Family Ties
There are many amazing discoveries that one gets from blogging. Just recently when I was blog hopping, I was surprised to learn that some pinoy bloggers are my relatives. I discovered them to be bearers of my family name through their blog entries. Teacher Sol, Prada Mama and Myself shares not only our interest in blogging but also our common family roots.
We are a small and proud clan and our family name, Gaerlan, is not as common as the Garcia, Santos, de la Cruz, etc..This makes it highly probable that any clan-name-bearer is a relative. I am glad to have known my newfound relatives, Marisol and Renee. Like them I am also wondering that besides us, how many more of our clanfolks are also into blogging. But like how the the three of us have found each other, I am confident that we will also discover our other blogging relatives.
One of the wonders of cyberspace and the bloggosphere is it creates a virtual bridge where relatives and long lost friends dispersed around the globe gets connected. Indeed, there are no strangers in the cyber highway only friends and relatives that you still haven’t met.
Hi Sam. I am very glad to have met two of my fellow Gaerlans through my blog. One thing that has always tickled my curiosity since I was young is the actual origin of the name, since it doesn’t sound remotely Filipino, or even Spanish for that matter. Another blogger friend of mine, Pinayhekmi, has suggested that it might be Gaelic, which is entirely possible. Any input on the matter?
I don’t know how old you are, but if we’re not that far in age, you might also have come across my cousins, Roland, Marilou, Tina and Marilyn, children of my Uncle Manny (Mariano) Gaerlan. rolan went to LSGH and UP Diliman and should be in his 40’s now. Tina, Marilou and Marilyn all went to Poveda and UP Diliman.
Thanks for adding me to your links. I will link you up as well.
I’m baaaack! Okay, I’ve included you in my links as well. Thanks for the special mention, by the way.
Coincidentally, my husband’s oldest brother is also named Samuel/Sam, and he looks a little bit like you. His daughter, Corinthian (we call her Kuting in the family) is an older version of Maia!
Here’s how I reacted when I first learned about my roots thru the cyberspace two weeks ago:
After feeling so alone as a new comer here in the US thinking that I had no relatives here, I suddenly felt connected with more than 250 Gaerlans around the world….this is just the Friendster count. The “Gaerlan” surname is not a common name, so we’re sure that in one way or another, we are interrelated. In the Gaerlan profile it reads:
“I bet most of you do not know much about your family history. Ever wonder if your family is the only torch bearer of the Gaerlan surname? We thought so. But apparently there are Gaerlans scattered everywhere. Our roots are from the Philippine Islands–mainly San Juan, Baguio, and Pangasinan. I hope this account will help find undiscovered relations and bring our small and unique Gaerlan clan together.”
I just added myself in the family list.
Have you seen our family tree? The Family Tree up in the web is sooo impressive! It feels so good to know my roots, and would be more excited if I could meet some of them. I never knew any of the Gaerlans except for my 1st degree cousins, we were never introduced to our distant relatives, and we seldom visited them in Dagupan.
I was sooo happy when you told me that according to your father, my great grandfather and your grandfather are brothers. I am currently writing the memoirs in my DIGITAL BOOK (www.teachersol.blog-city.com) and I will surely include the history of our Gaerlan Family in the prologue and how we all met together this generation. Thanks to your mentio of my name here.
@ renee and sol: my warmest regards to both your families. funny sa bloggosphere ko pa ma meet mga kamag-anak ko….sabay pa, dalawa agad in a span of few days lang…habang dito sa Pinas, bihira kang makapanagpo ng Gaerlan sa loob ng ilang taon…
im a gaerlan too
To all you Gaerlans out there. My Great Great Grandmother’s sister was married to a Policarpo Gaerlan in the Philippines. They had a daughter Brigida. Brigida Gaerlan, in turn, married Francisco Limcuando and it is the descendents of Brigida and Francisco that I am in touch with (primarilly because of a cousin marriage with closer relatives}. Interestingly enough I was showing an old family photo so someone at the FHL in Makati and discussing the familial relationships when the lady got a surprised look on her face and told me her maiden name was Gaerlan. Since then I have gone on a quest to identify my exact relationship with her. As an aside, Congressman/Ambassador Pedro Gil was the first cousin of Brigida Gaerlan.
If anyone out there could help me in my quest, it would be most appreciated.
I found an old suitcase of letters from the 1930s. My aunt was married to a man named Mariano Gaerlan and her son is named Marex Gaerlan. I never met my aunt or any of her children. They were from San Jaun. If any one knows Marex Gaerlan tell him he has first cousins in Palm Springs California. Good luck on locating relatives.
The Mariano you are talking about is the poet and writer Mariano “Batallador” Gaerlan, a cousin of my grandfather. Incidentally, he is a 1st cousin of Asuncion Padua Gaerlan. Sadly, Tata Marex is bed-ridden and unable to communicate verbally when I visited San Juan in Sept 2008.
~Art Gaerlan
Los Angeles, California
USA
Bob, tell me more about Policarpo Gaerlan. I may be able to help you. When and where was he born? What are the name of his siblings?
~Art
gaerlanx@yahoo.com