Genealogy of Josefa Diaz Cruz, de los Betancourt

The Spanish Mona Lisa

Researching her Lineage

Josefa Diaz Cruz: When I saw her picture, I was in awe of her look. She reminded me of a “Spanish Mona Lisa.” The photograph appears in the 1924 issue of Puerto Rico Ilustrado. Da. Josefa is a direct descendant of Don Juan Diego Betancourt, from Gran Canarias, and D^a Antonia Falcon. Or is she? That is what I set out to prove or disprove. Let’s see what I discovered.

1. D^a. Josefa Diaz Cruz (Generation-1)

Upon my initial research, I discovered many erroneous public trees on several websites. The first error I would like to point out is her date of birth. There is a death statement that one can locate on Ancestry. It is a notice of death from “American Citizens from Madrid.” It records her birth date as March 19, 1886. This is incorrect. Finding her baptism record was easy, as it appeared in a hint on FamilySearch. She was born on April 18, 1884, in Loiza, Puerto Rico. I am unsure why no one verified it, as it is available online. (See image below.)

Another minor error is that her legal birth name was Josefa, but she was commonly referred to as Josefina. Although she appears as both, Josefina was the name widely used. I believe this is why her baptism record was not located quickly, as it does not appear on Ancestry.

By typing “Josefa” instead of “Josefina”, I could locate the necessary documents. This includes her marriage record, as well as the baptism records of her children. It is incredible how a simple name variation can throw you off. The primary reason for this is a combination of human and computer errors. Many of the records are now being scanned by computers. Therefore, it is crucial to play around with the names.

Baptism and for D^a. Josefa Diaz Cruz

D^a. Josefa Diaz Cruz was born on April 18, 1884, in Loiza, Puerto Rico 1. Her baptism took place on September 31, 1884. The Godparents were Don Vicente Diaz and Doña Belen Rivera, her Paternal Grandparents.

• Her father is Don Jose Laureano Diaz Rivera. He is the son of Don Vicente Diaz Ramirez and Doña^. Maria Belen Rivera Vazquez.
• Her mother is D^a. Maria Jesus de la Cruz Betancourt. She is the daughter of Don Ramon de la Cruz Borges and D^a. Juana Nepomucena Betancourt Montanez.^{(Generation-3)}

Image of their Marriage Record

• She married Don Jose Fidalgo Garcia on May 15, 1908, in Loiza, Puerto Rico ².
• Don Jose was a Merchant/Businessman from Cereceda, Asturias, Spain. According to the 1910 census, he immigrated to Puerto Rico in 1897.
• His parents are Don Nicolas Fidalgo and D^a. Constancia Garcia.

Jose Fidalgo Garcia

Death Record

• D^a. Josefa died on August 18, 1962, in Madrid, Spain ³. (See documentation below.) Unfortunately, I could not locate a death record for Don Jose. But I know he was still alive at the time of his wife’s death. So perhaps he died in Spain. I will update this article with the documentation if I find the record.

Children’s Records

This couple had a total of four children. They were all born in Carolina, Puerto Rico.

1. Don Jose Manuel ⁴, (26 Jan 1910-26 Nov 1957)
   1. He married Belen Maria Colom Marin.* (Family from Ponce. Her genealogy will appear in a separate blog I am currently working on.)
2. Don Manuel Heriberto ⁵, (16 Apr 1911-02 Oct 1958)
   1. He was married to Maria del Carmen Santiago Lavandero. (Family from Comerio.)
3. Don Juan Angel 6, (30 Mar 1913-2000 (per granddaughter)
   1. He married Julia Amparo Anglero Calderón on January 8, 1933, in Carolina, Puerto Rico. (Family from Mariaco.)
4. D^a. Maria Socorro Antonietta ⁷, (10 Dec 1916-?)
   1. She married Jaime Cañellas Bibiloni. (He appears to have been born in West Virginia along with his brother Balthazar, but may have origins in Spain. I am still locating records, but it has been a challenge.)

Ancestors of D^a. Josefa Diaz Cruz de Fidalgo

I will focus on D^a. Josefa’s direct line to Don Juan Diego Betancourt. The Betancourt family originates in several towns: the Canary Islands, San Juan, Bayamon, Carolina, and Loiza, but primarily settled in Trujillo Alto.

This line begins with Don Juan Diego Betancourt from Gran Canarias, Canary Islands, and D^a. Antonia Falcon, (San Juan.) Next, I laid out the direct generations, starting with her mother.

2. D^a. María Jesus de la Cruz Betancourt (Generation-2,) (Mother)

She was born around 1862 in Loiza, Puerto Rico. She married Don José Díaz Rivera, son of Don Juan Vicente Díaz Ramírez and Doña^. Maria Belen Rivera Vazquez. They married in Loiza, Puerto Rico, on October 15, 1882.^8. She died on January 16, 1923, in Loiza, Puerto Rico.⁹ They had eight children: Josefa, Maria D., Maximina del Carmen, Ana, Jose Ramon, Simon, Castulo, and Isabelo.

3. D^a. Juana Nepomucena Betancourt Montanez (Generation-3) (Grandmother)

She was born around 1830 in Loiza, Puerto Rico. She married Don Jose Ramon de la Cruz Borges on December 1, 1849, in Loiza, Puerto Rico.¹⁰ He is the son of Don Fernando de la Cruz Forte and D^a. Maria Candelaria Borges Sosa. She died in Rio Grande on October 10, 1902, in Loiza, Puerto Rico.¹¹

D^a. Juana and Don Jose Ramon had a total of twelve children that I could identify. They are as follows: Juan Dolores, José Ramón, José Benigno, Manuel Dolores, Manuel de Jesús, María Dolores, Ramón del Carmen, José Ramón, María Jesús, Carmelo, Julián Evangelista, and María Genara.

4. Manuel Betancourt Mangual (Generation-4) (Maternal Great Grandfather)

He was born around 1800 in Trujillo Alto, Puerto Rico.  His parents are Don Rafael Betancourt Falcon and D^a. Maria del Rosario Mangual Falcon. He married D^a. Laura Montanez (de la Cruz*.) I was unable to locate their marriage record. This couple had twelve children, according to a joint will filed in June of 1836. I could only identify eleven of them. ¹²

Don Manuel died in Canovanas, Loiza, on December 26, 1868.¹³ (Note: the parents listed on this document are Don Jose Maria and D^a. Juana Antonia. It does state his wife is D^a. Laura Montanez. Unfortunately, the children are not listed. As we know, death records are not always reliable. However, I did verify that a daughter of this couple, named Ulpiana, whose baptism states that her Godmother is María del Carmen Salomé, Manuel’s sister.)

This could connect Don Manuel to Don Rafael, based on the Godparent selection of the time—his wife, D^a. Laura Montanez (de la Cruz*) was born around 1812 and is the daughter of Jose Montanez and Elena de la Cruz.*

Observations of Marriages

I wanted to demonstrate why locating records for all siblings is so important. They can provide essential information when it is lacking for your direct ancestor. It may also yield some surprises. Take the case with the children below—four children belonging to D. Manuel Felipe Santiago Muxica (Mojica, Mujica) Caraballo & D^a. Lorenza de Jesus de la Cruz Borges married four Betancourt siblings: #4, 6, 8, and 10. (See below, Table 1)

D. Enrique was interested because his marriage indicated a family relationship with his wife, Da. Maria del Carmen Ruiz Mangual. (tecero grado) This means they share a mutual great-grandparent. Charting this relationship enabled me to verify a previously unknown relationship. (I will write a future article on the relationship. I am referring to D^a. Maria del Rosario Manguel Falcon and D. Pedro Juan Mangual Falcon.

Don Manuel and D^a. Laura’s children

#	Name	Baptism	Marriage	Spouse	Notes
1	D. Enrique	Abt. 1828*	May 22, 1852 Loiza	Da. Maria del Carmen Ruiz Mangual	I could not locate his baptism record. (Tecero grado de consq.)
2	Da. Juana Nepomucena	Abt. 1830*	Dec. 1, 1849 Loiza	D. José Ramón de la Cruz Borges	I could not locate her baptism record.
3	Da. Maria del Rosario	Sep. 15, 1832	?	D. Juan de Los Santos Reyes y Reyes
4	D. Rafael	Mar. 30, 1834	2 May 1859 Loiza	Da. Felipa Mojica Mangual	(Tecero grado de consq.)
5	Da. Juana Evangelista (#1)	Dec. 27, 1836	?	Unknown	I found two baptism records for a child with this name. Refer to #8. I believe this child may have died, and they renamed another child after her, which was a common practice.
6	D. Juan Raymundo	Jan. 23, 1837	28 Aug. 1858 Loiza	Da. Fabiana Mojica Cruz
7	D. Fernando	March 3, 1839	?	Da. Celestina Caraballo de la Cruz
8	Da. Juana Evangelista (#2)	Feb. 8, 1842	1st. May 7, 1859 Loiza 2nd. ?	D. Jose Cayetano Ruiz Mangua D. Manuel Mojixa Cruz	She married twice. This Is based on locating children’s baptism records.
9	Da. Ulpiana	April 3, 1844	?	D. Francísco Fernández López	They were not married and had six children together.
10	D. Antonio	Abt. 1846*	?	1st. Gertrudis Berrios 2nd. Da. Pilar Mojica Cruz	I could not locate a baptism record. Birth year is based on the age mentioned in his death record.
11	Da. Venancia	Abt. 1847*		Single
12	Unknown Child

Personal Observation of the ancestors of Josefa Diaz Cruz’s Grandparents

First, D. Manuel’s death record states his parents are D. Jose Maria and D^a. Juana Antonia Ventancur. However, it does record his wife as D^a. Laura Montanez. This is why you should not just rely on a death record. They are second-hand accounts and are not always reliable.

There is no record that I found that states D^a. Laura Montanez’s second surname is “de la Cruz.” Nor can I prove that her parents are Don Jose and D^a. Elena. I have reviewed all their children’s documents and found no records indicating this. Therefore, I’ve hit a brick wall until I can see the supporting documentation.

Because Don Manuel’s death record gives a different set of parents, nor can I locate a baptism/marriage record for Don Manuel, it is difficult to state definitively that his parents are Don Rafael and D^a. Maria del Rosario Mangual Falcon. However, there are wills for Don Manuel and Don Rafael (his father), filed in Trujillo Alto, that may support identifying the parents. Let’s review the table below.

Wills filed in Trujillo Alto.

#	Name	Date of will	Status	Chldn.	Land (cuerdas)	Location	Town	Heirs	Executor
1	Diego Betancourt Emangual cc Flora Garcia Ruiz	Dec. 3, 1855	Married	10	83	Pueblo	1	Children	Juan Romero & Francisco Betancourt
2	Francisco Betancourt Emangual cc (2) Isabel Gutierrez y Josefa Torres Satiago(1)	Dec. 27, 1855 Dec. 10,1850	Married to both	Dec. 27, 1855 Dec. 10, 1850	67	Pueblo	1	Children	Francisco Nemesio Diaz and Diego Betancourt
3	Jose Betancourt Emangual cc Juan Santaella	Mar. 3, 1843 & May 7, 1835	Married	8	70	Sabana Jauntial	1	Children	Pablo Santaella & Miguel Ruiz
4	Juan Betancourt Emangual cc 1) Matea Asensio Alvarez 2) Calisto Perez	Oct. 3, 1856	Married	9	72	Quebrada Grande	1	Children	Their Children: Juan & Vicente
5	Manuel Betancourt Emangual cc Laura Montanez	Jun. (?) 1836	Married	12	130+28	Loiza	1	Children	Son Enrique and brother Diego Betancourt
6	Rafael Betancourt cc Ma. del Rosario Emangual Falcon	Aug. 13, 1833 May 28, 1839	Married Widowed	11	145	Quebrada Grande	1/1	Children Children	Wife and son; Juan Sons; Fermin, Diego, Manuel

As you can see from the various wills filed in Trujillo Alto, Don Manuel (5) listed his brother, Diego, as the Executor. In addition, if you look at Don Rafael(6), he recorded his sons, including Don Manuel. The rest are sons of Don Rafael. That is one way to support his parents. Here is another way: the marriage records of his children.

Marriage Records

• Marriage record for D. Enrique Bentancourt and D^a. Maria del Carmen Ruiz Mangual

As I mentioned earlier, when the documents are incomplete, there may be additional records to review. Here is another way I could prove the parents of D. Manuel. His son, D. Enrique, married his cousin. The best way I can explain it is in a chart: