The night it rained
Several families from Palma's silversmiths' quarter decided to leave Majorca by night, on a ship arranged by Rafael Valls. It rained so hard the ship could not sail.
Catalina Tarongí and her brother Rafael Benet were burned alive on 6 May 1691 for refusing to recant. Six Tarongí siblings appeared at that same auto-da-fé, and their sister Francisca was tried after her death. A tradition links the surname to the Catalan Jewish lineage Gerondí («from Girona»).
Several families from Palma's silversmiths' quarter decided to leave Majorca by night, on a ship arranged by Rafael Valls. It rained so hard the ship could not sail.
Francisca Tarongí died in prison before her trial ended. The tribunal did not close the case. It went on «against her memory and reputation».
They were children of Rafael José Tarongí and Francisca Tarongí. Six appeared at the auto-da-fé of 6 May. No two met the same fate.
On a street where half the neighbors were called Cortés, Martí or Tarongí, the nickname was the real name. The files preserve dozens of them.
«He went by land with so little to live on, found a muleteer and joined him… and he is in France!» A penniless boy had crossed the border.
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.