Saturday, May 12, 2018

Who was Agnes Rodríguez?

In my research on St. Augustine, Florida, during the years 1784-1821 (the Second Spanish Period), I often come across discrepancies in names which indicate that there may be more than one individual with the same name.  This time I found two different names for one individual.  I found a marriage record with the bride's name recorded as Agnes Rodríguez.  The groom's name was Jorge Clak.  I have been investigating this population for ten years now, and I never have come across an Agnes Rodríguez in connection with Jorge Clak.  His wife's name has always been recorded as Ynes (or Inez, or a few other spellings) Pablo.  Here is what I found when I pored through the original records I have found for these people:

1.  There is no record of Agnes Rodríguez other than in the marriage record styled Jorge Clak and Agnes Rodríguez.   The parents of Agnes Rodríguez are not named in the marriage record. (1)

2.  Ynes (or Inez) is a form of the name Agnes.

3. Agnes Rodríguez was supposedly, according to this marriage record, married previously to Andrew Brown, who died 15 January 1785, according to his death record in the diocesan archives.  (2)  The death record does not mention his marital status, nor does it give a spouse's name.  Andrew Brown probably died single or a widower.  However, this is not the right person.  The groom's name is found in other records to have been Andres Bron. (3)

4.  Ynes Pablo shows up first in the baptism records of the parish of San Pedro de Mosquitos (called the Golden Book of the Minorcans), on the New Smyrna Plantation, in the early 1770s.  Her husband is listed as Pedro Duran.  (4)

5.   Their son Pedro, age 18, is also enumerated on the 1793 census in the household of his stepfather, Jorge Clak. (5) Pedro Duran is last shown alive on the baptism record of his son Pedro Juan on 19 Nov 1775.  There are no death records from San Pedro parish, but Pedro Duran (the elder) probably died somewhere around 1776 or 1777. 

6.  Ynes is next found in the marriage records of San Pedro parish.  She and Andres Bron are shown as married in these records. (5)  She is also shown as having been previously married to him on the 1793 census, on which their son Andres, age 10, is enumerated in the household of his stepfather, Jorge Clak.(6)

7.  Ynes (Agnes) Pablo and Andres Bron married 20 August 1778. (7)  They were parishoners of the Minorcan chapel after it moved to St. Augustine in 1779, and, again, there are no death records.  Andres Bron is last shown as alive on the baptism record of his son Andres Francisco, 16 December 1782. (8)  He probably died somewhere around 1783 or 1784.

8.  Ynes Pablo married Jorge Clak 29 Mar 1785, but is identified on the record as Agnes Rodríguez. (9)

9. On the marriage record for her marriage to Andres Bron, Agnes (Ynes) Pablo’s mother’s maiden name is Rodríguez. (10)  This is probably, through clerical error, the root of the identification of Ynes Pablo as Agnes Rodríguez on the record of her marriage to Jorge Clak.

10.  To recap, Ynes Pablo married:  1.  Pedro Duran, probably before or during 1770.  2.  Andres Bron, 20 August 1778.  3.  Jorge Clak, 29 Mar 1785.

Agnes Rodríguez and Ynes Pablo are one and the same, and Ynes Pablo is the correct name.

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Notes:
(1) Marriage of Jorge Clak and Agnes Rodríguez, White Marriages 1784-1801, page 2, entry 4, "Ecclesiastical Records of the St. Augustine Diocese," Ecclesiastical and Secular Sources for Slave Societies, http://vanderbilt.edu/esss/spanishflorida/index.php
(2)   Death Record, Andrew Brown, Deaths 1784-1793 [1809], page 2, entry 6, "Ecclesiastical Records of the St. Augustine Diocese," Ecclesiastical and Secular Sources for Slave Societies, http://vanderbilt.edu/esss/spanishflorida/index.php
(3)  Marriage of Andres Bron and Agnes Pablo, Records of the Parish of San Pedro de Mosquitos ("The Golden Book of the Minorcans"), page 11, entry 8, "Ecclesiastical Records of the St. Augustine Diocese," Ecclesiastical and Secular Sources for Slave Societies, http://vanderbilt.edu/esss/spanishflorida/index.php
(4)  Baptism of Catalina Duran, Records of the Parish of San Pedro de Mosquitos ("The Golden Book of the Minorcans"), page 9, entry 18, "Ecclesiastical Records of the St. Augustine Diocese," Ecclesiastical and Secular Sources for Slave Societies, http://vanderbilt.edu/esss/spanishflorida/index.php
(5)  Marriage of Andres Bron and Agnes Pablo, op. cit.
(6)  1793 census, Censuses 1783-1814, Reel 148, Bundle 323A, Folio 2-159R, East Florida Papers.
(7)  Marriage of Andres Bron and Agnes Pablo, op. cit.
(8)  Baptism of Pedro Juan Duran, Baptisms, page 33, entry 36, Records of the Parish of San Pedro de Mosquitos ("The Golden Book of the Minorcans"),  "Ecclesiastical Records of the St. Augustine Diocese," Ecclesiastical and Secular Sources for Slave Societies, http://vanderbilt.edu/esss/spanishflorida/index.php
(9)  Marriage of Jorge Clak and Agnes Rodríguez, op. cit.
(10)  Marriage of Andres Bron and Agnes Pablo, op. cit.

4 comments:

Moultrie Creek said...

Great post and fabulous research! Fortunately for me, my St. Augustine relations are more recent and much easier to track.

Liz Gauffreau said...

Multiple marriages and name variations, a Gordian's knot to untangle for sure. Well done!

Sandra Williamson said...

This is a very detailed analysis, other researchers of this family are very lucky that you have meticulously documented your research. I really like reading the reasoning you used, it has given me a few ideas for some of my mysterious brick wall ancestors.

Wendy said...

Obviously for your research, a knowledge of Spanish and naming conventions comes in handy. I would not have linked Inez and Agnes, but now I can see the kinship. As for clerical errors, you gotta love those clerks for making life and research (!) so interesting.