paleric: FAMILIA : SALAS

Tuesday, August 9, 2011

FAMILIA : SALAS

diablosrojos.eu

The name itself is a Spanish word, the plural of sala, which means "hall," a large room. In Chamorro, the living room of a house is called the såla.

It seems that all the Salases in the Marianas come from one ancestor, Ignacio Salas, a member of the Spanish troops on Guam listed in 1727. Again, "Spanish" could have meant a Spaniard from Spain, a Spaniard born in Latin America, or a mestizo (mixed blood) person from Latin America with part-Spanish and part-Native American blood. Unless better documents are discovered, the specific identity of Ignacio Salas will remain a mystery.

Ignacio married Isabel Meriña. Meriña is not a Spanish name. Merina is, but not Meriña; and with a prevalence of Chamorro names ending in -ña (Mangloña, Mantanoña, Finoña, etc) one must leave open the possibility that Isabel was Chamorro. But we can't be sure.

Ignacio and Isabel had at least three sons to carry on the Salas name : two sons both named Domingo and one named Angel. The first Domingo married a woman named Maria Magdalena, but we're not sure what her last name was. The second Domingo married a woman most definitely Chamorro, whose name was Lucia Mansangan. Mansangan is a Chamorro word meaning ma såsångan, or "it is being said." Angel married Barbara Fernandez, of uncertain origin.

Since the Spanish and Filipino troops lived in Hagåtña, their descendants, like the Salases, were mainly Hagåtña residents. Some of the major Salas families in Hagåtña in 1897 were : Dionisio Aguon Salas, who married Maria Quitugua. He had many sons; one of them was Jose who married Ramona de Leon Guerrero.

Felipe Salas married Rosa Delgado. Their son Javier married twice; the first one, who died young, was Josefa Blas, and the second was Rosa Reyes.

Juan Perez Salas married a distant relative, Maria Blas Perez.

Pedro Cruz Salas married Rosa Pangelinan Cardenas and had many children, including sons Jose, Antonio and Francisco.

Ramon Salas married Vicenta Indalecio and they had two sons : Jose and Juan.

Vicente Salas married Rita Dim and had two sons : Vicente and Antonio.

Vicente Evaristo Salas, living in Aniguak, married Dolores Nauta and had two sons : Agapito and Ignacio, and two daughters.

AGAT

The Agat branch of the family traces their roots to two men : Doroteo Salas, who married Maria Diaz. They had two sons : Jose (who married Ana San Pedro Cruz) and Juan (who married Manuela Taeñao Santos).

Another Agat Salas, who may or may not have been related to Doroteo, was Hilario, who married Maria Nego and had a son Jose.

SAIPAN

Joaquin Manajane Salas from Hagåtña moved to Saipan and married Rosalia Aurora Fausto (part-Chamorro, part-Carolinian) from Saipan.

His sister, Teresa Manajane Salas (born in Hagåtña), whose husband seems to have left the Marianas leaving her behind, was the matriarch of a number of descendants carrying the Salas name.

Pedro Salas from Hagåtña moved to Saipan and married Maria San Nicolas Campos, also born in Hagåtña.