|
The Nadal
Coat of Arms
Some spellings of the name Nadal include: Needle, Needles, Needell, Nelder
Needdele, Nadal, Nadle, Needler, Nedler, Nedlere, Neelder, Neldere, Nadler,
Nadlere, Nayldor, Needlemaker, Neilder, and many more.
Google Ads:
Puerto Rico
Coffee
|
Nadal
Morales
The contributions and the influence of the Nadal Morales family
in the development of Frontón Ciales, Puerto Rico
during the decades of the late 1880's through 1949 and beyond....
It is a great honor to introduce the
genealogical history of the Nadal Morales family of Frontón, Ciales,
Puerto Rico.
Our family patriarch Don Pedro Nadal Moll arrived
in Puerto Rico at a very young age. He was born in
Palma de Mallorca, Spain in 1883. The son
of Bartolome Nadal and Apolonia Moll.
We have now learned that he had a brother Rafael Nadal
Moll and two sisters Maria Nadal Moll and Apolonia Nadal Moll. It's
not exactly known when he arrived in Puerto Rico, although, we know that he was
about seventeen years of age when he filed his declaration of nationality in
Lares, Puerto Rico.
Like many others looking for a better life two
undocumented young brothers Pedro Nadal Moll
and Rafael Nadal Moll managed to board a ship and traveled in the cargo
compartment that was transporting pork barrels from Mallorca to Mayaguez, Puerto
Rico. As a result of the Spanish American War and the peace treaty of
Paris of 1898 the United States ordered that all foreigners would have to
declare their nationality and in March 1900 he decided to retain his Mallorquín-Spanish
citizenship and settled in Fronton, Ciales where he would eventually become a
prosperous business man and
Puerto Rico Coffee plantation owner.
We have recently received
information about his brother RAFAEL NADAL MOLL from his family in Mexico.
The information reveals that he arrived at the port of Veracruz, Mexico in
November 22, 1904 and that he settled there and married Sofia Suárez Torres.
He had 6 children; Apolonia (deceased), Lucía (deceased), Rita (is 94 years
old), Lourdes (is 92 years old), Miguel (deceased), and Bartolome (deceased).
We can now be certain that they arrived to the new world and that it appears
that Don Pedro settled in Puerto Rico and Don Rafael arrived at the port of
Veracruz, Mexico in 1904, settled in Tabasco and raised his family.
I find this piece of information about Don
Pedro's decision to make a better life away from his mother land very revealing
and interesting and of great significance. Here we have a young boy
settling in a foreign land and yet his patriotism and love for his mother land
makes him decide to retain his Spanish Nationality. I have always wondered
where my natural desire and love for my country Puerto Rico comes from and it's
now obvious to me that it has to do with my grandfather's own love for his
mother land and patriotism.
Doña Rafaela Morales was born in
Fronton of Puerto Rican parents and lived all her life
there. We know that our dear grandmother
dedicated her entire life to the farm and taking care of the family.
Her dedication and fortitude resulted in a family strengthen by her wits and
strengths. A humble and simple woman but as strong as the 'tabonuco' that
was able to survive the harshest of times that ironically served to form and
shape the family we are today. I remember my grandmother with love and a
sense of gratitude because it was she that asked me to dance my first dance.
I have never forgotten that. I was visiting Tio Fello
and there was a family party in the old farm house. I don't remember the
occasion that was been celebrated but
I remember the dance, a 'mazurca', that was playing in
Tio Fello's old record player. I remember my
grandmother as very jovial and friendly and an expert dancing the 'mazurca'.
I felt pride and happiness dancing with her and today when I recollect that
precious moment I feel saddened for not having had the opportunity of living
near her during the last days of her life. It would have been a real
pleasure to have been able to show her my gratitude and respect.
(please turn your volume on to hear a mazurca)
Don Pedro Nadal Moll first married Carlina
Santiago Diaz at the age of 21 and in November 1905 they had a son Bartolome
Nadal Santiago. This marriage did not last and soon dissolved.
This, perhaps, is the moment in our family history that was the beginning of
what was to come for all of us.
Don Pedro, soon thereafter, married Rafaela
Morales and together they formed the Nadal Morales family that would leave an
indelible mark in the history of Fronton, Ciales. Together they
raised Don Pedro's first born Bartolo, and their own ten children. In 1910
Francisco their first son was born, and nine more children would follow:
Maria in 1911;
Catalina in 1913; Rafael in
1914; Apolonia in 1916; Antonio in 1917;
Margarita in
1919; Antonia in 1921; Francisca in 1925; and Juan in 1927.
It's important to realize that during this time
period the world witnessed some of the most historic and far reaching events of
modern times. The Spanish-American war, the Great Depression, the Spanish
Civil War, the First World War and the Second World War not necessarily in this
order. This is of meaningful relevance to me because one can see the
difficulties that in those days families had to endure to be able to raise
children and provide and prosper. This time period in our family history
was harsh and very difficult, indeed, I remember my mother telling me stories of
the hard times and how she and her oldest sister Aunt Maria had to make ends
meet with very little. It was not until later when things got better that
they were able to have a better life. My mother always remembered her
father as a proud Mallorquin with very good business skills and an excellent
farmer. I must admit that my mother also told sad stories about how her
father sometimes had to shortchange the family in order to bring as much of the
farm produce to the town market to make as much as he possibly could under the
circumstances of that harsh period of time in history. Knowing what I know
now about those days in history I can only feel saddened by all the difficulties
the family had to put up with, yet all of that makes me much more proud of my
family and especially my mom and my aunt Maria that lived thru the most
difficult period of time when the family was starting up and they had to
sacrifice so much including their youth to help in the early development of the
family we all enjoy today.
Like our predecessor, Don Pedro, we are a family
that has dispersed to just about every corner of the world. And as if it
were family destiny, that separated the two brothers, we have also gone in
different ways and have in that respect exhibited that family tradition of
migration.
It's this way that we must understand the
sacrifices that our parents had to endure so that we can have a better life and
in return we must respect and honor their past and it's precisely the objective
of this website to say THANK YOU Mom, Pop, Uncles, Aunts, and Grandparents Don
Pedro and Doña Rafaela for giving us LIFE and for making us proud of our
heritage, interesting, as proud as Don Pedro was always about being a Mallorquin
and although not too many neighbors and the family understood his mother tongue
he'd go around speaking in Mallorquin even though hardly any one understood what
he was saying.
We must also appreciate the fortitude and
resiliency of our family trait that notwithstanding all the adversities we have
managed and continue full speed ahead in this world.
Note to family members: Please use the
Contact form to provide information or any corrections for the website. Feel
free to send your comments about anything. We'd like to keep the
information current and we need your help in this regard. Thank you.
NEW or changed information will be shown in
RED.
Last updated on January 9, 2009.
|
Coat of Arms or Heraldry of Iwain Moll (van
Leedbergen)
found in a composite of more than four family names depicted in a
Lead-Glass Mural in the St Jans Church in Gouda - Ledeberg is a small
village near Gent, Belgium.....more
|
