Three Brothers, Three Julios

The Panamanian Catholic Church records available at FamilySearch.org continue to yield more members of my grandparents’ generation. Most recently, I found a 1918 baptism record for a Julio Vallee born to “Josefina Cadignan y Simon Valet.” My mom said that 1918 would have been around the time her Tio Sylvester was born. But as far

Just Married…with Children

Many years ago on one of my trips to the Registro Civil in Panama, I tried to obtain as many birth, marriage, and death affidavits for my predecessors as I could. I was not even sure if my great-grandparents had met in the Caribbean or in Panama, so the prospect of finding their marriage records

The Great, Great Simon Vallee

Getting my DNA results  a couple of weeks ago has inspired a new wave of family history research activity that is paying off already.  This week I made my most exciting genealogical discovery to date thanks to FamilySearch.org.  I found a form called a “Panama Canal Application for Photo-Metal Check Employees” for my great-grandfather Francois

#diasporalovestory

One of my most aching family history research questions comes from a desire to know if my great-grandparents knew each other in their home islands or if they did not meet until after migrating to Panama.  So many questions: Did they grow up in the same town? Did they marry in the Caribbean or in Panama?  Heck,

Gooooolazo! Panamanian Records for Adele and Francois

Early on the morning of June 12th I stepped into a long line to check in for my flight with the Panamanian airline COPA. I was surprised the flight was so full. The only business COPA does out of LAX is a daily back-and-forth between Los Angeles and Panama City, so I was fairly puzzled