L'Arxiu patrimonial Martí d'Ardenya

Abstract

This article aims to follow the generations of the family Martí dArdenya through a study of their family archives. The first historical references of the family date from the end of the 15th century in Tamarit and offer documentary evidence of an inherited legacy of land, censual rolls, commerce and other property. There are 180 parchment documents in all, the earliest one dating from the 14th century, followed by documents in paper which cover a period leading up to the mid 20th century. This study, however, will close with the 1850s with a description of the heirs, their marriages, purchases and sales and other business transactions. One notable example is the description of family trade along the Catalan coast and the Kingdom of Valencia, eventually reaching various towns in the American continent. It is important to point out the reasons for accumulating such a valuable archive of documents throughout the ages. Important main books, accounting books, family records, censual rolls, affidavits, bills, invoices, and herbariums make up this family archive which has been carefully preserved and is now deposited in the town hall of Altafulla, where some of the documents are being technologically reproduced.