Requesting Spanish documents ~

How many times have you lain awake thinking about something you missed or something you wanted to research the next day only to get frustrated because you thought morning would never arrive? I have always been one to look ahead and I must work harder to enjoy the moment!!

After thinking about Victorino Silvan and my great grandfather Juan and his two brothers who remained in Spain 100 years ago, I knew the struggle was finding birth and death information. Squabbling with inconsisten documentation, I have notes upon notes that led me to take it one step further this morning.

I found a researcher in Spain (named Pepa) who will research the birth document for my great grandfather for 23 EUROS, which translates to $31.74. She said the timeline is approximately 12 days. I have fingers crossed that this will culminate in a document that finalizes that point of contention. It appears he was born anywhere between 1869 (someone wrote that date on his funeral card) and 1873 or 1874, which I calculated based on stated ages on two ship manifests. The researcher charges 'per year' at 23 EUROS each year. When I asked about the death date for his mother, Agustina Hernandez , she quoted 460 EUROS which would mean if I don't win the lottery, I'm sunk.

In July, 2011 I wrote to the Santa Maria Church padre in Fuentesauco asking for help with finding documents. At that time, I sent postal coupons for return postage. At this time, nearly three months later, there has been no response. The researcher I contacted today via email from her web site at www.certificados.pro suggested I contact the Catholic Diocese of Zamora. I found their web site at www.obispadodesamora.es and sent a copy of the padre's letter to the diocese this morning. Maybe there I will get a response?

AND I HAVE LEARNED TO SIFT THROUGH THE INTERNET USING FILTERING TOOLS. I bought the book titled, Google Your Family Tree by Daniel M. Lynch. I can see where I can save hours of wasted time already and I'm just on page 40. I recommend it heartily for anyone doing research like I am toward a singular focus such as genealogy. I was surprised to see the results when I typed "Juan * Silvan" family Fuentesauco Spain ~genealogy -- Many of my blog's postings popped up from the past couple of years! Amazing.