THE ORIGINS OF THE VILLASENORS: FROM F'UJIAN TO LUCBAN*

Dr. Luciano P. R. Santiago

5*,-a_.qq

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14y'-

The City of Spring (1633-90)As early as 1633, the Spanish

Franciscans and Dominicans in thePhilippines had gained a foothold in themission field in Fujian (formerly calledFukien) and adjacent provinces inMainland China. Among the Chinese,Fujian is known as Hokien. Since timeimmemorial up to the present, the vastmajority of the Chinese in thePhilippines come from this southernprovince. The most prominent Fuiieneseconvert in the lTth century was padreGregorio Lo or Lopez, who became thefirst Chinese bishop. He was born inFujian in 1615 and was one of the frstnatives to be baptized, there bv aFranciscan missionary n 1633- He clmeto the Philippines, studied at theUniversity of Santo Tomas and enteredthe Dominican Order in 1650. Fouryears later, he was ordained at theManila Cathedral together with the firstFilipino priest, Don Miguel Jer6nimo deMorales of Pampanga. padre Lo wasconsecrated Bishop ofNanking in 16g5.

The fnst Chinese bishop probablyknew the earliest known forbear of theVillasefrors, Don

Jer6nimo Venco who also hailed fromFujian. He was born there in the town ofSeongue in the district of Chian Chiu onSeptember 30 (the feast of SanJer6nimo) in around 1670. Appropriatelyenough, "ven" translates as ..root,,

and isrepresented in Chinese character by atree with a horizontal stroke underneathto signifu "root;" ..co,'is the equivalentof Sefior or Don, the Spanish title of

lespect. Like a typical Chinese clan, theVencos maintained a lao 7la (ancestralhome) where their extensive genealogieswere enshrined. We have yet to tap ihissource for the Villasenor clan.

The ancestors of Dr. Jos6 Rizal, theNational Hero, also originated from the

:u*:_plu:.. Seongue is called Zhangguain Mandarin and is now known- asHongiian. Chan Chiu, on the other hand-is-1h9 present Zangshou or euangzhouwhich means '.City of Springl,' Itsnatural harbor, glistening as jade ofgreen and blue, attracted Arab andEuropean traders who referred to the citlas Zaytun, whence came the word"satin."

A fertile valley, Fujian was hemmedir by mountains on every side exceptonly in its eastern coast. The availablespace could not contain the burgeoningpopulation and this led to the Fijianeseexodus into Southeast Asia includLg thePhilippines. In the process, they hid toleave their wives to spare them ihe trialsand tribulations of migrating to a newland. Fujian was only three days awavby junk to Manila. Hence, auring tteSpanish Period, the Fujianes" bJca-.the middle men in the fabulous ManilaGalleon Trade. i

Pagsanjin: Roots and Branches(16s0-e7)

The Spaniards called the ChineseSangley (merchant). From the outset, thewhite men tried to control and intimidatethe immigrants by restricting them to adistrict named paridn n.u, oi attached 1othe walled city and within the range ofthe Spanish cannom. The releitles,

fi

{persecution of the Chinese drove them torevolt four times in the lTth century: in1603, 1639, 1662 and 1686.

One of the few consolations of thetragic century was a brilliant socialexperiment by the colonialists involvinga choice group of Chinese converts. Inaround 1650, they resettled sevenChinese, together with one Japanese,traders and farmers from the Pari6n toPagsanj6n, Laguna in order to developits virgin valley, #hich scarcely felt theplow. Pagsanj6n, which means '\vherethe river branches out" was then a merebarangay of the town of Lumbang. Theeight pioneers were Mateo Caco, JuiinJoco, the brothers Alfonso and DiegoChangco, and Marcos and Diego Suico,Eugenio Vinco or Venco and the loneJapanese, Josd Jegote. Blood brothersmigrating in pairs from China, wholooked out for each other, were corrunonin the Philippines. Eugenio Venco r,r'as

most probably an uncle of our ancestor,Jer6nimo Venco. The pioneers marriedTagalog women and from these bonds ofmatrimony sprang the hybrid vigor ofthe Villasefiors.

By 1668, Pagsanj6n was so welldeveloped by the trailblazers that it wasraised into a municipality. Nineteenyears later, its parish was erected withOur Lady of Guadalupe as the titular andSan Juiin Nepomuceno as the secondpatron saint. A stone church was builtand completed in 1690 under thedirection of a Chinese architect, DonMiguel Guanco. Having emerged as thecommercial center of Laguna, Pagsanj6ntook over liom Bae as the provincialcapital liom 1688 to 1858, the period,which witnessed the rise of theVillaseflors and their relatives.

Another political scheme wasapplied to Pagsanj an in 1697. The verylnst Gremio de Mestizos de Sangley

(Chinese mestizos) in the colony was setup there as a rival to the well-establishedGremio de Naturales (natives). Themove was a strategy of divide-and-ru1e,which proved to be very lucrative aswell. For in the scale of taxation, themestizos were charged twice the tributepaid by the naturales whose economicstatus was disparaged. Further, the full-blooded Chinese were taxed twice therate for their half-breeds. In contrast, theSpaniards and Spanish mestizos wereexempted from tributes. Similar politicalgroupings of Chinese mestizos in Manilaand suburbs followed only half a centurvlater in 1741.

From Fujian to Pagsanj{n and Back(1690-1740)

Don Jer6nimo Venco came to thePhilippines in around 1690 not to settlehere but to court and marry a Chinesemestiza of Pagsanjrin by the name ofDofia Juana Dinio. Her surname remainsto this day a prominent patronymic ofPagsanj6n. It was about the time whenthe town had just become the capital ofLaguna (1688). The marriage wasapparently arranged since as notedearlier, Pagsanjrin had been founded byChristian Chinese traders, one of whomwas surnamed Vinco or Venco, probablyan uncle of Jer6nimo. Indeed, Diniomeans "a lady who is related by blood,,,"nio" being the equivalent of the SpanishSeftora or Dofra.

San Cristobal: The Light in theMountain

Jer6nimo brought his bride back toSeongue where they begot two sons whoreached maturity. The first, namedChrist6val Guico was born on February2,1692 while the second, also christenedChrist6val de Villaseffor, was born onNovember 21,1694. San Christ6val (St.

san cristobal in the Philippine setting. (Fagade of the Miag-ao church in Iloilo' Drawn

by F' Zobel de Ayala' his name ceased to be in the sanctoral'

christopher) for whom both sons were However, he has remained a powerful

named was the saint who carefully bore symbol of hdelity and fortitude in the

the Christ child on his shoulders while church'

crossing a formidable river. In regard to the two sons'

Looming over the Tagalog Surnames', Guico translates precisely as

provinces of Lugu* and Tayabur (no* "Lord Eider Brother'" According to

Quez6n) is the sacred volcano, Bundok family tradition, Villaseflor' which

Banahaw. To San Christ6val, the means "Lord of the Village"' indicated

missionaries had dedicated the three- their noble status in the old country,

mountain range. The terrain was which made it an agonizing decision for

reminiscent of Fujian except that the them to cast off their deep roots' Of the

mighty mountain here dominated huddled masses they were not, though to

*iiho.rt limiting the landscape. be sure they had enorrnous empathy for

When a light glowed on the them. Villaseflor was probably adopted

mountaintop i" the still of the night, it from a Spanish godfather or padrino of

was believed to be San Christ6val the family. It was, however, a rare

leading a lost soul in the right path. The surname among the Spaniards in the

pious legend and the luminous iandscape Philippines' tn ttre late nh century'

flred Jer6nimo's spirit. He named his there was one by the name Don Miguel

two sons for the saint although neither de Villaseflor who may well have

one of them was born on his feast day assisted Jer6nimo Venco'

(July 25). Jeronimo apparently On November 3' 1693' he

"on.lud.d that it was San Christ6val recorded to have sold ''orchards orh

who had guided him safely across the lands" in Sta. Ana, Manila for the sum of

stormy seas from the mainland to the 300 pesos to Don Thomas Nuflez de

Philippines and back with his young Loarca. There is not much else known

bride. And should the two sons decide about him fiom available documents'

someday to reclaim their maternal In Spain- the titie Conde de

heritage in the Philippines, it would Villasefior was created b1' the king in

again-behoove San Christ6val to protect 1687. The count-ship $'as endowed with

ttem from all the dangers along the way a celestial coat-ot: arrns depicting a

and help them n"O the path to silver half moon surrounded by seven

pagsanj6n. gold stars hanging .n a biue sky'" The

In the 1960s. St. Christopher was Villaseflor cian in the Philippines may

declared a "legendary saint" and thus-

-.

tI

ttl

also lay claim to this heraldic symbol inspirit.

From Fujian to Lucbin: Witnesses toHope (1740)

It took the faithful brothers almosthalf a century to finally decide tomigrate to their maternal country n 1740when they were already in middle life.Both of them must have had earlierfamilies. In that era" most people in thePhilippines and perhaps in Asia too, diedin theirs 40s and 50s or even earlier. Butin the same age range, the hardy brothersdecided to start their lives all over again.Determination and perseverance weretwo profound values they would pass onto their descendants. What major forcedrove them to make the perilous step ismentioned neither in the writtenaccounts nor in the oral tradition of theclan. Perhaps, the Four Horsemen of theApocalypse - war, famine, pestilenceand death - had descended upon theirland. But their unswerving trust inDivine Providence through theintercession of their common patrorl SanChrist6val, helped them remain steadfastin their resolve. Greater problems wereawaiting them,in the Philippines but SanChrist6val appeared never to have failedthem.

They anived just when the Spanishgovernment was beginning to curbChinese proliferation in the colony byrestricting migration and expellingillegal aliens. But no matter.Clandestinely, the instant fugitiveschanged course from Pagsanj6n toLucbdn where they knew the missionaryFray Gin6s Cathos and some Chinesefamilies, probably relatives, who gavethem refuge. Nestled at the base ofMount Banahaw, the seat of SanChrist6val, Lucb6n beaconed like ablessed light. By then the authorities had

issued warrants for their arrest ascorrmon criminals subject to"beheading" (degollaci6n) if foundguilty. Other crimes must have beenimputed to thern. The merciful FrayGin6s hid them in the inner recesses ofthe dome gallery hovering over thechurch transept. The stone church of SanLuis Obispo of Lucbiin had just beencompleted seven years earlier in 1733.

In the meantime, the Franciscansand the influential Chinese mestizogroups of both Lucbrin and Pagsanj6nmobilized and worked together for theiramnesty. They did succeed but probablywithout b"ittg able to avoid givingbribery to key officials. The fact that thebrothers Christ6val were ChineseCatholics whose mother was a native ofPagsanjdn and thus, they were partlyFilipinos, would have helped their caseimmensely. In testimony of theh faithand parentage, they had carried theirbaptismal certificates all the way fromFujian. Although the original documentshad disintegrated, the data theycontained were copied for posterity bydevoted descendants.

No sooner had the following yearstarted than a monstrous earthquakedemolished the church of Lucbiin onJanuary 12, 174I. The dome over thetransept, which had sheltered thern,collapsed to the ground. In gratitude toSan Christ6val for their deliverancetwice over, the brothers vowed to carryon from generation to generation in theiradopted town their family tradition fromthe old country of assisting the destituteand the desperate which they too hadbeen once before.Two Nuptial Knots (1744 & 1746)

Because of their nobility andmettle, despite their age, the brothersChrist6val were deemed eligible oldbachelors or widowers by their hosts and

supporters in the Chinese mestizocommunity of Lucb6n. One of them wasDon Lufs pangco (whose surnametranslates as ..fat lord,') with his wife,Dofla Jupna Flora. The affluent couplehad two daughters, Josefa de la Cruz andAna Urbina.ln 1743, Mount Banahaw ofSan Christ6val erupted (for the last timein recorded memory) b.r.yirrg the townof Sariaya in the South U"t largelysparing Lucbdn in the Northwest. It wasindeed a propitious event. The followingyear, the elder Christ6val took to wifeJosefa. And two years later tn 1746, theyounger Christ6val exchanged vowswith Ana. Thus, began a new chapter intheir lives as well as in the histbry ofLucb6n.

Their children and descendants wereofficially classified as Chinese mestizos.It should be noted that there were twotypes of Chinese mestizos in thePhilippines during the Spanish period.The first type was the offspring of aChinese father and a Filipina -*oth"r.who therefore was an exact half_breed.The second type was the child in afamily which had been classified fbrgenerations as Chinese mestizos in thedirect male line regardless of the amountof Chinese blood running in their veinssince the race of their maternal lineswere not taken into consideration. Thechildren of the brothers Christ6valbelonged to the frst type while theirgrandchildren and descendantsafterwards pertained to the second typewhich was the most common by the ig,hcentury.

Unlike in pagsanj6n, there was noseparate Tribunal (Municipal Hall) norgremio for Chinese mestizos in tucban.They and the naturales met together inthe same hall and as members of theprincipalfa, the1, took turns serving asmayors of the town. In the procesl the

Villaseriors pertecte,C the art of prudentinterpersonal relations or pokikfsamawith both the natir es and rhe Spaniards,which the clan has been knonn for.

The Crist6bals of Lucb{nDon Christ6val Guico fathered three

sors before he died: Don Juin (marriedDofla Ana Josefa Espfritu), Don Vicente,y9 D..o" Marcos (married Dofra EugeniaIsabel). All of thenr, following ChLesecustorn, took their patriareh's first nameas their surname, Crist6bal as spelled inthe new orthography.

Their progeny intermarried withtheir Vilaseflor relatives, mostly distantcousins, despite theChinese prohibition of consanguinousmarriages in the paternal line. (Therewffi, however, no prohibition ofmarriage in the maternal and paternal_

Chinese-Filipino mestizo couple in theearly 19'n century.

maternal lines.) They were able tocrcumvent the ancienr ban by atechnicality: the two branches of the clannow sported different surnames, whichdissimulated their paternal relationship.Besides, canon law of the CathollcChurch permitted consanguinousmarriages with special dispensation.Hence, the two branches were reunitedmore than a few times in the lgth and

ItH,

20th centuries like the noble families ofChina and Europe, whiqh probablypointed to their noble background inFujian. The descendants alsointermarried within their own branch.

More typically, however, theyintermarried with other prominentfamilies from the Gremio de Naturalesas well as Spaniards and Spanishmestizos, a fact, which widened theinterpersonal ties and contributed furtherto the hybrid vitality of the two clans.

The Cristobals moved fast in thesocial ladder of their adopted town.Presbitero Don Pio Crist6bal, the eldestson of the eldest son (Jutln), ascendedthe altar of God with the priestly dignity

- a sure sign in those days of familyprestige. In 1819, Don Marcos Crist6bal,the youngest son, became the first of theclan to be elected by the principalia as

the gobernadorcillo (mayor) of Lucb6n.Marcos' son, Don Saturnino Crist6balRilles also became the town executive in1840. It was he who ordered thereligious image known as SantoSepulcro (the dead Christ in a glasscoffrn) to be sculptured. Since then, ithas been used on Good Fridayprocessions and considered miraculousby the townsfolk, who call the imageMahal na Sefior (Holy Lord).

From Don Saturnino descended theprominent Lukbrin clan of Manila andCamarines Norte whose surname honorstheir ancestral town. Saturnino'sdaughter, Andrea married Don Agustfnde San Miguel who changed his familyname to Lukb6n in 1849. In that year,Governor General Don Narciso Claveria,Conde de Manila, ordered thpsystematization of Filipino surnames.The majority of the Filipinos chose orchanged their patronymics to Spanishsurrrirmes. Only a small minority, likeDon Agustin, went against the current.

The Villasefiors of LucbfnWe now come to our direct line of

descent from the younger brother, DonChrist6val de Villaseflor. Five childrenwere born to him and his wife, DoflaAna Urbina Pangco: Don Blas Mariano(born on February 3, c1747 and mariedDofla Juana Mioaela de Luna); DoflaMaria Dominga (born on August 4,

cI748 and married Don VicenteSantiago de la Cruz who later adoptedthe surname Eleip;al and served as themayor of Lucb:in in 1787); Doffa MariaLina (born on Sept. 23, c1750,unmarried); Don Antonio Serapi6n (see

data below), our direct ancestor; and

Dofla Anastacia (born on April 15,

c1755, unmarried). The Ele6zars,descendants of Vicente and MariaDominga, have led the way incelebrating a grand reunion last year,

2002 n Lucbiin. They published a two-volume work on their genealogy andlineage. We, the descendants of AntonioSerapi6n, are now following theiredifring example this year. As explainedearlier, some of the Eleiizars alsodescended liom Antonio Serapi6n.

It is recorded that the manse of thedowager, Dofia Ana Urbina burneddown in the Great Fire of 1789 inLucb6n. She took refuge in the house ofone of her married children. She

probably died a few years later.Don Antonio Serapi6n de Vilasefior,

the second son of the second son, wasborn on February 25, c1752(feast of San

Serapi6n, m6rtir) and died in c1812. Hemarried Dofia Lina de la Rosa whoapparently died young and childless. OnSeptember 7, 1791, the widowerremarried to a 19 year-old town-mateDofia Rosa de los Angeles. She was bornon March 2,1112 and died in c1825.

They were blessed with eightchildren: Srta. Dofla Cayetana de

Villasefior (born on August '7, 1792,

unmarried); Don Fernando de Villaseflor(born on MaY 30, 1793 and married

Dofla Martina Solueta de San Antonio);

Don Silvino de Villaseffor (bort on

February 7, 1794 and married Dofla

Micaela de San Agustin of TaYabas,

Tayabas); Padre Don Silvestre de

ViilaseRor (born on December 31,

1794); Dofla Salvadora de Villasefior(born on March 18, 1798 and married

Licenciado Don Pasqual Nepomuceno y

Llamas, a prominent Manila lawyer from

Pagsanj6n); Padre Don Agustin de

ViilaseRor (born on August 28, 1800);

Doffa Eufemia de Villasefior (born on

March 3, 1802 and married Don Higino

Sanchez); and Don Ju6n de Villaseflor(born on June 24, 1805 and married (a)

Doffa Rufina Santiago Tigmaque & (b)

Dofla Micaela Cajigal).In the 1850s, the Villaseflors

dropped the preposition "de" from their

surname.

The Rise of the VillaseflorsLike their Chinese forbears, both the

Villaseflors and the Cristobals prospered

through their entrepreneurial activities,

which included the purchase, clearing,

development and cultivation ofagricultural lands as well as trading in.i"",

"op.u and other commodities in the

provinces of Laguna and Tayabas (now

Quez6n). Their social rise coincided

with the economic prosperity of . the

Philippine colony from the late l8'n tothe 19'h centurY as signaled bY the

official opening of the Port of Manila to

international trade in 1834.

They emerged as the two most

influential Chinese mestizo families ofLucb6n and among the most prominent

in the aforementioned provinces' To

show their gratitude to Divine

Providence, they engaged extensively in

works of charity and put themselves at

the service of the church. ManY a

descendant became priests and nuns'

On September 1, 1854, the SPanish

governor of Tayabas, Don Jos6 Maria de

L O *tote the governor-general that

"The Villaseflors are well known in the

whole province and even in the capital

(Manila) for the fine religious qualities

which characterize the said family'" In

that yetr, Don Pedro NePomuceno

Viliaseflor, one of the clan's most

illustrious scions (son of Dofla Salvadora

de Villaseflor), founded the Casa

Hospicid de Pobres de Lucbdn (Asylum

for the Poor of Lucban), . which

according to Governor La O, was

"probably the first one to be established

in any of the provincial towns of these

Ishnds." In fact, it was the only

charitable institution of its kind to be set

up and administered by laymen in the

Philippines during the Spanish Regime'

For the perpetual sustenance of its poor

residents, the Villaseflors purchased a

fertile piece of rice land and donated it to

the foundation.

The Amazing GenealogYAn abiding interest in their roots

runs deep in the veins of the Villaseflors,

which impel them to hold clan reunions'

The marvelous records of their

genealogy and lineage have been

updated byvarious diligent descendants from the

different branches for the past three

centuries in various forms such as

py'ramidal charts, narratives, cartwheels'-detailed

outlines and articles for the

benbfit of posterity. From circa 1670 up

to at least the 10rt generation, almost

every descendant of the Chinese

progenitor is traced and accounted for'iii

io o,rt kno*1edge. this is the longest

continuous and comPrehensive

lr

genealoglr of a Chinese mestizo clan inthe Philippines, which was researchedand committed to writing by its ownmembers, whether individually or as agroup. It is a unique historical andsociological record that has yet to betapped by scholars.

Note: This article is an enlarged and revisedversion of part of a rronograph of theauthor: Luciano PR Santiago. ...The Soul ofLucb6n: Don Pedro Nepomuceno Villasenorand His Asylum for the poor.,' Bikolnon:.Journal of Ateneo de Naga- ae997): 9_39.(Unfortunately, this publicatiur has several

lpographical errors.) Please see the original,for the detailed sources of lata

'*Fujian hovince, china-" (Internet website, 2000) based on caroline courtauld. Fujian: China,sY:!,:"-:r"! Land of Mists and Mountains.'(passiort Books )." temando Gonz6lez-Doria. Diccionario Herrildiio y Notitnin de bs Reinos de Espafta.(Madrid:Bitacora: 1994. p.790.

iii rhe various Genealogies of the clan (arranged chronologically):

1899 - D. Ju{n Ordoveza y Villasenor. "A,rbol Geneal6gico de Consanguinidad.,, (Sta.cruz, Laguna: MS). This is the oldest existing genealogy;f the clan.c1930 - D. Juin D. Nepomuceno.-"The Descendantr oibon Pio Rafael Nepomuceno andDoia Magia Agustina Henson.,, (Angeles, pampanga: MS).c1947 - Dr. Pedro Natividad Villasefior. "Los Descendientes de los Esposos Jer6nimoVenco (Chino) y Juana Dinio de Pagsanjriq Laguna." (Lucena, MSS, ct}+11. This is themost comprehensive genealogy of the Villasefior clan up to the time of its compilation.1959-70 - ordoveza Clun. Aiiol Genealfigico. (Maniluiordorr"za clan Reunions). Theordoveza-Villaseflor Genealogy was updated and printed in various formats ylarty.1960 - Carlosa Eleitzar-rJnson. Kasaysoyan ng Aigtqtn ng ordoveza. (Maniia: ordovezaClan).1962 - Luciano PR

fanliaeo. Genealogt of the ordoveza-Villasefior Clan. (Malila: MS).1972 - Dr' Carmelo G. Nepomuceno. The Relatives of Don Judn D. Nepomuceno.(Montreal, Canada: CG Nepomuceno).19b7 - Marco D- Nepomuieno. The'Nepomucenos of Angeles City. (Angeles City. MDNepomuceno)1987 - Luciano PR Santiago. "Villasefior and de la Rosa: Memoirs of Two portraits.,,Phil' Quarterly of culture & society (POCD. l5(1987): 277-294. (with genealogicalchart). .- \ .'-"' c

1991 - Luciano PR Santiago. "casa ordoveza of Majayjay, Laguna. - pecs l9(199r):11-30 (with genealogical chart).1997 - Luciano PR Santiago. :'Th" Soul of Lucb6n: Don Pedro Nepomuceno Villaseflorand his Asylum for the Poor." Bikolnon, Journal of Ateneo d, Nigo. qflggi):9-39 (withgenealogical chat).2001 - Jaime Elednat Racelis. The Villasefior Families. Descendants of Don AntonioSerapi6n Villasefior. (pdsig City: MS).2002 - Eledzar Families oieuiz6n. (Manila: Eleazar.Grand Reunion) 2 vols.20az - Antonio P- Dimalanta, Jr. Arbol Genealilgico: ordoveza.pdrez-Rivera-DimalantaBranch. (Agana, Guam: ApD).2003 - Marco D. Nepomuc"* A Dr. Carmelo G. Nepomuceno. The Nepomucenos of

Angele s. (Montreal, Canada: Nepomucenos).