This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list. Author: raulmsanchez Surnames: Classification: queries Message Board URL: http://boards.rootsweb.com/localities.caribbean.cuba.general/5955.2.2/mb.ashx Message Board Post: Bon jour, Emmanuel. I saw your post on the Ancestry website. I was very excited to learn about your search. My brother, Ramon, and I are engaged in the same thing. We MAY be looking at the same family tree but many branches and centuries apart. Our grandmother was Eulogia Alafita, of Laredo, Texas, USA who descended from the first Alafita who came to the USA in 1850, and whose name appears in the U.S. Census of 1850. We believe that all the Alafitas in the USA today descend from the same individual. After much searching, we are close to concluding that we are related to all the Alafitas that exist in the USA and Mexico. And that we descend from the first Alafita for whom we can find a record, in 1760, in New Spain (Mexico). He was Juan Gaspar Alafita and, according to his marriage records in Merida, Yucatan, was from Cadiz, Spain. We have yet to find relevant records to him or his ancestors in Spain. We are unable to find references or records of any Alafitas anywhere else in the Spanish-speaking world. We believe that Juan Gaspar's name was changed, for reasons unknown, upon his arrival in New Spain from Lafita (sometimes spelled Laphita). We have found references to the fact that Lafita is a surname with origins in the old kingdom of, and now Spanish province of Aragon, which borders France. We suspect that the name actually comes from southern France and may originate in the Occitan-speaking region. Possibly, it may originally have been Lahite, and in any case may be related to many variations, including Lafitta, Lafite, Laffitte, Lafitte, Laffite and Lafitau. Today, Lafita is to be found in the following regions of Spain: Aragon, the Basque Country, Navarra, Catalunya, Madrid, Seville and Cadiz. However, it is not a very common surname. Perhaps, you can shed some light on our suspicions about the French origins of Lafita and the possibility that we may be very distant cousins? Fraternal greetings, Raul Medina Sanchez Moscow, Idaho, USA Important Note: The author of this message may not be subscribed to this list. If you would like to reply to them, please click on the Message Board URL link above and respond on the board.