I know we have discussed Pelegrino Ortega, the father of Margarita Brittain previously but I am going to go over it again.
First up is the 1986 BIA letter where the BIA concludes that Margarita Brittain is 4/4 and that the Secretary is authorized to officially record Margarita as 4/4. This letter references the sworn testimony of Carolina Nolasquez and makes reference to the 1928 applications for the children of Margarita Brittain being tampered with.
1986 BIA Letter Authorizing The Secretary to Record Margarita Brittain as 4/4
Next we have a 1989 BIA letter that goes through the reasoning for determining that Margarita Brittain is 4/4 and references the Probate Hearing of Merced Nolasquez where Carolina Nolasquez testifies that Margarita and Merced had the same father but different mothers.
1989 May 17 Department of the Interior Letter - Margarita Brittain is 4/4
Next we have the sworn testimony of Carolina Nolasquez where she states that Margarita and her mother Merced Nolasquez were half sisters and had the same father but different mothers.
1921 July 22 Sworn Testimony Carolina Nolasquez at the Probate Hearing for Merced Nolasquez
Next up is the Family History Card for Merced Nolasquez showing her father as Pelegrino Ortega and lists Margarita Brittain as a half sister.
Merced Nolasquez Individual History Card
Lastly we have the probate hearing for Rafaela Owlinguish half sister to Merced Nolasquez and Margarita Brittain. On the last page it lists Merced's father as Pelegrino Ortega and mother as Josefa Chuparosa.
The conclusion then is Margarita and Merced had the same father, Pelegrino Ortega. Merced's mother was Josefa Chuparosa and Margarita's mother was Miguela Owlinguish.
Please note each document can be enlarged for easier reading by clicking on the square in the bottom right corner of each document. Each document can also be downloaded and printed out.
Rafaela Owlinguish Probate
UPDATE: A commenter pointed out that it appears based on the probate of Raefela Owlinguish that Josefa Chuparosa is not Merced's mother. The common parent is Pelegrino but Merced is listed as half-sister.
*Note - earlier I was in error by saying Raefela was Merced's mother, she was Merced's half-sister not mother.
On Merced's family history card the parents are listed as Miguela and Pelegrino but her siblings are listed as half-siblings.
So perhaps the real question is who is Merced's mother? Uh-Oh...someone call up Pala's Disenrollment Committee.
Again, remember, Carolina Nolasquez's testimony is SWORN testimony that Merced and Margarita had the same Father (Pelegrino) but different mothers.
