Close Descendants of the Patriarch Francisco

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Bonifacia Orbeta
Francisco PARAS ORBETA,
sp: Antonia ALCANTARA,
  |--- Cecilia ORBETA,
  |     sp: Esteban YOKINGCO,
  |--- Bonifacia ORBETA, (Childless)
  |     sp: Felix SANTIAGO,
  |--- Irenea ORBETA,
  |     sp: Francisco QUINTOS,
  |--- Juliana ORBETA,
  |     sp: Unknown,
  |--- Luciano ORBETA,
  |     1st sp: Cecilia PAZ,
  |     2nd sp: Aguida OLITAN,
  |--- Segundo ORBETA,
  |     sp: Eulalia SANCHEZ,
  |--- German ORBETA,
  |     sp: Gavina SAN JOSE,
  |--- Melanio ORBETA,
        sp: Guillerma SOTO,

Our patriarch, Francisco Paras Orbeta and his spouse, Antonia Alcantara, by whom he had eight children, were the solely recorded ancestors of the Orbeta-Alcantara Family of barrio San Pedro de Makati (nicknamed Sanfiro.)  

According to my 1st cousin, the late Nieves Orbeta-Martinez, our grandfather, Francisco was known to be a Spanish-Filipino or Basque-Filipino mestizo,  and had managed a "buy-and-sell" business around the coastal towns of Laguna de Bay, with the assistance of his eldest son, Luciano (the father of Nieves,) in manning his big river boat, via the Pasig River.  And it was in the costal town of Pililla,  where Luciana met his 1st wife, Cecilia Paz; settled there and raised his family.

(Note -  The probability that our patriarch's forbears were remote descendants of the Orbeta-Echevarria family,  was propounded by fellow researcher, Dominick Vila Coto of Florida, USA,  in his e-mail of 23 April 2005:)   "According to my records, based on information given by don Angel de la Torre, and on excerpts from Pio Baroja's books La Estrella del Capitan Chimista and Libro de Plencia, two or three members of the Orbeta-Echevarria family went to the Philippines when the archipelago was part of the old Spanish Empire. Among them was Jose Ramon Orbeta ( he was captain of the Regimiento de Pangasinan 2' de Milicias Disciplinadas de Luzón, with the rank of commander, from 1829 to 1847),  and Juan Antonio Orbeta, two of my ancestors. They owned business in Manila and were the owners of two brigantines named "La Bilbaina" and "La Plencitarra" (I think Juan Antonio owned "La Plencitarra" after his father's death). They were married to women in their homeland, but the spouses stayed behind during their lengthy stay in the Philippines, and I would not be surprised if they had children there.

"The following is an excerpt of what I have compiled about Jose Ramon de Orbeta Echavarria and his son Juan Antonio de Orbeta Suertegaray. I don't know their relationship to Francisco, who I suspect was either a cousin or uncle of Jose Ramon:  After his discharge from government and military service he remained in the Philippines for a few years. He resided in a neighborhood called Binondo, where he was the co-owner of a business called "Almacen del Capricho,"  in the Escolta St., Manila, near the Pasig River. The main focus of his wholesale business was to buy silk and other Oriental products for sale in Spain and other European nations. While in the Philippines he bought an old frigate called "La Bilbaina,"  in partnership with his son José Antonio, and Francisco de Orbeta; which they renamed "Isla de Panay."  This old ship was consigned by Mechacatorre & Co to transport Chinese workers to the port of Amoy, with José Villaranda as pilot, (see notes under José Antonio Orbeta for further details). José Ramón retired in Seville, Spain, where he died in 1859. "

Be that as it may,  I am still hoping that one day, I shall come across the identities of the forebears of our patriarch, from old friends, relatives, and Genealogists in the Internet.

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Last Modified:  26 October 2005

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