Ursula Acosta (née Schmidt; January 14, 1933 - September 10, 2018) was one of the founding members of the Puerto Rican Genealogical Society, who studied and written many works on the subject. She was also a

psychologist A psychologist is a professional who practices psychology and studies mental states, perceptual, cognitive, emotional, and social processes and behavior. Their work often involves the experimentation, observation, and interpretation of how indi ...

and retired professor of the

University of Puerto Rico The University of Puerto Rico ( es, Universidad de Puerto Rico, UPR) is the main public university system in the U.S. Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. It is a government-owned corporation with 11 campuses and approximately 58,000 students and 5,3 ...

at Mayagüez.Dr. Ursula Acosta: Genealogy: My Passion and Hobby
/ref>

Early years

Acosta was born in

Hanover Hanover (; german: Hannover ; nds, Hannober) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Lower Saxony. Its 535,932 (2021) inhabitants make it the 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-largest city in Northern Germany ...

, Germany to Hans Schmidt and Irma Ulrich. In 1935, her family moved to

Leipzig Leipzig ( , ; Upper Saxon: ) is the most populous city in the German state of Saxony. Leipzig's population of 605,407 inhabitants (1.1 million in the larger urban zone) as of 2021 places the city as Germany's eighth most populous, as wel ...

, where she received her primary education. In 1947 her family relocated and moved to

Dieburg Dieburg () is a small town in southern Hesse, Germany. It was formerly the seat of the district ("Kreis") of Dieburg, but is now part of the district of Darmstadt-Dieburg. History The town of Dieburg was first named in 1492 in the tax books of the ...

. In 1952, she met Corporal Sebastián Acosta Ronda, a Puerto Rican in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

who was stationed in Germany. They became romantically involved and wanted to marry, however her father recommended that she finish school first. Corporal Acosta Ronda returned to his homeland and Ursula continued in school until 1953, when she finished with the

Abitur ''Abitur'' (), often shortened colloquially to ''Abi'', is a qualification granted at the end of secondary education in Germany. It is conferred on students who pass their final exams at the end of ISCED 3, usually after twelve or thirteen year ...

(final exams) at the Gymnasium (college prep school) in Dieburg.

Puerto Rico

Corporal Acosta Ronda was honorably discharged from the Army in May 1953 and making use of his

G.I. Bill The Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944, commonly known as the G.I. Bill, was a law that provided a range of benefits for some of the returning World War II veterans (commonly referred to as G.I.s). The original G.I. Bill expired in 1956, bu ...

studied

chemistry Chemistry is the science, scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a natural science that covers the Chemical element, elements that make up matter to the chemical compound, compounds made of atoms, molecules and ions ...

at the

University of Puerto Rico at Mayagüez The University of Puerto Rico, Mayagüez Campus (UPRM) or Recinto Universitario de Mayagüez (RUM) in Spanish (also referred to as Colegio and CAAM in allusion to its former name), is a public land-grant university in Mayagüez, Puerto Rico. UPRM ...

campus. Acosta applied for her immigration papers and upon receiving them moved to Puerto Rico. A few days after her arrival to the island she married Sebastián Acosta Ronda. She lived in the city of Mayagüez where her oldest son, Hans, was born. In 1959, the family relocated to

Darmstadt Darmstadt () is a city in the States of Germany, state of Hesse in Germany, located in the southern part of the Frankfurt Rhine Main Area, Rhine-Main-Area (Frankfurt Metropolitan Region). Darmstadt has around 160,000 inhabitants, making it th ...

, Germany where her husband pursued his graduate studies.

Educator

The family returned to Puerto Rico and had resided in

Hormigueros, Puerto Rico Hormigueros (, ) is a town and municipality of Puerto Rico located in the western region of the island, northeast of Cabo Rojo; northwest of San Germán; and south of Mayagüez. Hormigueros is spread over 5 barrios and Hormigueros Pueblo (th ...

since 1967, year in which Acosta enrolled in the University of Puerto Rico. Acosta worked full-time as a teacher at private schools and in 1971 earned her bachelor's degree in

Social Sciences Social science is one of the branches of science, devoted to the study of societies and the relationships among individuals within those societies. The term was formerly used to refer to the field of sociology, the original "science of soci ...

. During the next two years, she continued to work as an educator and during the weekends pursued her master's degree in counseling. In 1973, she earned her master's degree at the

Río Piedras Rio or Río is the Portuguese, Spanish, Italian, and Maltese word for "river". When spoken on its own, the word often means Rio de Janeiro, a major city in Brazil. Rio or Río may also refer to: Geography Brazil * Rio de Janeiro * Rio do Sul, a ...

campus of the University of Puerto Rico and that same year she began to teach at that institution's Mayagüez campus. During her summers she took courses towards her Ph.D. at the

Johannes Gutenberg Johannes Gensfleisch zur Laden zum Gutenberg (; – 3 February 1468) was a German inventor and Artisan, craftsman who introduced letterpress printing to Europe with his movable type, movable-type printing press. Though not the first of its ki ...

University of Mainz The Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (german: Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz) is a public research university in Mainz, Rhineland Palatinate, Germany, named after the printer Johannes Gutenberg since 1946. With approximately 32,000 stu ...

in Germany and in 1979 earned her Ph.D. in

social psychology Social psychology is the scientific study of how thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are influenced by the real or imagined presence of other people or by social norms. Social psychologists typically explain human behavior as a result of the r ...

with minors in

linguistics Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. It is called a scientific study because it entails a comprehensive, systematic, objective, and precise analysis of all aspects of language, particularly its nature and structure. Linguis ...

and

sociology Sociology is a social science that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of Interpersonal ties, social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. It uses various methods of Empirical ...

Genealogist

Acosta returned to Puerto Rico and in 1980 she became interested in

genealogy Genealogy () is the study of families, family history, and the tracing of their lineages. Genealogists use oral interviews, historical records, genetic analysis, and other records to obtain information about a family and to demonstrate kins ...

. On April 29, 1989 she became one of the founding members of the Sociedad Puertorriqueña de Genealogía (Puerto Rican Genealogical Society). The society's aim is the following: *To foster the scientific study of Puerto Rican Genealogy *To cooperate with the preservation of historic documents of Puerto Rico. *To promote educational activities (Seminars, Conferences, Exhibitions, etc.) related to the search of the genealogical roots of Puerto Ricans.

Written works

Acosta had also authored many articles on

psychology Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Psychology includes the study of conscious and unconscious phenomena, including feelings and thoughts. It is an academic discipline of immense scope, crossing the boundaries betwe ...

and other topics which include Puerto Rican history and which have been published in various publications such as ''The San Juan Star'', ''Atenea'' and so on. Among the literary works which she has either authored or co-authored are the following: *"Familias de Cabo Rojo", (Families of Cabo Rojo), 1983, by Dr. Ursula Acosta and David Enrique Cuesta Camacho- This publication covers the Genealogies of 16 families of Cabo Rojo, Puerto Rico. It covers the 18th and 19th centuries. *"Cabo Rojo: Notas para su historia" (Cabo Rojo: Notations for its history), by Dr. Ursula Acosta and Antonio "Mao" Ramos Ramírez de ArellanoReferencias
/ref> *"Cofresí y Ducoudray: Dos hombres al margen de la historia" (Cofresi and Ducoudray, two men at the margin of history), Editorial Edil, Río Piedras, PR, 1991, by Dr. Ursula Acosta *"New Voices of Old: Five Centuries of Puerto Rican Cultural History", 1987, by Dr. Ursula Acosta - an anthology of interviews, both real and imaginary, conducted by the author to Puerto Ricans covering various centuries.

Later years

Acosta was a member of various organizations, among them the

American Psychological Association The American Psychological Association (APA) is the largest scientific and professional organization of psychologists in the United States, with over 133,000 members, including scientists, educators, clinicians, consultants, and students. It ha ...

, Asociación Histórica de Puerto Rico (Historical Association of Puerto Rico), National Genealogical Association and Der Herold. She served in the chair of the appeals board of the

Selective Service The Selective Service System (SSS) is an independent agency of the United States government that maintains information on U.S. citizens and other U.S. residents potentially subject to military conscription (i.e., the draft) and carries out contin ...

for Puerto Rico for 20 years. In 1995, Acosta retired from teaching at the University of Puerto Rico at Mayagüez. Due to her husband's ill health, she retired from most of her professional activities. She continued to reside in the town of

. Besides her son Hans, who was born in Puerto Rico, the couple had two other children, Dennis and Peter who were born in Germany. On September 10, 2018, she died while hospitalized in San Germán, Puerto Rico.

References

External links

Sociedad Puertorriqueña de Genealogía
{{DEFAULTSORT:Acosta, Ursula 1933 births 2018 deaths German emigrants to Puerto Rico German genealogists German psychologists German women psychologists German non-fiction writers German women educators 20th-century German women writers Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz alumni Puerto Rican educators Puerto Rican non-fiction writers Puerto Rican women writers