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The Carvallo name is the Lusitan form of the Galician name Carballo.  Its origin is taxonomic and derived from the name of the place where one lived or the property owner was from and the founder of the lineage.  Carvallo was taken directly from "Carballo", which was a place in the province of Lugo in Galicia.  Hence, someone from that province was someone from Carballo.  Carballo comes from the Portuguese word Carvalho, which means Oak. Therefore, this name means the place where the Oaks come from.  In Portugal, Carvalho is also the name of a province in the district of Peñacova, within the Carvalho Mountains.  In Spain, during the re-conquest years, the name Carballo was extended from Galicia to the peninsula and to the Canary Islands.

The Portuguese branch of the lineage is traced back to Bartolomeo Domingues de Carvalho, whose son Fernao Gomez de Carvalho was a military officer under the son of King Dinis of Portugal.  One of the sons of Fernao, Gil Fernandes de Carvalho, was made a noble man in Spain as part of the order of the Caballeros de Santiago.  The shield of arms of the family can be described as follows:  Three ostrich feathers on top of the navy blue shield.  On the navy blue shield, there is one bright golden eight point star surrounded by eight white crescent moons.

Another important ancestor is Sebastião José de Carvalho e Mello, Marquês de Pombal (1699-1782), a Portuguese statesman, who was the virtual ruler of the country during the reign (1750-77) of Joseph Emanuel.  Sebastião was born in Lisbon on May 13, 1699, and educated at the University of Coimbra. In 1738 he was appointed ambassador to London and seven years later was sent to Vienna in a similar capacity. In 1750 King Joseph appointed him minister of state, and he soon proved his administrative talents. When a devastating earthquake struck Lisbon in 1755, he organized the relief efforts and planned its rebuilding. He was made chief minister in 1756, and from then on his powers were practically absolute.  Sebastião abolished slavery in Portugal, reorganized the educational system, and published a new code of laws. In addition he effected the reorganization of the army, the introduction of new colonists into the Portuguese settlements, and the establishment of an East India Company and other companies for trade with Brazil. Agriculture, commerce, and finances were all improved. The king made him a marquis in 1770.  Sebastião's power ended with the death of the king. Sebastião retired to Pombal, where he died on May 8, 1782.

One of the branches of this lineage settled in Viscaya, where its members change its spelling to Carvallo, matching the "v" in Viscaya.  A descendent of that house was Mencia Carvallo who married Juan de la Guerra Leguizamon, who was the owner of Begoña and died in Tarifa. Another branch of the lineage is traced to Benigno Carvallo Wanquemerk, who was born in Isla de la Palma in 1828 and became a lawyer at the University of Seville and later a teacher at the School of Commerce at the University of Madrid.

So, the Carvallo, with a "v", lineage dates its origins back to Viscaya.  During most recent findings,  several members of this lineage sailed for the new world in the latter 1800s, arriving in countries like Chile, Argentina, Mexico, USA, and Venezuela. The lineage that established itself in Venezuela built roots in Caracas and Valencia.  Most of the members of this lineage became businessmen, lawyers, politicians and economists. On the branch that settled itself in Valencia, it is worth mentioning that six members of the family have been Governors of the city and its state over the last 100 years.  There is an interesting cross lineage in the Carvallo family with the Arvelo family and the Belouche family worth sharing.  Luis Felipe Carvallo Arvelo and Salvador Carvallo Arvelo, who was a Governor of the State of Carabobo and a co-founder of the Colegio Don Bosco,  were sons of of Luis Carvallo Alvarez and Ana Teresa Arvelo Belouche.  Ana Teresa was the daughter of Rafael Arvelo, a famous writer whose name was chosen to name a County in the State of Carabobo, and Colombia Belouche, the daughter of Renato Belouche.  Renato Belouche was a leading contributor to the independence of Venezuela, as he donated several war ships and fought under Simon Bolivar's command in several naval battles against the Spanish Royal Navy.

Luis Felipe Carvallo Arvelo had seven kids.  Oscar E. Carvallo G., the youngest of the seven, who was a poet, a radio personality, a journalist and a lawyer by profession, turned to politics early on in his life.  He participated in the take down of the dictatorship in 1957 at the age of 18 and became Carabobo's general secretary for the leading political party in the early 60s.  After a successful administration as secretary general, he run for public office and was elected to state and  national congressman seats during the 60s and the 70s.  During his time in the national congress, Oscar E. Carvallo G. focused his legislative energy to improve environmental, human rights, tourism and labor laws.  During his busy career he met and married Sonia del Rosario Sambrano Toro and had one son, Andrés E. Carvallo.  At the national congress, Oscar was chairman of the tourism committee in the house of representatives, when he passed away in 1977.  He was buried with the highest of honors (flag on coffin, 21 gun salute, and several proclamations) and the ranking of a two star general of the Venezuelan Armed Forces.

In 1991, Andrés E. Carvallo married Angela Dawn Chambers.  They have three children.  Alexandra Lauren, Andres Josephe (AJ), and Austin Theodore.
 


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