The Young Ones

Gervacio (Tata Batoy or Tata Batyong)

Tata Batyong was the greatest - he used pull my chains a lot - Lola Sayong would reprimand him and tell him not to joke with me so much. He taught me how to plant sugar cane, coconuts and bananas. He said - "if you don't work, you don't eat."

Before the pipes were extended to reach them, we use to carry water from a well by the river - all they way to their house by the hillside. We used bamboo tubes (sag-ub)to carry water. I always forgot to lower the tubes gently, when we rested - bump and the tube is broken, precious water gushing all over the place.

Well, I broke a lot of "sag-ub" - to a point that I became exempt from fetching water. The water was stored in great big clay crock jars. The water stored in those jars always tasted much sweeter to me. He loved to fish and he loved to cook.

Protacio (Uncle Tacio)

My sister Donna and I are the only ones who really got to know Uncle Tasio. He lived in a farm house camp in Knightsen, California. He also liked to cook and fish like Tata Batyong.

He worked very hard - part of the huge "stoop labor" force in the farms that provide the food served in most American tables and restaurants to this day. He remained a bachelor until he died. He never made it back to Catmon.

Both Tata Batyong and Uncle Tacio are listed in the United States census of 1930 as residents of Wayne County - Detroit is in Wayne County, Michigan. I am not sure when Uncle Tacio decided to settle in California for good.

Emilio (Lolo Milong - my grandfather)

Don't know much about him, either - Tata Batyong brought him to Michigan. Lolo Milong was sickly, asthmatic with lots of allergies. This is according to the stories I have pieced together from people who knew him, like Jewel Nuneza and some other folks I have met through the years.

He was apparently sick most of the time - I can not even imagine what he went through - considering the health problems I have experienced, in this modern age with allergy medications and nebulizers to help me along.

The United States is not always kind to those who have chronic health issues - even with the advent of employer paid private health insurance - the situation continue to be tough financially for those with chronic health problems, like myself.

Employer paid health insurance did not come about until the unions demanded it after Worls War ll. My conclusion is that it was a struggle for Lolo Milong to be in the US. It would have been worse if he had his family here to provide for especially during the Depression Era. Lola Bette worried about some of his health problems but I did not grasp the magnitude until I had the experience myself.

The safety nets that are in place now, were put in place by the Franklin Delano Roosevelt administration after the Depression Era in the 1930's. Some social programs were added during Lyndon Johnson's War on Poverty Era in the late 1960's and early 1970's.

Lolo Milong died in 1953. My feeling is that inadequate health care and hard factory labor, with health hazards and no safety standards, contributed to his untimely death. He was only in his early fifties!!!

Cecilia (Lola Ilyang)

She was my favorite. I felt loved by her. Lola Ilyang took me in and raised me as one of her own - when I was with them. One memory is of her coming over to our house when I was sick - she became very upset to find me home by myself. Lola Bette came home before Lola Ilyang could take me home with her. They had a huge argument!

I used to cry myself to sleep a lot. Sometimes, when I was staying with her and her family, she would hear me crying at night - she always spoke kind words to me and tried to comfort me. She was ill, so she could not cuddle but her words of comfort and hope often helped me through.

Boy, when she got angry with me, she would really let me have it, too! She had a very sharp tongue at times that could cut to the core.

Lola Ilyang was sickly like Lolo Milong. They were the youngest in the family. Both of them lost Nanay Teresa when they were still very young. I think that led to a closer bond between them.

She was always trying to teach me various things - life lessons with religious twists - and I am very grateful for those lessons. I will always be grateful to Manoy Aliado, Ingko Tony and Inday Tanciang for their generosity in sharing their mother with me.

A Global Connection - Finding Family on “Facebook”

When I was growing up in the Philippines, I was told that all Montecillos are related. A distant Montecillo ancestor settled in the northern part of the island of Cebu. Cebu is a Philippine island steeped in history. This is where Magellan landed, when lost his way to look for spices and other treasures.

Magellan was killed in the Battle of Mactan; a small island off the island of Cebu. The island chieftain, Lapu Lapu, refused to pay homage to the King of Spain. The Spaniards did not settle in the Philippines until 1565. Lapu Lapu is the first Filipino hero.

The first Spanish settlements were established in Cebu. The settlers were mostly soldiers, who married local women. That is how our family story began. My Montecillo ancestor settled in northern Cebu – Catmon, Sogod and Borbon. As the family grew, various branches moved away and settled in different parts of Cebu and other islands in the Philippines.

I belong to the clan of Pantaleon Montecillo y Menchavez. My great grandfather, Pantaleon, was the last Spanish Capitan of Catmon. His mother is a Menchavez. He was first wife to Teresa Rivera. When Lola Teresa died, he married Catalina Loyola.

To test the family story, I asked all the Montecillo members on Facebook to tell me their story. I forwarded a link featuring the Pantaleon Montecillo Clan Grand Reunion in 2006-2007. I belong to the Emilio (my grandfather) Branch of this clan.

Here is a sampling of the replies:

Era Montecillo works with the Camphill Community at Coleg Elidyr, Victoria House in Wales. She has been working there for a few years. The college educates and trains young people with special needs. She said, “Tita, that family featured in the link you sent me, is my family. I belong to the Pantaleon Montecillo Clan, Cesario Branch.” Lolo Cesar is one of my grandfather’s younger brothers from the Loyola marriage.

Ameera Ares lives and works in Qatar with her family. She wrote, “Tita, I belong to the Gervacio Branch of the Pantaleon Montecillo Clan. Tata Batyong is my grandfather.” Spain ceded the Philippines to the United States after the Spanish American War in 1898. Filipinos fought with the US troops in the First World War. Tata Batyong was a soldier in the war. He decided to stay in the US after the war. He brought his brother Emilio to Detroit in 1917. Emilio is my grandfather. During one of his trips to the Philippines, Tata Batyong married in Catmon and decided to settle there in 1926.

Frances Montecillo-Narvaez lives and works in Switzerland with her family. She wrote, “Your great grandfather, Pantaleon, was the best cousin-friend of my great grandfather, Panfilo. He named his eldest son after Pantaleon. Panfilo moved and settled in Tuburan. The family have scattered all over since their time.”

Ian Mark Schomber lives in Germany. He found out about me in Facebook. He is from the Menchavez side of the family. His mother called Cebu and told her sister-in-law, Yeldez, about me and my quest in Facebook. Yeldez immediately had her son send an e-mail confirming that we are indeed cousins. The e-mail spoke of the Menchavez family gatherings in Sogod.

This is only a sampling of the Montecillo “Facebook” connection. Most of the family is still in the Philippines. Outside the country, most of us have settled in the US and Canada, with a growing number in the Middle East, Australia and Hong Kong. An exchange of pictures and stories through Facebook, e-mails and blogs have continued to connect us. With the help of technology, I am connected to a truly globalized family.

My curiosity is leading me to find out a little bit more about the Mexican and Spanish Montecillo families. I understand they are into grassland ecology in Mexico and vineyards in Spain. This could be a lot of fun.

Keep connecting and keep the connections strong!