12Archive · AHN
Around 1681
Moixina's love letter
Moixina wrote Margarita Ana Piña a letter proposing marriage, argued with Bible verses. Her answer had nothing to do with faith.
Pinya in Majorcan, Piña in Spanish. Margarita Ana Piña turned down Moixina's marriage proposal «because he was a widower and had many children». Spain's National Historical Archive holds trial files of other Piñas from the same period. It is also the second surname of Miquel Forteza i Pinya.
Moixina wrote Margarita Ana Piña a letter proposing marriage, argued with Bible verses. Her answer had nothing to do with faith.
Start with what your family has: baptism, marriage and death records of your parents, grandparents and great-grandparents, including their second surnames (Spanish naming uses both parents' surnames).
With those details you can search the parish registers of Palma, above all Santa Eulàlia, the parish of the old Jewish quarter, and the Diocesan Archive of Majorca.
The trial records of the Majorcan Inquisition are held in Spain's National Historical Archive, and many can be viewed online through the PARES portal.
Carrying the surname does not prove descent; the chain of documents does. Tell us your story and we will point you in the right direction.