This is an ambitious undertaking aimed at bridging the past 400 years of Argao's history with the present by tracing the genealogies of all pre-American period Argaoanon families.


The town of Argao is a genealogical gold mine because many of the family names have varied origins and most of the Spanish-era records remain preserved. The project aims to produce three sets of volumes: first, A Narrative of the Ruling elite of past and present Argao; second, a Dictionary of Argaoanon Family Names; and, third, a Genealogical Encyclopedia of Argaoanon Families.


While Genealogy has always been considered as elitist field of study, the Argao 400 Genealogy project aims to document and preserve for future generations the family histories of ALL families in the town of Argao.


Target date of completion is August 2008, in time for Argao's 400th Anniversary on September 28, 2008. This project will make Argao a pioneer among all towns and cities in the Philippines in genealogical preservation.

OUTPUT OF PROJECT:

1. Argao Principalia: A Brief Political History - a discussion of the ruling elite of the town from the 1600's to the present.

2. A Dictionary of Argawanon Surnames - a comprehensive discussion on the meanings, origin, distribution, coat of arms (when applicable) of all surnames found in Argao, from past to present.

3. An Encyclopedia of Argawanon Genealogies - a hopefully comprehensive enough encyclopedia of all family histories of Argawanon descent.

4. Argao: 400 Years in Legend and History