I recently shared the status of my Pereda-Tenorio roots efforts and how it ties into my Anderson lineage. Therefore, I’m going to briefly add more info on my Anderson lineage from my paternal grandmother Antonia Pereda Anderson, who married my namesake grandfather Bernardo del Mundo Punzalan. I know I wrote some information before on this but sometimes if you just keep talking about it someone with additional information just may contribute and share what they know. If at the very least, I hope it will continue to inspire others to research and know more about their heritage.
My paternal grandmother Antonia was one of five daughters and one son to Leon Quitugua Anderson and Antonia Tenorio Pereda. Leon was one of three sons to Rufina dela Cruz Quitugua and Jose (CHe’) de la Cruz Anderson. CHe’ was one of 11 children from Josefa de la Cruz and John Anderson, a Scot, who arrived on the French corvette L’Uraine in 1819. My great grandfather Leon was a farmer and talåya (cast net) maker.
Leon Quitugua Anderson and Antonia Tenorio Pereda
From a land record, my great grandparents and children lived on house number 36 on Soledad Street, Agana. The documents states that he built the house in 1898. The 1920 census also indicates that their family continued to live on Soledad Street.
The image below is a copy of a genealogy index card originally produced by Dr. Jane Underwood and housed at the Micronesia Area Research Center, University of Guam. It contains some key information, but the accuracy of the data and the sources of information recorded by Underwood are currently unknown.
The children of Leon and Antonia were:
- Maria, the eldest, married Jose Matanane Matanane. Jose was the son of Josefa Matanane. The aforementioned land record indicated that Josefa Matanane resided in a house on the East of the Pereda-Anderson family, next door and might also indicate how Maria met Jose. Maria and Jose Matanane had nine children. Two of the male children were twins. Jose Matanane was a Firefighter 1st Class (F1C) with the U.S. Navy. At first it seems like there appeared to be other genealogy records that mix this Jose Matanane Matanane with another Jose Matanane that was a Machinist Mate 2nd Class (MM2C), military service number 141-98-41, and died during World War II while also in the Navy. However, the records indicate that he was "Recalled" to active duty on July 1, 1941 to serve on the USS Penguin. Below is a 1922 passenger list of them traveling from Guam to the Philippines and likely with a final destination of California.
- Antonia was born and died as an infant. She was recorded as being born in 1896, but was not recorded with her parents and sister in the 1897 census. Therefore, she is presumed to have died as an infant before the 1897 census. I do not think any of my family knows about this.
- Engracia, who became my step-grandmother when my grandmother passed away in 1944. She married my namesake grandfather Bernardo del Mundo Punzalan on November 15, 1944. Together, they did not have any biological children of their own.
I recall her being a very holy woman dedicated to her faith with the Catholic church. She would always lead the rosary and songs in CHamoru each Sunday at the Saint Anthony Church for the first mass of the day, 6:00am. She did not have any children
- Vicente, who was their only son and never married. The most revealing document I have found on him was a 1928 Declaration of Intentions. This record indicates several things about him:
- He left Guam on the Gold Star ship and arrived in Seattle, Washington on August 1, 1927.
- He was a “Radio Telegraph Student.”
- He was 155 pounds, 5’4” tall and had black hair and brown eyes.
- He was born on April 1, 1901, Agana, Guam.
- He signed and filed the document in Los Angeles.
In the 1930 Census he was recorded as living in Oakland City, California with his uncle Manuel Castro and aunt Josefa Matanane, his sister Maria’s mother-in-law.
It is unfortunate that he never heard news from the family during the Japanese occupation and up and through his death on January 11, 1944. This news article clipping also identifies his cousin J.A.Miner. This would be his second cousin, either Juan or Jose Anderson Miner, manggåfan CHe’.
- My grandmother Antonia passed away sometime in 1944. I am uncertain at this point if she died as a result of the war on Guam or otherwise. It also appears that she was given her name in honor of her deceased infant sister. She married my grandfather Bernardo, on August 19, 1920. Together, they produced 11 children. Unfortunately, two males died as children just months apart from each other in 1924. The image below is a screenshot from the Guam News Letter. Note the misspelling of my grandfather’s first name and incorrectly my grandmother’s middle name which should have read Pereda.
- And last but not least is Jesusa. She was the youngest of her siblings and married Lorenzo Santos Aflague. Together, they had five children; one of whom was my Godfather.
