Who Founded Filomeno Lineage?

The "Filomeno" lineage is part of the family of Benito Cabahug and Tomasa Sanchez.  In 1992, this lineage was accepted by the Cabahug Clan, based on two, sworn affidavits which identified Filomeno Cabahug as a son of Benito and Tomasa.  The information contained in the affidavits undoubtedly reflects the commonly held knowledge of the affiants and their family members, as filtered over time.

More recently, the marriage record of Ambrosio Cabahug was found in the Civil Register of Mandaue.  This record identifies the father of Ambrosio as Maximino Cabahug.  The new evidence calls into question the name of the founder of the "Filomeno" lineage, who is acknowledged to be the father of Ambrosio.  This page analyzes the evidence from these records and suggests how the mix up in names likely occurred. The key evidence from the affidavits is listed below, along with a link to a copy of the affidavits.

The Affidavits:

• Affidavit 1, by Geronima Seno Cabahug:
  • Geronima was born about 1905 and in 1924, she married Teofilo Cabahug, the son of Ambrosio Cabahug and Fausta Barte³ and the grandson of "Filomeno" Cabahug.  Geronima had lived in Maguikay and Ibabao, districts of Mandaue, Cebu.  The key statements in Geronima's affidavit are:
  
  
  1. That Geronima had known for a long time that the sons of Benito Cabahug and Tomasa Sanchez were:  Eduardo S. Cabahug, Juan S. Cabahug, Narciso S. Cabahug, Cornelio S. Cabahug, Fernando S. Cabahug and Filomeno S. Cabahug.
  2. That Filomeno was commonly known as "Tatay Inoy" and that his wife was Fausta Barte.
  3. That one of the sons of Filomeno Cabahug was Ambrosio B. Cabahug.
  4. That Fernando S. Cabahug was a neighbor of Filomeno Cabahug and FaustaBarte.
  
  
• Affidavit 2, by Saturnina Cabahug Dabon:
• Saturnina was born about 1907, and in 1927, she married Gabino Dabon.  She lived in Maguikay and was a neighbor of the "Filomeno" Cabahug family.  The key statements in Saturnina's affidavit are:


1. That she had known since childhood that the sons of Benito Cabahug and Tomasa Sanchez were:  Filomino S. Cabahug, Fernando S. Cabahug, Eduardo S. Cabahug, Juan S. Cabahug, Narciso S. Cabahug, and Cornelio S. Cabahug.
That she was familiar with the family of Filomino S. Cabahug, whose wife, Fausta Barte, was their neighbor and had a store located in Maguikay.
2. That one of the sons of Filomino Cabahug was Ambrosio B. Cabahug.

The Marriage Record of Ambrosio Cabahug:

Ambrosio Cabahug and Cayetana Sanchez were married on April 30, 1902³, and their marriage was recorded in the Civil Register of Mandaue.  The marriage record reads, in part:

It is important to note that names in this record agree with common family knowledge, except for Ambrosio's father.  Further, Fausta Barte, Zacarias Sanchez and Basilia Cortes all lived well into the 20^th century.

The Analysis:

The simple answer to the question:  Who founded the Filomeno Lineage?  is Maximino Cabahug.  The marriage recorded, recorded as it was in 1902, should clearly take precedent.  Participants in the marriage knew Maximino and were unlikely to make a mistake.  The same cannot be said for individuals living 90 years later.  But, how could such a mistake have come about?

A likely answer lies in the information provided by the affidavits.  Two statements, in particular, are important:

1. That she was familiar with the family of Filomino S. Cabahug, whose wife, Fausta Barte, was their neighbor and had a store located in Maguikay.  [by Saturnina Cabahug Dabon]
2. That Filomeno was commonly known as "Tatoy Inoy" and that his wife was Fausta Barte.  [by Geronima Seno Cabahug]

The first statement, indicates that "Filomino" was not alive when Saturnina was young.  If he had been alive, the statement would certainly have indicated that he was her neighbor.  This conclusion is supported by the fact that the last of his three known children was born about 1881, and by the absence of any record of his death.  As noted above, all of the other parents mentioned in the marriage record lived well into the 20^th century.

The second statement gives a plausible reason for the mistake - the common practice of Filipinos to use nicknames.  In this case a person named Filomeno would commonly have the nickname "Inoy", as indicated in the affidavit.  And, it is not unusual for friends and acquaintances to refer to an individual using only their nickname. As a result, individuals who had second hand knowledge of a person often did not know their given name and would assume a name based on common usage. In this case, "Tatay Inoy" was assumed to be Filomeno.

From the above, it is likely that Geronima and Saturnina, as well as other family members, remembered Maximino's nickname and assumed this was derived from Filomeno.  Filomeno is a common name, much more common than Maximino, and the vowel "e" and "i" are pronounced nearly identically in Cebuano.  (Note the spelling "Filomino in Saturnina Cabahug Dabon's affidavit.)  So, the mixup is understandable.

Bottom line:  Maximino Cabahug was founder of the "Filomeno" lineage.