The Marini Ramirez de Arellano Brothers
The Marini Ramirez de Arellano Brothers: This week’s article is about a family from Cabo Rojo that stood to inherit four million dollars from their grandfather’s estate. That is the equivalent of over 64 million dollars today. I found several articles, and one included a great picture of several male heirs (grandchildren of their grandfathers’ estate, Paco Ramirez, aka Don Francisco Ramirez de Arellano.)
Maybe one of you is related to the Marini Boys as they are descendants of the Ramirez de Arellano line, not once, but multiple times. Did they inherit the estate? Let’s find out!
HEIRS TO PORTO RICO FORTUNE WORKING IN MODEST POSITIONS
From Article 1
Six peons of one of the wealthiest families of Porto Rico with the truest of Castilian blood in their veins are engaged in modest positions in New York while waiting to inherit 4 million that is almost within their grasp. Four of the sons work at the Waldorf Astoria one is a post office clerk, and another is employed in a factory in Long Island City.
One of the elevators at the Waldorf is being operated by a bright-looking youth who said he enjoyed his job. He is Carlos Marini, who someday may be a millionaire. On the early morning elevator shift is his brother Raul. Mario earns his living in the hotel laundry and Herminio in one of the linen rooms.
With their two brothers, two sisters, and their mother, the Marinis live in a modest uptown apartment house and pool their earnings to pay their rent and household expenses.
Down at Cabo Rojo, Puerto Rico, a half dozen lawyers are involved in the litigation of the estate of the boy’s grandfather, one of the wealthiest men on the island.
The Marini family has been drifting to New York one by one since 1921, when Geraldo, the eldest son, found employment. They have been unable to get a sense of the money they say is due them pending settlement of several claims and contests, knowing the family’s financial straits. One of the contestants to the fortune offered them a million if the Marini boys would settle.
We agreed to hold out for the whole thing, Carlos declared. We all have good jobs; we like our work, and I’m making good money. So, we can afford to wait. We won’t be tempted for a moment because we know we are entitled to the whole fortune. Moreover, our lawyers are making excellent headway; we will be sitting on top of the world before long.
Article 2, featured in 1923
The Outcome of Marini Ramirez de Arellano Brothers’ Settlement
“Will leave elevator for Rolls-Royce.”
New York, July 21st– An elevator car at the Waldorf-Astoria hotel is good enough now for Charles Marini twenty, grandson of a wealthy Porto Rican planter who died six years ago but when he, his five brothers, two sisters and mother received a $4 million estate due to them he is going to change it for sporty model.
“Oh baby!” he said yesterday, his dark eyes flashing wait’ll I get my share of that money. Me for Rolls Royce than and a pretty girl in either side. His brother Ralph twenty-one, also runs an elevator at the Waldorf, while two other brothers Mario, twenty-five and Herman, twenty-three, have jobs in the hotel laundry and linen room. The oldest brother Gerald, twenty-six, works in the general post office on 8th avenue and Julius, eighteen, is employed in Long Island City. Two sisters, Aurora, twelve, and Candida, fourteen, help their mother Mrs. Candida Marini keep house at No. 267 W 122nd St.
The boys’ grandfather Paco Ramirez left a sugar cane cocoanut and pineapple plantation of 10,000 acres. This and his other interests are valued at four million.
Genealogy of the Marini Ramirez de Arellano Brothers
| Three Generations starting with Paternal Grandparents of Pedro Maria Gerardo Marini RDA. |
|---|
| Descendants of Don Julio and Da. Monserrate De Jesus |
| Generation 1 |
| 1. Monserrate De Jesus Correa was born abt. 1845. She married Julio Marini Y Ramirez de Arellano. He was born Abt. 1846 and died Apr 02 1926 in Cabo Rojo, Puerto Rico, son of Tomas Magin Marini Y Castagnola and Faustina Ramirez de Arellano Y Irizarry. |
| Children: |
| Generation 2 (All children born in Cabo Rojo) |
| 1) Pedro Maria Gerardo Marini Y Correa was born 1869 in Cabo Rojo, PR, and died Mar 18 1912 in Cabo Rojo, Puerto Rico2 |
| 2. Maria Monserrate Angeles Marini Y Correa was born 1874 |
| 3. Maria Antonia Cristina Marini Y Correa was born 1877 |
| 4. Gumersinda Carolina Marini Y Correa was born abt. 1879 and died Oct 30 1903 in Cabo Rojo, Puerto Rico |
| 5. Candida Marini Y Correa was born 1882 |
| 6. Rosa Maria Eusebia Marini Y Correa was born Aug. 13 1885 |
| 7. Ana Maria Marini Y Correa was born Jun. 13, 1886 |
| 8. Alejando Marini Y Correa was born Feb. 04, 1888 |
| 9. Julia Marini Y Correa was born Aug. 20, 1893 |
| 10. Monserrate Marini Y Correa was born Oct. 09, 1910 |
| Generation 2 |
| 2. Pedro Maria Gerardo Marini Y Correa was born Abt. 1869 in Cabo Rojo, PR and died Mar. 18, 1912 in Cabo Rojo, PR. He married Candida Margarita Ramirez de Arellano Y Ferreira. She was born Abt. 1875 in Cabo Rojo, PR and died Dec 25, 1943 in New York, daughter of Francisco (Paco) Ramirez de Arellano Y Ramirez de Arellano and Joaquina Ferreira Y Figueroa. (see table below) |
| Children: |
| Generation 3 (All children born in Cabo Rojo) |
| Gerardo Marini Y Ramirez was born Mar. 16, 1896, and died Mar. 04, 1990 in NJ |
| Mario Marini Y Ramirez was born Sep. 23, 1898 |
| Herminio Marini Y Ramirez was born Dec. 03 1899. He married Maria Luisa G. Perez in New York on April 23, 1938 |
| Raul Marini Y Ramirez was born September 4, 1901, and died August 12, 1994, in New York. |
| Carlos Eusebio Manuel Marini Y Ramirez was born Aug. 09, 1903, and died Sep 1971 in New York |
| Julio Augusto Vicente Marini Y Ramirez was born Apr. 15, 1906, and died Sep. 20, 1970 in California |
| Candida Marini Y Ramirez was born Apr. 06, 1910 |
| Aurora Marini Y Ramirez was born Sep. 25, 1911. She died on May 18, 1995, in Florida. |
Observations about Doña Monserrate de Jesus Correa
According to sources, “Doña Monserrate is the natural daughter of Doña Cornelia Correa, who later married Don Juan Petrovich. This apparent marriage would legitimize her.” However, I found no evidence of a marriage record. Furthermore, I cannot verify this information—the children’s baptism records for Doña Monserrate and Don Julio after 1885 do not mention D. Petrovich as their paternal grandfather. Nor are the parents of Doña Monserrate mentioned in her death record.
Don Julio (her husband) is the inscriber of D. Petrovich’s death record in 1885. However, only four children are named. Doña Monserrate is not mentioned and never took on the surname of Petrovich, not even in the only census records that she appears in (1910.) In addition, her parents are not mentioned in her death record.
Finally, this leads me to believe he may not be her legitimate father. This verification is pending until I can locate a birth or marriage record.
Who was “Paco Ramirez?”
When I came across the brothers’ stories, I could only find numerous articles about the case. I couldn’t find one about the outcome initially. So finally, I decided to do another search and was excited to find the court case result.
I was unsure which grandfather left the inheritance; it was the last article mentioned above when it gave me a name, Paco Ramirez, aka Francisco Ramirez de Arellano Y de Ramiez de Arellano. Here is who he descends from:
| Child | Father | Paternal Grand-Parents |
|---|---|---|
| Francisco (Paco) (Candida’s father, the mother of the children who inherited the 4 million dollars.) | Tomas Jose RDA Y Ortiz de Peña | Tomas RDA Y Ramos Colon & Ma. del Rosario Ortiz de Peña Y RDA |
| Child | Mother | Maternal Grand-Parents |
|---|---|---|
| Francisco (Paco) | Jacinta RDA Y Rivera | Manuel de Jesus RDA & Andrea Rivera |
As I mentioned above, many of you connect to this line if you are descendants of the Ramirez de Arellano clan. It results in Don Francisco descending from multiple RDA ancestors so that you will find a connection at some point. Please let me know in the comments, and please feel free to share the post on your social media accounts, and don’t forget to subscribe to my website. I hope you enjoyed this article. Thank you.
Sources:
- Genealogias de las Familias Ramirez de Arellano en Puerto Rico, (Fave Book Page), Created and Administered by Debra Pagan.
- Ursula Acosta & David E. Cuesta Camacho, Familias de Cabo Rojo
- Thank you to Debra Pagán for some information on the RDA family.
- Ancestry.com
- FamilySearch.com
- The Spokesman-Review, August 5, 1923
- Detroit Free Press, Sun, August 5, 1923
- Church Indexes
Hello,
My name is James Font. Gerardo Marini Y Ramirez was my Grandfather. It was a bit of a family legend that he ‘lost’ his inheritance in a court case. I was very young when he passed away and none of my relatives knew the whole story. i was excited to see this article posted as I had heard there was a New York Times article but I never located it. My aunt on the other side of the family is a bit of a genealogy buff and she created a tree for this side of the family. The generational chart you posted in this article matches exactly what she produced. I am curious if you can direct me to any resources that will give me more facts about the outcome of this case? I’ve always been curious what happened. Any information or direction is appreciated.
Sincerely,
James Font
The article inidcated the outcome. According to the article, they won the case. What I included in the article was all I was able to find.
I found this article quite interesting. As my Father and his brothers all from Cabo rojo and we are Marini’s!