Asturian-American Migration Forum

I am seeking any information about the following people:

My grandfather, Joseph Fernandez, born 1910 in Simpson, Harrison, West Virginia.

His parents were immigrants from Asturias, their names were Carolina Martinez and Alfredo Fernandez.Carolina was born in 1893 and Alfredo in 1888. They came here to West Virginia, married on 6/19/1909. Carolina then gave birth to my grandfather, Joseph Fernandez, and his younger sister, Estella Fernandez, prior to dying on 12/20/1913 at the age of 20 of tuberculosis.

Any help (or long-lost relatives) would be greatly appreciated!!
Thanks, Jo-el Fernandez-Suroviak

Hello ctjedda
I was born in Spelter, WV and have lived in Harrison county all my life . Can you tell me more about your grandfather family? There is no doubt that I knew some of your family. The years that I can best remember would be the 40s, would the name Lambert Run (Simpson) ring a bell with you?

I don't have a whole lot of information, although I know that at some point my great-grandfather, Alfredo Fernandez, who became a widower when his young wife Carolina Martinez died at age 20 of TB, left Harrison County and went to Donora, Pennsylvania for some time. At that point he was a single father to their two children, my grandfather Joe Fernandez (dob 7/7/1910) and his younger sister Estrella.
I am sorry that I do not have any more information than this, but anything that you may know would definitely be appreciated!
Thanks, Jo-el Fernandez-Suroviak

Welcome to the forum, Ctjedda!

Do you know what kind of work your great-grandfather did? Do you know the names of his siblings or where your great-grandparents came from in Asturias?

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¡Bienvenido al foro, Ctjedda!

¿Sabes cuál clase de trabajo hacía tu bisabuelo? ¿Sabes los nombres de sus hermanos o de dónde en Asturies vinieron tus bisabuelos?

My great-grandfather worked in the zinc factory. I don't know his siblings' names

Martínez and Fernández are very common names. Do you know the other last names of your great-grandparents? Spaniards usually have two last names (their father's and their mother's).

Have you searched the Ellis Island database?

Are there any older relatives who could help you?

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Los apellidos Fernández y Martínez son corrientísimos. ¿Sabes los otros apellidos de tus bisabuelos? Normalmente españoles tienen dos apellidos (un de su padre y otro de su madre).

¿Has intentado encontrarlos en la base de datos de Ellis Island?

¿Existen otro parientes más viejos quienes puedan ayudarte?

Carolina Martinez' mothber's last name was Diaz (Encarnacion Diaz). Unfortunately, the only relatives that would have been old enough now to remember some of this stuff all died young (mostly of TB?!)

Hello. It has been a few years since my last post. I am back into researching my family. I hit wall after wall. Here is what I do know:

Virginia and Balbina Fernandez were sisters who immigrated to Clarksburg, WV (box 24 to be exact). On Aug. 5, 1911. Balbina has her daughter Dionisa with her, who is 10 at the time. This is my "Granny". She passed away when I was only 6 but I remember her. She was deaf/mute and lived most of her life at 1313 Pride Ave. Clarksburg, WV with her husband Pasquale Laurie. Together they had two children: Jospeh and Mary Laurie. I have been unsucessful in finding much information on Dionisia, or Pasquale.

Virginia was married to Mario San Julian. They had a son, Angel who was 9months old on the voyage here in 1911. Virginia and Balbina were going to stay with Mario San Julian at 24 Clarksburg, WV. I haven't found them in any census information. I find every other Fernandez/San Julian but not mine. I must be doing something wrong...

Virginia and Balbina's father is listed as Segundo Fernandez, from Aviles, Spain. I also have both sisters being born in Aviles.

My "Granny", Dionisia Fernandez Laurie, was said to have some kind of certificate with her that was from the King. I've never seen it and my source has since passed away. They seen it and Dionisia made it seem as though it was some form of special certificate. Has anyone heard of such a thing? I was also told that she came from a well to do family. Not so sure about that. Dionisia was said to have been ill on the journey here and went deaf/and she never learned to talk. This was the story passed on. Seeing how she was 10 years old on the manifest, I don't see how she "never learned to talk". However, they were detained. I just don't know for what. My Mom said she had her own sign language.

I have a picture of her with another woman and man at 1313 Pride Ave. WV. I believe but am not sure, the women with her is her mother. In her arms is my father.

If this family sounds familiar, please let me know. Thank you for your time, and for this wonderful website. I've enjoyed the history, and pictures of Spain. I don't see it in my near future, but I hope to someday make a visit.

A. Nieves

That's an interesting question about the certificate. I have seen several legal documents from the government issued to my grandparents, but this was not from the King. I'm guessing that my grandparents had to get permission to emigrate from the Spanish authorities. It could be that your grandmother had something similar. My grandfather also had documentation that he was a member of a trade guild.

My grandparents appear on two ships' manifests because they didn't make the first journey. The people they were supposed to stay with are different on both manifests, even though they are just a few days apart. I've concluded that that data is either false or incorrectly recorded on at least one of the manifests.

So, these manifests aren't entirely reliable.

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Planteas una pregunta interesante sobre el certificado. He visto varios documentos jurídicos del gobierno expedido a mis abuelos, pero estos no eran del rey. Estoy conjeturando que mis abuelos tuvieron que conseguir el permiso para emigrar de las autoridades españolas. Tal vez tu abuela tenía algo similar. Mi abuelo también tenía documentación diciendo que era miembro de un gremio comercial.

Mis abuelos aparecen en dos facturas de distintas naves porque no hicieron el primer viaje. La gente con quien la supusieron permanecer es diferente en ambos manifiestos, aunque fueran apenas algunos días aparte. He concluido que esos datos son o falsos o registrados incorrectamente por lo menos con uno de los manifiestos.

Entonces, estos manifestos no son completamente fiables.

Nieves,

I called a friend of mine who has lived all of her life on Pride Ave. There are only two members of the San Julian family living. One is a son, Angel, who lives in Clarksburg and who is in ill health. He has a sister who lives in South Carolina. Angel was the superintendent of a glass plant in Clarksburg.

Unfortunately my friend did not remember your "Granny." Sorry about that.

The "24" is not a box; it's a street number: 24 Pride Ave.

Hope this helps you out.

Ron