The SILVAN cup runneth over ~

My chest is thumping madly this morning. Five days ago I sent an email to the man at the diocese in Zamora who previously researched and found the baptismal documents for Victorino and Geronimo Silvan Hernandez at the Santa Maria del Castillo Church in Fuentesauco for me. Those papers led me to learn there was another brother, much older than Geronimo named Filipe Silvan Hernandez.

On a lark, I asked my 'researcher' to look further, hoping to find our illusive Filipe in our Silvan family documents. Paydirt is not the word I would use this morning. Gold. Silver. Emotional shock.

After discovering there were at least eleven years between Filipe and Victorino (1868) because he was listed as a natural, married brother at Geronimo's birth in 1877) questions leaped into my mind (again). Would there be such a large gap between children? Were Celestino and Agustina older than I'd first imagined? Why couldn't he find Celestino Silvan Alejo in the time period I gave to him for research?

Today, we now know that between the years 1852 and 1866, Celestino and Agustina had at least three other children! AGAPITA, MATÍAS AND DOMINGO PEDRO. So, now more questions ~ Was Filipe born before 1852? Were there still other children? When was Celestino born? And could the diocese research into the villages of Villamor and Villescusa, where Agustina's family came from? I shot off another email today asking him to research the years 1835 to 1852 for more Silvan Hernandez siblings. Find their father, Celestino and asked if his range of research could include the other two villages? Dipping into my savings would be well worth the LOOK, the challenge and the possible documents that may come. As I said before, stay tuned.