Genealogy and Geographical Nodes: 1890-1906

It's an interesting ride to review land records from 1890-1906 from the Government of Guam's Department of Land Management. I have ported, coded and made available over 8,200 pages of land recordings for this period.  These images are searchable to help reduce some valuable research time and effort.  For now, these records are another resource available to bridge some genealogy knowledge gaps between the 1897 Census (last Spanish Government Census) and Guam News Letters (contained vital statistics) to the 1920 Census.

Each land estate record is described to a certain extent, which often includes identifying the bordering properties to the north, south, east and west. As such, if the bordering properties were own or being cultivated by a known person, that person would be named; otherwise, the name of a particular site would be identified.

So I have decided to make notes of the sites, mostly Chamorro names, within a given jurisdiction that had a particular area named. I have noted these names as they were exactly spelled/transcribed. The copies of the land records that I am reviewing were transcribed from Spanish to English. Some may be duplicates that appear to be spelled differently.

One must keep in mind that jurisdictions change over time. So what area may have a part of one village may currently be under its own or another’s jurisdiction.

Hafa guaha gi antes na lugåt giya Hågat?

On Guampedia.com Leo Babauta wrote a brief but excellent write-up on some of Agat's history: http://guampedia.com/agat-hagat/

What were some of the named places in the past that were part of Agat’s jurisdiction? As you will see, at one time Agat encompassed quite a large area in the past.

Utility and Value

Below is a sample screenshot of a transcribed land record from the jurisdiction of Agat. Its utility is valuable towards genealogy research. In some of the records family clan names were recorded. As with this case, although Jose Perez (Manggåfan Tancha, may have been a transcription error and could be Tancho) was an owner of a neighboring property it helped to narrow down his family affiliation. Having people identified as neighbors helps to track down families that may have additional (sometimes long lost) information about other families.

The claimant to Estate No. 404 is listed as Juan Aflague y Santos. During this period, surnames were still recorded with Spanish customs: maternal-paternal surname. Therefore, Tun Juan would be known today as Juan Santos Aflague.

Also, identified was Lo-Ayao, the specific locale of the area of the property.