Help finding canary inslands sources. Francisco Hidalgo Gonzales in Republic of Texas.

Question

Would love help finding sources for this branch of my family. The profiles on Wikitree are not sourced and I don't have a clue where to look for the primary sources. The [[Woods-859|Zadock Woods (1773-1842)]] is a well documented "Old 300" family in Texas, and the Hidalgo Gonzales family is a part of the story, as their daughter Isabella married Montraville Woods. 

The story that is documented in letters to Stephen F. Austin is that they eloped, the parents got together and decided they should be married, and Franciso wanted Montraville punished, but for them to be married right away at La Bahia by a priest. 

The stories available online about the Woods family state that Isabella was the daughter of Francisco Hidalgo Gonzales and his wife, Procopia Hidalgo Valdes (daughter of Don Francisco Hidalgo Valdes), but I have been unable to locate any primary sources.

Francisco's find a grave and headstone states he was born in the Canary Islands. 

His Spanish (Texas) land grant is in Spanish, but I believe it says he originated from Mexico?

Any help pointing me to where I might be able to find actual sources for her parents and where they originated would be greatly appreciated. 

Answer 1

I have no experience with Mexican or Canarian genealogy, but for Texas and Mexico in this early period I would look for Catholic church records.  Consider starting with the baptism and marriage of Isabella.  Traditional records of baptisms and marriages in this period would name the parents and, sometimes, mention where they had lived.  The hard part will probably be identifying the parish or diocese where the event occurred.  Large numbers of early Mexican church records have been indexed in FamilySearch and Ancestry.com.  I don't know about Texas before independence.  Millions more have been digitized but not yet indexed.

As for the Canaries, maybe someone from Wikitree Puerto Rico or Cuba groups could help you since many Caribbean islanders had Canarian ancestry.  I hope someone can improve on this answer...

Answer 2

I also have family from Canary Islands and dont know where to find sources.  I am going to the Canary Islands soon and was hoping that before I depart, I might be able to visit places with records or places where I might find a sign of family.  

Also, I do recommend joining the Canary Island genealogy groups on Facebook.

Answer 3

There is a Canary Islands Descendants Assoc. in San Antonio, Tx. My husband is one of the descendants from the 3 boats that came from Spain to Texas. We have heard some got off the boat in Cuba, Some in Florida and Louisiana on the way to Texas. There are some books on the Canary Islanders at the Institute of Texas Cultures in San Antonio, the main library and the association probably have many things. I know San Fernando Cathedral has records of marriages, births, and deaths as the Canary Islanders built the church.   I hope this worked. I haven't ever used this before. Good Luck in your search and looking forward to hearing some of your stories.