User:RhondaRichoux/Felipe Madrigal and Bridgett Nugent

The oldest continuous Filipino family in Louisiana, a brief history. Note: the family of Felipe Madriaga and Brigett Nugent has been documented in the following media: Book: "Filipinos in Louisiana" by Marina E. Espina Film: "Dancing the Shrimp" by James and Isabel Kenny "My America, or Honk If You Love Buddha" by Rene Tajima Pena Periodiodicals: "A Whisper of the Motherland" by Rhonda Richoux Fox in Filipinas Magazine 2005 "This Tree Has Strong Roots" By Rhonda Lee Richoux in Our Own Voice Literary Magazine 2005

The purpose of this article is to clarify the famly name, which has previously been noted as "Madrigal", when, in fact, it is "Madriaga".

After researching my family history, I was able to clear up some errors in our family oral history. Family history tells us that Felipe Madrigal was from Manila, Philippines. He was a crewman on a ship that sailed either from Dublin or Liverpool around 1847, where he met a young Irish girl named Bridgett Nugent. They fell in love and married, against her family's wishes. Felipe and Bridegett settled in New Orleans, and her family went on to New York, never to speak to her again.

I have found in my research that public records in Louisiana spell our ancestral name as "Madriaga" rather than "Madrigal". The Federal Census of 1860, Schedule of Free Persons, Parish of St. Bernard, State of Louisiana, list Felipe Madriaga of "Manila, Spain", and Bridgett Nogant of Ireland. With them are two children, Elizabeth Madriaga, age 2, born in Louisiana, and a female child with an illegible name beginning with the letter "M", and the last name of Nogant, born in New York. This leads me to believe that Felipe and Bridgett went to New York first, where their first child, Mary Ellen, was born, and then continued on to Louisiana.

Felipe and Bridgett lived in the various fishing villages of St. Bernard and Jefferson Parishes, where Felipe fished and, with his wife, operated a restaurant of sorts to feed the bachelor Filipinos who lived in the villages. They had a third daughter, Helen Madriaga, but no sons to carry on the family name.

Family documents, including photographs, handwritten notes and letters, birth and marriage records, confirm that Felipe and Bridgett came to Louisiana sometime around 1847 or 1848. A handwritten note on an old photograph identifies Felipe as "Great grandfather, from Ilocos, North of Philippines".

For those interested in Filipino American history, I will give my family line from Felipe and Bridgett to our current generation:

Felipe Madriaga (or Madrigal) married Bridgett Nugent (or Nogant).

Their daughter Elizabeth Madriaga (b. Jun 1857; d. 30 Jan 1930) married Baltic Valeriano Borabod of Cebu, P.I..

Their daughter Rosalie Borabod (b. Aug 1887; d. 21 Nov 1965)married Benito Yabut Martinez of Iloilo,P.I.

Their daughter Lillian Frances Martinez (b. 29 Jan 1905; d. 15 Aug 1989) married Walter Nicholas Burtanog of Mobile Alabama. Walter was the son of Pio Burtanog of the Philippine Islands.

Their daughter Lillian Mae Burtanog (b. 10 Apr 1928) married Joseph Dudley Richoux of Larose, Louisiana. I am their daughter, Rhonda Lee Richoux. Their sons are Dudley Joseph Richoux and Wayne Anthony Richoux. My parents were divorced, and my mother married Malcolm Howard Faxon of New York. Their children are Darla Elaine Faxon, Tracy Ann Faxon, Malcolm Howard Faxon, Jr., and Todd Alexander Faxon.

My sister Darla's eldest child, Shannon Leigh Davis, married Joshua Rohrbacker, and has a son named Tristen.

For a more detailed account of our family, the genealogy can be found at the following page, in the "Books" link on the page:

I hope that this will help researchers and history buffs who have shown an interest in my family history.