Knowing where we came from is the eternal question that we all seek an answer to. Some are fortunate enough to have families where history and tradition is passed on, never to be forgotten. For most of us, it is not that easy. Those whose parents did not have a connection to their roots, through adoption or other unfortunate circumstances, are not that lucky. We have a hard road to travel by asking ourselves sometimes painful and difficult questions.

What if we do not like what we find out about our past? Once a truth is uncovered, it is not easy to ignore. It keeps coming up and staring you in the face, urging you to confirm its existence so you can go on with peace of mind.

The search for my roots came from a nagging urge to know where my father came from. When I was young, I remember him suffering over the loss of his mother early in life.

On a recent visit to my mother, she told me the story of how my father was taken to a friend of the family. Once there, he was basically abandoned, he never forgot, though he was young.

This page is dedicated to Josefa Diaz (in the photo, surrounded by my mother and father), one of my all-time favorite people in the world. She never had children but raised five who did not have anyone else to care for them, including my father. Abuela (Spanish for grandmother, that's what she will always be to me) and others like her who did their best to care for those who needed it deserve a special place in our Family Trees. Due to their great sense of responsibility and good, many of us are around to document our histories.

Thanks to the Internet, I have made some connections to those roots that I was unaware of.

On the left, you will find links to my family surnames as well as resources for Puerto Rican, Latino/Hispanic and general genealogy.