Why Create a Family History

Great Blessing

Children should consider having their family history written. This can be a great blessing to the living family members and those who come after them. Its readers learn from the events, thoughts, and growth in the lives of the subject family members, even from those things that may otherwise seem trivial.

This was a consideration behind the plan to write a Nemesio Pira & Lumen Pira family history (or biography or story). The couple got married in 1928 and had 8 children.

Among the strong reasons to create a family history are the following:

• People want to know who the subject family members are and where they come from.
• A family history can help the living family members gain knowledge and appreciation for those who have gone before them, where and how they lived, why they made the choices they made, and how they shaped the family’s future.
• It will help the living family members gain greater understanding of themselves and how they fit in the overall picture of their family.
• It will help preserve family stories for future generations.

The usual sources of family history information are living relatives of the subjects, who may remember events in their lives, as well as friends, neighbors, work associates, or others who might have known something about them.

For this reason, we will ask you to help in any way possible, e.g., writing, submitting info, or connecting with people we do not know but can give useful info.

The book will touch on the geographic area where the subjects lived and about the weather, politics, world and community events that had a direct effect on them. Also included are details of illnesses and cause of death.

Topics

The topics covered in a family biography or history include info about the father and the mother under these headings:

• Early Childhood and Family Background – Parents and Family, Community Grew Up In, Early Schooling, Friends and Interests
• Teenage Years – Changes in Family, School, Work, Social Life and Outside
• Adulthood – Further Education, Marriage or Formation of Significant Relationships, Employment, Children
• Overview and Evaluation  

I'm thinking of having a book written about the Pira family. Oral history will be the method of gathering materials with the writer/s interviewing people who had personal contacts with the subject of the article. For instance, a biographical article on Meciong and Lumen will involve interviews with close relatives as well as friends and co-workers who are still alive. 

Incidentally, I recently found a 60+ year-old Lapogeno who worked with Lumen as a catechist. Still alive is also a neighbor who served as town midwife when she was president of the puericulture center.

The book will contain these biographical articles of the parents and their children:

• Nemesio Pira & Lumen Rabe (father and mother) 
• Lourdes Pira & Alfredo Israel
• Josefa Pira
• Evelio Pira & Erlinda Noel
• Geronimo Pira & Melly Manzano
• Jose Pira & Lenie Gatdula
• Rudolfo Pira & Eldie Udarbe
• Agnes Pia & Cornelio Jover

Nemesio Pira & Lumen Rabe

The data that I've gathered about this couple show that Nemesio was born in 1902 at San Ildefonso and Lumen at San Juan (formerly Lapog), Ilocos Sur. They passed away at the age of 81 and 89, respectively.

Nemesio was a public school teacher and Lumen, a homemaker with 8 children, who served as president of the Puericulture Center and a catechist of the Catholic church.

Preno de hand was Nemesio’s moniker because he was the first owner of a handbrake-equipped bicycle in their home town. Lumen was crowned town fiesta queen.

How they raised their family: Children must get home by sunset marked by the church bell ringing of the Angeles at 6:00 PM. Every child must aim to get a college degree. They encouraged respect of children to older siblings, instilled fear of God, and got everyone to go to church on Sundays and holidays of obligation.

This is an incident I personally witnessed when I was 5 years old: In 1944 during  the Japanese occupation, Lumen was called to the municipal hall and asked by the Japanese authorities about his older brother, Vicente, who recently died. 

I saw a Japanese soldier playfully put at her back a small living pet lizard (bayawak in Tagalog, banyas in Ilocano), which made everybody laugh. Lumen was terrified but did not panic.

Brother of Nemesio

Mariano Pira, Nemesio's older brother at San Ildefonso, Ilocos Sur, wrote a book in Ilocano titled SAN ILDEFONSO (Ilocos Sur) In the Life of Mariano Pira by. One can get an idea of Nemesio's early years in their hometown (17.4 km from San Juan). Here are excerpts from the translation by Cristino Pira, Mariano's son: 

As I said, almost all the land making up the town is owned by the rich folks of Vigan and, as a consequence, life became so unbearable that most of the inhabitants of the abandoned places left for other provinces, even though at that time there were still no means of transportation.  They either travelled on foot or on carts pulled by carabaos or cows or on sailboats.
 
And so the only relatives who really know each other are those who trace their roots to Joaquin Pira, namely the families of his two sons, Mariano and Nemesio, and a daughter, Ines Pira Pacis.  

Sometime in 1913 when we were already reaching maturity and our youngest brother (Nemesio) was already able to take care of himself, manang Ines who was the biggest earner among us decided to get married, and so our life again became harder than ever, although my brother and I could already help till the fields during planting time and help in processing maguey when the season for such work came.

Owing to our particularly difficult situation, Nemesio had to stop going to school.  You may not believe it, but he would go alone to pound rice (agbayo). He would bring down two bundles of palay (dua nga abtek) after lunch and when he brought it up, it was already rice.

On February that year because I was still going to school, Nemesio, the girls and my mother had to do the work on the maguey.  And when Saturday came, I would be available to help them wash the maguey.

I graduated from intermediate school in 1915, and the following June it was Nemesio's turn to go to school.  A year later, our mother died. And so we were left with an old aunt (masungit at ulianin na), an older sister of my mother.  My sister and I were able to make our family survive all the hardships we had to face.

In 1928 my brother Nemesio who was already a teacher got married.  That left only our sister Agata and our old aunt in the house and at that time I longed to have our own house to stay in.