The Ancestors of the Jose Refugio Fernandez from the 8th Century ADBy Refugio Salinas Fernandez

The Fernandez ReunionCorpus Christi, TX

27 July 2013

The information for this presentation comes primarily from two sources:

Don Pedro Salazar de Mendoza, “ Monarquia de Espana, Tomo II,” Madrid, 1770; andM. Busk, “The History of Spain and Portugal From BC 1000 to AD 1814,” Baldwin and Cradock,

Paternoster-Row, London, 1833

Photographs come primarily from Wikipedia sources.

1- I would first, like to thank my wife, Sally, for helping me organize the time to prepare this presentation, actually, for the entire genealogy studies I have been doing for the last fortyyears. It has been a very long road where I have found many dead ends, but discovered exciting finds about my ancestors. My sons Michael and Robert have also contributed to my research, primarily of the time of the 1700s to the 1800s, research which they accomplished in various historical and genealogical sources in San Antonio, Austin, and the University of Texas libraries.

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1g-You will notice that these first ancestor, Pedro de Cantabria is from the year 700 AD. I could have gone further back to maybe the year 300 AD because our line originates with the Germanic Visigoth kings, and there exist detail records of their kings in the Iberian peninsula. The Fernandez have royal beginnings. But I decided for this presentation to start with Pedro de Cantabria.

This first presentation covers the years 700 AD to 1492, the time that the Muslim hordes controlled some part of Spain for about 700 years. Of our first thirteen ancestors, twelve were kings. These twelve kings ruled approximately 300 years. After them, our ancestors became royal officials, who owned much land and castles, and held high positions in the royal court.

2- To talk about our ancestors is to talk about Spain. It is important to know that the mountainous terrain in Spain is a reason that Spain is not France, and that the Muslims could not conquer northern Spain. The Pyrenees Mountains separate France from Spain. The Cantabrian Mountains separate Asturias from the rest of Spain. Since the time of Jesus Christ, the Romans had been the only ones to conquer Asturias. For any other invader, it has been virtually impossible to conquer that part of Spain. Spain is located where it is surrounded by water on three and 3/4 sides. It was invaded from the north by Anglo Saxons, Vikings, Danes, French, and Germanic tribes, from the west by the Romans, Greeks, Phoenicians, and Cartagena’s. From the south invaders came from African, but mainly from Arab countries, the Muslims, who conquered and remained in Spain for a very long time.

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3- Our first ancestors, who arrived in Spain, after the birth of Jesus Christ, were the Visigoths. They arrived around the year 300 AD, and defeated the Roman army because it was in decline. TheVisigoths were Germanic tribes seeking warmer climate for their agriculture and livestock. Their religion was Arian Catholic, a break away, heretic form of Roman Catholicism. This was so, until the year 600 AD, when their king, Ricarrd I, renounced Aryanism and converted to Roman Catholicismalong with his entire nation.

4- The kingdom in green, which covers Galicia and most of Portugal, was made up of a different Germanic tribe known as the Suevi, and they wore their hair in Suevian fashion. Archeologists found burial grounds of these people with their hair woven as shown. Their hair was reddish/blond. The Suevi eventually became Visigoths as well. The only land the Visigoths could not conquer was that of Asturias and the Basques, where our branch of the Fernandez, Fernandes, the Saldivars, and Salinas originated. I wonder if that is why some of us tend to be so stubborn. Actually, Asturias and northern Spain appear to be the birthplace for many last names.

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5- For about 400 years, the Visigoths, ruled most of Spain. This does not mean there was peace within their kingdom. There were many battles between their nobles defending their kingdoms or castles. Many kingdoms had kings, not powerful kings, but just kings with a small letter “k.” But there was no cooperation between them. The nobles tended to be more powerful than their kings. There was a “Hispania King” over Iberia, but there was no organized defense of the Iberian territory.

5g- To know our ancestors, we have to review the effects of the Muslim religion on Spain for over 700 years. The fact that virtually all our ancestors were born and raised in northern Spain is because the Muslim armies drove them there from all over Spain. These Spanish refugees were forced to bond together, and form strong leadership to combat, and finally defeat the Muslim forces. Asturias, Navarrenos, Leones, Castilians and Galicians originated Spanish royal blood. They elected the first Spanish kings with strong lines of succession along family lines. This nobility was highly respected by most countries of the civilized world.

6- So, we start with the rise of the Muslim religion. In the 7th century Mohammed was born. When he was a young man, he claimed to have had a vision of St. Gabriel who instructed him to write the Koran, which included some of the Old and New Testament writings plus other guidance and stories he made up. Later, he claimed he really didn’t see St. Gabriel, but that it must have been Satan. But his followers convinced him it must have been Gabriel. Convinced, Mohammed claimed that Jesus was a good prophet and highly venerated the Blessed Virgin Mary, and declared that he, Mohammed, was the last prophet of God. He said that those who died fighting holy wars against the infidels would go straight to heaven. Muslim, this “religion of peace,” became mostly a religion of conquerors with a creed enforced by the sword, as a principal religious duty. Even after they conquered, they rebelled and killed each other in never ending wars. Some Spanish historians describe the Muslims as: tyrants who wereviolent, and vicious possessors of what was not theirs, (pg 88)

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7- Within a few years after Mohammed’s death, his followers, encouraged by the words of their “prophet,” conquered Western Asia and Persia and they moved from the deserts to cities making Damascus their first capital. The horde of Mohammed, called the Moors, then moved west and conquered Egypt and northern Africa, until they got to the Straits of Gibraltar in 712 AD, where they stopped, not knowing how or where to cross. The Muslims made several attempts to cross the strait at Gibraltar, Spain, but were repulsed.

8- Count Julian, Arab governor of Mauritania in Northwest Africa, had a daughter who was a lady-in-waiting for the Visigoth Queen. This virgin daughter was subjugated and sexually violated by the Visigoth King Roderic. She fled to Mauritania and begged her father to seek revenge against Roderic. The exasperated Count Julian met with the Muslim commander, named Muza, and agreed to show himwhere to cross the straits to gain a foothold on the Iberian peninsula. The Muslims were successful.

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9- Small, disorganized groups of Muslims attacked various villages and towns along the southern coast of Spain in the first couple of years. This alerted the Visigoth King Roderic, the King of Hispania. In 713, as the Muslims approached Cadiz, they were met in a fierce battle b oops led by Roderic. He put up a valiant fight for three days of terrible bloody battles.

10-The picture shows Roderic being overpowered by the Muslim cavalry. In the end, Roderic was overcome and beheaded. His head was sent to Muza, the Muslim commander, who probably presented it to Count Julian.

11- Two years later, in 715 AD, a second violent battle took place between the Muslims and the Goths. It occurred in the kingdom of Murcia, near Toledo, against a Goth knight, named Theodomir,who led the Visigoths. He held out with equal skill and valor, but in the oors were too much for his army. He surrendered and got for his people freedom to enjoy their property, laws and religion, but they could build no new churches and religious ceremonies had to be held behind closed doors.

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Furthermore, the Spaniards had to pay heavy taxes. As most of you may know, Christians today in Muslim lands suffer the same privations, plus whenever Muslims want to, they can ransack and desecrate Catholic churches and monastaries without their being punished.

12- By 720, the Moors had subdued the entire Iberian Peninsula, except for a small mountainous district of the Province of Asturias, in northern Spain. Spaniards who escaped capture at the battles of Cadiz and Toledo and the rest of Spain, took refuge in the mountains of Asturias, which was a naturally difficult province to conquer. Many Catholic priests and bishops, and many nobles and working class people from all over Spain escaped the Muslim invasion by moving to Asturias. Oviedo became the city of bishops.

12g- Around 720 AD, our 34th generation grandfather Fernandez ancestor, Pedro de Cantabria, appeared on the scene. I have not been able to find any images of what he might have looked like. He lived in the town of Amaya, Asturias, which was taken over and ransacked twice by Musa, the Muslim commander. So, he decided to move his family and villagers into the Cantabrian Mountains. I show Pedro at the head of our Fernandez family tree, even though historians take our lineage even further back into the Visigoth royalty. Pedro was was a rich noble, a duke, of the region.

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13- Around the year 718 AD, the nobles of Asturias selected Pelayo, cousin of King Roderic, as King of their band. Pelayo was one who had barely escaped the massacre near Cadiz. This band was reinforced by the “hardy natives” of Asturias. Pelayo’s daughter, Esmercinda, married Pedro de Cantabrian’s son, Don Alfonso I, who was to become the 3rd King of Asturias. Pedro’s forces joined with those of Pelayo. Shown is a monument dedicated to Pelayo at Covadonga, Spain, site of the first major victory of the Christians against the Muslims.

14- In 722 AD, the Muslims decided to penetrate the Cantabrian Mountains at the Picos de Europa Mountains into Asturias. The first great battle of a few hundred Christians against a force of 180,000 Muslims occurred in the mountainous terrain leading to Oviedo, at Covadonga, Spain

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15- From a high mountain, Pelayo observed the enormous army of Muslims approaching. He thenretreated to his cave at Covadonga. There, where he had an altar, and a small statue of the Virgin Mary, he pleaded for her intercession in the coming battle, as she had asked Jesus for more wine at the wedding feast in Cana.

16- Soon after, sixty thousand Muslims climbed the mountain leading to Pelayo’s hideout cave. Quickly,a violent thunderstorm developed and covered the mountain with lighting and torrential rains which poured for hours. This eventually caused mud slides. The mountain then collapsed on the sixty thousand Muslims killing all those invaders. Then, arrows and stones from the Muslims towards the Christiandefenders are said to have reversed direction and killed the Muslims instead. When I say “Christian defenders” I really mean Catholic defenders, since Catholicism was the only religion back then.

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17- On that day, about 120,000 Muslim attackers died on that site, and the rest were routed out of the mountains by Pelayo’s small army.

17g- In 722 AD, the battle at Covadonga was the first major victory of the Christian Army against the Muslims. Even Arab historians are amazed at the significant turn of events in favor of the Christians during that battle. It was the start of the re-conquest of Spain. This victory brought thousands of Spaniards to join Pelayo’s army.

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18- Thirty years later, in 750 AD, King Alfonso I, called “el Catolico,” had a monastery and chapel built at Covadonga in honor of the miraculous intercession of Mary Immaculate in the Battle of Covadonga. Today, you will find at that location the Basilica of Our Lady of Covadonga, consecrated in 1901. You will also see the highly venerated statue of Our Lady of Covadonga in that church.

Just think what the United States has accomplished in just over 200 years. The Muslims influenced much of the customs and traditions in Spain for over 700 years! A few of the Spanish words which have their origins from the Arabs are: “Aceite (oil), Aceituna (olive oil), adobe, alacran, alarabe (arab), albanil (construction worker), albondiga (meatball), alboroto (riot or joy), alcalde (mayor), alcanfor (camphor), alcohol, alfalfa, alfombra (carpet), algebra, algodon (cotton), almazen (warehouse), arroz (rice), azucar (sugar), Ojala (God willing), Alamejor (God grant good tidings), Hola (greetings).http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arabic_language_influence_on_the_Spanish_language)

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19 A- The Muslims built many mosques in Spain over these 700 years. One of the most famous was built in Cordova. B- It is now the Cathedral of San Vicente. C- These are some pictures of the enormous church and what it currently looks like.

20- The Muslims ignored that terrible defeat at Covadonga, and around 728, they pushed on into France. This diversion brought temporary peace to Asturias and allowed Pelayo’s kingdom and army to enlarge. In the Kingdom of the Franks, the Muslims desecrated holy sites, looted and burned churches and villages, killed nobles, villagers and farmers, and raped and kidnapped women, until they got to Poitiers and Tours.

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21- In 732 Charles Martel “The Hammer” met the Muslim horde of about 40,000 infantry warriors with just 1,500 Frank soldiers at Poitiers, France. They defeated the Muslims and killed the great emir of Spain, Abderrahman. That stopped the progress of the Moors and forced them to return back to Spain.(http://atheism.about.com/library/FAQs/christian/blchron_xian_crusades01.htm)

Pedro de Cantabria died in 730 and Pelayo died in 734. Pelayo’s son, Favila was elected the second king of Asturias. On the third year of his reign, he was killed by a bear during a hunting expedition.

22- In 739 AD, Alfonso I, “el Catolico”, our 33rd generation grandfather, became the 3rd king of Asturias. He was called “el Catolico” because he built new and repaired many damaged churches, and monasteries, and made large donations to the Catholic Church to help with evangelization.

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23- Alfonso recaptured: Tuy and Lugo in Galicia; Oporto, Braga, Viseo, Chaves and others in Portugal.In Leon and Castilla, he recaptured from the Muslims Ledesma, Salamanca, Avila, Segovia, Leon, Astorga, Saldania, Amaya, Simancas and other cities and castles. He donated much jewelry and other riches for the churches to be rebuilt and showed himself to be very religious, saintly and highly desirous of driving the Muslims out of Spain.

24- The kingdom of the Christians grew by 760 AD as shown in the map. In 757, after the death of Alfonso, his brother, our 32th generation grandfather, Don Fruela, succeeded Alfonso as King, and added Galicia to his kingdom. He was the 4th King of Asturias. Many people of his kingdom were against him and this weakened the kingdom. In the year 759, he made peace with Aberrahman II of Cordova,agreeing to an annual tribute or tax.

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25- In 758 AD, within the Pyrenee Mountains, a group of 600 noblemen met at a small chapel to elect a king. They elected Garcia Ximenez, a wealthy nobleman of original Spanish blood. The king proceeded to conquer a kingdom in the country of Sobrarbe, which later became known as Navarra. His son Garcia Iniguez succeeded him and greatly enlarged his dominions, into Navarre on one side and Aragon on the other. By 780 AD, the map of Spain had changed as shown which shows Navarre in purple.

In the year of 768 AD, Fruela was murdered by his cousin, Aurelio who took over the crown as 5th

King of Asturias, from 768 to 774, and continued to pay the annual tribute. Then Alfonso I’s illegitimate son, Mauregato, from a Moslem slave, became the 7th King of Asturias with the help of the Muslims, who demanded not only an annual tribute but also 100 virgins annually, half of noble blood. He ruled from 783 to 789.

26- Around 775 AD, the Franks led by Charlemagne invaded and took control of several regions of north-eastern Spain. The Franks also demolished the defensive walls around Pamplona, capital of Navarre. However, on the return back to France, Charlemagne’s rearguard was completely destroyed by Basque tribes at the Roncevaux Pass in the Pyrenees Mountains. This defeat, plus troubles back home prevented the Franks from pursuing any more territory in Spain.

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27- King Alfonso II, the Chaste, was 9th King of Asturias and 1st King of Oviedo and Galicia. He was our 32th generation great uncle and reigned from 791 to 842.

28- In 814, during his reign, the body of St. James the Apostle was discovered. It had been hidden almost 700 years at a site near where the present shrine is built at Santiago de Compostela. As the story goes, after his beheading in Jerusalem, the body of St. James was brought to Galicia by Spanish Jewish converts, because St. James evangelized Spain for a few years before he returned to Jerusalem and was martyred there. His body was hidden because various heathen nations fought on that land before it was settled by the Visigoths. After his body was discovered, the shrine of Santiago de Compostela was built and Alfonso II was the first pilgrim to visit the shrine. The original shrine has grown from a small chapel to the huge complex you see in this picture. My wife Sally, our son Robert and I were fortunate and blessed to have visited this marvelous shrine in 2007.

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29-Ramiro I, our 30th generation grandfather, was the 11th king of Asturias. He reigned from 841 to 850. He and his troops were one of the first to see an apparition of St. James during a great battle against the Muslims.

30- In 841, Ramiro I led the Christian forces against hundreds of thousand s at Clavijo, located southwest of Pamplona, the capital of the Kingdom of Navarra. Much has been written about this battle.

30g- What I know is that when Ramiro’s troops were surrounded and about to be run over (pg 97), something extraordinary happened. St. James appeared out of nowhere, riding a white horse and led the Spanish forces to victory. The Spaniards hold St. James the Apostle in high veneration as protector of Spain, and with good reason. He appeared several times, over a 700-yr period to lead the Christian forces to victory when it appeared they were going to lose a battle.

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31- At the battle of Clavijo, fought on 24 May 844 AD, when the day was going bad against the Christians, St. James appeared in the field of battle, armed with a sword of dazzling splendor, and mounted on a white horse which had housings decorated with scallop shells, the saint’s peculiar symbol. St. James is said to have killed sixty thousand of the Moorish infidels, gaining the day for Spain and Christianity This served to rejuvenate the Catholic soldiers to pursue victory against a very large Muslim army where the Christians killed another 70,000 Muslims (pg 97). Even the Muslims saw St. James and were heard to exclaim, “Even Allah has come to the aid of the Christians!” The battle cry of “Santiago y cierra Espania!” or “St. James and Spain, charge!” originated Clavijo. “http://www.speroforum.com/a/IWEUZCWSKP47/72986-On-a-day-like-today-St-James-the-Moorslayer”

32- Because of these victories, Ramiro donated much funding to the Catholic Church around the year 900 AD. He also funded construction of the Monastery of St. Esteban in the land of Lemos, Galicia, where many of the Fernandez ancestors come from. The picture shows the monastery which is today, a beautiful hotel. Ramiro is said to have been a very religious man. Once he declared out loud in church, “

” (Wikipedia) From this battle originated also the religious military order of Santiago de Compostela, the Knights of Santiago.

De que modo el amor de Dios y de su santo Apostol me abrasa el pecho, es preciso pregonarlo a plena voz ante todo el pueblo catolico.

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33- King Ordonio I, 12th King of Asturias and our 29th generation grandfather, ruled from 850 to 866. He populated the cities of Leon, Astorga, Tui and others. He defeated the Muslim kings of Salamanca, Coria near Caceres, and killed 12,000 Muslim fighters in a battle at Toledo. Pg 98 These cities were sacked and looted. Our 9th generation grandfather, Hernando de Castro, was born in Caceres around 1485.

34- Our 28th generation grandfather was King Alfonso III, called Alfonso “the Great.” He became the 4th

king of Leon and Galicia, and 13th king of Asturias from 866 until Dec 910. He moved his capital from Oviedo to Leon and formed an alliance with the Kingdom of Pamplona by marrying Jimena, the daughter of King Garcia Jimenez.

Alfonso III divided his kingdom among his 3 sons: Leon to Garcia; Galicia to Ordonio II; and Asturias to Fruela. When Garcia died, his brother Ordonio became the king of Leon as well. He fought against and won numerous victories against the Muslims, retaking Oporto and Coimbra in 868 and 878 respectively. The reconquest of Spain continued.

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35- Ordonio II, our 27th generation grandfather, was the King of Galicia from 910 and also became 6th

King of Leon until his death in 924 AD. He had three sons with Donia Elvira: Don Alonso and Don Ramiro II and Don Ordonio III. Ordonio II made a great entrance into Muslim territory around 895 AD.

36- Ordonio II invaded, looted, burned Muslim villages, monuments and mosques, and killed Muslims from Toledo into Talavera. He vanquished great armies of Muslims, which had allies from Morocco. Ordonio killed their generals and many combatants. His troops took many riches including gold, silver, silk and captives back to Zamora. He then received an urgent request from the King of Navarra for help against a Muslim attack on his kingdom. He traveled about 200 miles and arrived too late to form his attack at Valdejunquera. The Muslim Army won the battle. However, this defeat encouraged Ordonio II to invade Cordova, the capital of the Muslims in Spain. Along the way to Cordova, Ordonio raided and gained many Muslim castles, and went home triumphant and rich after ransacking, looting and burning inside Cordova. Ordonio also defended Oporto against a large Muslim army. He was a busy man.

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37- Ramiro II, our 26th generation grandfather, became the 4th king of Leon in the year 930, when his brother, Alonso IV renounced the throne and went into the monastery to become a monk. Later, when Ramiro began to reign, he started making plans to attack the Muslim empire. He was surprised to hear that his brother, Alonso, had gotten out of the monastery and retaken Leon and his castle to continue reigning. Ramiro encircled the castle for two years after which Alonso gave up and was imprisoned. Relatives of Alonso started a rebellion to get Ramiro off the throne. They were capture, their eyes taken out, and were imprisoned for life. Alonso’s eyes were also taken out and he was imprisoned for life. The rebellion was quashed.

Ramiro II went into battle against the Muslims in Toledo and cap a of Madrid, which he dismantled and flattened because he could not sustain the place. Then, the Conde of Castilla, Don Fernan Gonzalez asked Ramiro for help when Muslim troops entered the outskirts of the city of Osma. The Emir of Cordova, Abderraman III sent his army to destroy Christian armies in the Navarra Kingdom. Immediately, Ramiro got his army ready. He is said to have invoked the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ to defeat the Muslims, and met them at Osma. The Lord gave Ramiro a great victory. Ramiro and Fernan laid a trap to attack the returning Muslims, who were tired and loaded with looted riches. The Christian Army killed most of the Muslim fighters and took great riches and thousands of prisoners. Ramiro required the Muslim caliph Aben Haja of Zaragoza to pay him annual taxes, which aggravated Abderraman III, the Emir of the Muslims of Spain because Aben Haja was subject to him.

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38- Abderrahmen III was very angry to have a Christian king take over his territory. He sent his army to find Christians in northern towns. He beheaded 200 and sent the heads to Ramiro to show his power. Then he captured 100 noblemen which were taken to Cordova. There, Abderrahmen directed they be decapitated. Again, he had the heads delivered to Ramiro to show his power. Here we see Abderrahmen visiting his dungeon with bodies are being decapitated by a dog.

39- He than called for a Holy War, a jihad, and assembled 200,000 Muslim fighters from North Africa and Moslem Spain: professional soldiers, mercenaries, volunteers, slave soldiers… He declared that prayers at all the mosques would be triumphant, with the anticipation that the Christians would be totally destroyed and driven out of the peninsula. On 28 Jun 939, Abderrahmen III rode in front of his troops as they marched out of Cordova.

The plan was to attack Zamora, the gate to Leon. Once it was destroyed, they could then launch attacks all over Leon and bring destruction to all Christian lands. The Muslims brought 50,000 cavalry and 150,000 foot soldiers. (pg 104) Ramiro II was ready for them. He gathered the forces of Leon, Navarra, Castilla, Galicia and Asturias.

40- On 19 Jul 939 AD, as the armies on both sides were being concentrated for the attack, there was a solar eclipse, which started before 7 AM. The color of the surroundings changed to a sickly dark yellow color. The soldiers on both sides of the battle were horrified.

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41- To them, this was a sign of impeding doom, but whose doom? None had seen anything like that before. According to present experts, the sun was 95% blocked by on. For two weeks after the eclipse, the war was at a standstill. Finally, Abberrahmen launched an attack on 1 Aug. The battle lasted five days.

42- On 6 Aug 939. Abderramen, after experiencing 80,000 deaths of his warriors, decided to retreat after not having advanced one inch towards Simancas. Ramiro captured the Muslim king of Zaragoza, while Abderrahmen escaped badly wounded with 20 horsemen, who took him all the way to Cordova. Ramiropursued. The Muslims left behind all their loot including valuables of Abderramen. Some of these valuables were his personal copy of a jewel encrusted Koran and many other rare items. Ramiro’s armies returned to Leon with many riches, horses and captives.

43-In thanks to God for his tremendous victory, King Ramiro erected the Monastery of San Salvador de Leon, where his daughter, Donia Elvira, became a nun.

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44- He also funded the monasteries of Santa Maria & San Andres, and

45- San Cristobal,

In 950 AD, Ramiro was joined in battle by his son Ordonio III. Ramiro was a very sick man and his son took over command of the Christian forces who won the battle against the Muslims at Talavera de la Reina. Upon returning to Oviedo, Ramiro abdicated his throne in favor of Ordonio on 5 Jan 950 AD, after which Ramiro died. He is buried in the Basilica of San Isidoro of Leon in the chapel of “Evangelio.” Also buried in this church are Alfonso IV, Ordonio III, and Sancho I of Leon. Ramiro was a tremendous military leader.

The victories by Ramiro and Ordonio III allowed the frontier to move further south away from the Duero River towards the Tajo River, they started the repopulation of Ledesma, Salamanca, Peniaranda de Bracamonte Sepulveda and Guadramiro.

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46- Ordonio III, our 26th generation great uncle, became the 5th king of Leon in 950 AD. This is a painting of him. As soon as his reign started, his brother, Sancho I, rebelled against him to become king. He was helped by Ordonio’s father-in-law Conde Fernan Gonzalez of Castilla. Indignant at G nzalez’actions, Ordonio III divorced his wife, Urraca, Gonzalez’ daughter and remarried a Donia Elvira. The Gallegos rebelled as well at this time and Ordonio had go punish them and then lead an army against Muslim forces. Ordonio expelled the Muslims all the way to Lisbon, and he ransacked the city. He entered Castilla to punish Gonzalez for his rebellion and they became “friends.”

While Ordonio was occupied in punishing Gonzalez for his rebellion, a Muslim force attacked Burgos. He sent his troops to intercept the Muslims and gained a significant victory. He died in 955, only five years after reigning. Our 25th generation grandfather Sancho I became the 6th king of Leon in 955 AD.

47- Sancho I, our 25th Generation grandfather was very fat. He was called “El Craso.” No Christian doctor could help him. His grandmother, Toda de Pamplona, took him to Cordova, where Abderraman III’s doctors put him on a strict diet. This brought his weight under control. He served as king in two different periods, BF and AWL, or before when he was fat (956 to 958) and after weight loss (960 to 966)

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48- In the year 967 AD, our 24th generation grandfather, Ramiro III became the 7th King of Leon. During the second year of his reign, the Normans invaded Galicia with a powerful force. After two years of ransacking towns in Galicia, the Normans were finally defeated by an army from Leon. This delay was because Ramiro III was just a child who finally ac advice of his mother Queen Teresa, and his aunt Princess Elvira who was a nun. His army killed most of ans and drove them into the sea. During the reign of Ramiro III, our 24th grandfather, the Emir at Cordova, Almanzor,recaptured the cities of Leon, Zamora, Rueda, Atienza, and Sepulveda.

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49- During this time of indecision by King Ramiro III, the Muslims, led by the Emir Almazor, took advantage to ransack many towns in Leon all the way to Santiago de Compostela where they damaged the great cathedral of Santiago. But it is believed that God punished the Muslims with terrible dysentery, which killed many of them. However, the Muslims did much damage to Zamora and Simancas killing many Leon residents. And the king remained in his castle, doing nothing to defend his kingdom. Finally, after reigning for 25 years, Ramiro died in the year 992.

50- Our 26th generation great uncle, Bermudo II, son of Ramiro III, became the 8th King of Leon in 992 AD. As Bermudo began his reign, he was surrounded in his town of Leon, by a huge Muslim force led by the Almazor. However, Bermudo came out fighting and escaped with some of his men. The following summer, Bermudo returned with his army. He regained his capital city and killed the Muslims and demolished their fortresses. Wanting to desecrate the Monastery of San Claudio of the Order of St. Benedict, Almazor was about to gallop on his horse into the monastery. But his horse’s stomach ruptured as he was about to enter the monastery with his soldiers. All the entails of the horse came out on the ground. That stopped his progress. The Muslims decided to go somewhere else. Almazor ransacked the cities of Villas de Valencia de Don Juan, Sahagun, Gordon, Alva, Luna and other cities and towns. He returned to Cordova with many riches.

51- Next, Almazor traveled north in Portugal to Santiago de Compostella, where he intended to desecrate the tomb of St. James the Apostle. Along the way to C yed many churches and

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official buildings & castles at Coimbra, Viseo, Braga, y and other towns. When he arrived at the tomb of the apostle, and removed the cover of the coffin, he was scared out of his wits when a brilliant light poured out of the coffin, which caused him to fall back. He left the coffin alone and when and stole everything else in the cathedral.

In July 1002 AD, Bermudo’s army met and had a great victory against Almazor at Catanazor. According to historians, the Muslim army numbered around 110,000 fighters, 70,000 were infantry types and 40,000 were cavalry types. It was only because of nightfall that badly wounded Alma as able to escape to Cordova. Almazor died on/about 10 Aug from wounds received during this battle.

Abdelmelie, son of Almazor, sought revenge after his father was killed. He led a Muslim force into the city of Leon where he did much damage. But Abdelmelie could not enjoy his victory, because Count Garcia Fernandez arrived with a Christian army from Castilla, defeated Abdelmelie and took back all the loot the Muslims had. He drove the Muslims all the way to Lisbon.

Towards the end of his life, King Bermudo got closer to the Church and prayer. He rededicated the Cathedral at Santiago de Compostela and others, which had been mistreated by the Muslims. He made many donations to the Church. And, he released the Archbishop of Oviedo from a cruel prison where he had been held by the Muslims. Bermudo also made many public penances seeking reconciliation with God for all the damages done to Catholic institutions and nation during his tenure. He died in 1002 AD as a result of advanced conditions of gout.

52- While Bermudo battled the Muslims at Viseo, Portugal, he was mortally wounded. He died in the year 1028 after ruling for 27 years.

Ordonio Ramirez was our 23rd generation grandfather and a prince, but he broke our kingly lineage. He was called “The Blind.” He nor his descendents were ever allowed to become kings. He

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married Christina Bermudez, daughter of Bermudo II of Leon, with whom he had four children: Alfonso Ordonez, Aldonza Ordonez, Ordonio Ordonez, and Pelaya Ordonez known as Donia Palla.

53- Ordonio Ordonez, our 22th grandfather, became the governor of Palenzuela, a municipality in the province of Palencia, Castilla. He was a count of Lemos and Sarria. This is an old castle at Palenzuela.

54- Garcia Ordonez, our 21st grandfather, was a Castilian nobleman and Count of the municipality of Najera. The photo is of the Monastery of Santa Maria in Najera. Garcia Ordonez was called “El Boquituerto”, or crooked mouth. He died in 29 May 1108 during a battle against the Muslims at the Ucles as he used his body to shield Prince Sancho Alfonsez from the Muslim swords.

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55- According to historians, Fernando Garcia de Hita, our 20th grandfather, started our connection to the De Castro lineage. The picture is of a festival at Hita. Fernando was Lord of the counties of Hita, Guadalajara, Castrojerez, and Medinacelli. So, where does our Fernandez name come from? It comes from this particular Fernando, Fernando Garcia de Hita. Hita is a city in Guadalajara, Spain.

Fernando’s son Rodrigo’s last name is “Fernandez” because his father is Fernando. He was also named Fernandez de Castro, because Rodrigo’s mother was Estefania de Foix, who is daughter of King Garcia Sanchez III of Pamplona. And the ascendency of Pamplona is due to the power of the De Castro house. This connection was so important at that time, t our 19th grandfather was named Rodrigo Fernandez de Castro. He was nicknamed “El Calvo.” Rodrigo was a confidant of King Alfonso VII of Leon, appointed bearer of the royal standard, was military chief at Toledo in 1134 and received from the king, various plazas in Extremadura and Castilla. I think that Tio Ernesto Fernandez of Corpus Christi, TX, got a lot of DNA from Rodrigo, because he also lost all his hair in his later years.

Rodrigo Fernandez de Castro, El Calvo, is the 24th Generation great grandfather of Prime Minister Winston Churchill. He is also the 22th great grandfather of the German “Red Baron.”

Rodrigo Fernandez de Castro starts the De Castro Lineage which can be obtained through the internet. Our ancestors’ lineage proceeds from Spain into Portugal. Along the way, our Fernandez

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ancestors became Jewish and this heritage lasted until the late 1400s when Spain passed a law to force Jews either to convert to Christianity, or leave Spain all together. Around 1480, our 9th generation grandfather, Hernando de Castro was born in Caceres, Extremadura, Spain, near the border with Portugal.

This concludes the first presentation at the Fernandez Genealogy Gathering, in Corpus Christi, TX on 27 July 2013.