Chat
|
Daily Search
|
My GenForum
|
Community Standards
|
Terms of Service
|
|
|
Dear Sir or Madam:
Please reply to this message if you are researching the OBEN surname. My grandfather was Jose Alejandro OBEN y ALVARES, born in Ponce, Puerto Rico in 1896. His mother's name was Juana ALVARES y ESCRIBANO and her parents were Benito ALVARES y LUNA, born in Spain and Antonia ESCRIBANO y RODRIGUEZ, born in Puerto Rico of Puerto Rican Parents.
The ESCRIBANOs were described to me by a member of the family as "marranos from the South of Spain". The OBENs of Puerto Rico are said to have come from Alsace-Lorraine, originally.
Family history, according to my grandfather, is that they came to the Virgin Islands first. He used to say "St. Martin" but I have found some OBENs in St. Thomas, French Quarter. One was a partner to Joseph QUETEL.
Other OBENs in the Caribbean include those in Santo Domingo (married into the VICTORIA family during the 18th, 19th century, Jews from Bordeaux and northern Spain) and some artists in Haiti.
According to one researcher, they "came to Haiti from Curacao, then to the Dominican Republic."
There was an Estanislao OBEN, supposedly circa 1830 and I did find one with that name in the 1910 census, as well as a Wenceslau. Unusual names for a Puerto Rican.
There are OQUEN from the Virgin Islands in the Puerto Rican census. I suspect that surname is a corruption of OBEN. One married a LEVIS-MADURO, a taylor, whose greatgrandson was seeking in his research. He was able to confirm They only bear the MADURO last name today. They are from the Virgin Islands as well.
I hope that this information is helpful and that someone can shed light on my great-grandfather's identity, as my grandfather was an only child and his father died fairly young.
My grandfather, Jose Alejandro OBEN y ALVARES, always remembered having travelled to several islands before coming to Cuba as a youth.
Cordially,
Ines DIAZ y OBEN
Notify Administrator about this message?
Followups:No followups yet |
| http://genforum.genealogy.com/oben/messages/2.html | ||
 |
Link to GenForum Add Forum |
|