Photos of the Past: Basque Heritage Project; Leandro Arechederra Fernandez de Maruri

Hey Everyone!

Today, I wanted to share with you a photo of my great-great grandfather Leandro Arechederra Fernandez Maruri taken circa 21 May 1906 at his wake in Magdalena, Sonora Mexico. We believe the other people are in the photo are neighbors but it is a shame though that nobody thought to include his two year old son Leandro Mendoza Arechederra in the photo! It is really amazing to see how much detail of the room is included in the photo. My great-great grandfather also looks so young in the photo. He was only 49 years old when he died.

The Power of Family Search

Hey Everyone,

Today, I will be discussing the wonderful site known as Family Search! Family Search is a great free way to investigate your family history. Family Search is a free website run by the LDS Church. They provide both indexed and scanned documents from both Civil and Church Registries. Family Search provides the ability to search by Name, Location, Event, and Date. If the name you are researching is not indexed then you can try searching the scanned documents sections. However, you will need to know an approximate date and place to search. In the scanned documents section is where I found my great-great grandfather Leandro Arechederra Fernandez Maruri's death certificate. Also remember in Family Search names may be spelled incorrectly.

I have personally found this site very useful in investigating my ancestors. I have found my great-great grandfather Leandro Arechederra Fernandez Maruri's Death Certificate and his nephew Modesto Arechederra Rebollar in the Mexico 1930 Census!

By finding my great-great grandfather's death certificate I was able to find out when my great-great grandfather was born, when and where he died and most importantly his maternal surname. I was then able to find him and his family using the website Dokuklik!

I was also able to find my great-great grandfather's nephew and family in the 1930 Mexico Census. It placed their residence in the exact same town that my great-great grandfather lived in when he was alive in Magdalena, Sonora Mexico.

Leandro Arechederra Fernandez Maruri's Death Certificate 1906

                                 Modesto Arechederra Rebollar Family Mexico 1930 Census

Photos of the Past : Photo Mystery Spotlight, Arechederra Sisters

I know we all have that one family photo with an unknown relative(s) passed down from generation to generation. In my family, that photo involves possibly three sisters under the age of fifteen from the Arechederra Family from Zalla/Balmaseda, Vizcaya, Spain.

I discovered the photo when I was creating my family tree project for high school. My grandmother said it belonged to my great-great grandfather Leandro Arechederra Fernandez de Maruri who originated from Zalla/Balmaseda, Vizcaya, Spain.

As the story goes, my grandmother thought the photo actually consisted of possibly Leandro's mother Felicia Fernandez de Maruri Santa Marina. However, after discovering Felicia was born in 1818 I think this most likely is not the case. The photo itself, is a cabinet card, which saw its greatest popularity after 1870. If the photo was of Felicia it would put the photo date at 1833.

Cabinet card: was a style of photograph which was widely used for photographic portraiture after 1870 measuring at 4x6 inches.

I do know one fact if the photo was taken from Spain by Leandro. The photo was taken before ~1885 because that is around the time Leandro, migrated to Magdalena, Sonora, Mexico.

Overall, the photo is quite unique when it comes to cabinet photos! The two young girls in the photo are each holding a fan, and you can see their shoes with their stockings.

In the end, the question still stands, who were these three girls? Were they sisters or nieces of Leandro Arechederra? Or maybe not even relatives at all?

Dokuklik: Parish Records in the Basque Country

Hi Everyone,

Today, I am going to be reviewing the site Dokuklik with an informational video made by Debbie Gurtler from Family Search. Dokuklik is a website that contains the historical census (1500-1900) of the inhabitants of the three territories within the Autonomous Community is compiled in the sacramental records held by the Catholic Church.

This site is perfect if you know the names of your ancestors from the Basque country.

If you don't know the names of your Basque ancestors there is still hope! You may just need to do a little more digging. From personal experience using this site helped be trace my ancestor Leandro Arechederra Fernandez Maruri back to the Basque country.

The video below made by Debbie Gurtler from Family Search does an amazing job showing you how to search for ancestors by first name, 1st last name, 2nd last name and residence.

Informatinal Video of How to use Dokuklik to find Basque Ancestors

Saludos! Welcome to Arechederra Family Tree!

Hello, my name is Leanndra and welcome to Arechederra Family Tree. A blog dedicated to discovering, preserving and enjoying our basque heritage. In this blog you will find resources on how to trace your ancestors back to the Basque Country and hopefully make connections with long lost relatives along the way. You will also find a family tree dedicated to tracing the Basque surname Arechederra. Hope you enjoy and share!