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Teresita N. Wilkerson
THE GREAT CLANS OF ANGELES
The family of Pio Rafael Nepomuceno and Maria Agustina Henson (seated,second row, fourth from right). Capitan Juan G.
Nepomuceno is in the fourth row, sixth from left. Juan D. Nepomuceno is seated in the front row, second from left. Photo
taken in 1903.
Most of the great clans in Angeles descended
from the pioneer settlers of barrio
Culiat starting late 1700s or around the time
Don Angel Pantaleon de Miranda began organizing
his new pueblo. Many of them were
originally from San Fernando, like the Dayrits
and the Hensons, and a few from elsewhere,
like the Nepomucenos. It is interesting to note
that almost all the subdivisions in the city have
been named after the scions of these old families,
examples of which are L&S (Lazatin-
Singian), Essel or SL Park (Singian-Lazatin),
Villas Gloria, Angela and Angelina (Lazatin),
Villa Teresa (Nepomuceno), Carmenville
(Carmen Dayrit Tayag), etc. Here are a few
of these celebrated clans of Angeles:
Henson - The “mother of all clans,” probably
the most extensive family network in Angeles.
Historian Mariano A. Henson wrote that
“All Hensons are Pampangos and they are
closely related to each other” and that the
male Hensons all have the typical “medium
stature, lightly stooping shoulders, receding
hairline after middle age, taciturn disposition.”
The earliest recorded Henson was Luis
Mariano Henson who acquired a doctorate in
theology from the University of Santo Tomas
in 1778 and became parish priest of Ermita.
Probably of Chinese lineage, the Hensons lived
in Betis (already existing at the time the Spaniards
came in 1571); there was a Calixto
Henson recorded in that ancient town.
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Romance omance
of of the
the
lanz lanzones lanz ones
There’s something about these
slow-growing trees with gnarled branches
and drooping leaves
The lanzones of Angeles were brought in from the Southern Tagalog Region in
the 19 th century by Pio Rafael Nepomuceno. It is not clear if he brought the
seedlings during courtship or when he was already married to Agustina Henson,
but romantics insist he started bringing the fruits as gifts to his girlfriend and her
family; thus, the lanzones played a role in convincing Agustina to eventually accept
Pio’s marriage proposal.
The first seedlings were planted in the front lawn of the Nepomuceno mansion
along Sto.Rosario Street; today, lanzon trees from those original seedlings can be
seen in backyards of old houses and inside Villa Teresa, which used to be the orchard
of Don Juan Nepomuceno’s wife, Teresa. A few lanzones are found in Angeles’
immediate neighbors Mabalacat, Manibaug and Telabastagan, but not beyond.