José Camacho Farfán
Commissioner of Mongmong-Toto-Maite 1961-1973
FARFÁN
There are not huge numbers of Chamorros with the surname Farfán, but the family has been on Guam since the early 1800s.
The name is absent on the earlier Guam censuses of 1727 and 1758. So the first Farfán to come to Guam must have arrived after 1758.
The name is Spanish, but this does not mean that the first Farfán to come to Guam had to have been a Spaniard from Spain. He could have been that, but he could have also been a Spaniard from Latin America or from the Philippines. It is also possible that he was of mixed blood from Latin America or a Filipino. Until we find more documents, that's as far as we can say.
But in the 1897 Census of Guam, we find people named Farfán who were born in the early 1800s. These must have been the 2nd or even 3rd generations of people named Farfán on Guam. The family was already part of the Chamorro community, therefore, since the early 1800s, regardless what race the first Farfán on Guam was.
1897 Census
In this census, we find three adult Farfáns living together with the family of Vicente de la Cruz and his wife Maria Ignacio de la Cruz. Maria's maiden name was Cruz. Following the Spanish custom, Chamorro women kept their original surnames even when they married.
The Farfáns living with the Cruzes had Cruz as a middle name. My guess is that the Farfáns were nephew and nieces of either Vicente or Maria. Perhaps the Farfáns (who were in their 20s and teens) had lost both mother and father, and moved in with an aunt and/or uncle.
The three are Ana, Vicente and Rita.
Vicente married Joaquina Sablan Camacho (the daughter of Roque Camacho) and these were the parents of Jose (pictured above), the former Commissioner (now called Mayor) of Mongmong-Toto-Maite, Ignacio (who died in the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941 while serving on the USS Oklahoma), Jesús and one daughter, Rosa.
VICENTE CRUZ FARFÁN'S SIGNATURE IN 1912
Others...
Besides these three siblings, there is also an old widow, María Farfán, born in the 1830s.
There is finally another woman, Josefa Borja Farfán, born in the 1840s, who married Mariano Palomo Blas.
María and Josefa could have been sisters and, if they were, then María would have been a Borja Farfán.
ORIGIN OF THE NAME
The name is found in Spain, but its meaning has been lost.
Sevilla, in the south of Spain, seems to be the birthplace of the family, but it has since spread to many places. Only 1,300 people in all of Spain has this last name, found mainly in the south and in the capital city of Madrid.
Extension of the name Farfán in Spain. The darker the color, the more numerous the residents having the last name Farfán.
Keep in mind that the Spanish and Chamorro pronunciation of this last name stresses the second (and last) syllable : Far - FAN. Americanized speakers will probably stress the first syllable and say FAR - fan.
MORE ABOUT JOSÉ....
Go to this link at Dr Michael Bevacqua's blog about the writing of former Commissioner José Farfán. The man wrote critical notes about the American administration of Guam right after their return in 1944.
http://minagahet.blogspot.com/2006/08/from-invasion-of-guam-to-liberation-of.html
el segundo se refiere a la historia fabulosa de la case de Farfan, vinculados a la cidua de sevilla. afrirma que los fundadores de este linaje unos nobles visgodos de alta aclurina y haste de estripe real. uno de ellos no seria sino el hijo de rey acosta, hermano de don rodrigo , el ultimo rey godo de espana. que hebrian peleado contral el invasor musleman. El infante a quien se ha aldudio sido preso por miramillion almanzor, el cual se lo habria llevado a marruecos. Harbria venido a ser consejero del princepe, recibiendo asì grandes riquiza y sus parientes harbrian a vivir con el. Los Farfanes harbrìan sido, pues personajes muy importantes en el reino maroqui de bennarmin, y de una generacion a otra se habrian transmitdio su relgion cristana y la limpeiza de su sangre goda. Harbrian regresado a castilla, en epoca de juan II que los habrai llemado para serviele, prometiendoles grandes recompensa, ya que estimaba inaceptable que unos nobles cristanos de tan alto rango, en cuyas venas corria la sangre real de los godos, pudieran vivir en las tierras de los enmigos de la fe. Desde entonces los miembros de este linaje no se llamaron sino Farfan de los Godos. El final del memorial encierra una historai de los godos de sus grandes hazanas, de sus soberanos hasta rodrigo el pecador, por cuya culpa se perdio el reino, lo que le ha dado ocasion al autor para introducir en el texto unas alabanzas de espana, al modo isidoriano.
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