanish colonial caste terms (e.g., mestizo, español) over time. The caste system was large and complex -- see Wikipedia for some background. (I've also written about how genetic genealogy is useful for demonstrating more recent relationships: here, here, and here.)

The first clue lies in the fact that my father has 17.7% Indigenous American DNA (i.e., from anywhere in the Americas), as reported by 23andMe, based on measurements of the length of chromosome segments with particular Indigenous genetic markers. (AncestryDNA gives 15%. In what follows I report 23andMe percentages at an 80% confidence level.) One sister, E.O., and one brother, S.O., are at a similar 17.1.% and 16.9%, respectively. This is a very high percentage in view of one previously known Indigenous ancestor, a 5x-great-grandmother, Ildefonsa, a Salinan woman baptized at Mission San Antonio de Padua (California) in 1773. Some of this Indigenous DNA comes through their mother, as evidenced by the long segments on W.O. and S.O.'s X chromosomes. But some of it also comes through their father, as evidenced by E.O.'s paternal X chromosome. The latter is corroborated by two of my father and his siblings' paternal first cousins, P.O. and J.O (also first cousins to each other), who have 5.4% and 5.8% Indigenous DNA, respectively.

X chromosomes of W.O., E.O. & S.O. (top to bottom), with Indigenous DNA in yellow/red

My father's paternal grandparents were Richard Thomas Nicholson (later O'Hagan), born in Dickerson, Maryland, and Aurora (known variously as Enríquez and Moya), born in Hidalgo del Parral, Chihuahua, Mexico. There is no reason to believe that R.T. has Indigenous ancestry, and indeed a paternal first cousin of my father's father is 99.4% European (99.1% of that being Northwestern European)! The Indigenous ancestry comes through Aurora. Recently I discovered who Aurora's biological father was; this post does not concern his family, although it will be interesting to look more into it from this perspective in the future. For a longer period of time, I've known who her maternal grandparents were: Joaquín Enríquez, born in 1822 in Parral (Chihuahua), and baptized as a párvulo español 'Spanish child'; and Josefa Ramírez, born in 1847 in Sardinas (Durango). Josefa's baptismal record comes with no indication of her caste (this was less common by the mid-19th century), but I knew very little about her ancestry, and so, given that it seemed less likely that Joaquín had Indigenous ancestry given his baptismal record, I decided to investigate Josefa's ancestry further.

Josefa Ramírez in January 1901 (courtesy of Helen Serna)

Josefa's parents were Justo Ramírez and Teófila Díaz. Teófila was born January 9 in Santa María del Oro, and baptized there the same day, the daughter of Agustín Díaz (b. 1791) and Damiana Terrazas (b. 1800). In her baptismal record, she is listed as de calidad mestiza, the term mestizo typically being used to indicate mixed Spanish-Indigenous ancestry. One expects to find, then, a combination of the terms español and indio (and probably more mestizo) in the sacramental records of Teófila's ancestors.

Teófila Díaz baptism fragment, 1820 (Ancestry.com)

However, this is not obviously the case. Teófila's paternal grandparents, Juan José Díaz (b. c1754) and Narcisa Cosío, both carry español in relevant records. (The baptismal record of Teófila's father, Agustín, has no caste information. See the following figure for a summary pedigree.) For Juan José this comes directly from his baptismal record; for Narcisa, whose baptismal record has not been located (and whose marriage records have no caste information), this is an inference based on the baptismal records of her sisters Josefa and Guadalupe from 1766 and 1767, respectively, both of whom carry español. Teófila's mother, Damiana, similarly carries español in her baptismal record, as does her mother, Anacleta Terrazas, in an 1808 marriage record. Damiana's father, however, is unknown: she was misleadingly baptized as a legitimate child of her maternal grandparents, Vicente Terrazas and Juliana Salas, although later records make it clear she was an hija natural of Anacleta Terrazas (a polite term for an illegitimate child that avoided naming the father). In her children and grandchildren's baptismal records, Damiana sometimes bears the surname Trujillo, referring to Ignacio Trujillo, an apparent stepfather who her mother married in 1808. In that record (mentioned above), Ignacio carries mestizo, and, if he is Damiana's biological father, this could explain why his granddaughter Teófila carries mestizo in her baptismal record as well, despite ancestors all of whom carry español.

Teófila Díaz ancestry (blue = español)

The prevalence of español in the ancestry of Josefa's mother Teófila suggests that Teófila's family is not the primary source of the Indigenous ancestry that I hypothesized. Turning to her father Justo's family, however, the picture becomes much different. Justo was born July 19, 1820, and baptized two days later in Santa María del Oro, labeled indio 'Indian.' Justo's father Justo's (1793-1855) baptismal record has no caste information, but his aunt Feliciana's (b. 1790) labels her parents, Marcelo Ramírez (b. 1767) and Silveria Enríquez, as mulatos, people of Spanish and African descent. The label mulato turns out to be an overgeneralization. Marcelo's baptismal record labels him a mulato libre (i.e., a free person of Spanish and African descent, as opposed to an enslaved person), and the marriage records of Silveria's siblings label them all indios (Silveria's own 1789 marriage record to Marcelo having no caste information). Turning to Justo's ("Jr.") mother, Paula Galván (b. 1804), her baptismal record labels her parents, Guadalupe Galván (b. c1754) and Faustina Delgado (b. 1765), as mestizos. Their own baptismal records are more specific: Guadalupe is labeled indio, and Faustina as a mulata libre. In what follows, I focus on Justo's ancestry as summarized below, discussing where his ancestors were from, and some problems in locating records associated with them with confidence.

Justo Ramírez ancestry (purple = mulato libre, yellow = indio)

The Ramírez Galván family is from the northern region of the Mexican state of Durango, a landlocked state east of Sinaloa across from the southern tip of Baja.

State of Durango, Mexico (Google)

Specifically, they are from a region largely contained under the jagged protrusion of Durango into the state of Chihuahua to the north. The towns of Santa María del Oro, Indé, Santiago Papasquiaro (and its satellite San Andrés de Atotonilco), and Nazas figure prominently, and are circled in red below.

State of Durango, Mexico (Google)

Marcelo Ramírez was born February 1, 1767 in a place near Santa María del Oro (where he was baptized one week later) referred to Estancia de la Casita. His brother Alejandro's (b. 1763) baptismal record indicates that their parents, Román Andrés and Brígida, were servientes 'servants' at La Casita, but Marcelo's baptismal record indicates he was a mulato libre, that is, born free. La Casita may have been in the vicinity of San José de Ramos, to the south of El Oro; Marcelo's 1789 marriage record to Silveria indicates he was a native of that place, resident in Santiago Papasquiaro, where they married, only one year.

Silveria Enríquez was probably born in San Andrés de Atotonilco in the early 1770s: a brother, Hilario, was born there in 1766, and a sister, Juana Lugarda, was born there in 1782; their baptisms took place in nearby Santiago Papasquiaro. Although Silveria's baptismal record has not been located, her siblings' baptismal records label them indios. Santiago Papasquiaro was the first mission established among the Tepehuán people, and it is likely the family was Tepehuán. (See here for information about the Southern Tepehuan language they probably spoke.) With this in mind, a note on surnames is in order. In her 1789 marriage record, Silveria used the surname Enríquez, one her father Antonio Domingo had adopted later in life. But in her daughter Feliciana's baptismal record, Silveria's surname is given as Rodríguez, in her son Justo's as Ramírez, and in Justo's children's as Alcántara. Relatedly, Silveria's parents do not consistently use surnames in the baptismal records of their children (or full given names). Their fullest Hispanic names can be reconstructed as Antonio Domingo Enríquez (d. 1806) and Josefa de los Dolores López. All this suggests the adoption of Hispanic names was fairly recent in the family.

Antonio Domingo Enríquez burial, 1806 (Ancestry.com)

Turning now to the Galván family (see preceding pedigree for reference), it is worth mentioning that Paula's 1804 baptismal record is critical for determining her ancestors, as is often the case in this kind of research generally. Unlike all of her older siblings, hers lists all four of her grandparents, as (modulo spelling variants) Andrés Galván and Francisca Xaviera Nava, and Matías Delgado and María Gerónima, in addition, of course, to her parents. With these names it is then possible to search for all children born in the region and in the same time period to these couples. Those other records in turn shed light on variant names of the parents (e.g., longer given names), changes in residence over the years, and, possibly, information about an additional generation, in the form of grandparental information, etc.

Among these things, we first learn that Guadalupe Galván, Paula's father, was born about 1754 and baptized on January 21 in Nazas. In the baptismal record, he is labeled indio, and his parents are listed as Juan Andrés de los Reyes and Francisca Xaviera. (In many records related to his siblings, Andrés is lengthened to Juan Andrés.) This couple had two children baptized in Indé in 1744 and 1750 (in both those records their names are simply Juan Andrés and Francisca Xaviera); the first Nazas baptism is from 1752, a daughter, Concepción (with parents as Andrés and Xaviera de Nava). They were back in the Indé region by 1759, when a daughter, Isidora, was baptized there. By this time, Juan Andrés seems to have begun using the surname Hilario: he is Andrés Hilario in Isidora's baptism, and his wife simply Xaviera. The adoption of the surname Galván must have come after 1767, when a daughter, Anastasia, was baptized in Indé (with parents as Andrés Hilario and Francisca Xaviera). Like her older brother Guadalupe, Anastasia used the surname Galván later in life, even though their parents used different surnames in each of their baptismal records. Similarly, sister Concepción (b. c1752) uses Galván in the baptismal records of her children. It is not as straightforward that the Galváns were Tepehuán, as opposed to another ethnicity, although it is possible.

Faustina Delgado baptism, 1765 (Ancestry.com)

Guadalupe's wife, Faustina Delgado, was born February 15, 1765 in a place near Santa María del Oro referred to as Hacienda de la Paz; she was baptized there 10 days later (labeled a mulata libre), those records appearing in the El Oro baptism books. She was the daughter of Juan Matías Delgado and Gerónima. Again a note on (apparent) surnames is in order. While Juan Matías's surname is the same in his children's baptismal records of 1754, 1756, 1758, and 1765, Gerónima's varies: Reyes (1754), none (1756), Remigia (1758), and Aramburo (1765); all but the last are possible additional given names. Unlike the Ramirezes above -- a family of African descent where surnames seem to have been adopted by the mid-18th century -- the Delgados are more like the Indigenous Enríquezes and Galváns in adopting them later.

Josefa Ramírez in San Diego, circa 1930 (courtesy of Helen Serna)

Where does this leave us with regard to Josefa, my great-grandmother's grandmother? Through her mother, Teófila, she is largely Spanish, with the possible exception of her grandmother's father, who may have been Ignacio Trujillo. His mestizo status may have affected that of his granddaughter Teófila, who was labeled mestiza, even when her mother Damiana was not (because Damiana's grandparents lied, taking her to be baptized as their own child). Through her father, Justo, Josefa is effectively one quarter Indigenous (probably Tepehuán) and one quarter mulato. The latter may involve Spanish ancestors, but I have yet to work the genealogies back this far. All the way down to Josefa's father, in 1820, the term indio was preserved by the Catholic clergy, although there were irregularities like his mother's parents carrying mestizo in her baptismal record. Interestingly, Justo carries indio, even though he is equally mulato in the eyes of the Spanish colonial system.

Geographically, in the mid-18th century, the Ramírezes and Delgados were first in and around Santa María del Oro, the Enríquezes around San Andrés de Atotonilco, and the Galváns around Indé, with a brief stint in Nazas. Women seem to have come to reside where their husbands were from: Silveria Enríquez in Santa María del Oro, and Faustina Delgado in Indé. Finally, as concerns names, it has been important to cast a relatively wide net in searching for the baptismal records of children of couples who did not regularly use surnames, in order to derive a coherent birth order of plausible children. These children can be more firmly related to each other in records from later years where surnames may have been consistently adopted, as with the Galváns. These later records may be the marriage records of those children, their names as recorded in their own children's baptismal records, and possibly even in their grandchildren's.

In the future, I want to read more about the history of Indigenous and Afro-Latino groups in this region of Mexico, locate more marriage and burial records, and continue to work the genealogies back farther. Much of this crucially relies on locating images of scanned, microfilmed sacramental records -- as opposed to indexed records -- since the indexes developed by FamilySearch and Ancestry, when they exist, do not include information about caste, and often do not include information about grandparents even when it is given in the original record.