Asturian-American Migration Forum

Hi everyone, I'm just joined the forum as I'm trying to find some information concerning my Uncle's Gr.Grandfather, Francisco Bances Fernandez.

My Uncle told me that Francisco's surname was 'Bances' but in a statement from the 'Viceconsulado de Espana, Newport, Mon' it says 'Certificado de Nacionalidad No. 60 Don Francisco Bances Fernandez natural de Aviles, provincia de Asturia' etc, etc.

According to his Identity Book, he was born on 4th October 1870 in Aviles, Asturia and his parent's names were Jose Fernandez & Justa Ferna. The only other information I have is that he was a seaman. In the Identity Book are various 'stamps' of ports of entry to the UK. In 1903 he married Ethel Mitchell and settled in Newport, Monmouthshire, Wales. He then became known as 'Frank Bances'.

He was asked what was the date of arrival in District where this book was issued and he gave the answer '1891'.

Also, to the question, 'Last previous place of residence' he gave the answer ' From USA'.

I will be very grateful for any help in any form. Thank you,

Sue

Welcome, Sue!

The Bances Fernández issue is the easy part. If you look at this thread:
http://www.asturianus.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=118
you'll see how different the Spanish tradition of naming is. It's easy once you understand the pattern.

At first I thought that you may be able to get info from the Ellis Island site:
http://www.ellisislandrecords.org/
But their records start in 1892, so that won't do unless the remembered year is wrong.

Maybe Donna has an idea of how to research earlier entries?

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¡Bienvenidos, Sue!

El asunto de Bances Fernández es el parte fácil. Lee este tema:
http://www.asturianus.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=118
en que explique la differencia en poner nombres entre el mundo hispano y el mundo anglófono.

Al princípio, pensaba que puedes encontrar informes en la página de Ellis Island:
http://www.ellisislandrecords.org/
Pero sus datos empeczan en 1892, así que no vale--a menos que el año esta mal recordado.

Puede ser Donna sabe como investigar fechas más temprano.

The only thing I found on Frank was his listing in the England & Wales Marriage and Birth Index.

A Frank Bances was listed as married in March 1903 in the district of Newport, in the County of Glamorgan Monmouthshire, England.

In December 1903, there is an Isabel Louisa Bances born and in December 1906 there is a listing for the birth of Joseph Frank Bances. In both cases the district is Newport and the county is Glamorgan Monmouthshire, England. The index does not list the parents, but one can assume they are Frank Bances children.

There are records of a Francisco Bances arriving in NY in the late 1800s on the Ancestry.com website (NY immigration records), but I do not subscribe to those lists and therefore cannot view the entries.

There are ways of finding the records if you are willing to pay the genealogy sites subscriptions. Or you may want to go to some of the sites' message boards and ask if somebody will do a free lookup for you.

Ah, in reading quickly, I didn't catch that he had lived in the UK, too. I wondered where Monmouthshire was! Duh....

If he was a seaman, you may find records of his visits to ports. This is the case in a relative of mine who served on ships that came into Ellis Island frequently.

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Ah, en la leer rápidamente, no cogí que vivía en el Reino Unido, también que EEUU. ¡Me pregunté dónde Monmouthshire era! Duh....

Si fuera un marinero, puede ser encontrarás los registros de sus visitas a los puertos. Así es con un pariente mío que sirvió sobre algunos barcos que entraron en la Isla Ellis con frecuencia.

I would like to thank everyone for their kind help and advice. At least the name problem is now solved!

I think I will do as you suggest Donna and ask if anyone can do a look up for me.

Cheers,

Sue

I forgot to mention this earlier. When you're looking for data on Francisco Bances Fernández in Spanish-language records, you may find that the accent over the "a" in Fernández is important. I doubt that it would appear in the US records, but I could be wrong.

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Olvidé de mencionar algo antes. Cuando buscas datos sobre Francisco Bances Fernández en la registras de lengua castellano, puedes encontrar que el acento sobre el "a" en Fernández es importante. Dudo que apareciera en los registros de EEUU, pero podría equivocarme.

Thanks Art, I'll bear it in mind.

Sue

Keep in mind that Frank may be listed as Francisco Fernandez in American records. If a Spaniard comes to America and states his whole name, Francisco Bances Fernandez, then American immigration workers sometimes think Bances is a middle name and Fernandez the surname.

I have found my grandfather, Donato Artimez Menendez, listed in the 1920 US census as Donato Menendez and in the 1930 census as Donato Artimez.

Thanks for your help Donna.

Sue

Sue,

If his Spanish full name was Francisco Bances Fernández his parents should be José Bances (not Fernández) and Justa Fernández.

As you have an exact birthdate, you can go back in your Uncle's family tree in Asturias. There is a change to find his birth record in the Avilés' Civil Record (CR) because, in theory, they started back in June 1870.

Nevertheless you can find him in Avilés' parishes. Today Avilés has five parishes but in 1870 there were only two: San Nicolás (baptismal records starting in 1599) and Santo Tomás (1603).

If his parents, grandparents, great-grandparents, etc. were all born in Avilés you can trace back around ¡¡10 generations!!

Please, let me know if you need any help on contacting the CR or the parishes.

On the other hand, Bances is the name of a place in the concejo of Pravia (close to Avilés) and the surname is probably coming from this place.

Kind Regards,
Miguel.

Hi Miguel,

May I take up your offer of help please?

Hi Sue,

I appreciate this response is many years after your initial posting in 2004 and have no idea if you are still active on this forum but hoping you are.

I came across this forum via Google search on Francisco Bances after chatting to a friend of mine about Family Trees.

I have always been extremely curious about my family tree, particularly on my mothers side due to the Spanish history of my great grandfather but never got around to doing anything until now.

What a surprise I had when I saw your posting all those years ago.

My mother was the daughter of Franks daughter Consuelo.

It would be great to hear from you to find out more about the history of Frank and his origins and of course living relatives.

Kind regards,

Chris