A Leap

 

Iglesia de la Matriz, Valparaiso, Chile. 1863.

Since learning about my Chilean ancestry connection back in 2012, I have tried over the years to reach further back for information on my 3rd-great-grandfather Gabriel Vasquez, and his parents Jose Vasquez and Agustina Rojas. In 2013, I wrote to the Archivo Nacional in Chile. I received a response, but it generally pointed me to the resources on FamilySearch, which wasn't very helpful. Nine years later, I'm poking around again for Chilean records.

This week I emailed the Diocese of Valparaiso, who responded quickly that for the date range I'm looking for, I need to check with the church at La Matriz, which was the first in Valparaiso. A church has been at this location since 1559. I immediately reached out in Spanish to the email address for the church, and received a response from the secretary confirming receipt. I have fingers crossed that somewhere in those records is a baptismal entry for Gabriel, and perhaps a marriage or other records on Jose and Agustina. Hopefully more to come soon on this line of my tree.

Valparaiso is high on my travel wish list for a future visit.