I have a baptism of an ancestor of mine which has his godfather's name written as "Benef. Juan Salazar" Does anyone know what "Benef." means?. Is this some kind of genealogical term or an abbreviated version of his first name?. Any info is appreciated. Thanks Andres Echazabal

Greetings Andres, I have seen something similar when examining christening records from Bizkaia and Guipuzkoa in Spain -- usually "beneficiado y cura" preceded by the name of a priest and followed by the name of a Church. In this case the Padrino was most likely a priest. Sincerely, Andres Bolinaga ----- Original Message ----- From: "Andres Echazabal" <a.echazabal@michigandrill.com> To: <CUBA-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Thursday, October 28, 2004 07:13 Subject: [CUBA-L] Cuban Genealogical terms and name abbreviations > > I have a baptism of an ancestor of mine which has his godfather's name written as "Benef. Juan Salazar" > Does anyone know what "Benef." means?. Is this some kind of genealogical term or an abbreviated version of his first name?. > > Any info is appreciated. > Thanks > Andres Echazabal > > > > > > ==== CUBA Mailing List ==== > *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* > For the usage policy rules of this list please visit: > Para las reglas de uso de esta lista visite: > http://www.cubagenweb.org/cuba-l.htm >

Benef. means Beneficiado, a priest that has a capellania to his name to pay his expenses. Mayra > > I have a baptism of an ancestor of mine which has his godfather's name written as "Benef. Juan Salazar" > Does anyone know what "Benef." means?. Is this some kind of genealogical term or an abbreviated version of his first name?. > > Any info is appreciated. > Thanks > Andres Echazabal > > > > > > ==== CUBA Mailing List ==== > *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* > For the usage policy rules of this list please visit: > Para las reglas de uso de esta lista visite: > http://www.cubagenweb.org/cuba-l.htm >

The word "Beneficiado" which I think is the corresponding word for the abreviation you found is a distinction treatment for priests in ancient years(Before 20th century). Ussually appears as Bdº, Bdo. Benefº Benef.do and in some other ways depending on the person who wrote the text. As an example: "Don Pedro Palacios, Cura Benefº (beneficiado) de la Santa Iglesia Catedral". I suppose in your case the word appeared in this way: " Fue su padrino el Benefº (Beneficiado) Juan Salazar. The exact meaning of the term "beneficiado" is to say: the rights that title gave to the owner would be a topic for another discussion, for we must go to a text dealing with ancient or Roman Canon Law. Please feel free contacting me trough my direct E-Mail adress for the case I can search for the meaning of this term Friendly Roberto Lenzano rlenzano@mediras.scu.sld.cu. Versión al Español: La palabra "beneficiado" que es la que yo creo se corresponde con la abreviatura que Ud. encontró, es un tratamiento de distinción entre los curas en épocas antiguas anteriores al siglo 20. Por lo general aparece como Bdº, Bdo, Benefº y de algunas otras formas, dependiendo del gusto del escribano. Aparece por regla general como: "Don Pedro Palacios, Cura Benefº (beneficiado) de la Santa Iglesia Catedral". Yo supongo que en su caso esta palabra apareció como: " Fue su padrino el Benefº (Beneficiado) Juan Salazar. El exacto significado del término "beneficiado" o sea: Los derechos que daba ese título a su poseedor, podría ser el tópico para otro debate, ya que tenemos que consultar algún texto que trate sobre Derecho Canónico Romano antiguo. No tenga dudas en comunicarse conmigo a través de mi dirección de E-Mail directa por si acaso Yo he podido averiguar el significado de esta palabra Amistosamente Roberto Lenzano ----- Mensaje original ----- De: "Andres Echazabal" <a.echazabal@michigandrill.com> Para: <CUBA-L@rootsweb.com> Enviado: Thursday, October 28, 2004 10:13 AM Asunto: [CUBA-L] Cuban Genealogical terms and name abbreviations > > I have a baptism of an ancestor of mine which has his godfather's name written as "Benef. Juan Salazar" > Does anyone know what "Benef." means?. Is this some kind of genealogical term or an abbreviated version of his first name?. > > Any info is appreciated. > Thanks > Andres Echazabal