Once upon a time in Marinduque, there was a very rich man named Don Leon Lardizabal. Here's his story written by Dr. Jaime C. Laya, former Central Bank governor, education minister, UP dean, culture administrator (Intramuros Administration, NCCA, CCP), art collector, author and columnist; others refer to him as a 'renaissance man'.
Dr. Laya was married to one of many descendants of Don Leon. In a story first published in his column 'Wala Lang' (Manila Bulletin) in 2014, and reposted below, Laya wrote among others, thus:
"Generations later, my five grandchildren can each look to 888.9 square meters of Marinduque hillside with maybe 40 coconut trees from their great-great-great-great grandfather."
Note: Among Don León’s descendants are Marinduque Governors Don Martín Lardizabal (1898-1901) and Vicente Triviño (1919-1922); educator Pilar Hidalgo Lim; Bayanihan’s José Lardizabal; Supreme Court Justice Edgardo Parás; radio and TV personality Johnny Midnight; AIM Dean Ricky Lim; media figure CheChe Lázaro; and Landco Pacific’s Alfred Xérèz-Burgos, Jr. - JCL
TILL DEATH DO US PART
By Jaime C. Laya
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| A FAMILY LEGACY Don Leon Lardizabal’s granddaughter Eulalia and her husband Luis Hidalgo with their family, taken at their Magdalena St. (now Masangkay), Trozo home, ca. 1910. Standing are Augusto, Ursula, Rafael and wife Rufina Zamora, Pilar, and Clemente. Between his parents is Nicanor and seated on the ground are Concepcion and Nieves. |
Don León Lardizabal was dying. By his side were his
tearful wife, Doña Maria Luz del Rosario, and their nine children—Pedro,
Agueda, Martín, Petronilo, Fermina, Eusebia, Estefana, Juanita, and Concepción.
He gave instructions on funeral arrangements. A hundred Holy
Masses were to be offered for the repose of his soul and P25 were to be given
as alms to the poor. That was princely—it was 1870 and town property settled on
Andrés Cantones and Cabesang Romualdo were each valued at P30.
Don León announced that half his worldly goods were properly
Doña Maria’s, but that they had already decided on who gets what to avoid
future discord (“at huag naman niong pagbasagan ng olo bucas macalaua”).
There was indeed a lot to squabble over. The couple owned
irrigated riceland, abaca, and coconut plantations; ranchland with herds of
carabaos and cows. They were in trading and shipping (goleta “Santísima
Trinidad” and pangco “San Gabriel”) and in money lending. Then there were the
family home, jewels galore, and plenty more.
Don León’s Testamento (written in Tagalog) dated 7 Marzo
1870 enumerated what each child was to receive except for the already wed Don
Pedro and Doña Agueda who had received their portions upon marriage.
Riceland was measured by the quantity of seed needed for
planting and Don Martin, for example, received tubigan (irrigated riceland) at
Agot, Botón, Balimbíng, Paua, and Bantáy needing seed of 26 caván (sack) and
nine salóp (ganta) plus niogan (coconut plantation) in three villages. Other
heirs were given equivalent property in Boác, Santa Cruz, and Gasan (including
the fields where the airport now is).
The house and its contents (valued at P3,500) were to be for
any single children, identifying chandelier (araña walong tubo, P180), table
(probably marble-topped, P21), and two virina with images of the Virgin (P100).
It is unclear, however, if Don León’s home is the still-standing Lardizabal
house, the town’s largest, that occupies an entire block at Boác CBD.
Shares were equalized with jewelry. In addition to land for
example, Don Martín got a diamond button set, a watch and a seguro de oro
(religious gold pin) worth P363 total. A chest contained a fortune, 14,000
silver peso coins, to be equally divided among the seven unmarried children.
Assuming these were 1870 Mexican pesos, current numismatic value would be about
P21 million or P3 million each.
Don León concluded with the admonition that the siblings
live together in harmony and follow their mother’s wishes.
It’s tough estimating Don León’s net worth, but my late
mother-in-law, a great-grandchild, owned sizeable niogan that was originally
Don León’s. Since her own mother Doña Eulalia Lardizabal de Hidalgo was one of
seven children and her grandfather (Don Pedro) one of nine, the old man could
have owned several thousand hectares of coconut land alone had niogan been
consistently divided equally among heirs.
Generations later, my five grandchildren can each look to
888.9 square meters of Marinduque hillside with maybe 40 coconut trees from
their great-great-great-great grandfather.
