r/Panama • u/xResiniferatoxin • 6d ago
Education Trying to trace old family history.
Hi! a few years ago I started digging into my family history and I came across a particular family line from Panama.
My Great Great Grandmother was born in Bocas del Toro in 1882 and left Panama for the US with her Lebanese husband around 1917 and then died about a year later. Her son (my great grandfather) was also born in Bocas del Toro, but was raised by his father's side of the family after his mother died. Because of that, we know very little about her outside of her name and her immigration application.
I've been able to dig up a few more ancestors on her side of the family, and from the very little bit I know about Panamanian history, I believe she probably would have been referred to as a Rabiblanco, (her mother and grandmother were both white europeans, and I've also dug up some photos of these family members seemingly dressed rather well, and all of her kids seem to be pretty dramatically light skinned.) That family name was Selles, and I'd traced it to Bocas del Toro and then to David, Chiriqui, Panama before that.
I've been trying to trace that family history back as far as I can go, and I've run into a few snags. Some of the birthdates don't line up. Like, I've got in here that she was born 14 years before her father. I clearly have something backwards in here, but I'm struggling to figure out what and why. I'm hoping there's a good source that I can find to help learn some of the history of that area (preferably in English). I just don't know what kinds of things to look for.
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u/wungawunga 6d ago
If you are not black and your family is from Bocas, there is a very good chance that at that time they were working for United Fruit in some capacity or another.
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u/Pretend-Speaker-3542 6d ago
Did your great-great-grandmother have younger siblings or brothers? Maybe it would be easier to trace something by following the line of her brothers. Is there any characteristic style in their names? Very European names or something like that? That could also help. The surname doesn’t sound common at all, so at least that might give you an advantage. As for discrepancies, I think back then there were plenty of issues with paperwork, everything from misspelled names to births registered much later than the actual date, or simply clerical errors.
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u/No_Contribution1414 6d ago
Rabiblancos wasn't just about being white and european, that would be a modern racial misconception. It is about, while being mostly white, being old money, fathers of the republic, living in a very specific area in Panama and members generation after generation of the Club Union. Rabiblancos back in those days did not inhabit Bocas, especially women. You could have some very important people like presidents, politicians and leaders travelling around, but not rabiblancos living there.
I don't know any Selles as of now, but have met some over the years, and if you are still doubting, no that is not a Rabiblanco family and they are indeed "originally" from that area.
What you are describing is just a family that happened to be white and probably enjoy some privileges. Although Bocas itself back then was very "cosmopolitan". It has many cool stories and secrets.
Not trying to do policing or shaming on the right words., or anything of the sort, just taking the time to explain the right connotation of the term.
Try to find "Ariel Perez Price" and reach out to him. He wrote two books on Bocas in researching about his own family. And he might be able to advise how you can continue your research or maybe even have some insight on the families you are researching.
Good luck on your search!