By mariatinhb |

I came across my 2X great grandfather's marriage record, Anastacio Lopez and Urcina Arrieta. They were married in Jalpa, Zacatecas on September 4, 1836. I am wondering what the capital C stands for in front of his name and the MADAM or MADAME title in front of the bride's name. I noticed that the surrounding records do not have the same pattern.

https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-1-11200-25898-60?cc=1804458&wc…

Thank you for your help!

Maria Elena Lopez

victorianonavarro (not verified)

10 years 1 month ago

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After Independence in 1821 (or maybe until 1824 when Mexico became a Republic) C. meant ciudadano or citizen, since they were no longer subjects of a King, but it usually appears in all the records, not just in one. I had never seen the use of Madame in these records.
VN

I also came across a record with exactly the same titles, and also just for some specific records, at first glance I though it was the writer style but like this record as soon as I checked the continuous entries I realized it was for some specific people. I do suspect that this is kind of the equivalent of "Don" and "Doña" from the Spanish days in Mexico, probably used soon after the Independence but something that never got its way trough.

Thank you for your comments. After I made my first post, I realized that Ursina (or Urcina) Arrieta was the daughter of Felipe Arrieta, the first "presidente municipal" of Jalpa, Zacatecas proceeding independence. I'm not trying to make a mountain out of a mole hill LOL, but this could be why the distinction.

Maria Elena Lopez Trilevsky

victorianonavarro (not verified)

10 years 1 month ago

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I guess the C. may stand for Caballero, since "Damas y caballeros" is the equivalent of "Mesdames et messieurs" or "Ladies and gentlemen".
VN

Maria: actually I think is a very interesting detail, since is not that common (or a least not on the records I've seen) Its always good to find little clues here and there that at the end help us understand no just who our ancestors were but what environment and conditions they lived in.

Vicotoriano: that's interesting, but now that I found the record again it actually says "Cno." as you suggested before it looks like "Ciudadano." in this case the women are called "Madama" or just "Ma."

Just for the fun of it here it is the link to my record, on the right panel, second to first entry "Jose Ma. Bato", in those two pages there is no other entry with those titles, there are more "here and there" within that book though.

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