Asturian-American Migration Forum

My grandfather's name was Isidoro Costales (Ysidro?), born 1890 in Gijon. He migrated to the US or South America in 1922. I cannot find baptism records. I do not know if he had siblings. He may have been born in Seville, or lived there.

thanks for any tips you can provide!

Yvonne Costales

Welcome, Yvonne!

It sounds like you aren't sure where he was born. That complicates your search greatly. Did you mention Gijón because that is where he sailed from?

Where have you searched for the baptism record? Have you checked with the Civil Registry in Gijón or with the parish church there?

I always heard from my family that he was from Seville, but I found a World War II draft card that says he was from Gijon.

I don't know how he left Spain. I did find him on the Huron in 1922 as a merchant seaman but it says he "deserted at Buenos Aires".

I have lots of pieces but just cannot connect them. I want to know why he left Spain and what he did before he left. He is a very eloquent writer and was politically oriented. I have some of his writing. I think he must have landed in New Orleans because that is where he met my grandmother.

It's possible that he is from Asturias. There are a good number of Costales in Villaviciosa, Gijón and other areas.

There are some statistics on the frequency of the last name Costales in Asturian communities on this website:
http://www.sadei.es/

I've provided instructions on this page:
http://www.asturianus.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=3375
You would also want to check to see if there are many Costales in Sevilla.

It might be useful to use the white pages tool described on that same page to see which towns have the most Costales today. You might have relatives in the white pages.

I wonder if your grandfather was cautious about letting others know much about him. I sense that many immigrants had secrets they told very few people.

All the Costales I know (actually only 3) are from Gijón, but their ancestors were from the neighbouring county Villaviciosa, and more specifically from the parish of Peón, which borders on Gijón.
I know they had a Costales family gathering there a few years ago, with huge attendance, maybe someone else knows about this?

Cheers

There are Costales in Sevilla and Asturias:



You can try here:
https://familysearch.org/search/image/i ... /waypoints

I have looked for hours through the padrones records. I have not found Isidoro but will keep looking. it does appear there are more Costaleses in Asturias than in Sevilla. Hopefully, I will find another bit of information and eventually my great grandparents!

Thank you for your valuable hints.

I ordered a copy of his birth certificate and included in that document were the names of his parents AND grandparents.

I found birth dates in the Padrones records but am challenged by the naming conventions.

My great grandmother is Carlota Menendes Quebal. She was married to my great grandfather Elueterio Costales Cenal. My grandfather was Isidoro Costales Menendes. He had a brother named Calixto. My great great grandfather was Enrique and great great grandmother Ramona. There are other names on the ceritificate (witnesses I assume) who may or may not be relatives. Since I unfortunately do not read Spanish I cannot get any more information from the document, but I would never have gotten this far had it not been for your help!

Thank you again for your suggestions!

Yvonne Costales

Here's an explanation of the naming patterns. As always, there are some exceptions.
http://www.asturianus.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=118

Have you tried first name variants sich as Ysidoro, Isadoro and Ysadoro?

Hm. I'm not finding the messages many of us have written about the many reasons that our ancestors left Asturias to come to the US and other places. Reasons I can recall include:
-- to avoid military service in a war in Morroco (Northern Africa): http://www.asturianus.org/forum/viewtopic.php?p=2885
http://www.asturianus.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=2653
-- to find work (unemployment was/is a big problem at many points in Asturian history)
-- to get away from relationship problems and start over again
http://www.asturianus.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=4559
-- because they were recruited to work in industries that were starting up in the US and that they already had experience working in (zinc, especially)
-- because other family members were already in the New World
-- to get out of the family business, such as farming or being a seaman

Dear Yvonne:

In this link you can find "Isidoro Costales Menendez".

http://prensahistorica.mcu.es/es/consul ... os_ocr.cmd

In this page, the local government of Gijón was declaring as fugitives those young men that not attended the obligatory military service. Most of them left Spain to avoid it. Some of my ancestors did the same.

Also I could find "Luis Costales Menendez", perhaps a brother of your grandfather. The father of Luis is Feliciano Costales and his mother Sinforosa Menendez. They are from Quintueles, a small town near Villaviciosa. In the link you can also see a picture of Luis Costales.
With these data, I think you can get more information about your grandfather.
I can ask for a birth certificate if you believe Luis Costales is your grand-uncle. Check this link, from page 971 to 978:

https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/T ... ,222059601

Luck!
Marta

Ny grandfather left Spain both to find work and to avoid being drafted. If my memory is correct, young Spanish men who were drafted in the early 1900s were poorly armed, underfed, and subject to a long period of forced military service under terrible conditions.

Hi:

My grandmother, Irene Caso Costales, was the granddaughter of Feliciano Costales and Sinforosa Menéndez. Her mother was called Ernestina Costales Menéndez and died as a result of the 1918 flu. They lived in Quintueles, a small hamlet in the Villaviciosa council.

http://fundacioncardin.es/bibliotecamal ... 09120.pdf8

Feliciano and Sinforosa had fourteen children, Isidro was one of them, Luis, Ernestina, Calixto, Fructuoso, who founded a cider press that still lasts and I do not know more. I know that part of the children emigrated to America, but I do not have documents or photos.


I am very excited to hear about this family. If anyone has more information, I would appreciate it and for my part, I can find what they need.

Hola:

Mi abuela era nieta de Feliciano Costales y de Sinforosa Menéndez. Su madre se llamaba Ernestina Costales Menéndez y falleció como consecuencia de la gripe de 1918. Vivían en Quintueles, una pequeña pedanía del concejo de Villaviciosa.

http://fundacioncardin.es/bibliotecamal ... 09120.pdf8

Feliciano y Sinforosa tuvieron catorce hijos, Isidro era uno de ellos, Luis, Ernestina, Calixto, Fructuoso, que fundó un lagar de sidra que aún perdura y no conozco más. Sé que parte de los hijos emigraron a América, pero no tengo documentos ni fotos.




Me hace mucha ilusión saber de esta familia. Si alguien tiene más información, se lo agradecería y por mi parte, puedo buscar lo que necesiten.

I found several entries for Luis Costales at Ancestry.com. They are:
All Immigration & Emigration results for Luis Costales
Results 1-5 of 5
RecordsCategories

New York, Passenger and Crew Lists (including Castle Garden and Ellis Island), 1820-1957
Luis Costales
Birth abt 1896 Spain
Departure Havana, Cuba
Arrival 7 Jul 1925 New York, New York
Residence Cuba
New York, Passenger and Crew Lists (including Castle Garden and Ellis Island), 1820-1957
From Villaviciosa
Age 31
Ship Cristocal Colon
Arrived Ellis Island,NewYork


Luis Costales
Birth abt 1895 Spain
Departure Havana, Cuba
Arrival 7 Jun 1917 New York, New York
Residence Cuba
New York, Passenger and Crew Lists (including Castle Garden and Ellis Island), 1820-1957

Luis Costales
Birth abt 1896 Spain
Departure Havana, Cuba
Arrival 21 Jun 1946 New York, New York
Residence Cuba
New York, Passenger and Crew Lists (including Castle Garden and Ellis Island), 1820-1957

Luis Costales
Birth abt 1896 Spain
Departure Havana, Cuba
Arrival 17 Apr 1927 New York, New York
Residence Cuba
New York, Passenger and Crew Lists (including Castle Garden and Ellis Island), 1820-1957

Luis Costales
Birth abt 1930 Cuba
Departure Havana, Cuba
Arrival 21 Jun 1946 New York, New York
Residence Cuba

Also,I found Luis Costales from Oviedo (probably province rather than cit), norn abouto 1895,,who arrived from Havana, Cuba at age 22 onthe ship Morro Castle. He listed a brother, Serafin(o), whove lived in San Francisco, California