S07EP03 - 'The Elevated' with Todd Lucero Sales

In this third episode of Series Seven, host Andrew Martin meets professional genealogist, author, and host of The Filipino Genealogy Channel on YouTube - Todd Lucero Sales. Andrew hears how Todd got hooked on researching family history in the Philippines, the challenges of researching Filipino family history, the impact of hundreds of years of rule by Spain on records, and why he started his YouTube channel.

THE LIFE STORY - FELICIANA MARIA CEBALLOS
Todd has chosen to tell the story of his 4x Great Grandmother Feliciana Maria Ceballos who had two children with a old priest named Father Francisco Diaz in Argao, Cebu, Philippines.

Family lore through the generations reached Todd with a story of Feliciana being so beautiful that she caught the attention of many priests travelling the area, but by using surviving records he's been able to verify the details and discover her life raising their children alone against a backdrop of stigma of being an un-married mother.

Despite this stigma against her and the children, the church did appear to accept and provide for her and her descendants.

THE BRICK WALL - MR TAN
It's a research brick wall in his maternal tree that has Todd stuck - the identity of his Great Grandmother's father. Whilst he knows that he was Chinese (which is reflected in the percentage of Chinese DNA detected in his 23andMe test), Todd knows only the man's family name - Mr. Tan.

Mr. Tan fathered Todd's Great Grandmother, and remained in Argao, Cebu Island, the Philippines to support his partner, until returning to his first family in China, and never being seen or heard from again.

DNA tests have provided Todd with some results, and he thinks he may have come from the Fujian region of Southern China, but it's hard for him to isolate this branch. Researching in China and via China DNA results has proved to be difficult from outside the country.

Can you help identify Mr Tan, who left China for Philippines circa 1882?

If you think that you can help Todd with a research idea or a clue, you can contact him at the email address he gives in the episode or alternatively, you can send us a message and we'll pass it on to him.

In the meantime, Andrew is keen to offer help, but will Todd get the answers needs?

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Episode Credits:

• Andrew Martin - Host and Producer
• Todd Sales Lucero - Guest

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Chapters

• 0:00 Intro
• 0:55 The Interview - Todd Lucero Sales
• 22:37 The Life Story - Feliciana Maria Ceballos
• 36:36 The Brick Wall - Mr Tan
• 45:52 The Departure