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Maria Duval Vargas (b. January 17, 1911, d. December 21, 1993)

Maria Duval Vargas (daughter of Pablo Narciso Duval and Isabel Vargas) was born January 17, 1911 in Neiba, Dominican Republic, and died December 21, 1993 in at home in Jackson Heights, Queens, NYC. She married John J. Grusaky, son of Gabriel Grusovsky and Mary Majdan.

Notes for Maria Duval Vargas:
Gravestone: "viviras siempre en nuestros corazones"

For time immemorial in Spain the Catholic church and the civil
Government (since the middle of the 19th century), have been using the
same system for registering and ordering the last names of a given
individual, its use extending to Latin America, since the Colonial
Days.
The high number of last names a person may use, four, eight or more,
does not make that person an aristocrat or more elegant or a member of
the nobility, it only shows that the ancestors are known to that family
or that individual in particular -- it is basic genealogy. In the
titled
families these records are very carefully kept and most of the nobility
knows by heart the cadency of their "illustrious" last names.

As most of us are Catholic, we have been baptized in our local parishes
and also have been registered in the Civil Registry offices of our
towns
or cities, and both, the baptism certificate and the civil birth
certificate, clearly states the two last names of father and mother and
sometimes also the two last names of the four grandparents, that is, if
the priest of that particular parish or the civil servant of the
registry office was more or less educated and did not make a mistake
during the registry of the names. In the larger parishes of the cities,
like cathedrals or basilicas, the errors were much less frequent than
in
the small town parishes, so if you are lucky, in your baptism
certificate you have your first eight last names. You only need to get
the baptism or civil certificate of your four grandparents, and with
much luck, Bingo! You have your 16 last names.

The system is simplicity in itself, let's see it through a living
example, this way it will be easier to understand: I have 16 last
names,
which are:

Casas-Sánchez-Castaños-Loaeza-Domenech-Díaz-Echeverría-Escobedo-Tarrago-
Gil-Morera-Barreiro-Bazosabal-Caldelas-Yspizua-Ortiz

The order or cadency of the last names goes by relationship:

1-Father ........................... Casas
2-Mother ........................... Sánchez
3-Paternal Grandmother ............. Castaños
4-Maternal Grandmother ............. Loaeza
5-Paternal Maternal Grandmother .... Domenech
6-Maternal Maternal Grandmother .... Díaz
And so on.

How did I get my 16 last names? Examining the baptism and the civil
certificates of each and everyone of my ancestors, that is, beginning
with father, then mother and so on, I wrote down all of their last
names, then to follow the correct order or cadency of the mentioned
last
names one has to intercalate them, male-father, female-mother, male-
grandfather, female-grandmother, etc. The certificates showed the

following:

J. Casas father's eight last names:
Casas-Castaños-Domenech-Echeverría-Tarrago-Bazosabal-Morera-Yspizua.

J. Casas mother's eight last names:
Sánchez-Loaeza-Díaz-Escobedo-Gil-Caldelas-Barreiro-Ortiz

This system is logical, practical, simple and effective, it is less
hard
to make mistakes when investigating the family history, doing
genealogical research and quartering the blazons in family heraldry.

One of the most important aspects in the Spanish system for last names
is that the women never, ever lose their last names. They have exactly
the same last names of their brothers. When the woman marries she only
adds the last name or names of her husband, for example:

My wife's name is Ana East Sans, when she married me, she became: Ana
East Sans de Casas, (of) for practical reasons she only uses Ana East
de
Casas, if she was a widow, (not yet) she would be: Ana East viuda de
Casas, (widow of) if she was divorced (not yet) she would return to use
her original name Ana East Sans.

This system allows the woman to keep forever her last names, I think is
very fair and logical, it is hard for us to understand the American or
British system that dictates that the woman loses her last name
completely and definitely when she marries, even if she becomes a
widow.
And all of this in a modern liberal women's rights society!

Another important point is that by law, we have to use our first two
last names always when legal documentation is involved or when signing
legal affairs or writing bank checks of a certain amount above a limit,
etc. etc.

The custom of always of using our two first last names is quite
practical. This way we can differentiate as to our father or son when
the first or Christian name is the same, this way we do not use the
"Jr." Some people, (man or woman) use their second Christian name, this
is quite common, in official documents it is obligatory to use it, that
is, if one has the names registered in the official birth certificate.

You will find in some, not very common cases the letter "y" between the
two last names, this is done in order to separate the two last names,
(father and mother) and not to confuse a double last name that is
composed of two words. In English this is done using a hyphen.

One thing to remember and perhaps to learn, is how to address an
Hispanic person, by word or in writing, the rule is to always address
the person in question by their first last name, never by the second.
When in doubt, address the person by using both names. Lots of people,
educated ones, but ignorant of our system keep addressing me as Mr.
Sanchez, when I am Mr. Casas, or Mr. Casas y Sanchez. But, when I must
correct the person that makes this involuntary error, I always try do
it
in a diplomatic way in order not to hurt feelings.

More About Maria Duval Vargas:
Burial: Unknown, Cemeterio de Maximo Gomez, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.

Children of Maria Duval Vargas and John J. Grusaky are: