The O’Neill – Merced and O’Neill – Baez Connection

The progenitor of this family is at the moment Don Leon O'Neill y Rodriquez born circa 1878 approx. no birth certificates or other data on him is available other than census for 1910-1930, and a draft card from 1942. This family lived in Hato Nuevo, Rio, and Guaynabo.Current Y-DNA shows that one member of the O’Neill y Baez Family that has tested is of the Haplogroup J2. Leon O’Neill Rodriguez married ManuelaBaez Laguna and they became the parents of Juan Irene O’Neill Baez b. 1906, Ramona O’Neill Baez b. 1907, and Leonor O’Neill Baez b. 1909 The O'Neill Merced family is only related to the O'Neill Baez through their mother Francisca O'Neill Rodriguez, the sister of Leon O'Neill Rodriguez.Francisca O’Neill Rodriguez b. 1870 sister of Leon O’Neill Rodriguez b. 1878, and she looks to have had a first marriage, but the name of the father has not been found or given by any of the O’Neill’s in questioned, Fransica O’Neill was the mother of Maria b. 1899, Angelina b. 1901, Julia b. 1899, Francisco b. 1898, Juana b. 1895, Modesto b. 1892, Rufina b. 1902, and Esteban b. 1908. These O’Neill are the O’Neill’s y Merced family. They had a stepfather named Anizeto Merced b. 1870. It looks that the children of Francisca O’Neill Rodriguez kept the O’Neill surname from their mother and not their father who is unknown. But for these O’Neill’s to be O’Neill’s Francisca must have married another O’Neill since she was an O’Neill herself. The O’Neill-Baez are related to the O’Neill-Merced by way of Francisca O’Neill Rodriguez but the all the descendants of Francisca O’Neill Rodriguez are not O’Neill’s thru a male line but by their mother. So a Y-DNA sample from the descendants of • Esteban O’Neill Merced b. 1908 • Modesto O’Neill Merced b. 1892 • Francisco O’Neill Merced b.1898 The question will remain are these O’Neill’s related to any others on the island? Until they come forward with y-dna samples and a genealogy then we will know, but at the moment I suspect they are not related to the descendants of Don Juan O’Neill.