José María Rocha - José Rocha & María Escalante

I just sent a lengthier message but, for some reason, it deleted itself, so I'll try to be brief. The name is definitely José María, although he may have been José María Mateo, or he may have had a brother called José Mateo with whom he is confused.

Regarding the filiation of María, she definitely is Vicente Escalante's daughter. Around this time there are children being born to Vicente Escalante and two women, Josefa Blanco and Josefa Liebre y Leaño. Since the girls are not born in order (i.e. first one from Blanco, then another one from Liebre, then another one from Blanco again, etc.), and they're all classed as legitimate, there two options:

1.) There are two different men named Vicente Escalante who married, respectively, Blanco and Liebre.

2.) Josefa used different surnames throughout her life, which would be by no means a strange occurrence in the Spanish world at the time. I have for now chosen for this option in my tree and merged both women, although I don't have a definite answer.

I hope that helps, but do let me know if you have any further questions.

Best wishes,

Gonzalo

Thank you for your response, Dr. Velasco.

Perhaps, searching for records that are held at the Archdiocese of Manila and probates that are held at the National Archives of the Philippines has proven difficult. Also, some ethnic Spaniards in the Philippines during that time had long given names and multiple-barreled surnames such as Fernández de Luna, González Calderón, Pardo de Tavera, etc. Let's see if Josefa had this, though the first option might be possible if Vicente was formerly a widower on his marriage record if found. I hope that Josefa's identity will be resolved.

Best regards,
Klarenz