Friday, February 10, 2017

Disambiguating the Two Francisco Genovars

Among the many pairs or groups of same-named individuals in St. Augustine, Florida, during the Second Spanish Period (1784-1801), there were apparently two men named Francisco Genovar.  They were not father and son. 

Here is how I differentiate them to conclude that they were indeed two separate and distinct persons:

Francisco Genovar, son of Juan Genovar and Antonia Murillo (1)
  • Native of Mallorca (2) 
  • 22 years old in 1786 (3) (therefore, born ca. 1764, Mallorca)
  • Single (4) 
  • Sailor (5)
  • Parents from Minorca (6)
  • Father from Minorca (7)
  • Father from San Miguel, Minorca; mother from Mahon, Minorca (8)
  • Father, Juan, from Mallorca (9)
  • Juan Genovar, father, native of Mallorca (10)
Francisco Genovar (signed his name Yenobart)
  • Literate enough to sign his name (most sailors were not)
  • Occupation unknown
  • Son of Juan Mariano Genovar (or Genovart) and Juana Marquez (11)
  • Parents native of Minorca (12)
  • Had no parents or other relatives in St. Augustine or the province of East Florida (13)

There is no record of a Francisco Genovar in the Golden Book of the Minorcans, the church records of the parish on the plantation of Andrew Turnbull at New Smyrna.  The birth or baptism records of the first Francisco, above, born ca. 1764, would not appear, as the plantation did not begin until 1768.  Age of the second Francisco Genovar, signed Yenobart, is not known.  Juan Genovar and Antonia Murillo, parents of the first Francisco, above, do appear in the Golden Book, as parents of daughters baptized in the New Smyrna parish.  As the first Francisco Genovar's father appears in the 1784, 1786, and 1793 censuses of St. Augustine, and the parents of the second did not, by his testimony and the testimony of witnesses, live in St. Augustine or in the province of East Florida but remained in Minorca, these two Francisco Genovars are sons of different parents, and are two separate and distinct persons.

(1) 1786 Census, Reel 148, Bundle 323A, East Florida Papers, folio 22v.
(2) Ibid.
(3) Ibid.
(4) Ibid.
(5) Ibid.
(6) Ibid.
(7) 1784 Census, Reel 148, Bundle 323A, East Florida Papers, p. 26
(8)  Baptism of Francisco's sister, María Antonia, abstracts of baptismal records, 1784-1792, typed manuscript at the St. Augustine Historical Society, page 21)
(9) 1793 Census, Reel 148, Bundle 323A, East Florida Papers, f. 111r
(10)  Witness statement of Juan Geonvar, Petition of Juan Gianopoly for permission to marry, Matrimonial licenses, Reel 132, Bundle 298R9, #33, East Florida Papers.
(11)  White Marriages, Book 1, 1784-1801, Ecclesiastical Records of the St. Augustine Diocese, page 136, entry 152, Vanderbilt University (online)
(12) Ibid.
(13) Petition of Francisco Yenobart for permission to marry, Matrimonial licenses, Reel 132, Bundle 298R9, #110, East Florida Papers.

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