Somos Primos

June 2004, 
Editor: Mimi Lozano
©2000-4

Dedicated to Hispanic Heritage and Diversity Issues
 
Society of Hispanic Historical and Ancestral Research

             

Content Areas

United States
. . 2
Bernardo de Galvez. . 22
Surname Canales. . 26
Orange County, CA
. . 27
Los Angeles, CA
. . 33
California. . 43
Northwestern US
. . 73
Southwestern US
. . 75
Indigenous . . 79
Black 
. . 81 
Sephardic . . 83
Texas . . 85
East of Mississippi
. 97 
East Coast
. . 109
Mexico
. . 112
Caribbean/Cuba
. .123
International
. . 124
History
. . 127
Family History
 . . 130
Archaeology
. . 133
Miscellaneous
. . 135
2003 Index
Community
Calendars
Networking 
Meetings 

END
. . 142

 

Two Hispanic Astronaut candidates 
join ranks of 
Space Explorers, 2004.

Seated, from left: Bobby Satcher, Chris Cassidy, Ricky Arnold and Shane Kimbrough. Standing, from left: Jose Hernandez, Tom Marshburn, Joe Acaba, Dottie Metcalf-Lindenburger, Jim Dutton and Shannon Walker. Not shown: Randy Bresnik. Image credit: NASA.

Jose Acaba: A 36-year-old teacher at Dunnellon Middle School in Florida and a former Peace Corps volunteer in the Dominican Republic.
Joe Hernandez: A 41-year-old engineer at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston; grew up as a migrant farm worker before settling in Stockton, Calif.

Sent by Joseph Martinez, Ph.D. 

Somos Primos Staff: 
Mimi Lozano, Editor
John P. Schmal, 
Johanna de Soto, 
Howard Shorr
Armando Montes
Michael Stevens Perez
Rina Dichoso-Dungao, Ph.D.

Contributors: 
Adrian Allen
Tom Ascencio
Joseph Bentley
Chuck Bobo
Eva Booher
Bill Carmena
Salvador Cabral Valdés
Ana Carricchi Lopez
William E. Cordero II
Armando M Escobar Olmedo
Deborah De la Torre
Karla Everett
Mike Fernandez 
Henry Godinez
Jaime Gomez-Gonzalez, M.D.
George Gause
Carolina Castillo Grimm, Ph.D.
Elsa Herbeck 
Angelita Hernandez
Manuel Hernandez

Raymond Hernandez
Granville Hough, Ph.D.
Bernadette Inclan 
John Inclan
Norma Keating
Cindy LoBuglio
JV Martinez, Ph.D.
Gerald J. Miller
Luz Montejano
Donna Morales

Annette Musgrave
Paul Newfield
Yolanda Ochoa
Guillermo Padilla Origel
Angel Custodio Rebollo
Isabel Rodriguez
Linda Rushton
John P. Schmal
Howard Shorr
Carlos Soliz
Paul Trejo

Dick Trzaskoma
Ray Valdez
Carlos Vega, Ph.D.
Margarita Velez
Carlos Villanueva
Juan Villarreal
Loretta Martinez Williams
Paul Wormser
Theresa Ynzunza
SHHAR Board:                                                 For information:  http://shhar.org  
Laura Arechabala Shane 
Bea Armenta Dever
Manuel Garcia 
Steven Hernandez
Mimi Lozano Holtzman
Pat Lozano 
Henry Marquez 
Yolanda Ochoa Hussey 
Michael S. Perez 
Crispin Rendon
Les Rivera 
Viola Rodriguez Sadler 
John P. Schmal
Lourdes Tinajero  
 

UNITED STATES

Dedication Pays in Degrees
A Very Inspiring Story  
Hernandez v. Brown
Outrage over Beer Billboard 
LULAC & MALDEF Rebuke 
Review by Alan Wolfe 
Museum, American Latino
A Day Without a Mexican
Federal Hiring of Hispanics 
NATIONAL LATINO AGENDA, June 17-19
The Latinization of America
Culture Clash Daunts Latinas  

Latinas' growing influence in  business
Latino/a Literature in English Classroom

Supreme Court refuses to hear land case  
Miss Latina Pageant 
Minority Homeownership


Extract: Dedication Pays Off in 11 Degrees Earned by 11 Siblings
by Stuart Silverstein, Times staff writer, May 14, 2004
Sent by Granville Hough, Ph.D.  gwhough@earthlink.net


Photograph by Ricardo DeAratanha, Los Angeles Times

Family Perez
Parents Samuel and Maria Elena Perez, center, 
are surrounded in their living room by nine of their children, clockwise from left, 
Maria Elena, Essau, Dinah, Omar, Deborah, Samira, Dalila, Judith, and Isai and grandson Isai, Jr.

A Pacoima family's 11th child is the 11th to earn a bachelor's.  The siblings credit their parents' belief in education.  Samuel Perez, Sr., 69, and his wife are both Mexican immigrants, neither of whom advanced past the sixth grade.  Maria Elena, 21, the youngest of the Perez family's 11 children  graduated from USC with a bachelor's degree on May 14th, the sixth to graduate from USC.

Family members cite the parents' high expectations and deep involvement in their children's lives. The siblings helped one another succeed in school too.  "Our family is very united," said Maria Elena, an American Studies major who focused on Chicano and Latino studies.

The children also said they were inspired by the sacrifices made by their father who from the mid-1970s to the mid-90s often held three jobs.  

the siblings add that their musical education has played a big role in their lives, giving them direction and keeping them out of trouble when they were younger.  All 11 children play instruments, and five of those who attended USC were in the marching band.  On weekends, three of the siblings earn extra money by playing in a mariachi band.  

The eldest child, Agar Perez-Dogue, 35, was the family's college pioneer, showing the others what they could accomplish and how to circumvent the obstacles.  she learned the ins and outs of financial aid, said brother Isai Perez, 33, back when their father still "wasn't sure what tuition was."

"These parents beat all the odds," said Roberto Suro, director of the Pew Hispanic Center, after being told the family's story.  Estela Mara Bensimon, a USC expert on minorities in urban higher education, estimated that perhaps as few as 6% of Latinos who enter California elementary schools go on to earn a degree from a four-year university.  By contrast, the rate is higher than 25% for white non-Latinos.




A Very Inspiring Story  

Extract: Child Labor Crusade Springs from Fields 
The Monday Profile: Blanca Aguilar
Monday, May 10, 2004 ESMERALDA BERMUDEZ, The Oregonian
Sent by Howard Shorr howardshorr@msn.com

HILLSBORO -- The treatment of workers, specifically of children, captivates Blanca Aguilar, 17-year-old cheerleader at Hillsboro High School. 

The honor student and student senate member has come a long way from her days working the Washington County fields with her family. Those experiences shaped her into a leader and now put her on a worldwide platform. 

She is one of six teenagers selected to represent the United States in the first Congress on Child Labor in Florence, Italy, where more than 300 young people and government leaders from around the world are gathering. The weeklong conference, organized by dozens of international labor, human rights, government and religious groups, begins today. 

"We're going to try to change the world," Aguilar says. "Together I know we're going to make a difference."  Aguilar was picked by the Hillsboro School District and several national organizations, including the National Education Association and the Child Labor Coalition. 

"We see her as a future leader," says Olga Acuna, a Hillsboro teacher who counsels Aguilar and was part of the selection committee. "Even though she fits into the mainstream, she hasn't forgotten her culture and her experiences as a child. She has initiative, she's outspoken and she's a risk-taker." 

Conference participants will learn about the ongoing child labor epidemic, raise awareness and urge world leaders to improve conditions. Representatives from the United Nations and the U.S. Department of Labor are among those expected to attend the event. 

"Committed young people see this as the first step," says Darlene Adkins, vice president of the National Consumers League. "This is a problem that is going to outlast us. We need to raise the next generation of advocates that will continue the fight." 

Learning in the fields 

Child labor statistics roll off Aguilar's tongue as freely as other teenagers rattle off "American Idol" lineups: Worldwide, 246 million children are exploited for labor; 170 million work in the worst labor conditions, including prostitution and pornography; 104 million do not attend school. 

She memorized the numbers weeks ago, studying glossy pamphlets provided by the event's international coordinators. But she learned the reality of child labor nearly a decade earlier in Washington County, where she worked as a field picker for three summers. 

The youngest of her late father's 18 children from two marriages, Aguilar worked eight hours a day to help her mother pay for food and other expenses. Her older brothers and sisters helped but also had their own families to support. Each bucket, filled to the brim, weighed about five pounds. With every 300 pounds, she earned $50. 

The work was a break from school -- an adventure -- as the summer kicked off, an obvious way to make a few dollars. But as the summer heat unfolded, the adventure became work, and the work was tedious. Her hands dried up from the cold. Her knees and back ached. The money wasn't worth it. 

"In my situation, it was basically my choice," Aguilar says. "I was going to school, being a little 9-year girl. But most don't have that choice. Others are just like slaves." 

Before learning about the child labor congress, Aguilar didn't see her work in the fields as meriting discussion. It was a part of her identity -- something that led her to appreciate her family's strong work ethic and, above all, to value her education. 

Growing up in El Naranjo De Chila, Michoacan -- a rural town deep in the belly of Mexico -- she saw her siblings help their father, Jose Aguilar, cultivate corn and watermelon. Some days, to spend time with her father, she tagged along to help pluck weeds and play with the soil. 

"He didn't have much time, but when he did, he would play with me," Blanca Aguilar says. 

A month after her ninth birthday, her father died. Aguilar's mother, Margarita, thinks it was because of lung problems from smoking. The following year, siblings brought Aguilar, her mother and brother Artemio to Hillsboro. She and Artemio vowed in memory of their father to study hard and get an education. 

Blanca and Artemio, a 19-year-old Portland Community College student, are the only children left at home. She competes with him for the best grades, the most awards. In April, after months of trying, she was inducted into the National Honor Society, a prestigious school organization that requires high grades. 

"She's very dedicated," Artemio says. "When she has a goal, she works really hard to get to it." Blanca Aguilar plans to start a child labor awareness club at Liberty and raise money to build a school in a low-income Latin American community. 



Hernandez v. Brown
New York Times, May 22, 2004
By IAN HANEY LÓPEZ
NYTimes.com http://www.nytimes.com/2004/05/22/opinion/22LOPE.html?ex
=1086234548&ei=1&en=9f9bf4611762fb77

Sent by John Inclan  fromgalveston@yahoo.com



BERKELEY, Calif. With commemorations from coast to coast to remind them, most Americans already know that this week was the 50th anniversary of Brown v. Board of Education. Unfortunately, what they don't realize is that the country missed an equally important anniversary two
weeks ago, that of Hernandez v. Texas - the perennially overshadowed antecedent to Brown that was decided on May 3, 1954.

That case merits commemoration not just because the Supreme Court used it to finally extend constitutional protection to Mexican-Americans, important though that is, especially now that Latinos are the largest minority group. It's worth celebrating because Hernandez got right something that Brown did not: the standard for when the Constitution should bar group-based discrimination.

Hernandez involved jury discrimination, which the court had long prohibited. The question in Hernandez, unlike in Brown, was not whether the state's conduct was unconstitutional; it was whether the Constitution protected Mexican-Americans. But the dynamics of the case prevented
the court from answering that question by reasoning that Mexican-Americans, like blacks, constituted a racial minority.

That's because the political and social leaders of the Mexican-American community at that time argued for equality not on the ground that discrimination was wrong per se, but because they were white. Texas, in turn, harnessed this argument to its defense, pointing out that if Mexican-Americans were white, so too were the persons seated on Texas juries.

Because both sides insisted that Mexican-Americans were white, Hernandez v. Texas forced the court to confront directly a question it would sidestep in Brown: under precisely what circumstances did some groups deserve constitutional protection? Hernandez offered a concise answer: when groups suffer subordination.

"Differences in race and color have defined easily identifiable groups which have at times required the aid of the courts in securing equal treatment under the laws," the court wrote. But, it said, "other differences from the community norm may define other groups which need the same protection." Succor from state discrimination, the court reasoned, should apply to every group socially defined as
different and, implicitly, as inferior. "Whether such a group exists within a community is a question of fact," the court said, one that may be demonstrated "by showing the attitude of the community."

How, then, did the Texas community where Hernandez arose regard Mexican-Americans? Here the court catalogued Jim Crow practices: business and community groups largely excluded Mexican-Americans; a local restaurant displayed a sign announcing "No Mexicans Served"; children of Mexican descent were shunted into a segregated school and then forced out altogether after the fourth grade; on the county courthouse grounds there were two men's toilets, one unmarked and the other marked "Colored Men" and "Hombres Aquí" ("Men Here").

The same sort of caste system that oppressed blacks in Texas also harmed Mexican-Americans. But it was Jim Crow as group subordination, rather than as a set of "racial" distinctions, that called forth the Constitution's concern in Hernandez v. Texas.

Of course, Brown v. Board of Education also responded to group mistreatment. But the court did not state in sufficiently explicit terms that school segregation violated the Constitution because it constituted systematic oppression, rather than because it turned on race. This small lapse left open just enough space for the misreading of Brown that now dominates conservative thinking on
anti-discrimination law - including on the Supreme Court. Brown, the majority now contends, stands for the proposition that the Constitution opposes not noxious practices of oppression but instead only the state use of formal racial distinctions.

The anti-caste commitment of Brown lies today distorted, and its efficacy as constitutional law largely eroded. Treating every official use of race as akin to racism, the Supreme Court erects virtually insurmountable constitutional hurdles against all race-conscious government action. No statement better captures this misguided equation of Jim Crow and affirmative action than Justice Clarence Thomas's assertion that there is "a moral and constitutional equivalence between laws designed to subjugate a race and those that distribute benefits on the basis of race."

Meanwhile, the court protects from constitutional challenge situations in which racism operates powerfully but not explicitly. For example, even after conceding that Georgia sentenced to death blacks who killed whites 22 times more often than blacks who killed blacks, the court upheld
Georgia's death penalty machinery. Under 14th Amendment law, any use of race encounters the same constitutional hostility; but systematic discrimination, if not expressly based on race, receives the Constitution's blessing.

The current court reasons as if Brown held that it is race per se, rather than racism and maltreatment, that offends the Constitution. In this, Brown itself is partly to blame. Confident that the 14th Amendment protected blacks, Chief Justice Earl Warren in Brown did not expressly explain why this was so: not because they were a race, but because they were oppressed.

Under the title "What Brown v. Board of Education Should Have Said," Jack Balkin, a Yale law school professor, recently enlisted legal scholars to rewrite that decision in a manner that might have prevented the distortions that now mar constitutional anti-discrimination law. But the exercise is largely unnecessary. Chief Justice Warren already said what Brown should have. He did so two weeks earlier, in Hernandez v. Texas. After 50 years, the time has come for courts and scholars to install Hernandez where it belongs: at the center, with Brown, of a robust 14th Amendment law committed to ending racial subordination.

Ian Haney López, a law professor at the University of California at Berkeley, is the author of "Racism on Trial: The Chicano Fight for Justice."




Extract:
Outrage Spreads Over Beer Billboard that Stereotype Latinas  
By Diana Griego Erwin, Sacramento Bee
Sent by Howard Shorr: howardshorr@msn.com
 
May 18, 2004"Finally. A cold Latina." - Tecate beer advertisement This is how a movement is made. One person stands up, followed by another and another.   

A few of you wrote in to call this insignificant. "Political correctness at its worst," a reader wrote. But it's not silly to the community it targeted. Parents raising young girls of Latin heritage didn't find it insignificant at all. 

"You hardly see any Latinas in advertising, but when you do it's that image," said financial planner Nancy Murillo, mother of two daughters, ages 4 and 7. "I resent it." 

Since writing about the uproar over the Tecate ad here last Tuesday, the outrage has broadened. Although I hadn't seen one of these billboards in Sacramento, readers reported finding one on Arden Way in North Sacramento near Evergreen Street. A national magazine for Latinas, meanwhile, asked to reprint the column. 

By late that morning, Fox News was airing a similar story. Latinas in Tucson didn't like the ad, either. Fox found an interesting interview in a woman named Felicia Granillo, who said she makes it her business to stop negative ads, especially those appearing on Tucson's south side. 

"Basically, (they're) equating beer with sex," she said. No big news there. Check out in-store advertising in liquor stores sometime, most of it featuring models wearing little besides a come-hither expression. 

Researchers who've analyzed the advertising practices of the alcohol industry say there's reason to be concerned, particularly when it comes to the impact on teens and children. A 1997 study by the Society for the Advancement of Chicanos and Native Americans in Science found that the concentration of alcohol ads depicting Latinas as sexual objects in a neighborhood leads to increased violence against Latina teenagers. 

It's interesting, then, that it was high schoolers at Robert F. Kennedy Charter High School in Albuquerque who first questioned the Tecate ad. I originally reported that they brought it to the attention of students at the University of New Mexico, who then began pressuring the distributor, Labatt USA, but it was the teens who first made fliers urging people to call Labatt. 

Their movement continues. By Friday, the 20-member Congressional Hispanic Caucus had signed a letter to Labatt USA asking the distributor to pull the ads, while the Associated Press published a story about Latinas organizing in Los Angeles. 

"As a Latina, I'm tired of being portrayed as sort of a hot-to-trot woman," organizer Zelenne Cardenas told the AP at a protest there. 

Labatt held firm, issuing a statement saying the ad was aimed at "mature adults with a mature sense of humor," implying what? That those offended aren't mature enough to get it? 

Oh, we get it. "We have a sense of humor, but also a sense of honor," Joseph Rodriguez, producer/director of Mediaworks at the University of California, Davis, countered in his complaint to Labatt USA. 

The Labatt statement went on to say the company is analyzing the feedback and would come to some sort of decision this week. Comments can be e-mailed to the company at cervezatecate@beerdesk.com,   or there's a form you can fill out at its Web site, www.labatt.com





MALDEF AND LULAC REBUKE SAMUEL HUNTINGTON'S THEORIES ON
LATINO IMMIGRANTS AND CALL ON AMERICA TO REAFFIRM ITS COMMITMENT TO EQUAL OPPORTUNITY AND DEMOCRACY

Joint Statement of MALDEF and LULAC, April 23, 2004
Joseph Martinez joe.martinez@science.doe.gov

On May 27th, Samuel P. Huntington will publish his new book, alleging that Latino immigration threatens "Anglo-Protestant values" which are the "creed" of American culture. Since the release of his article announcing his new theory in Foreign Policy magazine in March, Huntington's methodology and conclusions have been proven wrong by experts across the board. As national Latino civil rights groups, we further believe that Huntington's writing is dangerously biased against Latinos and goes against fundamental American values.

Huntington's biases are un-American. The United States is a nation of immigrants from around the world. In the U.S., individual accomplishment is valued. The very foundation of American democracy is the Bill of Rights, respecting and even guaranteeing individual rights. By passing various civil rights laws in the 1960's, Congress re-established that our Constitution also means that not one race, religion or ethnicity should dominate another. The American dream is built upon the hard work of immigrants and the fundamental value of equal opportunity. We must not go back to a system where one's race, class or religion determines one's fate, regardless of one's intellect or willingness to work hard.

Huntington has made astonishing and unsupported generalizations about Latinos. His generalizations about Latinos being "persistent" in immigrating to the U.S., being exceedingly fertile, having less interest in education and not wanting to learn English are not based on fact and appear to emanate from a prejudice against Latinos. He has no proof that every Latino/a, or even the majority of Latinos/as and their families, fall into these stereotypes, nor any proof that Latinos are very different from other ethnic groups. This kind of analysis harkens back to the justifications for legal segregation and discriminatory policies that were commonplace prior to the civil rights laws of the 1960's

Mexican-Americans and Latino immigrants are not inferior to white Anglo-Protestants.

A recent New York Times poll found that Latino immigrants are hard-working, have strong family values, do not take public benefits, and generally epitomize the American dream.. Latino immigrants are contributing billions of dollars to the economy and even creating jobs for U.S. citizens.. Studies consistently find that immigrants contribute far more in taxes to the government than they use in government services.. Latina/o parents value education and encourage their children to do well in school at the same rates as Anglo parents, with more than 90 percent of Latina/o children reporting that their parents want them to go to college.. Moreover, studies demonstrate that Mexican Americans support American core values at least as much as Anglos.

Huntington alleges that Latinos do not want to become American, despite the fact that Latino immigrants consciously choose to leave their home countries and migrate to the U.S. in order to become American and live the American dream, especially for their children. Everything that is traditionally thought of as "American," Latinos live out fully. They are family-oriented, religious, hard-working and loyal to the U.S. In fact, Latinos have won more medals of honor for their service in the U.S. military than any other ethnic group.

Huntington fails to take into account that the significant accomplishments of Latinos have occurred in spite of the long and shameful history of discrimination specifically directed against Latinos in the U.S. When Huntington alleges that Latinos have not achieved as much as whites in education, he neglects to acknowledge the history of segregation against Latinos, and Mexican Americans in particular, especially in the Southwest. Even today, when legal segregation is outlawed, Huntington does not take into account that Latinos are attending the most segregated schools in the country, which are providing a lesser quality of education as compared to majority white schools. Predominantly minority schools have less-qualified teachers, more overcrowding, worse educational facilities, and less access to advanced curricula. Despite all these barriers, children of Latino immigrants are succeeding at a very high rate.

It is ironic that Huntington blames Latinos for segregation. Latinos and other people of color know from tough experience that such segregation is not voluntary, as it still difficult for Latinos to gain equality in white communities, and there is still discrimination in jobs and housing. However, like African-Americans, Latinos have been segregated and mythologized as "different," and subject to unfair criticism, because of their ethnicity.

Huntington criticizes Latinos' use of Spanish and falsely alleges that Latinos do not want to learn English. The majority of Latinos speak English. Among Spanish-speaking Latinos, poll after poll shows that Latinos want to learn English. Their ability to learn English is sometimes limited if they entered the U.S. at an older age and when they do not have access to English classes because they are working more than one job and there are limited English classes offered.

As far as the ability to speak Spanish, Huntington portrays it as a negative, whereas in the global economy, many see such language capabilities are a positive.

Huntington mischaracterizes the history between the U.S. and Mexico and the causes for migration patterns between the two countries. Huntington characterizes Mexican immigration as "persistent" and a "massive influx" post-1960's civil rights laws. This characterization fails to recognize the unique, historical relationship between the two countries. In 1848, the U.S. acquired a significant portion of Mexico, which became what is now known as the Southwest in the U.S. Those people living in that region were Mexican citizens prior to the acquisition. When the U.S. experienced severe labor shortages while its soldiers were fighting in the world wars, the U.S. entered into several agreements with Mexico to bring temporary migrant laborers from Mexico who worked under abusive conditions in the agricultural fields for decades. Most of these workers did not have the opportunity to become citizens, making it difficult to exercise full political participation. During the Great Depression, the U.S. government and a number of state and local governments forced repatriation of one-third of the Mexican American population to impoverished conditions in Mexico. Shockingly, most of those who were deported were U.S. citizens who happened to be of Mexican ethnicity. Despite this checkered past, Mexican immigrants continued to come to the U.S. to fill U.S. economic needs and to pursue economic opportunities not available in Mexico.

Characterizing past non-Mexican immigration as "legal" and current Mexican immigration as "illegal" is false and misleading. Prior to 1939, it was not illegal to enter the U.S. without the U.S. government's permission. Millions of immigrants, mostly from Western Europe, entered the U.S. without proper visas. Currently, many Mexicans enter the U.S. legally. The U.S. legal immigration system, however, is in need of serious overhaul. The current system is not meeting the economic or family reunification principles it was designed to meet. The backlogs in legal visa processing for the spouses and children of Mexican legal immigrants living in the U.S. are causing families to be separated for 13 years. In order to reunite with their families, some Mexican citizens do enter without proper documentation.

Present high levels of migration between the U.S. and Mexico are based on geographic proximity and economic interdependence of the two countries. Many Mexicans come here because Mexico is our close neighbor and trading partner. Mexico is closer than Europe so the voyage to America is more natural. The U.S. and Mexican fate and economies are inextricably intertwined. That is, the U.S. is just as dependent on Mexico and Mexican migration as the opposite is true.

LULAC (League of United Latin American Citizens) is the oldest and largest grass-roots Latino civil rights organization in the United States. For questions or further information, call Dr. Gabriela Lemus, Director of Policy and Legislation, in our D.C. Office. League of United Latin American Citizens 2000 L Street NW, Suite 610, Washington, DC 20036, (202) 833-6130, (202) 833-6135 FAX

MALDEF (Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund) is a national, nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that has been defending the civil rights of Latinos for nearly 35 years. For questions or further information, call Katherine Culliton, Legislative Staff Attorney, in our D.C. Office: Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund 1717 K St.NW, Suite 311, Washington, D.C. 20036, (202) 293-2828, (202) 293-2849 FAX





Native Son: Samuel Huntington Defends the Homeland

Alan Wolfe, From Foreign Affairs, May/June 2004
Sent by Dick Trzaskoma TexasTrz@aol.com

Who Are We? The Challenges to America's National Identity. Samuel P. Huntington. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2004, 448 pp. $27.00

Summary of the book review by Alan Wolfe: In Who Are We?, Samuel Huntington turns his formidable intellect to the challenges posed by immigration. Unfortunately, he has abandoned the clear-eyed realism of his past work in favor of disdainful moralism, whipping up nativist hysteria instead of offering real solutions.  

Alan Wolfe is Director of the Boisi Center for Religion and American Public Life at Boston College and author of The Transformation of American Religion. To read the complete review go to: http://www.foreignaffairs.org/20040501fareviewessay83311/alan-
wolfe/native-son-samuel-huntington-defends-the-homeland.html


National Museum  of the American Latino
Support grows for American Latinos museum
Backers say it's the missing cultural piece on D.C. mall

By MICHAEL COLLINS
SCRIPPS HOWARD NEWS SERVICE, Tuesday, May 25, 2004
Information sent by: Howard Shorr  Howardshorr@msn.com
and Theresa Ynzunza  theresa.ynzunza@rescuemission

WASHINGTON -- On the National Mall, the great grassy carpet that is the nation's front yard, there are museums that chronicle virtually every aspect of the American experience.

American history, art, aviation and space travel -- all are celebrated through extensive collections of objects and priceless artifacts. A new museum honoring Native American culture is set to open this fall. Another museum, one dedicated to African American heritage, also has been authorized.

Yet when Rep. Xavier Becerra visits the Mall, he can't help but notice that there is no museum honoring the nation's 38 million Latinos.

"If you walk into the halls of some of those great museums we have on the mall, you are going to come out of there really proud of what our history is, our culture, our art," said the California Democrat.

"But at the end of that, you still leave somewhat incomplete because you wouldn't have a full sense of what we are as a people, because there is still a lack of representation of what is now the largest minority group in America."

Becerra has filed legislation that would start the process of creating a National Museum of the American Latino. Becerra and other members of Congress would like to see such a museum located on the mall -- and perhaps affiliated with the prestigious Smithsonian Institution.

Though creating the museum would take years and millions of dollars, supporters say it's just a matter of time until it happens.

Becerra's legislation, introduced last October, calls for the creation of a 23-member commission that would plan for the establishment, funding and maintenance of the new museum. The commission would look at the possible cost and locations of a new museum, as well as the availability of Latino collections and artifacts. The panel would issue its report to Congress and the president 18 months after the bill becomes law.

A similar bill was filed last week in the Senate by a bipartisan group of lawmakers, including Sens. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah; Barbara Boxer, D-Calif.; Jeff Bingaman, D-N.M.; and Kay Bailey Hutchinson, R-Texas.

A national museum celebrating the Latino heritage would be an important educational forum, not only for Americans who may not appreciate the struggles and experiences of Hispanics, but also for young Latinos who may not be fully aware of their ancestors' contributions to U.S. history, supporters say.

"It's very disturbing to me that groups of schoolchildren come to Washington every year, have an exciting time, and if you're a Latino child, you don't see anything that speaks to your heritage, that speaks to your experience in this country, that speaks to your ancestors and what they have done and what they have gone through," said Lisa Navarrete, vice president of the National Council of La Raza, which works to improve opportunities for Hispanic Americans.

"I think it is just a missing piece of the American experience," she said. Becerra's legislation, which has the backing of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, would authorize $3.2 million for the commission to begin its work. But creating the museum would involve raising probably $100 million to $200 million in the private sector and most likely would require a similar contribution from the federal government, Becerra said.




A DAY WITHOUT A MEXICAN 
http://www.adaywithoutaMexican.com
Sent by Howard Shorr howardshorr@msn.com

This film is about cultural appreciation.  It's about what would happen one day if all the Latinos in California disappeared. Who would mow the lawns, pick the fruits, wash the cars and do all the menial jobs that so many take for granted?  
Starring: Yareli Arizmendi, Directed by: Sergio Arau
Written by: Yareli Arizmendi, Sergio Arau, Sergio Guerrero




Extract:
More Federal Hiring of Hispanics Urged
By Brian Faler  http://www.washingtonpost.com
Sent by Joseph Martinez joe.martinez@science.doe.gov

A coalition of Hispanic organizations urged the Bush administration and Congress yesterday to dramatically increase the number of Hispanics working in the federal government, saying the minority group is underrepresented throughout the bureaucracy.

The National Hispanic Leadership Agenda, the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and the National Association of Hispanic Federal Executives called the issue a "crisis." They pointed  to a recent government report indicating that 7 percent of federal civilian employees are Hispanic, compared with  13 percent of the entire civilian workforce.

The organizations blamed the government for the disparity, saying its recruiting efforts have long been ineffectual. They demanded that the government  hire 100,000 Hispanics -- the nation's largest minority group -- over the next five years to make up the difference. 

"Irrefutable facts tell us there is an escalating crisis in Hispanic federal employment," said Manuel Mirabal,  chairman of the National Hispanic Leadership Agenda. "Today, we are calling on President Bush to make fairness and equality for Hispanics in federal employment and contracting a priority in his administration."

The report,  issued earlier this year by the Office of Personnel Management, found that Hispanics are the only minority group underrepresented in the federal government. African Americans, for example, make up about 10.4 percent of the civilian workforce but  more than 17 percent of the government's civilian employment rolls,  the report says.

Asians and Pacific Islanders make up about 4.5 percent of those working in the civilian labor force and about 4.6 percent of the federal government's civilian employees. Native Americans represent 0.6 percent of the civilian workforce but 2 percent of federal employees. 

Overall, the report said, minorities make up about 31 percent of the government's civilian workforce and more than 28 percent of the nation's civilian workforce. 

The Hispanic groups said the shortages were particularly acute at the top of the bureaucracy, where  3.3 percent of senior executive positions were held by Hispanics. 

Representatives of the coalition also warned that because the nation's Hispanic population is growing rapidly, the disparity between Hispanic representation in the federal workforce and the nation's civilian workforce as a whole will only increase if the government does not take action. 

"As the fastest-growing segment of the U.S. population by far, and now the largest minority group in the country, Hispanics will continue to fall father behind in terms of their representation in the federal workforce unless meaningful efforts are started now," said Gilbert Sandate,  vice president  of the National Association of Hispanic Federal Executives.

Scott Hatch,  communications director of the Office of Personnel Management, acknowledged the shortfalls but said the administration is committed to erasing the disparity.




UNITED STATES HISPANICS to MEET in CHICAGO 
to DEVELOP a NATIONAL LATINO AGENDA 
for 2004 NATIONAL ELECTIONS 
from 
JUNE 17TH to JUNE 20TH 
  
http://www.hispanicagendasummit.org


On Thursday, June 17th to Sunday, June 20th, 2004,  hundreds of our nation's Hispanic-American civic, religious, political, business and community activists will be getting together for a day long important non-partisan political caucus at the Holiday Inn Chicago Mart Plaza 350 N. Orleans, Downtown Chicago, Illinois to begin the process for political and economic empowerment in the upcoming national elections.  

The National Hispanic/Latino-American Agenda Caucus commences the first stage of the process by which a national coalition of Hispanic/Latino American grassroots and leadership groups and individuals will be coalescing to develop a platform to be presented to the presidential candidates and their respective parties. 
 
Peter Fontanes, the founder and national coordinator of the event, said that, “We are definitely moving ahead to make an impact on these important national elections where our community must effectively negotiate our place in the sun. We intend to be seated at the table of economic opportunities and political empowerment as equal partners and not just as an after thought as it has been the case in the past. The response of those outstanding individuals who are participating in this effort to the needs for a national expression of solidarity and unity among our people has been absolutely fantastic. ’La Nueva Gran Unidad Pan Americana’ is alive and well and will be prepared to bring the hopes and promises of the American Dream on behalf of our people to the forefront of this year’s presidential debates. “

The conference will be will be geared toward bringing together the various segments of the Hispanic/Latino American community to draw up a Hispanic/Latino platform on which candidates will be rated according to their level of support, to organize a strategy for voters education, registration and participation and to organize a permanent structure for monitoring national political leaders and supporting Hispanic/Latino political candidates.
 
It includes delegates from states where there are substantial populations of Hispanics and a number of high profile representatives from both the Democratic and Republican parties. 

Jose Nino, the former head of the United States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce   expressed his desire “to see that this caucus should be seen as a catalyst to inspire our people to begin discussing the national issues such as immigration, economic development, housing, education and many more that are affecting our daily lives.  Hopefully, out of this discussion will come voter’s mobilization, registration and   participation. “

Individuals or organizations related to Hispanic/Latino issues can register as delegates and can sit with their state delegation. There is a lower fee for those who are senior citizens, people on public assistance and students. Members of all religious, political and sexual orientation are welcomed to also participate.

Reports will be drawn up and distributed to the delegates and will be voted on by the conference participants. If a report cannot garnish more than 60%of the votes it will be issued as a prevailing views report as opposed to an approved resolution or a minority-majority report. 

Invited participants include Governor Bill Richardson of New Mexico, Candidate for Mayor in New York, Fernando Ferrer, Hector Flores from the League of United Latino American Citizens (LULAC) and many others who will participate in a variety of activities designed to assist the delegates in returning back to their respective states to organize political action committees and voters registration drives. 

In October, another conference will be held in Washington, D.C., to interview the candidates or their representatives to monitor and report back to the community how the candidates and their respective parties have responded to the Latino Agenda. 

The organization has a website http://www.hispanicagendasummit.org  and the public is invited to register online. Among some of the leaders involved are the following listed as they appear in the schedule . .

Roundtable Discussions will focus on the following areas.  
Resolutions will be prepared and presented at the conclusion of the conference.

1- Hispanic/Latino American Voters Education, Registration and Participation 
2- Creating a National Hispanic/Latino American Political Action Committee 
3- Lobbying, Campaigning, Fundraising and Technology
4- Grassroots Organizing: Toward a Gente-Centered, Issues-Based Hispanic-Latino Movement
5- “LA NUEVA GRAN UNIDAD PAN-AMERICANA” Is it possible?
6- The Hispanic Business Community and Political Agendas
7- The Hispanic/Latino Youths and College Students Community and Their Political Agendas: 
    The Present Meets the Future!
8- The Hispanic Woman/Latina: Confronting Macho Politics!
9- The Labor Movement and the Hispanic/Latino Political Agenda 

Friends, we are very excited about this event. Looking at our count of commitments, we are pleased to say individuals are coming from afar (Puerto Rico, Venezuela, Mexico, Spain) and all over the US, representing organizations such as:

National Council of La Raza, Tulipanes Art Festival, League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC), Pilsen Alliance, Aspira, Inc., National Republican Committee, National Democratic Committee, Independent Voter's League, Puerto Rican Legal Defense and Education Fund, Hispanics in Telecommunication and Technology, Cuban American National Council, Hispanics in Real Estate and Construction, http://www.concienciaccion.org, Puerta al Futuro, Somos Primos, Dia de la Mujer Latina, National Organization for Women (NOW), National Dominican Womens' Caucus, ACORN, Puerto Rico Federal Affairs Administration, New Jersey Latino Political Alliance, New Jersey Mental Health Institute, National Association of Elected and Appointed Officials, Hispanic Hispanic Leadership Agenda, United States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and the list goes on....

More importantly, the conference is open to the public, and it is evermore important to make sure our sisters and brothers who don't necessarily represent an organization and want their voice heard come and attend, especially from the Chicago and midwest regions. So please spread the word!

If you haven't done so, please mail in your registrations ASAP http://www.hispanicagendasummit.org
. Only $50 for three days of speakers, panels and workshops and $10 for students and low-income attendees. The conference site is expecting confirmation of attendees for logistical and also nourishment purposes (they need to know how many to expect for meals- note: meals are not included with registration fee).  Please rsvp to this e-mail if you plan to be on the call. 
Juntos, podemos!
Alan A. Aja, National Executive Coordinator
National Hispanic-Latino American Agenda Summit, www.hispanicagendasummit.org





Extracts:
The Latinization of America & Hispanic Women  
 
The Latinization of America 
By Jorge Ramos and Adam J. Segal,  5/11/2004  
Source: carlosvillanueva@mexicanosenelexterior.com

Hispanic influence and contributions are spread across the country, and the cities and economies of tomorrow are being built by a rapidly growing pool of immigrant and second-generation workers. Even unexpected places such as Alaska and North Carolina have seen dramatic Latino population increases. 

This means the speaking of Spanish will only strengthen, not disappear, and that the culture and values of Hispanics' countries of origin will continue to permeate American society. But also, despite the doubts of skeptics, Latinos are going through a very rapid and successful process of Americanization and integration. The United States will one day be a nation shaped by many different Hispanic heritages. 

In dozens of states and hundreds of communities around the nation, Hispanic political influence is growing at the local and state level and is expanding to the national level. For example, Silver Spring voters elected their first Latina, Ana Sol Gutierrez, to the House of Delegates in 2002. In the same year, the first Latina was elected to the Colorado Board of Education and the first Latino attorney general was elected in Nevada. In Virginia, J. Walter Tejada recently was the first Latino elected to the Arlington County Board. 

Latinos might still be lacking in political representation but not in cultural influence and economic power. Hispanic purchasing power will reach a trillion dollars before the end of the decade and continues to rise rapidly each year, according to the Selig Center for Economic Growth at the University of Georgia. 

This future for America can be overwhelming to some Americans not yet comfortable with the inevitable diversity to come. Yet, changes are abundant all around us. America has long been a multiethnic, multiracial, multicultural nation, and our battles over inclusion and acculturation have transformed our identity. Now Latinos will be leading the way to the next important demographic transformation in America. 

Hispanics are changing America and forging our new future. Business, entertainment and political success will be tied to the Hispanic community of 2004 and far into the future. Those who embrace the evolving cultural makeup of America will help lead our nation into the future and will benefit from its transformation. 

Jorge Ramos is the anchor of Noticiero Univision, a national Spanish-language news program. Adam J. Segal is director of the Hispanic Voter Project at the Johns Hopkins University in Washington. 



Culture Clash Daunts Hispanic Women
By Staff Reports, The Battalion; 
 
The late-night cramming, comprehensive exams and esoteric lectures can make college stressful enough, but for Mexican-American women in college, having to balance the disparate values of two different cultures may be an additional and significant source of stress, says Linda G. Castillo, an assistant professor in Texas A&M University's Department of Educational Psychology.

In a recent study of nearly 250 Mexican-American female college students, Castillo, along with colleagues Collie W. Conoley and Daniel F. Brossart, examined the influence of discomfort with white American values and beliefs on the students' perceived distress and found that it may partially explain the low number of U.S.-born Mexican-American women who graduate from college.

This discomfort -- referred to as "white attitudinal marginalization" -- suggests that it is possible for bicultural individuals to be integrated into white American culture behaviorally but at the same time not incorporate traditional white American values into their belief system, Castillo notes.

The resulting dissonance translates into greater perceived distress for these students. Studies have shown that balancing gender role expectations with the pursuit of higher education can drain their emotional reserves and lead to distress, depression and anxiety, she says.

"This study underscores the importance of addressing psychosociocultural issues in supporting Mexican-American women in college," she says. "To provide relevant services to Mexican-American college women, counselors may need to attend to both attitudinal and behavioral aspects of acculturation and culturally traditional support systems."

For Mexican-American females -- a group that has the lowest college rate (5.3 percent) when compared with Puerto Rican, Cuban-American and Central and South American women, according to the U.S. Census -- this cultural divide can be a great one.

Mexican-American values, she explains, are characterized as being centered on the family with family unity and loyalty highly valued. Cooperation rather than competition is considered appropriate and willingness to sacrifice on behalf of the group is highly esteemed.

In contrast, white American culture is characterized by individually centered values that emphasize uniqueness, independence and self-assurance. Independence and autonomy are highly valued by white American culture, she explains.

In addition to analyzing the effects of white attitudinal marginalization within the cohort, Castillo and colleagues assessed the influence of other factors such as acculturation, family support and income on the students' perceived distress, finding marginalization and family support to be two previously unidentified predictors of distress among female Mexican-American college students.

The relationship between family support and distress, Castillo explains, is consistent with well-documented findings that Mexican-American college women rely on family support to deal with college-related stressors.




Extract: 
Capital meeting showcases Latinas' growing influence in small business
By Jon Ortiz, Sacramento Bee, April 22, 2004 http://www.sacbee.com/static/live/newsletters/sacbee_bulletin_signup.html

In 2002, the last year for which national statistics are available, Latinas headed 470,344 firms that employed nearly 198,000 people and generated $29.4 billion in sales, according to U.S. Census figures. And Latina-owned businesses account for the greatest share of women-owned firms in six states: New Mexico (20 percent), Texas (18 percent), California (17 percent), Florida (16 percent), New York (14 percent) and Arizona (13 percent).

Latinas control 8 percent of all female-owned U.S. businesses - and no small-business ownership segment is growing faster, according to a study by the Center for Women's Business Research in Washington, D.C.  Between 1987 and 1996, the number of Latina-owned businesses grew by 206 percent, compared with 47 percent for all businesses, according to the study.

"When I think about Latinas and business, it's like the title of that Dr. Seuss book, 'Oh, The Places We'll Go!' " gushed Cynthia Cassano, 50. "There's no limit to what Latina businesswomen can do." Cassano grew up in Fresno, the daughter of migrant field workers. She said she climbed up through athletics and academics, earning a track scholarship to Fresno State before transferring to California State University, Sacramento, to graduate with a degree in social work.

Eventually, Cassano started a private practice working with abuse victims. Her firm was so successful that she took time off to attend McGeorge School of Law to specialize in mediation. These days Cassano is an administrator for the Crowley Children's Fund, which subsidizes programs for at-risk children. She also works with other charitable organizations, including the United Way, Big Brothers/Big Sisters and People Reaching Out.

Cassano said that Latinas face cultural barriers to success, but she believes that those obstacles are crumbling, one woman at a time. "You have these first-and second-generation Latinas growing up and seeing their family working in the fields with no amenities, no health care," Cassano said. "Those women start thinking about the future and they say, 'I'm not going to let this happen to my family.' "

But sometimes, she said, making that decision means swimming against a traditional Latino culture that downplays the value of women in the workplace. "It's really been in the last 10 years that I've been seeing more and more girls telling papa - and mama, too - that they're not staying in the kitchen," Cassano said.

That boiling caldron of old values vs. new, and the character required to overcome both ethnic and gender stereotypes, means that Latina entrepreneurs cannot be defined only by statistics. Their lives have been shaped by Latino culture, and their business practices reflect these deeply imprinted values, experts say.

"Latinas have always been very strong behind the scenes," said Ricardo A. López, president of Hispanic Research Inc., an East Brunswick, N.J., marketing research company that specializes in the U.S. Latino market. "In the Hispanic culture, the female has always been responsible for keeping the family unity and imparting the revered Latino family values."

The traditional Latino male depends on the woman for his emotional and family support, López said. And the traditional Latina depends on the man for her physical and financial security, community and political know-how, business education, and even the ability to communicate in English.

"But in their acculturation, Latinas are learning to be more independent," he added. "The combination of being the strong emotional anchor in their families, coupled with their new independence, has resulted in very motivated and effective business entrepreneurs."

Another secret to the success of Latina entrepreneurs may be that they're older and wiser. The median age of the U.S. Hispanic population is nearly 10 years younger than the entire population - 25.9 years compared with 35.3 years, according to the 2000 census. But the census profile of the average Latina business owner skewed significantly higher - 48 years old.




Book: Latino/a Literature in The English Classroom
by Manuel Hernández

The largest bridge near my hometown, Sleepy Hollow, New York is the legendary Tappan Zee Bridge. It is one of the most exhilarating drives across New Yorks Hudson River. Latino Literature represents that exhilarating connection to the teaching, appreciation and literary analysis of American and British classics. The link of one to the other not only makes sense but also provides the needed context and helps students (especially Latinos) to make a personal connection to the text before driving across the more formal academic literary highway.

Carlsen and Sherill (1988) have collected reading autobiographies from teachers and have shared excerpts in a book titled, Voices of Readers, an interesting collection of testimonies about reading habits. Generally, most respondents stated their love for reading occurred in spite of what was done in schools. Some developed their appreciation of literature in school, but it usually did not occur until very late in high school or even in college. It seems that schools have accomplished just the opposite of what they intend to do: they have turned students off from reading.

Instead of a process where professors control and limit writing aims and objectives, students contribute to the writing experience by providing personal reactions and insight. Latino/a literature exposes students to issues such as language, education, family, values, sex, self-esteem, self-acceptance, conflicts in identity, varied approaches to race, domestic violence and the preservation of culture and art which provoke students to make their own reactions and responses to literature. Latino/a literature in the English classroom is an alternative to the teaching of literature and a tool that will prepare students for reading and writing in high school and beyond. It is the steering wheel to motivation and reading comprehension.

In the English classroom, students feel a lack of personal involvement, especially with isolated writing assignments. Latino/a Literature is filled with every day common events, characters and situations and establishes the bridge between reading and writing which connects students to ideas and themes. It is like seeing themselves in a mirror and assessing what, where, how and why they are who they are while developing reading and writing skills necessary to enter and succeed in college. How can students interact with their writing when their choices of literature are far away from their every day reality? Our teens today are open to options. It is our responsibility as teachers, administrators, parents and educational advocates to provide them with the keys to their educational experience. 

Manuel Hernandez is the author of Latino/a Literature in The English Classroom
To purchase an autographed copy, contact the author: mannyh32@puertoricans.com
787-355-0099
mannyh32




Supreme Court refuses to hear Chapman case  
Associated Press via HoustonChronicle.com
http://www.HoustonChronicle.com  Section: Local & State, May 3, 2004
Sent by George Gause ggause@panam.edu
Source: Juan D. Villarreal juandv@granderiver.net


HARLINGEN -- The U.S. Supreme Court refused without comment today to hear a case that claims a widow was duped out of more than 15,000 acres of South Texas ranch land 150 years ago. 

William Warren Chapman III went to the high court to appeal an August 2003 decision by the Texas Supreme Court. The state court reversed a lower court s 2001 ruling calling for a jury trial in the case. 

The lawsuit contended that Richard King, founder of what is now the 800, 000-acre King Ranch, joined son-in-law Robert Kleberg in committing fraud and conspiracy against the widow of business partner William Chapman, who died in 1859. 

According to deeds, letters, and old court documents, King and Kleberg cheated Helen B. Chapman out of 15,449 acres known as the Rincon de Santa Gertrudis. Today the property covers parts of the King Ranch, Kingsville and the Kingsville Naval Air Station. 

The Texas Supreme Court ruled that witnesses and defendants in the case were all dead and that the court couldn't speculate on the defendants' motives.  The King and Kleberg families created a cattle empire that dominated South Texas. A pillar of the ranching industry known for vast land holdings,
profitable cattle breeds and generations of loyal cowboys, the King Ranch is larger than Rhode Island. 


Miss Latina Pageant 
 
Hispanos USA, A portal to the U.S. Hispanic Community, Established in 1999.
What started out as a small town newspaper in the Carolinas as grown into a media & marketing company that understands identity branding, language, culture and values within our niche.
Aug 28th a Latina Pageant will be held  in North Carolina, organized by Hispanos USA.

One of the main directives of the event is to preserve our heritage, culture and values as Latinos and to promote and advance Latinas.  Help Latinas ages 13-26 years of age to better jobs or careers in 
education. Many opportunities abound for latinos as we begin a new millennium but one central truth remains valid; we must help each other. Unidos jamas seremos vencidos! 
Carlos Solis cs@hispanos-usa.com 

http://www.hispanos-usa.com/about.html
440 Magnolia Branch Drive
Winston-Salem NC 27104  336.988.8887



Minority Homeownership

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the nation's largest sources of financing for home mortgages, have begun taking aggressive steps to boost homeownership among minorities.  Under the first phase of a three-part plan, Fannie Mae says its goal is to create 1.8million new minority homeowners, requiring the company to boost its average annual financing of first-time minority home buyers by more than 93,000 households - a level more than double its annual average for the first four years of this decade.  Fannie Mae says that, among other things, it plans to boost its goal of financing loans to house holds and areas designated as low - and moderate- income under the Community Reinvestment Act from $530 billion to more than $1.5 trillion.  It also plans to help lenders market to recent immigrants by creating more flexible underwriting options that allow borrowers to apply for home loans even before obtaining permanent residency, and allow the inclusion of nontraditional credit histories and incomes.

Freddie Mac, meanwhile, has partnered with several local and national groups to launch efforts designed to boost Latino homeownership rates.  The "En Su Casa" programs in Denver and Dallas - $25 million and $15 million, respectively - include free bilingual borrower counseling and flexible, low-down payment mortgages.  The Latino homeownership rate in Denver is 51%, compared to a citywide average of 66%; in Dallas, the Latino rate is 44%, compared to a local average of 61%.

Source: Hispanic Business, April 2004


Bernardo de Galvez

La Campana

225th Anniversary of Spain’s Entry into the Revolutionary War

The Mission Play
Junipero Serra, Founder Emertus 
George Washington and the Mission

 

 La Campana
Quarterly Publication of the Santa Barbara Trust for Historic Preservation
123 East Canon Perdido Street
Post Office Box 388
Santa Barbara, CA 93102-0388

The Winter 2003-4 features an article by George Obern on the Galvez Project, with photos of the October 12th event in Long Beach. The Spring 2004 includes an addendum of the project.  

Photo, cover of the Spring 2004 issue, front of the church at Mission San Miguel Arcangel, December 25, 2003, three days after the San Simeon Earthquake. Note the cracks. Photo by Michael Imwalle.

Copies of the publication can be ordered from the Santa Barbara Trust for $5. an issue.

 




225th Anniversary of Spain’s Entry into the Revolutionary War.
by Granville W. Hough, Ph.D.  gwhough@earthlink.net

On 21 June 1779, King Carlos III of Spain declared war on England and thus made official his support of Americans in their struggle for independence.  Clandestine support had already been provided for three years, but afterwards support was open and direct.

In the past few weeks, my daughter and I have been studying documents of the Continental Congress looking for names of American mariners.  We found the reports of Arthur Lee, and the 1777/79 manifests of twelve vessels which were loaded out from Cadiz, Spain, with war supplies
headed for Boston and Philadelphia.  (Papers of the Continental Congress, Records Group M0247, Item #83, Roll 110, “Letters Received from Arthur Lee, 1776-1780,”).  This was pre-war, but vital to the American effort.

Records such as these have rarely been studied by American historians, as emphasis has been on French support and participation.  Few Americans know that:

1. Early French support included fifty/fifty Spanish/French participation, with Spain as a silent partner, so any so-called French support received before June 1779 should be reanalyzed.

2. Francisco Saavedra de Sangronis was personal representative for King Carlos III, and he negotiated the de Grass/Saavedra Accord in Jul 1781 which governed Spanish/French conduct of the war in the Western Hemisphere.

3. Saavedra was personally responsible for arranging the financing for the Chesapeake Bay operations which resulted in Yorktown.  (Yorktown was thus the result of Spanish financing of cooperative efforts of the French Expeditionary Force, the de Grasse Fleet, and the American
forces.)

4. The victory at Yorktown was made secure by the West Indies strategies of Spain and France.  England was forced into a defensive strategy, as Jamaica was the big target for Spain.  The French Expeditionary Force was moved in 1782/83 from North America to Venezuela to participate in
the invasion.  Spanish General Bernardo de Gálvez gathered in Haiti a 10,000 man force waiting to invade.

5. For two years, England held on, negotiating for the best possible peace terms.  She held four invasion bases in North America (Charleston, New York, Penobscot Bay, and Detroit); but it was to no avail.  She was out of manpower.  The focus in the Western Hemisphere became holding
Canada and the West Indies.

It can be accurately said that what put us over the top at Yorktown was Spanish money, as de Grasse told Saavedra plainly that he could not sail there without it.

It can also be accurately stated that what made Yorktown significant and secured it as the last great land battle in America was the British preoccupation with defending the West Indies (particularly Jamaica) against  Spanish and French invasion.

So we owe the Spanish people for their contributions to our freedom.  It is a debt we should not forget.


John Seven McGroarty:
The Mission Play
http://www.ac.wwu.edu/~stephan/jsm/play.story.html

This site includes the synopsis and other data extracted from the 1941 official program of the play which was performed for the first time in 1912.
Sent by Eva Booher  EVA BOOHER@aol.com


Fray Junipero Serra, Founder Emertus of North America,
The Truth Must be Told, page 169.
Prof. Carlos Vega, Ph.D. Spain37@worldnet.att.net

Taking into serious account his altruistic spirit, all of his extraordinary deeds, the ebullient passion with which he carried them out, and their far-reaching repercussions, Padre Serra should have long been recognized and declared North America's preeminent founder, heading the list of that very prestigious group. He was, after all, the consummate colonizer and civilizer on a large scale: man of the faith, educator, farmer, builder, administrator, defender and protector of the innocent and poor, confidant of those with a troubled heart and hurting soul, promoter of peace, understanding, and unity even before the altar, between the conqueror and the conquered, and mentor of thousands in every imaginable trade, profession and craft. He loved his flock and his flock loved him and still does after four centuries. 

Monuments and statues, no matter how dignified, do little justice to such a towering figure in American history. A grand, large-scale, majestic monument in the nation's capital; a Junipero Serra National Day; and his inclusion, prominently, in every American school textbook are but the rightful and long overdue honors due to his memory. The fact that he was Spanish should in no way impede the realization of such honors for, after all, he embodies and represents better than all one of the two major cultures that together forged America the Spanish and the Anglo.

Born in Petre, Island of Mallocra, in 1713. His Christian or first name was Miguel. He entered the Franciscan Order at age seventeen and taught at the University of Palma de Mallorca and at his own convent. In 1749 he was sent to Mexico where he remained for nine years (1758) dedicating his efforts to preaching and to the missions of the San Fernando School. Following the expulsion of the Jesuits in Lower California, he was sent there (1768) and soon after to Upper California to work on the convesion of the Indians and where he founded his first mission in San Diego on July 16th, 1769. One year later he left with Portola to Monterey where he found the San Carlos Mission. Then, after founding two more missions, he returned to Mexico in 1722 to report to viceroy Bucareli, presenting to him a plan as he saw it for colonizing California. Then, back to California where he remained the rest of his life, founding more missions, among them, San Francisco (1776), San Gabriel (Los Angeles, 1781, and others. 

All together, he had founded nine missions and baptized by his own hand over 5,800 Indians. Padre Serra was a tireless evangelizer, dedicated totally to the betterment, both in body and soul, of his followers, who where many. He taught them all he knew about the art of agriculture, cattle raising, and crafts, discriminating not between men and women, and introduced in California cattle and advanced farming methods. In addition, he fostered the use of the Spanish language and the mingling of races. Many of today's large cities, Los Angeles, San Diego, Monterey, San Francisco evolved out of the missions he founded or sponsored. He died in California in 1784 at age 71. His inseparable companion, Padre Francisco Palou, also from Mallorca, wrote his biography titled 'Relations historica de la vida y apostolicas tareas del venerable padre Fray Junipero Serra,' published in Mexico in 1787.

 

 

George Washington and the Mission
By Gerald J. Miller
Quarterly Newsletter of Mission San Juan Capistrano, Summer 1996, Vol. 2, No.2

No, he didn't sleep there, but George Washington and his colonial revolutionaries have a definite connection with Mission San Juan Capistrano.

1776 was a good year for founding. It saw the founding of Mission San Juan Capistrano and the founding of the United States of America, as American colonists declared their independence from Britain. Both founding’s been not without their difficulties. Mission San Juan Capistrano was, in fact, twice founded. It had been started in 1775, crude buildings set up, a cross planted and bells hung up to summon the indigenous population to a new way of life. It was short-lived as news of Indian attacks elsewhere caused the padres to break camp, bury their bells and beat a hasty retreat to San Diego. It was found a year later (1776) by the tireless friar, Junipero Serra, Father of the California missions.

Meanwhile, back on the eastern seaboard of our great American continent, secessionist colonists were discovering that Mother Britain was not about to let recalcitrant American colonials go their own way. The Revolution had become a struggle for power between Britain and America. Colonial possessions had become the economic blood of mercantilist England where foreign trade was the strength and riches of the kingdom. American colonies showed signs of self-determination, which became increasingly worrisome because of their extraordinary growth throught out the 18th century. New forms of regulation and taxation meant to control the colonies caused the struggle for power to explode into the open. At that point, the colonies had to wrest the power from Britain before they could face the question of what to do with it.

Enter George Washington. /our favorite title for him is the "Father of our Country." We interpret that title to mean: the founder of the Republic, the soldier who won America's independence, the boy who could not tell a lie. From whatever perspective he is viewed, Washington stood at the center of America's earliest attempts at nation building. Before nation building, however, was the fight for independence nationhood. Washington's inspired confidence in the future and his ability to deal with expediencies and opportunities highlighted his military leadership throughout the revolution. Another factor, one author noted, Americans of that day "knew something about the power of personal example that we have forgotten."

While the thunder of these events rumbled overhead so that England's King George III couldn't sleep in his bed Spanish King Carlos III conspired with the Americans to make things even more uncomfortable for him. The Spanish Empire was on the wane, thanks in part to its losses to Britain. Helping George Washington's rebels was way to get even. King Carlos' California missions would provide aid and comfort to England's enemies.
A messenger interrupted Fr. Junipero Serra, alone in his sanctuary at Mission San Juan Capistrano, with a letter from Commandant General Teodoro de Croix notifying him of King Carlos' Royal Order in which all Spaniards were to be paid by the missions as financial support for the American Revolution. Additionally, the missions were ordered to prevent British ships form landing and provisioning in California. King Carlos also asked that they pray for George Washington and the American colonist.

Spanish and American documents show Spain as an active but silent financial supporter of the American cause as early as 1774, but the first record of the missions' involvement was in 1778. After the missions began preventing British ships from landing in California, Britain, in turn, began seizing Spanish ships and the two nations declared war on June 23, 1779. Therefore, Spain actively and openly supported Washington and his revolutionaries.

Total cash donations amounted to $4,216 for the California missions and the contribution of governor de Neve. It was a considerable amount of cash for those days when bartered goods were the norm.
At what point those California monies were received or how they actually were received or how they actually got to the Americans is not known specifically. It is known that collected in a dummy company, Hortalez et Cle, which operated out of the West Indies and financed car goes sent aboard Dutch ships from the Caribbean to American patriots in Philadelphia and Charlestown. Funds from that source provided military equipment, arms, ammunition and clothing for George Washington's army at the battle of Yorktown in 1781, in which British forces suffered the war's decisive defeat.

Following the circumfusion of the American Revolution, the Spanish missions in California engaged in vigorous trade with the new country. Mission San Juan Capistrano’s records report trading in hides, tallow, and wine, and that American ships were provisioned with fresh water and food supplies.
As president of the new nation, George Washington was grateful for Spanish support from those faraway missions basking in the sun on the western edge of the great American continent.

 

SURNAME: Canales



LAS ARMAS DE LOS 
DE LOS CANALES DESCRIBEN ASÍ:


EN CAMPO DE GULES, UN CASTILLO DE PLATA; BORDURA DE PLATA CON OCHO LEONES DE SABLE; 

 



CANALES


OTRA SEGUNDA BORDURA, DE GULES, CON ESTE LEMA EN LETRAS DE PLATA:

 
POR MI REY PONDRE LA VIDA, Y ESTA Y HONRA POR MI DIOS.


            Hubo en España diferentes casas solares de este apellido, sin relación entre ellas, siendo una de las más antiguas la que radicó en el lugar de Canales, -cuyo nombre tomó-, del hoy partido judicial de Murias de Paredes, en la provincia de León, seguida de la que está enclavada cerca de Villafranca del Bierzo. De ambos lugares, se ramificaron ramas por toda la Península Ibérica.

También hubo un asentamiento muy principal en Uncastillo, Zaragoza, al que perteneció don Pedro Canales, nacido en 1720, que se encuentra empadronado entre los demás infanzones en la localidad referida.

En Cataluña existió un noble solar de esta estirpe en la población ilerdense de Guisona. A él perteneció don José Canales Cruels, Coronel de los Reales Ejércitos, llegado al mundo en Barcelona el 20 de agosto de 1678, quien después de presentar las correspondientes pruebas de su nobleza de sangre, fue admitido en la Orden Militar de Santiago, el año 1707. Era hijo de don José Canales Fermí y de doña María Cruels Semane, ambos de la dicha Guisona.

Don Francisco Canales Gacio, Barberá y Cabestany, natural de Reus, Tarragona, vistió el hábito de la Orden de Calatrava en 1691, ante cuya institución nobiliaria hizo patente su calidad.

Ante la Sala de los Hijosdalgo de la Real Chancillería de Valladolid, litigaron por el reconocimiento de sus preeminencias, los siguientes miembros de esta familia vecinos de los lugares que se indican:

Don Andrés de Canales Cea, León, 1613; don Antonio y don Melchor de Canales Sahagún, León, 1544; don Melchor Canales, Sahagún, 1577; don Diego de Canales. Barrios, Tierra de Saldaña, Palencia, 1586; don Diego de Canales, Almanza, León, 1611; Rodrigo Canales. Quintana del Monte, León, 1624, y el Capitán don Diego Canales de la Cerda. Sevilla, 1588.

Ante el Santo Oficio de la Inquisición, demostró su “limpieza de sangre” en 1789, don Pedro Canales y Mérida, natural de Aldea del Río, Córdoba, a fin de obtener el cargo de “Familiar”.

Doña Josefa Canales y Castellón, Pérez y Bolea, natural y originaria de Cartagena, Murcia, demostró su legitimidad, cristiandad y nobleza en 1827, ante la jurisdicción castrense española, con la finalidad de contraer matrimonio con el Subteniente de Infantería don Francisco Castellano López.

El Alférez don José Joaquín de Canales, desempeñó el cargo de Regidor de la ciudad de MonterRey, en el Nuevo Rey de León en 1788, y don Blas Canales, posiblemente pariente el anterior, fue poblador de San Nicolás de Agualeguas, en 1708, de donde llegó procedente de la villa de Cerralbo.

Don Francisco Canales y Gacio,Barberá y Cabestany, natural del “Can” de Tarragona, de la villa de Reus, importante mercader de la ciudad de México, dejó de existir aquí el 24 de abril de 1694. Testó ante el escribano Martín del Río, el 21 de dicho mes nombrado albacea a su esposa doña  Juana de VillaSeñor y Lomelí.Así aparece en el padrón de 1689, con notas adicionales del doctor Rubio Mañe ,y se sabe que fue admitido en la Orden Militar de Calatrava,en 1691.

En el censo que se efectuó en 1753, figura don José Canales, español, comerciante, casado y con cinco hijos, residiendo en la calle de Ortega.

En 1798, don Pedro Antonio Canales, era Cirujano del Regimiento de Infantería de Puebla; en 1804, don Antonio Canales, casado con doña Joaquina Gómez, era Visitador de las Rentas Reales de Polvora y Náipes, y el Capitán don Manuel Canales, Ayudante del Castillo de San Juan de Úlua, en 1805.

Extract from BLASONES Y APELLIDOS, 828-page book by Fernando Muñoz Altea
In its second edition, the book can be ordered from blasones@mail.com or at
P.O. Box 11232, El Paso, Texas 79995  or by contacting Armando Montes AMontes@Mail.com



ORANGE COUNTY, CA

"Sharing our History Visually"
SHHAR Quarterly, June 5th
Orange CO.  Fair needs volunteer
Mendez vs. Westminster Schools
NARA CD includes Mendez data

Orange County Demographics
A Better Chance
25th Annual Hispanic Chamber
Mission San Juan Capistrano
Ysidro Olivares
Don Jesus Aguilar 



Davy's Last Stand*


48" X 72" oil by Henry Godines*

SHHAR Quarterly, no cost  

"Sharing our History Visually"

June 5th

Orange Family History Center
674 S. Yorba 


Henry Michael Godines
will present a slide presentation of his paintings. 
The theme most commonly associated with Henry's subjects   
are in the area of military history, 1800s to the present.  
This is the first time that the public will be able to see Godines' complete works.
View 20th century aviation and maritime examples at:
http://home.earthlink.net/~hgodines/


Yolanda Ochoa and Steve Hussey
We will also enjoy a visual family history display combining a very recent trip 
Ayotlan, Jalisco and the pedigree information of the Luna family.
Yolanda Ochoa and her husband Steve Hussey are artists in the area of web design. 
They are the creators of SHHAR's new beautiful website.  
http://www.SHHAR.org


Schedule
Beginners/social            9-9:30 AM
Meeting begins             9:30-10 AM
Guest Speakers        10-11 AM
Networking workshops     11-12 AM

For more information, call 714-894-8161



Orange County Fair 

The Orange County Fair genealogy booth is looking for volunteers to help staff the booth on Sundays, July 11, 18, and 25th. Those days have been identified as Latino Heritage Days by the Orange County Fair Committee.  Volunteers will receive free parking and admittance.

Each day is divided into three four-hours-shifts. Volunteers can volunteer for multiple shifts. 
They will not be in the booth alone, a professional genealogists will be in the booth at all times.. 
9:45 am to 2:30 pm
2:25 pm to 6:45 pm
6:30 pm to 11 pm

Please contact
Norma Storrs Keating directly
714-970-7040
normakeating@earthlink.net


Extract of article concerning the Mendez vs. Westminster School District Case
by Cindy Ahora, Orange County Register, May 9, 04

Aided by a $5,000 grant from Wells Fargo Bank, the Orange County Asian and Pacific Islander Community Alliance are beginning to distribute free lesson plans and a copy of Sandra Robbie's documentary, Mendez vs. Westminster: For all the Children to schools in Los Angeles and Orange County.

"I think every school in Orange County should be teaching this," said Robbie. A march held May 8th was to rally support for getting all Orange county schools to teach the Mendez case along-side the landmark 1954 Brown v. Board of Education ruling, which ended segregation in all U.S. schools.  Robbie said every school in Los Angeles County has committed to adding the case to their curriculum, but advocates are still trying to get that to happen in Orange County.


National Archives and Records Administration, Pacific Region have produced an electronic publication,  Resources for Teaching History in California.  The CD-ROM  includes a lesson plan using documents from the Mendez v. Westminster court case, as well as lesson plans relating to a number of other topics.

They are currently working on a second edition with greatly expanded content.

For more information, contact Paul Wormser, Director of Archival Operations, NARA
949-360-2640.

 




ORANGE COUNTY DEMOGRAPHICS 
(2000-01 Studies)
Sent by  Joe Bentley JOSEPH.BENTLEY@LW.com

Principal Cities (34 total): Aliso Viejo, Anaheim, Brea, Buena Park, Costa Mesa, Cypress, Dana Point, Fountain Valley, Fullerton, Garden Grove, Huntington Beach, Irvine, Laguna Beach, Lake Forest, La Habra, La Palma, Los Alamitos, Mission Viejo, Newport Beach, Niguel Hills, Niguel Woods, Orange, Placentia, San Clemente, San Juan Capistrano, Santa Ana, Santa Margarita, Seal Beach, Stanton, Tustin, Villa Park, Westminster, Yorba Linda

Population: 3 million

  • White: 64%
  • Hispanic: 30.8%
  • Asian: 13.6%
  • Black: 1.7%
  • LDS 1.7%
  • Polynesian/Native American: 1%
  • Foreign born: 30%
  • Language other than English spoken: 41%
  • Households: 1 million
  • Persons per household: 3.0

Age of Persons

  • Median age: 33.3
  • Under age 5: 7.6%
  • Under age 18: 27%
  • Over age 65: 10%
  • Birth rate: `6.5/1,000 persons
  • Death rate: 5.8/1,000 persons

Sex/Gender

  • Female: 50.2 %
  • Male: 49.8 %

Median Income/household: $60 K (per capita = $27 K)

  • Persons below poverty level: 10.3%
  • Unemployed: 3.0%
  • Civilian workforce: 1.5 million


A Better Chance
Twenty nine students from the Santa Ana School District were chosen to receive four year scholarships to a prestigious school in Andover, Massachusetts. This collaboration with A Better Chance and the Santa Ana School District has been in place for fifteen years. The students are picked in the 6th grade.  There are other preparatory schools participating in the program.
Source: Excélsior del Condado de Orange, Semana del 14 al 20 de mayo de 2004


 

Anaheim has been chosen to host
 the 25th Annual State Convention 
of the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. 

 For more information go to www.CAHCC.com, or call
1-800-299-6033




Mission San Juan Capistrano

Mechelle Lawrence is the new director, the first woman to hold top position. While serving the past seven years as economic development manager of the City of San Juan Capistrano, Lawrence was the city's official liaison with the mission, overseeing the permit process that covered the preservation of the Great Stone Church vestry dome.

During her 12 years on the city staff, she coordinated development of the the city's first Historic Preservation Strategy, which outlines a plan for more than 22 historically-significant, city-owned sites and structures.  She is credited with securing the $140,000 donation needed to build a state and cultural proscenium in the Historic Town Center Park.  Another of her accomplishments was the management of many community programs, including the San Juan Summer Nites Concert series and the downtown street-lighting project.  The city's official website was also under her direction.  Receiving about 550,000 visitors a year, Mission San Juan Capistrano is the third most popular tourist attraction in Orange County, following Disneyland and Knott's Berry Farm. 

Source: Federation of Orange County Historical Organizations Newsletter
 Vol. 24, No. 1 January, February, March, First Quarter 2004



Ysidro Olivares  
Los Angeles Times, Jan 31, 1930
Sent by Karla Everett EverettKA@bak.rr.com 

INGRATITUDE TO UNCLE CHARGED
Ninety-four-Year-Old El Toro Patriarch Sues
He Declares Nephew Raised by Him Stole His Ranch
Complaint Avers Fraud in Wording of Deed

SANTA ANA, Jan. 30. - Ysidro Olivares, 94-year-old patriarch of El Toro, who ranks among the earliest pioneers of Orange county with his record of eighty years' residence here, has been robbed of the small rancho he has owned for forty-two years, while his nephew, Bene Burnell, has, figuratively, bitten the hand that fed him during orphaned childhood, according to sensational charges of fraud made by the old man in a suit against his nephew, on file today in Superior Court.

Trusting his nephew to prepare his will for him, the patriarch had no suspicion when he signed the document, which he could not read, he stated.  He had intended willing twenty acres of his fifty-eight-acre ranch to the nephew, but discovered he had signed a deed transferring the entire ranch to Burnell.

His suit asks that the deed be set aside and declared void, and that title to the ranch be quieted.

The complaint stated that Olivares had raised Burnell from childhood and sent him through the public schools to receive the education that the old man himself lacked.  The nephew is pictured as matching his education against his uncle's trustful ignorance, to deceive his benefactor and strip him of his possessions.



Don Jesus Aguilar  
Los Angeles Times, Dec 1, 1934:
Karla Everett  EverettKA@bak.rr.com
Visit the California Spanish Genealogy website http://www.sfgenealogy.com/spanish/

SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO'S BELL RINGER PASSES ON

SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO, Nov. 30. - Don Jesus Aguilar, faithful bell toller and one of the two chanters at the San Juan Capistrano Mission since the late '60s, died this morning in the home of his birth, the Hacienda Aguilar, the oldest adobe house in the Mission City.

He was 81 years of age and was one of the oldest residents of the countryside.  His father, Don Blas Aguilar, served as alcalde of San Juan Capistrano in 1847 and his grandfather, Don Rosario Aguilar, an early settler, was the alcalde in 1843.

After a "velorio" at the Hacienda Aguilar tonight, requiem mass will be conducted at 9 a.m. tomorrow by Father Arthur J. Hutchinson, padre of the mission, in Father Junipero Serra's church, of which he was an early member.  Friends of Don Jesus Aguilar will carry the casket up the long hill to the old mission cemetery, where the body will be laid to rest.

He leaves his widow, Dona Balbineda Ruiz de Aguilar, who was born in the barracks of the mission in 1854.  His sister, Dora Lorenza Manriguez, also born in the Hacienda Aguilar, is the oldest living resident in the vicinity.  There are five children living here.  They are Don Jua. . Aguilar, guide at the mission, who retains a private museum of heirlooms and antiques at the old home; Don Francisco and Don Blas Aguilar and Mrs. Florencia Ruiz and Mrs. Francisca Sepulveda.


LOS ANGELES, CA

Walk of Stars: Pepe Barreto
Founding Documents of Los Angeles

N*gger Wetb*ck Ch*nk Comedy
Spanish Los Angeles

 

           Francisco Ignacio Garcia
           Pedro Sepulveda   
          Josefa Bandini Douslin
          Tranquilina Sepulveda
           Ralph F. Sepulveda,
Mayors of Los Angeles

 


Segment from photo by Paulina Herrera

Walk of Stars: Pepe Barreto

Excelsior, Orange County, CA

Pepe Barreto received the 2,254th Star
Born in Lima, Peru.  Barreto is the report for Noticiario 34 de Univision and creator of the "Reporta Barreto"

Other Latinos who have Stars:
Desi Arnaz  
Celia Cruz
Gloria Estefan
Vicente Fernandez
Juan Gabriel
Julio Iglesias
Pedro Infante
Luis Miguel
Cristina Saralegui



The Founding Documents of Los Angeles:  A Bilingual Edition
Edited by Doyce B. Nunis jr.

First published in 1931 in the Annual Publication of the Historical Society of Southern California as part of the celebration marking g the city's 150th anniversary of its founding by Spain on September 4, 1781.  Originally printed in a limited edition for members of the Society, the 1931 edition has long been out of print.  Copies rarely come o the book market for sale, so it is a scare historical item.

The commemorate the 75th anniversary of the founding of the Zamorano Club and the 1`20th anniversary of the founding of the Historical Society of Southern California, the two organizations banded together to produce a revised and updated version of the 1931 publication.

Like its predecessor, the revised edition is bilingual, the original spanish documents are reprinted in full with English translations.  This is the heart of the book.  In addition more recent scholarship has been dully incorporated in this revised edition to replace the odler historical treatment of that signal 1781 event.

This revised edition seeks to offer an accurate account of the actual founding of the Spanish pueblo as well as its founding name, La Reyna (Reina) de los Angeles (Queen of Angeles).  The latter has been a matter of contention from the outset.

The founding documents also reveal in detail the high degree of planning that went into the establishment of the pueblo and the careful recruitment of the pioneering settlers, including basic biographical detail for each family.  The Reglamento which provided the details of governance and administration of the pueblo is an impressive document.

Unlike most American settlements which were founded in the westward movement of the nation, Spain carefully crafted and planned its settlement policy.  Los Angeles was a planned community from the outset, a harbinger of what became vogue for towns in the latter part of the 19th and 20th century.  Spain was ahead of its time in urban planning.

A few copies are available from Adrian Allen who deals in hard to find historical books.
323-654-2383
Sun Dance Books
1520 N. Crescent Heights
Hollywood, CA 90046-2406

N*gger Wetb*ck Ch*nk Comedy. . . In-your-face stereotypes
Source:UCLA Magazine, Spring 2004, pg. 9

"The only race that matters is the human race."  That's the message three UCLA theater students are trying to convey through their explosive comedy, N*gger Wetb*ck Ch*nk Comedy.

Allan Axibal, Rafael Agustin, and Miles Gregley say they use the terms throughout the play - a total of 564 times just in the show's opening minutes - to "depower" the slurs, along with the racial stereotypes of black, Latino and Asian cultures.

The trio began write the play when they were community-college classmates.  After transferring to UCLA, they decided to collaborate and star in the theater project.  While the play uses humor, there are also serious, poignant moments.  All of it, they say, is based on their own experiences.  Although many of the trio's publicity posters across campus were defaced or town down, the show has developed a strong following and booked full houses at UCLA's 500-seat Freud Playhouse.

One individual who saw the play wrote on the group's Web site:  "Don't judge until you see it. . .  It is so positive but still doesn't ignore how much pain there can be in this world when you are different 
(or feel different) . .  It is such a relief to be able to laugh that hard about something as stressful as racism. It makes me think that we actually will get over it all someday.   http://www.speaktheaterarts.com



Repatriation


Sent by Karla Everett EverettKA@bak.rr.com
via CA-SPANISH-L@rootsweb.com  
Visit the California Spanish Genealogy website  http://www.sfgenealogy.com/spanish/

I'm reading parts of "The Los Angeles Barrio, 1850 - 1890:  A Social History," by Richard Griswold del Castillo; University of California Press; Copyright 1979 by The Regents of the University of California (had to get all that in)

One of the first repatriation groups was formed in Los Angeles about 1855.  The Mexican government encouraged Californios to 'return' to Mexico.  "One of the first recorded repatriation societies was formed in Los Angeles in 1855 during the height of racial conflict and violence."  This Los Angeles group was called, "La Sociedad de Colonization de Nativos de California para el Estado de Sonora."  (I hope they used an acronym)  Andres Pico helped organization this group, but it disbanded because other colonization societies were, apparently, more successful.  

Jesus Islas from San Jose organized an expedition which reached Los Angeles in September 1856.  Islas advertised for recruits in the local newspapers and rounded up nearly 300 people.  These folks left for Sonora in October 1856.  Upon arriving in northern Mexico, they received thirty-acre parcels of land.  Others from Alta California joined them.  This was the first repatriation period and it lasted until 1880.

"Altogether, about 31,000 Mexican-Americans migrated back to Mexico.  The largest numbers came after 1880, when the Mexican National Railroad, linking El Paso with Mexico city, was completed."

The second repatriation period began when dictator Porfirio Diaz attempted to encourage all foreigners, as well as Mexican-Americans to settle in Mexico.  His plan was to encourage the industrialization of Mexico.  

Anyway, I thought that was interesting.  If you have any ancestors who were born in Mexico but their parents were born in California - this might explain it!   I would recommend Griswold's book to anyone that is researching California families.



Spanish Los Angeles   

Source of Information, gathered and extracted from the Los Angeles Times obituaries 
by Karla Everett  EverettKA@bak.rr.com
Visit the California Spanish Genealogy website  http://www.sfgenealogy.com/spanish

Old Garcia Estate: Trouble Between Daughter and Servant Over Furniture
Los Angeles Times, Mar 20, 1897

When old
Francisco Ignacio Garcia died last Tuesday at the ripe age of 117 years, he left behind him some small effects in the shape of furniture and clothing at his house, No. 629 New High street. His daughter, Senora Dolores de Aguilar, having consulted the landlord of the house, J. S. Redona, went yesterday to take away the things, but was met there by a Mexican named B. Guzman, who had waited on old Garcia for several months previous to his death. Guzman claimed that half of the effects were his, given him by his late master for his services. Redona, the woman's adviser, just then came in and constituted himself the woman's champion. Hot words followed and Officer Fowler stepped in just as the two combatants were about to slaughter each other in the old Castilian style.

A partial peace was restored, Guzman departed from the house, and Senora de Aguilar went to consult a lawyer about getting letters of administration for the meager estate.



Pedro Sepulveda, Old Spanish Don Closes Long Life
Los Angeles Times, May 12, 1916

One of the Last of Past Regime, Pedro Sepulveda Leaves Sixty Descendants, Including Sons and Daughters, Grandchildren and Great-grandchildren

Don Pedro Sepulveda, one of the last of the old Spanish dons of California, died Wednesday morning at the home of his daughter, Mrs. J. Benjamin, No. 1329 West Thirty-fifth place.  Senile decay was the cause of the death, the old man having passed the 88th year of life.

In early days here, Don Pedro was on of the wealthy land owners.  His father bequeathed him considerable property, which now comprises portions of Los Angeles and other nearby communities.  Don Dolores Sepulveda, who came from Spain and Mexico, with Don Jacinto Reyes and Don Demesio Dominguez, owned a vast territory stretching from Calabasas almost to Ventura, and from the mountains on the east to the Pacific on the west.

The man who died here Wednesday was father of a large family.  He had six sons and five daughters, all of whom are residing in or around Los Angeles.  In addition to the daughter, at whose home he lived during the declining years of his life, his other daughters are Mrs. J. Ruiz, Mrs. Y. Valdez; Mrs. H. Smith and Mrs. J. Ballard.

The sons are Deputy Sheriff J. S. Sepulveda, P. J. Sepulveda, Henry, Vicente, Simerse and Luis Sepulveda.  Thirty-six grandchildren and thirteen great-grandchildren are also descendants of the dead man.  the body of Mr. Sepulveda is at the undertaking parlors of Robert sharp and Son on South Flower street.  Funeral services will be conducted at 9 o'clock tomorrow morning from the Cathedral of St. Vibiana.  Interment will be at Calvary Cemetery.


Mrs. H. B. Douslin, Scion of Old Spanish Family, Succumbs at Home,
Los Angeles Times, Jul 3, 1931

Josefa Bandini Douslin, scion of one of California's foremost Spanish families died at her Los Angeles home, 154 North New Hampshire avenue, yesterday.  She was the granddaughter of Don Juan Bandini, one-time owner by grant of the King of Spain of much of the land now occupied by Los Angeles and a considerable amount of surrounding territory, especially that lying east of Los Angeles river and including Santa Fe Springs.

Mrs. Douslin had been ill about seven months and the end came quietly yesterday about 8:15 a.m. with her daughter, Mrs. Jack Buchanan, and husband, H. B. Douslin, at her side.  It was due to cancer.

Mrs. Douslin was born in San Diego sixty-three years ago.  She and her husband lived here about six months of the year, spending the other six months at his place in Rotorua, New Zealand.

Her death leaves Juan Bernardo Bandini of Ensenada as the sole survivor of the family of Jose Maria Bandini and his wife, Theresa Arguello Bandini.  Jose was a son of Don Juan.  Mrs. Douslin was related to the Sepulveda, Dominguez and other old Spanish families.

Senorita Tranquilina Sepulveda, member of old Spanish clan buried today
Los Angeles Times, Dec 28, 1931

Funeral services will be conducted this morning for Senorita Tranquilina Sepulveda, last surviving member of the immediate family of Don Jose Andres Sepulveda, who died after a short illness Christmas Eve at the home of her grandnephew, Laurence Vander Leck, in Altadena.  Short services at the Cunningham and O'Connor chapel, 1031 South Grand avenue, at 9 o'clock, will be followed by a requiem mass at the Plaza Church at 10 o'clock.  Interment will be in the Mott family vault at Calvary Cemetery.

Senorita Sepulveda was born here eighty-two years ago and was baptized at the Old Plaza Church, the event being the occasion for a week of festivities, for she was a veritable princess of early day California, being related by blood or marriage to almost every prominent Spanish family in Southern California.

Her grandfather, Francisco Sepulveda, came here in the service of the King of Spain and was the grantee of the Rancho San Vicente, extending from the Pacific Coast at Santa Monica to what is now Beverly Hills.  Her father was the grantee of the Rancho San Joaquin, now Irvine ranch in Orange county, and was a leading citizen of his time.  The late Judge Ygnacio Sepulveda, father of the Princess Pignatelli and one of the first judges to sit on the Superior Court bench in Los Angeles county, was her brother, and her sister was the late Mrs. Thomas D. Mott, long prominent in the social life of the city and still remembered for her activity in charitable and church work.

Upon the death of her parents, Senorita Sepulveda became a member of the household of Mr. and Mrs. Mott, and when they passed on she took up her residence with her niece, Mrs. Henry Vander Leck at San Juan Capistrano.

The pallbearers at her funeral today will be Thomas D. and John G. Mott, nephews; Laurence Vander Leck, grandnephew; Lorenzo Palanconi and John O. Forster, cousins, and Isidore B. Dockweiler, who had been her friend for more than sixty years.

Ralph F. Sepulveda, member of pioneer family, succumbs
Los Angeles Times, Apr 20, 1941

Life Span of 83 Years, Covering Southland's Growth From Village to Great Metropolis, Ended by Death.  A life span of 83 years, covering the growth of Southern California from a group of large Spanish land grants to a thriving metropolitan area, ended with the death yesterday of Ralph F. Sepulveda, member of one of the city's earliest pioneer families.

Sepulveda, who lived at 145 N. Burlington Ave., died at General Hospital after an illness of several years.

Five years after his grandfather, Francisco Sepulveda, was given a grant of 30,000 acres, Ralph was born in the adobe house in the center of the estate. 

The Sepulveda ranch house, which stood until six months ago at the bottom of a hill between the shopping center of Westwood and the campus of the University of California at Los Angeles, was originally the center of the former village of San Vicente.  This same house was torn down to be re-erected for historical purposes on the U.C.L.A. campus.  A few lines of adobe are still remaining on the site.

The son of Jose del Carmen Sepulveda, one of the sons of Francisco, Ralph grew up and aided with work on the rancho.  There were 15 brothers and sisters in his own family, four of whom are still living.

LONG INTERPRETER

The brothers and sisters still living, all in Los Angeles, are Lula Sepulveda, Mrs. Josephine Bacon, Fred J. Sepulveda and Joseph A. Sepulveda.  More than 50 years ago, Ralph Sepulveda went to work for the Southern Pacific Railroad and remained with it for more than 25 years.  Thirty-one years ago he became one of the official court interpreters for the county.  He remained in that capacity until ill health forced him to retire in 1935.  Six months ago his wife, the former Delphine Varales, who was a member of another pioneer Los Angeles family, died.





The Mayors of Los Angeles:

From Feliz to Aguilar (1781-1872) 
By John P. Schmal 


Mayors are uniquely talented people. They were appointed or elected as executive officers presiding over the lives of their neighbors, friends and families. From its founding in 1781, Los Angeles has had many chief executives. The title has undergone several changes, starting with the appointment of Comisionado (Military Commissioner) José Vicente Feliz in the 1780s. In 1786, the leader of Los Angeles was called by the Spanish term, Alcalde. But in later years, the chief administrator was called Juez de Paz (Justice of the Peace). Under American rule, the title was changed to the English term, Mayor. 

As you will see in the following list, many of the early Mayors of Los Angeles were natives of Mexico; in particular many of them came from Sinaloa, Sonora and Jalisco. However, when Los Angeles evolved from a Spanish town to a Mexican town in 1821/22, many of the Mayors / Alcalde’s were native-born Angelinos, whose parents had come from Mexico. Many of them were the sons of wealthy landowners who had received land grants for their military service. The following list gives small amounts of information about some of the Chief Executives of Los Angeles in the Olden Days. 

1781 - 1786 José Vicente Feliz, Comisionado (area military commissioner), 
Corporal Jose Vicente Feliz, a veteran of the Anza Expedition of 1776, was one of the soldiers assigned to guard the Pueblo of Los Angeles in its early years. In 1787, Governor Fages appointed Feliz as Comisionado of the Los Angeles Pueblo, giving him the powers of Mayor and Judge. For his service, Vicente Feliz was granted 6,677 acres, which became El Rancho de Los Feliz. Feliz was born in Alamos, Sonora sometime around 1741. 

1786-1788 – Alcalde José Vanegas. José Vanegas was born about 1753 in Real de Bolanos, Jalisco. He had enlisted as a settler in Sinaloa in 1780 and arrived in Los Angeles in 1781 as a 28-year-old Indian. He was a shoemaker by trade. He became the first Alcalde of Los Angeles. 

1789-1790 – José Sinova was a blacksmith from Mexico City who married María Gertrudis Bojórquez, a mestiza from Villa de Sinaloa. 

1790- 1793 – Mariano de la Luz Verdugo, a native of San Xavier, Baja California, came to California in the 1769 expedition and, for the next two decades, served at various presidios in California. Mariano retired to Los Angeles around 1787 and served as Alcalde of the Pueblo from 1790 until 1793. In 1784, Corporal Verdugo was awarded a 36,403-acre land grant, one of the largest in Los Angeles County. 

1793-1795 – Juan Francisco Reyes was a mulato from Zapotlán el Grande in Jalisco. Reyes became the original owner of the San Fernando Rancho, where he raised his cattle. Juan Francisco Reyes is regarded by many as the first Black Mayor of Los Angeles. 

1796 – José Vanegas (2nd term) 

1797 - 1798 Manuel Arellanes was a weaver from Puebla. He came to California with Anza in 1775/76 and served as a soldier for many years. He retired from the military in 1786 and moved to Los Angeles, where he worked as a weaver. 

1798-1799 – Guillermo Cota was the owner of Rancho Los Cerritos. He was born in 1768 in Loreto, Baja California. 

1799-1800 – Francisco Serrano, a native of Villa de Sastago, Aragon, Spain. He served for many years in the Spanish military. 

1800-1802 – Joaquin Higuera was a mestizo farmworker from Villa de Sinaloa. Joaquin served as a soldier at the San Diego Presidio as early as 1775, but retired to the Pueblo around 1790. 

1802 – 1809 – Mariano Verdugo (second term) 

1810-1811 – Francisco Avila was a farmworker from Villa de Sinaloa. He was the son of Cornelio Avila and his wife Isabel Urquidez who came to Los Angeles in 1783 from El Fuerte, Sinaloa. Francisco built “La Casa de los Avilas” – located on Olvera Street in Downtown Los Angeles – in 1818, now regarded as the oldest building in Los Angeles. 

1811 - 1812 Manuel Gutiérrez was a native of Spain. 

1812-1816 – Guillermo Soto, as Comisionado, assumed the same responsibilities of an alcalde 

1816 - 1819 Antonio María Lugo was the son of the famous soldier Francisco Salvador Lugo, who was one of the first soldiers to stand guard at the Los Angeles Pueblo in the 1780s. Although his family was from Villa de Sinaloa, Antonio María was born in 1775 at the San Antonio de Padua Mission near Monterey. Antonio had arrived in the Pueblo as a retired soldier in 1809 and received a land grant of 29,514 acres of land south of the pueblo as a reward for his 17 years of service in the Spanish military. 

1819 - 1822 José Anastasio Avila was the son of Cornelio Avila and his wife Isabel Urquidez, who came to Los Angeles in 1783 from El Fuerte, Sinaloa. He was the brother of Francisco who had served as Alcalde earlier in 1810-1811. He also served in other positions of authority during the Pueblo’s early decades. 
Mexican Los Angeles 

1822-1824 – Manuel Gutierrez (second term). 

1824 – Guillermo Cota (second term) 

1824 – Encarnacion Urquides 

1825 – José María Avila 

1826 – José Antonio Carrillo 

1826-1827 – José María Claudio Lopez was born around 1767 in Real de Santana, Baja California. He settled in Los Angeles in the 1780s and was involved in local politics. 

1827-1828 – Guillermo Cota (third term) 

1828-1829 – José Antonio Carrillo (second term) 

1829 – 1830 – Guillermo Soto (second term) 

1830-1831 – Tiburcio Tapia. Tiburcio was a member of the famous Tapia family that owned a great deal of land around present-day Malibu. 

1831-1832 – José Vicente Anastacio Sanchez was born at the San Gabriel Mission in 1785, but both of his parents were from Alamos, Sonora. Vicente was a prominent figure in Mexican Los Angeles, but also a controversial figure. 

1832-1833 – Manuel Antonio Fernando Dominguez – Manuel served in various positions of authority in Los Angeles and San Pedro. 

1833-1834 José Antonio Carrillo (third term) 

1834-1835 – José Perez 

1835-1836 – Francisco Xavier Alvarado. Born around 1756 in Loreto Presidio, Baja California, Francisco Xavier Alvarado served in the military during the latter part of the Eighteenth Century. In retirement, he made his home in Los Angeles where he served as both Comisionado and Sargento Encargado. 

1836-1837 – Manuel Requena 

1837 – José Sepulveda – Jose Loreto Sepulveda was born in 1815 at the San Gabriel Mission. With his brother, Juan Sepulveda, he was a grantee of Rancho Los Palos Verdes in 1846. He held various positions of authority in the Pueblo during the 1840s. 

1838-1839 – Luis Arenas 

1839-1840 – Tiburcio Tapia & Jose Sepulveda (served jointly as First and Second Alcalde). Tiburcio Tapia was a prominent merchant who received a 13,000-acre tract called the Rancho Cucamonga from Governor Juan Bautista Alvarado on March 3, 1839. 
Office of Alcalde Abolished. Los Angeles then governed by two Jueces de Paz (Justices of Peace) 

1841 – Ignacio Palomares & Ignacio Alvarado 
Ignacio María Palomares was born near the San Fernando Mission in 1811, but his father was from San José Canelas, Durango. Ignacio received the large Azusa and San José land grants in eastern Los Angeles, in the area of present-day Pomona. He served in many capacities at Los Angeles: Juez de Campo, Regidor, Juez de Paz, Elector, and Assembly member. 

1842 – Manuel Dominguez & Jose Sepulveda – Juan Jose Sepulveda was the owner of Rancho Santa Ana (in Orange County). 

1843 – Manuel Dominguez & Antonio F. Coronel 

The Office of Alcalde was restored in 1844, with two men serving as First Alcalde and Second Alcalde. 

1844 – Manuel Requena & Tiburcio Tapia 

1845 – Vicente Sanchez & Juan Sepulveda – Vicente Sanchez was the owner of Rancho La Cienega O’ Paso de la Tijera. Juan Capistrano Sepulveda had been born in 1814 at the San Gabriel Mission. Born into a politically active family, Juan was a grantee with José Loreto Sepulveda of Palos Verdes in 1846. After the American occupation, he served as Los Angeles Supervisor and as County Assessor during the 1850s. 

1846 – Juan Gallardo & Jose L Sepulveda. 

1847 – Jose Salazar & Enrique Avila 

1848 – Ignacis Palomores & Jose Sepulveda 

American Los Angeles 
1848-1850 – Stephen C. Foster. Foster graduated from Yale University in 1840. After practicing medicine in Missouri, he arrived in Los Angeles in 1847 as an interpreter for the Mormon Battalion. He was serving as Mayor at the time the U.S. took over Los Angeles and was elected to the City Council in 1850. 

1850-1851 – Alpheus P. Hodges 

1851-1852 – Benjamin D. Wilson. Born in Tennessee in 1811, Benjamin D. Wilson was originally a fur trapper by trade. Wilson arrived in California in the 1840s and became a prominent merchant and landowner. Wilson organized the first Los Angeles Police Force. He was later elected to the California State Senate. Mount Wilson was named for him. 

1852-1853 
John G. Nichols. Nichols served as Mayor twice. He was a businessman and builder and lived in the first brick house to built in Los Angeles. His son was the first American child to be born in Los Angeles. 

1853-1854 – A former Mexican army officer, Antonio Franco Coronel (1817 -1894) came to Los Angeles in 1834 and became the owner of Rancho Los Feliz. Coronel was noted as both an orange grower and educator. He taught school in Los Angeles during the 1830s and studied the culture of early Los Angeles. He also served as City Councilman, and was later elected as state treasurer. 

May 4, 1854 - Jan. 13, 1855 – Stephen C. Foster 

Jan. 25, 1855 - May 9, 1855 Stephen C. Foster (Partial term) 

May 9, 1855 - May 7, 1856 – Dr. Thomas Foster. Foster was a physician who took a great interest in the development and improvement of water, sewer, and educational facilities. 
May 7, 1856 - Sept. 22, 1856 Stephen C. Foster (Partial term) 

Sept. 22, 1856 - Oct. 4, 1856 – Manuel Requena (served as Council President, Acting Mayor). 

Oct. 4, 1856 - May 9, 1859 – John G. Nichols 

May 9, 1859 - May 9, 1860 Damien Marchessault. A native of Quebec, Canada, Marchessault was a very active and aggressive mayor. He committed suicide in the Council Room of the Los Angeles City Hall in 1868. 

May 9, 1860 - Dec. 26, 1860 – Henry Mellus. Mellus arrived in California in 1835, accompanied by Richard Henry Dana, the Author of “Two Years Before the Mast.” When Mellus became Mayor in 1860, the population of Los Angeles stood at 4,399. 

Dec. 27, 1860 - Jan. 7, 1861 (Council President, Acting Mayor) – William Woodworth 

Jan. 7, 1861 - May 6, 1865 (Four terms) – Damien Marchessault 

May 5, 1865 - May 10, 1866 (One term) – José Mascarel. Mascarel was a French sea captain, who arrived in Los Angeles in 1844. 

May 10, 1866 - Dec. 7 1868 (Two terms) – Cristobal Aguilar 

Dec. 9, 1868 - Dec. 9, 1870 (Two terms) – Joel Turner. At the time he served as Mayor, the population of Los Angeles had grown to 5,614. 

Dec. 9, 1870 - Dec. 5, 1872 (Two terms) – Cristobal Aguilar 
The last Latino to serve as mayor of the City of Los Angeles was Cristobal Aguilar who held office twice from 1866 to 1868 and 1870 to 1872. When Aguilar became Mayor, there were less than 6,000 residents. When the city council proposed selling off the city's water rights to bring in additional revenue, Aguilar vetoed the proposal. If Aguilar had not used his power of veto, Los Angeles would have lost control of its water rights, leading to serious problems later. 

At the time Aguilar was elected in 1870, the Latino voter registration was about 22%. However, when Aguilar ran for reelection, he lost to an Anglo opponent, who made an issue of his poor English. Aguilar was the last Hispanic Mayor of Los Angeles up to the year 2004. 

A list of the early Hispanic Los Angeles Mayors can be accessed at the Los Angeles Almanac website at: http://www.losangelesalmanac.com/topics/Government/gl11.htm
 
Sources: 
Given Place Publishing Co. “Los Angeles Almanac: Demographics, History, Statistics” Online: http://www.losangelesalmanac.com/default.htm (1998-2004). 

Los Angeles Cultural Affairs Department, “Mayors of Los Angeles” 
http://www.culturela.org/publicart/majorsla.pdf

William Marvin Mason, “The Census of 1790: A Demographic History of Colonial California” (Menlo Park, California: Ballena Press, 1998). 

 

CALIFORNIA

Cordero Family in California
Soldado Mariano Antonio Cordero
California Historical Societies
California's Rancho System
Spanish California Obituaries
       William Gelabert,
       Senora Guadalupe Peralta

       Joseph C. Peralta
       Cristobal A. Ramirez
       Concepcion Avila de Ruiz
Migrant Youths Explore with Video 
California/Puerto Rico
Autorbiography of Paul Edgar Trejo
The Many Manuel Butrons 

 


Major William E. Cordero was the 
first Santa Barbaran killed in Vietnam,
buried at Arlington National Cemetery.



Major William E. Cordero
 Received  the Distinguished Flying Cross,
Purple Heart, Air Medal, National Defense, Vietnam Service and Vietnam Campai

Historia de la Familia

CORDERO
Baja to Alta California
By
William E. CorderoII
wcordero@lawa.org

In 1768, at the Royal Presidio of Nuestra Senora de Loreto in Baja California, Mariano Antonio Cordero (second generation) enlisted in the service of his country, Spain.( 1 )   Mariano was a "soldado de cuera" (leather jacket soldier). Mariano was eighteen at the time of his enlistment and was mostly likely schooled by his father, Miguel, he too a soldier for Spain. Miguel Cordero (first generation) had been a soldier for Spain since before 1733 and assigned to the Esquadra del Sur, with its headquarters at Todos Santos, on the southern west coast of Baja California.( 2 )  Miguel married Angela Nunez before 1733.( 3 )  Mariano was born in San Jose del Cabo, Baja California around the year 1750. ( 4 )  Mariano had two brothers, Francisco and Joaquin Ignacio, also soldados de cuera.

Prior to the Gaspar de Portola Expedition of 1769, Miguel Cordero was an integral part of the expulsion of Jesuits in Baja California. Although the expulsion was most likely predestined, Miguel because of his years of service was one of five soldiers who gave declarations to Captain Rivera y Moncada and Lt. Fernandez de Somera on September 16, 1766, regarding the behavior of the Jesuits. ( 5 ) Miguel gave his age as 60 and was called literate ( 6 ); and his responses to the interrogation were hardly an indictment of any wrong doing by the Jesuits.

In 1771, Mariano Antonio Cordero along with nineteen other soldados de cuera, five cowboys, 60 mules and Captain Rivera y Moncada left the Presidio de Loreto in Baja California on a long arduous journey to the Royal Presidio at San Diego de Alcala in Alta California. On July 18, 1771, Mariano received his first issuance of supplies in Alta California at the Presidio de San Diego.( 7 ) Mariano remained at San Diego for several years, a soldier in a new world, where the Kumeyaay Indians attacked the mission and presidio on several occasions. Mariano was listed as a padrino (godfather) and soldado de cuera in the baptismal records at Mission San Diego in 1773.( 8 ) The 1775 census lists Mariano at San Diego.( 9 )

In the year 1775, Mariano was transferred to the Presidio of San Carlos Borromeo de Monterey. It was while at the Presidio de Monterey that Mariano met his future wife, Juana Francisca Pinto, daughter of Corporal Pablo Pinto. It was the year 1776 and the Anza Expedition had arrived, March 10th, from the Royal Presidio of San Ignacio de Tubac (present-day southern Arizona) at the Presidio de Monterey on their way to colonize San Francisco. Mariano (age 26) and Juana (age 13) exchanged wedding banns on November 28, 1776; and without any disapproval of the marriage, Fray Francisco Palou married them on January 07, 1777. Theirs was the first marriage listed in the book of marriages at Mission Dolores, San Francisco (Libro de Casamientos de San Francisco). Mariano and Juana enjoyed a healthy marriage, having eight children in the span of twenty-eight years. ( 10 )

On October 4, 1781, Jose Moraga at San Francisco listed Mariano as Cabo (Corporal) in a report.
( 11 )
In 1787, Mariano was listed as Corporal at Presidio de San Francisco.( 12 ) Mariano retired briefly, November 1, 1789, only to re-enlist October 01, 1790, for a brief period at the Presidio Santa Barbara and retire again by 1791. ( 13 ) Mariano made his living as a sastre (tailor) in his retirement years in Santa Barbara.( 14 ) Juana Francisca Cordero died April 02, 1814, age 48. Mariano remarried January 30, 1816, to Maria Gertrudis Juana Lucinda Alverez, and they had two children together. Mariano died November 18, 1821, age 71, and was buried at the Mission Santa Barbara.( 15 )

Miguel’s legacy would live on in his children and children’s children. Mariano’s sons would also become soldiers albeit for another country, Mexico. During the time of independence from Spain, Mariano's sons worked as soldiers in the new militia for Mexico at the pueblos of Los Angeles, Santa Barbara, San Francisco, and at Santa Ines.

The grandson of Mariano, Juan de Jesus Antonio Cordero (fourth generation), was born June 31, 1831. He would volunteer for the 1st Battalion Native Cavalry, California Volunteers, Company "C", as a Private during the Civil War. Company "C" was made up of the best horseman around the Santa Barbara County area and served from August 10, 1864 to May of 1865. They were stationed at the Drum Barracks in Wilmington, Los Angeles County. ( 16 ) Although the 1st Battalion Native Cavalry, Company "C", saw little to no action during the Civil War, they were definitely a deterrent to any Confederate or Indian uprisings in the Southwest.

During the time from the end of the Civil War to the end of the century, bandits roamed and robbed civilians. Stories of bandits like Joaquin Murieta and Solomon Pico had many of the Santa Barbara citizens scared and on guard. Estanislado Cordero (fifth generation), son of Juan de Jesus Antonio Cordero, was a very smart and shrewd business man, as a sheep shearer, contracting his services to the rancheros around Santa Ynez, Las Cruces, and Los Alamos, had a plan to outsmart any would be robbers. Estanislado had the daily money earned sewn into the lining of a heavy overcoat worn by his young son, Adolfo (sixth generation), who would walk to the stage coach station, and catch the coach to Santa Barbara, where his mother, Petra Martinez Cordero, would "unsew" him out of his overcoat. In telling of the tale, many years ago, Adolfo would laughingly say in Spanish, "I was told to act like a dumb kid, dumb enough to wear a heavy overcoat on a hot day."

 

 

              Estanislado Cordero

4 Generations of Cordero’s in 1959
back row-Bill, Walter, Adolph & Bill Jr.


Miguel Cordero
    Mariano Antonio Cordero
    Juan de Jesus Cordero
    Juan de Jesus Antonio Cordero
    Estanislado Cordero
    Adolph Cordero
    Walter Gaspar Cordero
    William Edward Sr. Cordero
    William Edward Jr. Cordero

In the following years, many Cordero’s served in the military of the United States of America. Some wore the uniform of the Army, Navy, Marines and Air Force. While others assisted the war efforts at home. Walter G. Cordero (seventh generation), son of Adolfo Cordero, was a blacksmith by trade, taught by his father. Walter was commissioned by the U.S. government to build ships at Bethlehem Steel in San Pedro, Los Angeles County, during World War II. Adolfo Cordero is credited with the ornamental iron work at the Santa Barbara Court House. And, Walter Cordero has his ornamental iron work all over Santa Barbara, i.e. El Paseo, Hope Ranch, Montecito, Santa Barbara Historical Museum, Mission Santa Barbara, etc.

The son of Walter G. Cordero, William Edward Cordero (eighth generation), dreamed of one day flying jets for the U.S. Air Force. After graduating from Loyola University (ROTC) in 1957, 1st Lt. William E. Cordero, went to flight school in Mission, Texas. With a wife and a newly born infant (William E. Cordero II, ninth generation) in hand, Lt. Cordero moved the family to Waco, Texas in 1960, where Lt. William E. Cordero graduated from Navigator School in 1961. Eventually, with the looming prospect of war in Southeast Asia on the horizon, Lt. William E. Cordero would be sent to the war in Vietnam. After completing an extended tour of war in Vietnam, Captain William E. Cordero, volunteered for one last mission on June 19, 1965. Like so many of William E. Cordero’s ancestors before him, duty to country, to protect and to serve was a way of life. Capt. William E. Cordero’s plane would be missing in the jungles of Southeast Asia in Laos for the better part of four years. If not for a recon group happening by the wreckage of his B-57 bomber in 1969, he might still be missing. During the four years of being listed as Missing In Action (MIA), Captain Cordero made rank to Major. Major William E. Cordero, first Santa Barbaran killed in Vietnam, is buried at Arlington National Cemetery, Section 46 in Arlington, Virginia. For the gallant service to his country, Major William E. Cordero received the following medals; Distinguished Flying Cross, Purple Heart, Air Medal, National Defense, Vietnam Service and Vietnam Campaign (posthumously). ( 17 )

Since Miguel Cordero, there have been ten generations in the family line leading to my children (Britt-DeAnna and Liam Anthony). As with many of the other original families of California, our heritage is rich in its history, serving under three flags, from soldados de cuera, militia, ranchers, and every other walk of life that made California what it is today, the greatest state in the Union.

1 Bancroft, Pioneer Register, page 10; Bancroft, History of California, page 296, note 27.

2 Listed on 1733 Loreto Payroll. AGNM, Californias 80, exp. 53, ff. 442-443.

3 Listed on 1733 Loreto Payroll. AGNM, Californias 80, exp. 3, ff. 19-24.

4 Information given in 1790 re-enlistment at Santa Barbara.

5 AGNM Prov. Int. 7 exp.11.

6 AGNM Prov. Int. 7 exp.11

7 AGNM Indiferente. D. Guerra, legajo 3, tomo 161D.

 8 Bautismos hechos desda mediados del ano 1771 hasta mediados de 1773 por los PP. Nuevos Ministros Fr. Franco. Dumetz y Fr. Luis Jaume [Letter 3 April 1773 to Fr. Serra].

9 Bill Mason’s 1790 Census Book.

10 Bancroft, History of California, vol. 1, p. 296, note 27. Witnesses: Jose Raymundo Carrillo, Jose Bonifacio de Estrada, Juan Maria de Olivera, Jose Ignacio de la Higuera. (First marriage listed in the Libro de Casamientos of San Francisco).

11 Report of Jose Moraga, San Francisco, October 4, 1781.

12 Archives of California, LIV, Provincial State Papers, Sacramento, 24-25.

13 Benecia Military Records, vol. 18, page 90 (Eldredge copy).

14 Padron of Santa Barbara, 1790, Eldredge papers, The Bancroft Library, p. 92.

15 Santa Barbara Burials, Northrup, II p. 52.

16 California Adjutant General’s Office. Records of California Men in the War of the Rebellion. 1861-67….  Sacramento, State Office, 1890.

17 www.sdit.org. Organization founded by Anthony P. Cordero, son of Maj. William E. Cordero.

 

This brief family biography is dedicated to all my ancestors, 
especially my beautiful daughter, Britt-DeAnna, who on March 19, 2004, 
was the victim of a tragic motorcycle accident and lost her life at the tender age of 21.

Left to right-Mary, Bill, Liam & Britt

The Chronology
of a 
Soldado de Cuera~  

Mariano Antonio Cordero

1750 Born in San Jose del Cabo, Baja California, to Miguel and Angela (Nunez) Cordero. (Information given in 1790 re-enlistment at Santa Barbara. [cite].)
1768  Enlisted in Spain's military service at Presidio de Loreto, Baja California.
07/18/1771  Received first issue of supplies in Alta California as Soldado de Cuera. (AGNM Indiferente. D. Guerra, legajo 3, tomo 161 D)
1771 - 1773  Listed as Padrino & Soldo. De Cuera in the Baptismal Records at Mission San Diego. (Bautismos hechos desda mediados del ano 1771 hasta mediados de 1773 por los PP. nuevos Ministros Fr. Franco. Dumetz y Fr. Luis Jaume. [Letter 3 April 1773 to Fr. Serra])
01/1775  Listed on census in San Diego. (Bill Mason's 1790 Census Book)
11/28/1776  Banns announced for the marriage of Mariano Cordero and Juana Pinto. (First marriage listed in the Libro de Casamientos of San Francisco)
01/07/1777 Married to Juana Francisca Pinto at Mission Dolores, San Francisco.
1781  Report of Jose Moraga, San Francisco, October 4, 1781, list Mariano Cordero as Corporal.
03/1782 Corporal Mariano Cordero placed under arrest for permitting an escape of two thieves, Marcelo Pinto and Mariano Castro. Corporal Cordero released after fifteen months in confinement. (Moraga's Report, no place to date; Teodoro de Croix order, Arispe, June 7, 1783, AGN, Ramo de Californias, tomo 71)
09/1784  Mariano Cordero and Nicolas Galindo replace Joaquin Alverez and Valerio Mesa as Corporals in San Francisco. (Letter from Jose Moraga, San Francisco, September 1, 1784) 
10/1784  Corporal at Presidio de San Francisco.
1785  Corporal at Santa Clara Mission.
06/18/1787  Listed as Corporal at Presidio de San Francisco. (Archives of California, LIV, Provincial State Papers, Sacramento, 24-25)
11/01/1789  Retired from military service. (Benecia Military Records, vol. 18, page 90 [Eldredge copy])
10/01/1790  Re-enlist in military at Presidio Santa Barbara. (Benecia Military Records, vol. 18, page 90 [Eldredge copy])
1790  Sastre (tailor) at Santa Barbara. (Padron of Santa Barbara, 1790, Eldredge papers, The Bancroft Library, p.92)
11/20/1821  Died and buried at Santa Barbara Mission. (Santa Barbara Burials, [Northrup, II p. 52])
Notes: Mariano and Juana had eight children together; Jose Estanislao Espino (05/06/1780), Pedro Regaldo (05/13/1786), Miguel Estanislao (05/07/1795), Jose Domingo (05/10/1798), Juan de Jesus Antonio (06/15/1800), Maria Segunda (01/13/1802), Jose Clemente (11/22/1803), Matias (02/25/1808). Mariano married Maria Gertrudis Juana Lucinda Alvarez on January 30, 1816, they had two children; Paulina Maria (06/22/1818), and Vicenta (05/1820).

28 November 1776 Mission Dolores in SanFrancisco. Mariano Cordero and Juana Francisca Pinto were married by Fray Francisco Palou with witnesses, Jose Raymundo Carrillo, Jose Bonifacio Estrada, Juan Maria Olivera [all of Loreto], and Jose Miguel Silvas and Ignacio Higuera of Villa de Sinaloa, all soldiers. (Basic data from the third page of " Cemetery of Mission Los Dolores Burials (the Savage copy). This was the first wedding at Mission Dolores, as stated in Bancroft, History of California, vol. I, p. 296, n. 27)
Conference of California Historical Societies
Annual meeting and Fiftieth Anniversary
Hosts: City of Sonora and Native sons of the Golden West
June 24-27, 2004
Sonora, California
Questions:  http://www.californiahistorian.com   jonesmaryellen@prodigy.net  925-254-2295

 

California's Famous Rancho System


California's famous rancho system began 220 years ago, when Spanish soldier Manuel Perez Nieto and two of his compatriots, Juan Jose Dominguez and Jose Maria Verdugo, petitioned the Governor of California for land on which to graze horses and cattle. The Governor, who had once served as their military commander, awarded Nieto almost 3000,000 acres, between the Santa Ana and San Gabriel Rivers (where today's Los Angeles river flows), and from the Pacific to the mountains. Dominguez received over 75,000 acres southwest of Los Angeles between the San Gabriel River and salt pits on Redondo bay, and Verdugo's 36,000 acre award included today's cities of Glendale and Burbank.

Born in 1748 in Sinaloa, Mexico, Nieto accompanied the Portola-Serra expedition to Alta California in 1769 but, when Father Serra dedicated the Mission San Fernando Velicata in northern Baja California, he was left there to guard the site. he later served at the Monterey presidio in 1773, in San Luis Obispo in 1774, and in San Diego in 1777; he was still garrisoned in San Diego at the time of his petition.

By 1784 Nieto was married to Maria Teresa Morillo of Loreto and had one son from this union; over the next years, five more children were born. he constructed a swelling for his family in a fertile valley southwest of the present city of Whittier, stocked the land with horses and cattle, and cultivated corn and wheat. In the 1790s, accused of infringing upon Mission San Gabriel lands, Nieto's holdings were reduced to about 167,000 acres. Upon his death in December 1804 at age 56, his property was jointly held by his four surviving heirs. It was not until 1834 that the Mexican Governor Jose Figueroa permitted a formal division of the estate, and the ranchos Los Alamitos, Los Cerritos, Los Coyotes, Santa Gertrudis, Las Bolsas and Palo alto were established. Daughter, married to Guillermo Cota in 1805, received the 27,054 acre Rancho Los Cerritos.

Rancho Los Cerritos Review, Winter 2004
For updates Log-on to http://www.rancholoscerritos.org


    

     Migrant Youths use Video to Explore
   Social Issues

    Un Soldado Mexicano
    a Tu Voz video


Mariluz Sanchez and her sister, Puri, both students at Orange Glen High School in Escondido, Calif. knew right away what the topic of their video project would be.  Their friend, Jesus Suarez del Solar, a 120-year-old U.S. Marine stationed in Iraq, had just become one of the first casualties in the war against Saddam Hussein.  They would tell his story through the eyes of the father who moved his family to Escondido from Tijuana in 1997 to honor his son's desire to be a Marine.

Jose Espinoza learned how to handle a video camera as a participant in the project. Un Soldado Mexico is one of almost 60 videos produced, shot and edited by at-risk youth in San Diego County as part of Tu Voz, a Communities Speak project that provides video training to youth historically neglected and negatively portrayed the media and then packages the videos for screenings in schools communities and on television.;  the project ahs involved more than 90 youths, many of whom, like the Sanchez sisters, come from migrant families, in a 100-mile area that extends from Santa Ana to San Ysidro

Working in collaboration with the Migrant Education Program of the San Diego County Office of Education, the Media Arts Center began holding 12-week, hands-on video production workshops with migrant youths at high schools in North San Diego County.  From the onset, the goal of the workshops reached beyond the teaching of video skills. Media Arts Center Executive Director, Ethan Van Thillo wanted young people to see that they could play a direct role in shaping their communities by using video as a tool for change.

Source: California Council for the Humanities, Spring 2004


California/Puerto Rico http://www.prfaa.com
May-June Community Events Calendar 
PRFAA, serves as the mainland presence of the Government of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, works to advance the well-being of Puerto Ricans everywhere while building community partnerships across the U.S. to advance our common economic, civic, cultural and national interests.

It is PRFAA's mission to empower our communities by improving economic, educational and social opportunity for all. 

PRFAA California Office650 Town Center Dr., Ste. 680Costa Mesa, CA  92626(714) 
Go to the site for events throughout Californornia. ustohm
556-4490 ph(714) 556-7295 fx 
Ana Carricchi Lopez 
Sr. Community Officer 
acarricchi@prfaa.com  

Spanish California Obituaries
Source of Information, gathered and extracted from the Los Angeles Times obituaries 
by Karla Everett  EverettKA@bak.rr.com
Visit the California Spanish Genealogy website  http://www.sfgenealogy.com/spanish

[[ Editor's note:  I find these obituaries fascinating from their comments of land grant ownership to the gradual infusions of non-Hispanic names into the families. Also, one questions in the first item, the presence of a William Gelabert, identified as a native of Spain who served with Commodore Sloat.  ]]



William Gelabert, Another Pioneer Gone

Los Angeles Times, Feb 28, 1882

Stockton, Feb. 27. -
William Gelabert, a native of Spain and a pioneer of Stockton, died this morning, aged sixty years. He served in the navy and was with Commodore Sloat at the capture of Monterey in 1846, and was one of the party that raised the first American flag at Monterey. The funeral will be conducted by the Pioneers.
 
Senora Guadalupe Peralta Dead
Los Angeles Times, Sep 6, 1890

San Jose, Sept. 5. -
Senora Guadalupe Peralta died in Santa Clara tonight at the age of 95 years.  She was the youngest of nine children of Don Luis Peralta, who in his lifetime owned a grant of land which covered Oakland, Alameda, Fruitvale and San Leandro and vicinity.

Grandson of Grantee in Bay Region Dies, Joseph C. Peralta
Los Angeles Times, May 30, 1929
 
Oakland, May 29. -
Joseph C. Peralta, 81 years of age, a grandson of Don Louis Mario Peralta, original grantee of the King of Spain of most of the land now occupied by cities on the eastern slope of San Francisco Bay, died here today after a short illness.  His famous ancestor first came to the San Francisco Presidio in 1776 as a Spanish soldier, and later commanded a garrison at Pueblo San Jose, where the city of San Jose now stands.

Cristobal A. Ramirez, Builder of Famous Adobe Succumbs
Los Angeles Times, March 29, 1937

Santa Barbara, March 28. -
Cristobal A. Ramirez, 93 years of age, pioneer of Santa Barbara, who built the famous adobe that bore his name, will be buried tomorrow morning in Calvary Cemetery following funeral services at Our Lady of Sorrows Catholic Church.  He died last night after a brief illness.

He was married in 1865 to Ventura Gonzalez.  The Spanish King had granted her father a large tract of land which included what is now the lower east side of Santa Barbara.  Senora Ramirez died in 1923, shortly after the couple had sold their adobe home to Mrs. A. L. Murphy Vhay, the present owner.

Senora Concepcion Avila de Ruiz, Elderly Native of City Dies
Los Angeles Times, Dec 2, 1937

Senora
Concepcion Avila de Ruiz, link to the early Spanish rule in California, died yesterday at the family home, Rancho Tajauta, in Watts.  Her death came within six days of her eighty-fifth birthday, December 7.

She was the granddaughter of Cornelio Avila, Spanish soldier who came to California in 1769 to protect the rights of the Spanish crown and obtained Tajauta for his service.

Dona Concepcion was born and raised on the ancestral land at Watts.  She so rarely left the above that on her wedding a half-century ago her husband-to-be had to travel to Tajauta so she could be married before the family chapel.  There they remained to live under the bride's paternal roof.

Her late husband was Don Jose de la Cruz Ruiz, descendant of Don Maximo Alaniz from Rancho San Jose de Buenos Aires.  Still in the family adobe are the elderly brother and sister, Jose and Josepha Avila. Following an old custom, the rosary will be recited in the family home, 11642 Wilmington Avenue, at 8 p.m. today.





AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF 
PAUL EDGAR TREJO

PART I, THE SPANISH MEXICAN HERITAGE

Spanish Bluecoat, Manuel Butron

 


I will begin my story with my earliest ancestor in Alta California, the Spanish Bluecoat, Manuel Butron, also spelled Buitron. Manuel Butron was born about 1727 at Molina, Valencia, Spain. His parents were Jose Buitron and Josepa Ros, both of Rafa, Origuela, Spain. Manuel Butron was a "Spanish Bluecoat". The Spanish Bluecoats were and elite group of soldiers originally known as the Free Company of Catalonian Volunteers, namely because the greater share of the original force was formed in Catalonia. The province of Catalonia is located on the extreme north-east corner of Spain, where on the north it borders on France, and it’s eastern border being the Mediterranean Sea with the major cities of Tarragona, Barcelona, and Girona. Catalonian Volunteers participated in the Seven Years War (1756-1763).


THE CATALONIAN VOLUNTEERS OF NEW SPAIN
For nearly five decades, from 1767 to 1815, the Free Company of Catalonian Volunteers participated in Spain’s last great effort to secure the northwestern portion of it’s vast empire in the Western Hemisphere. During those years, the Catalonian Volunteers served in a number of assignments that represented a renewed defensive expansion into Sonora, California, Canada and Alaska. According to the Historian, Harry W. Crosby in his book, "Antigua California" (pg. 380). Gobernador Gaspar Portola was accompanied by 25 Catalan dragoons led by Capellan Pedro Fernandez, when he landed from the small sloop La Lauretana an Cabo San Lucas at the tip of Baja California on November 30, 1767. Lauretana had been buffeted by a large storm " A sloop that carried 25 additional Catalonian volunteers and a sailing launch that carried a secular priest and fourteen Franciscan missionary intended to replace the Jesuits had disappeared in this same storm, and nothing was known of their fate or whereabouts." However, It is believed that this group turned up later, as Crosby states that when Visitador General Jose de Galvez arrives on July 5th, 1768, he conferred with the Franciscan Padre Junipero Serra, leader of the twelve Franciscan missionaries who had been sent to replace the Jesuits. It is highly probable that it was during this period of time that the connection and friendship between Manuel Butron and Father Serra began.

The Catalonian Volunteers and The Founding of Monterey
On Monday April 16, 1770. Father Serra sailed north from San Diego on the San Antonia to find Monterey Bay. Simultaneously, Portola also started North for Monterey with a land party. With Serra on board the San Antonio were 12 Catalonian Volunteers. Accompanying Portola on the land expedition to Monterey were another 12 Catalonian Volunteers under the command of Lieutenant Pedro Fages and 7 Soldados de Cuera. This latter group literally means, "Soldiers of Leather", a name acquired from the leather vests they wore to protect them from Indian arrows. Joseph P. Sanchez in his definitive work, "Spanish Bluecoats" states that though 12 Catalonian Volunteers were with Serra at the founding of Mission San Carlos de Monterey, he only mentions one by name, a Corporal Pericas. However, others named as being at Monterey with him were Sargent Juan Puig, Corporal Manuel Butron, Antonio Montana, Domingo Aruz, Antonio Yorba, Francisco Cayuelas, Francisco Portella, Andres Auguet, and Domingo Malaret. You can infer that these latter were all privates. Francisco Portella died in Monterey on April 24, 1774, Andres Auguet died in Tepic, Mexico on September 29, 1774, and Domingo Malaret died in Tepic on October 2, 1774. Manuel Butron would be buried at Carmel Mission on January 5th, 1793.


On Thursday, May 24th, 1770, Portola arrived at Monterey Bay with the land expedition.  On Thursday May 31st, 1770, the San Antonio with Father Serra entered Monterey Bay. On Friday June 1st, 1770 the sea and land expeditions were reunited and planned the founding of the Presidio-Mission of San Carlos de Borromeo de Monterey. On Saturday June 2nd, 1770, Serra landed at Serra’s landing. This was on a small beach on the west side of the present day Fisherman’s Wharf. This landing is now commemorated by a monument in a small city park immediately above the landing site. The next day, Serra proceeded to search for and adequate site to establish a mission. On Pentecostal Sunday, June 3rd, 1770, Serra established the Presidio-Mission of San Carlos de Borromeo de Monterey, the present site of the San Carlos Cathedral.


Manuel BUTRON AND JUNIPERO SERRA*
Since the life of Manuel Butron was so intertwined with that of Father Junipero Serra in many ways, it is perhaps appropriate to consider it briefly. It is apparent that their friendship began when they were together in Mexico, before the expedition to Alta California. As previously noted, Manuel Butron was born about 1727 at Molina, Valencia, Spain. His parents were Joe Buitron and Josefa Ros, both of Rafa, Origuela, Spain. *Although the family name was Buitron, I will use the common usage of Butron throughout this work.

From the early Mission San Carlos Baptism Registers at the Diocese of Monterey, I find that Manuel Butron is godparent to many of the Indian baptisms conducted by Father Serra.

 



Baptismal Font at Mission Santa Cruz


        My great grandfather Jose Ygnacio Cesilio Garner was baptized February 6th 1841. He was born February 1st in the Pueblo of Branciforte on the San Lorenzo River, across river from the Mission. There, his father William Robert Garner ran a lumber mill, where he logged Redwood. Garner shipped his Redwood planks to Monterey, both by ship and by wagon. There they were used in construction on many of the early buildings, some of which are still standing. Garner also furnished Redwood used in repairs to the Camel Mission.


In the Spring of 1992, the magazine La Gazeta, published a series of articles entitled "SERRA’S NEIGHBORS", the author, Friar Francis Guest, O.F. M. (Order of Franciscan Monks). stated that his articles were only about Father Serra’s particular friends. I give the direct quote from Serra’s Neighbor’s Part II: "Another soldier, this time a Catalonian Volunteer, who served as a cook in his unit , was a skilled farmer, and married the Indian girl Margarita Maria at Mission Carmel on May 20, 1773, was the recipient of the first private land grant in the history of California. After his marriage, he was often called upon by Serra to serve as sponsor at the baptism of Indians. His name was Manuel Butron. When Serra first came to California , Butron had returned temporarily to Lower California and the two corresponded. On June 21,1771, Serra, in a letter to Father Palou, (who was President of the College of San Fernando in Mexico City) wrote a postscript in which he said, "Please tell Butron That I received his letter, that I ask his prayers, that I have no time for more, and that he knows how much I miss him."

The First Land Grant  
With Father Serra’s assistance Manuel Butron obtained the first private land grant in California. At FatherSerra’s request, Military Commander and Governor Fernando de Riviera y Moncada granted a small parcel of land to Manuel Butron. This comprised a small parcel of 140 varas at the mouth of the Carmel Valley. This is about 460 square feet, or a plot of land about 22 feet by 22 feet. Very small, but enough for a small house.

Further Comments of Serra
In 1772, Father Serra felt it necessary to return to Mexico City to consult with Governor General Bacarelli on the progress of the Missions in Monterey and Carmel, on matters he felt vital to the success of the Missions. As it turned out, this meeting was the most important to the future success of the entire Mission movement. He was accompanied by a 10 to 12 year old Indian boy who he had previously baptized at Mission Carmel. It has been speculated that he took the boy with him so that on his return the boy could report to the tribes on the wonders of the white man’s civilization.

On Monday August 24th, 1772 Serra departed by land for San Diego enroute to Mexico City. He is accompanied by Father Jose Cavaller, Pedro Fages, some soldiers, and Juan Evangelisa the Carmel Indian boy (10-12 years old) as noted above, who had been baptized and named by Serra at the Carmel Mission on March 19th, 1771.

Serra and the Indian boy arrived in Mexico City at the Franciscan San Fernando College on Saturday, March 13th, 1773. On orders from the Viceroy, Antonio Maria Bucareli y Ursula, Serra drafted a thirty two point Representacion (Petition). The document outlined California needs and problems, if the Missions were to survive, and provided input for a new Reglamento (Regulation). Effective July 1st, 1774, the new Reglamento increased the supply line of food and improved it’s distribution, provided for the expansion of the mission system, redefined the presidio-mission relationship and control (this was one of the most important), placed Indian welfare exclusively under mission control, and encouraged Mexican emigration to California. And also most important, one of these requests was the permission of the Spanish soldiers to marry Indian women.

Also at this time, Serra obtained removal from office as Military Commandant, Pedro Fages. Viceroy Bucareli selected Francisco de Riviera de Moncada as the new Monterey Military Commandant.

From Mexico City Serra departed in mid September 1773 for his journey back to Carmel. Serra sailed from Baja California on the new Frigate Santiago (date unknown) and arrived in San Diego on Sunday on Sunday, March 13, 1774. He then proceeded overland en route to Monterey. On May 6th, 1774 Serra and the Indian boy Juan arrived at Mission San Antonio, and arrived back at Monterey on Wednesday May 11th, 1774, after and absence of nearly two years. Fathers Crespi and Palou greet them, Father Palou having relocated to Mission Carmel after the Franciscan transfer of the Lower California Missions to the Dominicans 1773.


MARGARITA DOMINGUEZ AND Manuel BUTRON
Margarita Domingez was an Esselen Indian. This tribe occupied a very small area near the mouth of the Carmel River. She was from the Village of Tucclnet, or Rancheria de Tucclnet, alias Rancheria de Santa Theresa. The priests called all Indian Villages Rancherias and gave them "alias" Spanish names. The Village of Tucclenut was located about a league (2.2 to 4.4 statute miles) up river from the Carmel Mission. The Padres took many of their early converts from this village, probably because it was so close to the Mission and easily accessible.

Margarita was baptized twice, the first time at her Indian village of Tucclenut on January 7th, 1773, as being "In danger of death". This baptism is extremely difficult to read, as the page is so old and faded and nearly illegible, but her name appears to be written as Margarita Maria Adulta. Her age is given as about 14 or 15 years, daughter of dead gentile parents, both native of the village of Tucclenut, alias la Rancheria de Santa Theresa, " on the banks of the River Carmelo, about one league up river from this Mission". She was baptized "in this same Rancheria and given the name Margarita Maria, "daughter of a gentile father and father dead." This baptism is found in Monterey Baptism Book 2, 1770-1790, Number 32. The baptism is signed by Friar Juan Crespi

No mother is given in the baptism, so we must assume her mother was a gentile Indian.

Margarita was baptized a second time on February 22nd, 1773, but this time at the Mission. Since she had been previously baptized, this entry is very short, and appears on the same page as her previous baptism, and is given no additional number. However, in this baptism she is given "the Sacramental and consecrated oils" with the other ceremonies "ordered by this church, and given as godfather the soldier Juan Jose de Dominguez of the Company of California." The baptism is again signed by Friar Juan Crespi.

It was after this baptism that Margarita took the surname of her godfather, and was know thereafter as Margarita Dominguez. 

Marriage of Manuel Butron to Magarita Dominguez
n May 20th 1773, Manuel Butron married the Esselen Indian girl Margarita Dominguez at Carmel Mission.This marriage was conducted in accordance with the rules as set down by the Sacred (Holy) Council of Trent (1545-1563). As indicated in the marriage entry, they began the marriage process on April 4th, when they presented themselves before Friar Jala Buelia and declared their intentions. After the "solid" presentation was given to the couple by Friar Jala Buelia, as to their duties to each other, the witnesses Don Francisco and Francisco Cordero, both Soldados de Cuera , were appointed, and detailed instructions were given to these witnesses as to their duties. This was followed by the customary three days of admonitions (announcement of the marriage banns) and three days of festivities on three consecutive Sundays, as dictated by the before mentioned Sacred Council of Trent. The groom was veiled as he was gentry, but not the bride, as she was Indian.
It is interesting to note that in this marriage they name Margarita’s father as Eene Rnuto and mother Gentile of the Rancheria Zucudnot (Tucclnet).

The First Private Land Grant In California
With Father Serra’s assistance Governor Fages granted the first private land grant in Alta California to Manuel Butron and his Indian wife Margarita Dominguez. This was a small piece of ground at the mouth of the Carmel River of 140 varas (about 462 square feet, or a plot of about 21.5 feet by 21.5 feet).

Death of Manuel Butron
Manuel Butron was buried at San Carlos de Carmel on January 5th, 1793, with great pomp and ceremony. Junipero Serra died August 27th, 1784. One of Serra’s last requests was that his "Tio" be buried near him. Thus Butron was buried 8 years and 4 months after the death of Serra. He was buried on the holy side of the church about half way up to the alter.


As one enters the church of the Carmel Mission, 
there is a memorial plaque to Manuel Butron
 inside the door in the floor, on the left side of the entry way. 


A number of years ago I went to the Mission to photograph the Butron marker, a gentleman approached me and asked about my interest. I told him Butron was my fifth great grandfather. He said "Well Butron is not buried there, he is buried under the organ. Since Carmel Mission is also a parish church they hold regular masses in the sanctuary. The choir is in a high loft/balcony at the rear of the church, and the choir director has to be able to see the organist, who is on the main floor of the church, so that they "can stay together". So, they marched down the isle on the Holy Side of the church until they found the ideal location for the organ. Well it just happened to be over the Butron marker. They moved the marker out to it’s present location just inside the front door, where it is in the floor, and placed the organ over the marker’s original location. I don’t know who this gentleman was, and as he was not dressed like a priest I assumed he was a tour guide. That was several years before I became involved with the Diocese of Monterey as their Genealogist. I started as a volunteer at the Diocese in 1990. In 1997, I asked Brother John O’Brien, the Archivist, if he could verify this story. John called Sir Richard Menn, the Curator of the Mission, and below is the Memo he received back, which resides in my files. The story is not quite same, but it verifies that Manuel Butron " is under the organ". I quote:
Memo dated April 17, 1997

SIR RICHARD MENN, K.C.S.G., K.C.H.S., K.M.

To: Rev. Brother John Obrien, 373-1175-

greetings -----

Manuel Butron is Really buried approx where organ console at side chapel entrance of Nave is, in mission church. The marker is located near baptistery however as more pews once stood where the organ is now located and marker and marker would have been un-noticeable. I will be down south Friday ---- I’m going to drop by Msgr. Webers’ on my way to my mom & dads house. R.

The person responsible for the commissioning of this marker was Mr. George Wilfred Kukar, of San Jose, CA.. George is the son of Guadalupe Butron and Jacob Kukar whose parents were from Austria. Guadalupe Butron was the daughter of Manuel Butron IV, and my great aunt, Juanita Gabriela Garner de Butron. Juanita’s grandparents were Francisca Butron and William Robert Garner of Monterey.


CHILDREN OF Manuel BUTRON AND MARGARITA DOMINGUEZ

Manuel Butron and Margarita Dominguez had two children : 
    1. Manuel Joseph Butron  Born: April 8th, 1776, probably in Monterey  Baptized: April 9th, 1776, 
        at Mission San Carlos de Monterey.
    2. Sebastian Joseph Butron Born: Probably in Monterey on January 19th, 1779
        Baptized: January 20th, 1779, at Mission San Carlos de Monterey.  More on Sebastian Butron
        later.

    1. Manuel Joseph Butron
       Married: Maria Ygnacia Higuera at Mission Santa Clara January 30th, 1794. She was born  
       February 
       10th, 1778, and baptized May 13th, 1778, at Mission Santa Clara. Her parents were Manuel 
       Higuera  and Maria Antonia Redondo. Maria Ygnacia was *buried July 6th, 1844 at Mission San
       Juan Bautista  Death of Manuel Joseph Butron .  Manuel Joseph Butron was buried February 12th,
       1842. at Mission San Juan Bautista.  

*Note: Often in the Mission death registers only the date of burial is given and not a day of actual death. In those days people were either buried the day they died, or if a person of importance within a day or two at most, while an elaborate funeral was being arranged. The reason is obvious, the lack of refrigeration to preserve a body.

 

2.CHILDREN OF Manuel JOSEPH BUTRON AND YGNACIA HIGUERA

Maria Antonia Francisca Emigia Butron

Manuel Joseph Butron and Maria Ygnacia Higuera had 14 children. Their 10th child was Maria Antonia Francisca Butron. Francisca was born November 29th, 1814, in Monterey, and was baptized November 30th, 1814, at Mission San Carlos de Monterey. Since Francisca is my direct ancestor back to the Soldado Manuel Butron from Spain, I will do a thorough essay on her. She would have three husbands, the first was William Robert Garner of Monterey, who she married at age 17, at Mission San Juan Bautista on November 25th, 1831. She would have six children by Robert Garner, to be enumerated later on in this narrative.

Francisca Butron and Her Castro Families

On Garner’s death on May15th, 1849, at the hands of Indians, she would remarry on May 15th, 1850, to a Manuel Castro, at Mission San Carlos de Monterey. She and Manuel Castro would have two children, Francisca Clara Castro born March 9th, 1851, and baptized in Monterey, and Manuela Castro born in Monterey in 1852. Manuela died in Monterey July 16th, 1861. Francisca’s first Castro husband, Manuel Castro, died in Monterey on December 14th, 1861, at age 74. I suspect this marriage was annulled, as Francisca would marry again six years before Manuel Castro’s death.

Francisca Butron was married for a third time at Mission San Carlos de Monterey, on January 1st, 1855, to Eloisius (Luis) Castro (no relation to Manuel Castro). She and Eloisius would have two children, Francisco Avela, born November 26th, 1855, and baptized at San Carlos de Monterey, and Epimento Castro, born on March 24th, 1861, and also baptized in Monterey. Epimento died in Monterey on November 9th, 1868. Francisco Avela lived in the Castroville-Salinas area. He died in Salinas July 31st, 1908 and he is buried in the Sacred Heart cemetery. He has descendants living in the area.

Death of Francisco Butron:  Francisca Butron died in Castroville, CA, on April 9th, 1883 in Castroville, CA, were she was living with her son, and my great grandfather Ignacio Garner. She is buried at the old Catholic Cemetery at Moss Landing, CA, which is the cemetery for Our Lady of Refuge parish church in Castroville. The entry in the burial book simply states that she was "age 75, a widow, a native of California, and that she received the last sacraments." She was buried simply as Francisca Butron, widow with none of her husbands mentioned. By subtraction from her birth date she was really only 69 years old when she died and not 75.

It has been my experience that death records are traditionally the most unreliable of all the records. Her death was not recorded in the Monterey County records, an oversight not uncommon.

FRANCISCA BUTRON AND WILLIAM ROBERT GARNER
William Robert Garner
As noted above, Francisca Butron married William Robert Garner of Monterey at Mission San Juan Bautista on November 25th, 1831. He had converted to Catholicism at Mission San Juan Bautista on June 7th, 1829. Garner was and Englishman who was born in 1803 in Norwich, Norfolk, England, of Henry Garner and Anne Garner. He went to sea at age 21 as mate and navigator on the English whaler Royal George. The Royal George was plagued with ill luck an put into Santa Barbara Santa Barbara with most of the crew ill with scurvy. Here, on November 16, 1824, Garner who was the mate on board, and four others were put ashore in irons for mutiny. The other four were James Watson, James McKinley, Thomas Stewart, and a Negro named Dixon or Robinson. The local Comandante at Santa Barbara, Don Jose de la Guerra y Noriega, took them into custody for unlawful entry into California. After a preliminary hearing they were sent to Monterey for official disposition. Here, probably because the local authorities didn’t know what to do with them they were released. Of the five, Garner, Watson, and McKinley chose to remain in Monterey, and were to become prominent in Monterey history. Stewart and Dixon (Robinson?) drifted South and disappear from history.

William Robert Garner became extremely fluent in the Spanish language, as later would his oldest son Jose Cornelio Guillermo. Walter Colton, another figure prominent in early California history came to California on the USS Congress from Norfolk, Virginia. The ships arrived in Monterey Thursday, July 16th, 1846. Colton, a man of letters, was the ship’s Purser. On Tuesday July 28th, he was appointed Alcalde of Monterey and it’s jurisdiction by Commodore Stockton.

Walter Colton could not speak Spanish so he employed William Robert Garner to be his secretary and interpreter. Garner was his riding companion and accompanied Colton to the gold fields. When Garner was killed by Indians on May 15th, 1849, Colton wrote of him in his book, "Three Years In California" : " Mister Garner is now then: it was his melancholy fate to fall with five other to wild Indians on the river Reys. To that party I should have been attached had I remained in California another month. How narrow those escapes which run their mystic thread between two worlds! On the grave of my friend , gratitude for important services, and a remembrance of many sterling virtues, might well erect a memorial."

I have a copy of a document found in our archives at the Diocese of Monterey that Colton signed, and William Garner notarized as his secretary. Garner was a man of many talents. He was a rancher, lumberman, interpreter, and wrote for the local newspaper "The Californian" published in Monterey between August1846 and May 1847. This was in addition to the letters he wrote to Eastern newspapers encouraging American settlers to immigrate to California.

Probably the best primer on Robert William Garner is the book "Letters From California, From Our Special Correspondent William Robert Garner" Edited, With A Sketch Of The Life And Times Of Their Author", by Donald Monroe Craig. (Published by University of California Press 1970). The most authoritative article on Garner’s death was the article published in the "The Californians" magazine by Forest Melrose Clingan in the SEPT/OCT issue in 1992. This magazine, is long defunct, but I have the magazine and can produce copies for interested parties for the cost of duplication and postage and envelope. Anyone interested should contact our editor Mimi Lozano Holtzman.

THE CHILDREN OF WILLIAM ROBERT GARNER AND FRANCISCA BUTRON
William Garner and Francisca Butron had seven children: Clotilda Jacinta (1832-1838), Jose Cornelio Guillermo (1833-1902), Jose Guadalupe Emigio (1834-1912), Manuel Francisco (1836-1851), Maria Arcadia ( 1838- Early ), Jose Ignacio Cesilio ( 1841-1912),

Maria Clotilda (1846-1933). William Garner also had and illegitimate son by his wife’s older sister Maria Josepha Butron. He was Jose de Los Santos, born May 7, 1842, in Monterey, and baptized at Mission an Juan Bautista. Santos died in Hollister, California on December 17th, 1913.

Clotilda Jacinta was born September 11th, 1832, in Monterey, California, and was baptized September 12th, 1832 at Mission San Juan Bautista. She died September 7th1838, and was buried at Mission San Juan Bautista on September 07th,1838.

Jose Cornelio Guillermo was baptized at San Juan Bautista on September 18, 1833. He was probably born in Monterey the previous week. .Guillermo had four illegitimate with Juana Amesquita between 1854 and 1861. He married at age 53 to Fidelia Corrillo on June 7th, 1885, in San Jose, California, and they had one son Joseph A. Garner born in 1886. Guillermo was very prominent in San Jose business and politics. He served as and interpreter and guard at the county courthouse in San Jose for many years. He died January 11th, 1902, in San Jose, and is buried in the Catholic Cemetery in Santa Clara.

Jose Guadalupe Emigio was born in Monterey October 11th, 1834, and baptized at Mission San Juan Bautista on October 14th, 1834. He died in Monterey, CA. on May 6th, 1912, and was buried in the Catholic Cemetery in Monterey on May 8th, 1912. Guadalupe married Maria Ramona Castro October 4th, 1854, at Mission San Carlos de Monterey. Ramona was born in 1833, probably in Mexico, she died June 8th, 1905, at age 72, and was buried June 10th, 1905 in the Catholic Cemetery in Monterey. This couple had ten children. Their children were baptized at Mission San Juan Bautista. Jose Guadalupe was a very prominent personage in Watsonville, California.

Manuel Francisco was born in Monterey on October 1st, 1836, and baptized at Mission San Juan Bautista on October 4th, 1836. Manuel died in Monterey on December 23rd, 1851, at the age 14, and was buried in the Catholic Cemetery in Monterey. At the time of his death, his father’s estate was in probate and his share was divided up among the remaining heirs.

Maria Arcadia was born January 10th, 1838, in Monterey, and was baptized, at Mission San Juan Bautista on January 16th, 1838. No death record has been found on Maria Arcadia. However she died early, as she was not alive when Garner’s estate was probated in 1850.

Jose Ygnacio Cesilio was born February 1st, 1841, at Pueblo Branciforte, and baptized February 6th, 1841, at Mission Santa Cruz. Branciforte was a pueblo on the San Lorenzo River, across the river from the Mission Santa Cruz. At the time of his birth, Ygnacio’s father was operating a lumber mill at the Pueblo of Branciforte on the banks of the San Lorenzo River. William Garner shipped Redwood planks to Monterey both by steamer and wagon, where they were used in many of the buildings. Some of this Redwood was used in repairing the Carmel Mission. Ygnacio died in Santa Maria, California, on April 5th, 1912, and was buried at the old Catholic Cemetery on South Higuera Street in San Luis Obispo, California. Jose Ygnacio married Maria Valeriana Antonia de Jesus Garcia at Mission San Carlos de Monterey on November 8th, 1866. Valeriana was born on February 6th, 1850 in Monterey, and baptized at Mission San Carlos de Monterey on February 7th. She was from and old Monterey family dating back to 1818 in Monterey. She died in San Luis Obispo on January 19th, 1918. This couple had 11 children. Ignacio and Valeriana were my fraternal great grandfather, and my great grandmother.


Maria Clotilda Garner de Gonsalves
                          
1846-1933

Maria Clotilda
was born April 27th, 1846, in Monterey, and baptized May 17th, 1846, at Monterey. 

She died November 27th, 1933, at age 87 years, 6 months, and 10 days in San Francisco, California. Clotilda married Manuel Maximo Gonsales (Gonsalves) at Mission San Carlos de Monterey on April 20th, 1862. Manuel Maximo died in Monterey on July 17th, 1898, at age 70, and is buried in the Catholic Cemetery. This couple had 11 children. Manuel Maximo was very prominent in Monterey.

At the Larkin House in Monterey, CA, 
December 24th, 1908


Jose de Los Santos Butron de Garner
was born May 7th, 1842 in Monterey, and baptized at Mission San Juan Bautista on November 1st, 1842. He was the illegitimate son of William Robert Garner, and Maria Josepha Butron. His mother, Josepha, was the older sister of Garner’s wife Francisca Butron. Santos was baptized as "padre no conveidas" which literally means "father not known, or does not wish to be known". However, when Santos married Carmen Salazar at Saint Patrick’s Church in Watsonville, on August 1st, 1870, the marriage record clearly stated that Santos was the son of Josepha Butron and William Garner. Jose de Los Santos and Carmen Salazar had 13 children. Of these, eight were born in Watsonville, California, and five were born in Hollister, California. Descendants of this couple live in Oakland, California, Pinedale, Wyoming, and Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
THE GARNER- GARCIA-VASQUEZ-TREJO LINE

Maria Valeriana Antonia de Jesus Garcia

As noted above, Jose Ygnacio Cesilio Garner married Maria Valeriana Antonia de Jesus Garcia in Monterey at Mission San Carlos de Monterey on November 8th, 1866. As previously noted, Valeriana was from and old Monterey family who came to Monterey from Mexico in 1818. Her father was Jose Anastacio Jesus Garcia, born in Monterey February 24th, 1824, and baptized at San Mission Carlos de Monterey on February 25th, 1824. Jose Anastacio died in Monterey about 1851. Valeriana’s mother was Maria Guadalupe Vasquez, who was baptized at San Carlos de Monterey on May 13th, 1829, and died at Monterey on July 15th, 1868.

Considering Valeriana’s fraternal side: Her grandfather was Jose Julian Garcia (1779-1848), and her grandmother was Maria Paula Garibay (1797-1878). This couple were married in Mission San Carlos de Monterey May 2nd, 1810. Her fraternal great grandfather, Jose Julian’s father, was Felipe Santiago Garcia (1748-1822), and her fraternal great grandmother was Petra Joaquin Alcantara Lugo (1756-1822). Maria Paula Garibay’s parents were Jose Gonzales Vicente Garibay (1753-1821), and the Indian Maria Beatrice (1772?- 1810). Jose Garibay and Maria Beatrice were married at Mission San Carlos de Monterey on December 1st, 1790.

On her mother’s side, Valeriana’s grandfather was Julio Maria Vasquez (1792-1841), and her grandmother was Maria Brigita German (1776-1846). Julio Maria and Maria Brigita were married at Mission San Carlos de Monterey on January 26th 1812. Valeriana’s great grandfather ( Maria Brigita’s father) was Isidora German (1755-1829) and her great grandmother mother was Maria Manuela Ochoa (1764-1838). On the other side (Julio Maria Vasquez’s parents), her great grandfather was Jose Antonio Vasquez (1770- ??) and her great grandmother was Maria Isabel Cortes (1774-1794). It seems obvious from the above, that as with most families of early California Hispanic heritage, everyone is related to everyone else. I have in my linage: German, Ochoa, Vasquez, Cortes, Garcia, Lugo, Garibay, the Indian Maria Beatrice, Manuel Butron and the Indian Margarita Dominguez, Higuera, Redondo, Garner, and Trejo. My heritage reminds me of the old Heinz food moto, "57 varieties".



CHILDREN OF JOSE YGNACIO CESILIO GARNER AND VALERIANA GARCIA

Ygnacio Garner and Valeriana Garcia had eleven children. All but two were baptized at Our Lady of Refuge Church in Castroville, California. The two exceptions were Guadalupe Gabriela Garner, and Jose Tomas (Thomas) Garner, who were both baptized at San Carlos de Monterey. Of these siblings, the important ones to this narrative are Guadalupe Gabriela Garner ( my great aunt), Maria Clotilda Garner (my grandmother), Jose Tomas Garner (my great uncle), and Juanita Francis Garner (my great aunt).

*Guadalupe Gabriela Garner was born March 18th, 1870, in Castroville and baptized March 19th, 1871, at Mission San Carlos de Monterey. On February 2nd, 1889. She married Manuel Butron IV at Our Lady of Refuge Church in Castroville on February 2nd, 1889. This couple had eleven children. The early children were baptized in Castroville or Monterey, and the later ones at Mission San Luis Obispo. Manuel Butron IV had a stage he owned and drove between San Luis Obispo and San Jose, and hence the family relocated just before the turn of the century from Castroville to San Luis Obispo. The first child of this couple, Maria Ygnacia Guadalupe Butron was born February 1st 1891, in Castroville, and baptized April 15th, 1891, at Mission San Carlos de Monterey. Their second child, Manuel Antonio Butron was born July 2nd, 1892, in Castroville, and baptized on August 25th, 1892, at Our Lady of Refuge in Castroville. This is Manuel Butron V. He never married, lived in Pleasanton, California with two different consorts. One was named Hattie and the other Sara. I believe this Manuel Butron died in Pleasanton in the 1950's. He had no issue, and therefore we come to the end of the Manuel Butron Line.

Maria Clotilda Garner was born in Castroville, California, on February 22, 1877. More on her later. She married my grandfather Tibo "Santos" Trejo at Mission San Luis Obispo on December 3rd, 1899. This couple would have nine children. Their second child, my father Ernest Ambros Trejo was born to this couple on December 7th, 1904, in San Luis Obispo, and was baptized at Mission San Luis on March 28th1905. Maria Clotilda Garner was my fraternal grandmother. Maria Clotilda died November 28th, 1918, in Betteravia, Santa Maria, CA, from influenza . She was buried in the family plot in the Catholic Cemetery in San Luis Obispo on December 1st, 1918. The flu epidemic swept the country, killing thousands. It was brought to this country by the soldiers returning from France at the end of WW-I. Clotilda’s daughter Rosa, died November 29th, 1918, in Betteravia, also of the Flu. She was also transported to San Luis Obispo, and buried in the family plot on December 1st, alongside her mother.

Jose Tomas Garner was born December 2nd, 1883, in Castroville, California, and baptized April 28th, 1884, at Mission San Carlos de Monterey. Tomas married Mary Catherine Olivera at Mission San Luis Obispo on May 4th, 1907. Tomas (Thomas) and Mary Catherine would have 14 children. Many of the descendants of this group are still in the San Luis Obispo area, and stay in close contact with me.

Juanita Francis Garner (Jenny)
Juanita Francis Garner was born in Castroville. She was born on June 15th for sure. She gave 1890 as her birth date, and that is the date on her death record. However, that is only one of several birth dates she used on various legal documents she used throughout her life. When I examined the sequence of births of the Ignacio/Valeriana children, I am convinced 1891 is a better date. I have never found a baptism for Juanita. Juanita Garner married Jose Felis Lopez at Mission San Luis Obispo on May 2nd, 1907. In some ways it was almost a double wedding. As noted above, her brother Tomas married Mary Catherine Olivera on May 4th at the Mission San Luis. These two couples posed for joint wedding pictures. Juanita Garner and Jose Lopez had 6 children. Of these, William Ivan, born September 1st, 1920, is still alive and lives in San Luis Obispo. Juanita Garner de Lopez is my grandmother’s sister, and therefore my great aunt.

 


Julian Trejos

THE TREJO-LOPEZ- GARNER CONNECTION

My Trejo line will be covered in paragraphs that follow. However, in might be well here to introduce some of the family connections to illustrate how complex family inter- marriages can become. My great grandmother, Catalina Bielmas would marry my great grandfather Julian Trejo at Mission San Luis Obispo on October 23rd, 1867.


Tibo Santos Trejo, 16 years old
1894

This couple would have nine children, number 7 being my grandfather Tibo "Santos" Trejo born January 4th, 1878. The last child born to this couple was Juan de Dios was born March 8th, 1881. Shortly thereafter Julian Trejo disappears from sight. I have never found a death record, but shortly thereafter in the baptism of her first Lopez child, Catalina is listed as a widow. Julian Trejo never became a citizen, and I have a sense that he ran away to Mexico. Catalina Bielmas "took up" with Jesus "Papa" Lopez (of Lopez Canyon Fame) in August of 1883. I say "took up" because this couple never married, but lived in "Common Law" until Catalina’s death on October 22nd, 1890. Catalina died at age 39, from the effects of child birth with her last child, Julia Lopez, who was born October 10th, 1890, in Arroyo Grande. During her short life span she gave birth to nine Trejo children and five Lopez children.

Child number three of Catalina Bielmas de Trejo and "Papa" Lopez was Jose Feliz Lopez. Jose was born in Arroyo Grande (near San Luis), on November 22nd, 1886, and baptized in Arroyo Grande at Saint Patrick’s Church on July 18th, 1888. This is the same Jose Lopez that married my great aunt Juanita (Jenny) Garner as noted above. Therefore, Catalina Bielmas de Trejo de Lopez is the grandmother of the Ivan Lopez mentioned above, but she is also my great grandmother by Julian Trejo. What a rat maze, but not uncommon among early California families!

Papa Lopez was a real bounder. He had one children by his first wife Rosa Francisca, and three children by a second wife Maria Antonio Martinez. He had six children by Catalina Bielmas de Trejo in Common Law, and one illegitimate child by his step daughter Martha Trejo when she was 14 years old. This child was conceived when Martha was 13 years old, or in 1892. He was baptized as "hijo illegitamente", Fredrico Reginaldo Lopez ,at Mission San Luis Obispo, on June 17, 1893, to Jesus Lopez and Martha Trejo.

THE SAN LUIS OBISPO TREJO GENERATIONS

My great grandfather, Julian Trejo, was born in Arispe, Sonora, Mexico, in 1838. He came with this parents to San Luis Obispo in 1847 at age nine to. His parents were Jacinto Trejo and Maria Josefa Lopez. On October 23rd, 1867, he married Catalina Bielmas at Mission San Luis Obispo. At the time of their marriage she gave her age as 16 and her parents were present at this marriage to give their verbal consent, as she was considered a minor. Her parents were Francisco Bielmas and Roberta Garcia. I have records of this family being in San Luis Obispo in late 1830's.

CHILDREN OF JULIAN TREJO AND CATALINA BIELMAS

I. TOMAS TREJO  
Born: September 12th, 1868, in San Luis Obispo, CA   
Baptized: September  30, 1868, at Mission San Luis Obispo   
Died: October 20, 1868, in San Luis Obispo, CA,
         Mission San Luis Obispo Deaths 1772-1884, Pg 36, Number 5038

II. JOSE HIPOLITO *(GUILLERMO) 
Born: August 13th, 1870 in San Luis Obispo, CA 
Baptized:   September 5th, 1870, at Mission San Luis Obispo  
Died: In Arroyo grande, CA, about 1898    
Married: Sarah Ruiz, age 22, at Saint Patrick’s Church in Arroyo Grande, October 22nd,
        1888 Sarah Ruiz was born in San Miguel in 1865.* Adopted the name Guillermo (William) and 
        used it all his life. This couple had three children, all baptized at Mission San Luis Obispo.

III. MARIA ISABEL TREJO   
Born: April 22nd, 1872, in San Luis Obispo, CA  
Baptized: May 19th, 1872, at Mission San Luis Obispo   
Died: November 16th, 1955, in fire, San Luis  Obispo 
     Buried: IOOF Mausoleum, San Luis Obispo   
Married: Juan Lopez age 25, at Saint Patrick’s Church
     in Arroyo Grande, CA, November 1st, 1888. This couple had four children, three baptized at Saint
     Patrick’s in Arroyo Grande, and one at Mission San Luis Obispo.

IV. ANDREA TREJO   
Born: November 30th, 1873, in San Luis Obispo, CA  
Baptized: December  31st, 1873, at Mission San Luis Obispo  
Died: No other information available

V. MATIAS JULIAN TREJO   
Born: February 24th 1875, in San Luis Obispo, CA
Baptized: March 14th, 1875, at Mission San Luis Obispo  
Died: August 13th, 1941, in San Luis Obispo  
Buried: Catholic Cemetery, South Higuera Street, San Luis Obispo
Married (1): Minnie De Amaral of Honolulu, December 23rd, 1907, in San Luis Obispo
             Minnie died September 27th, 1943, in Sacramento, CA This couple had one child.
Married (2): Gladys Brooks at Presbyterian Church in Reno, Nevada, July 26th, 1937  This couple
              had one child, Robert Leroy Trejo, born September 3rd, 1938, in Sacramento, CA

VI. JUANA TREJO  
Born: June 24th, 1876, in San Luis Obispo, CA  
Baptized: October 11th, 1876, at Mission San Luis Obispo   
Died: January 3rd, 1942, in Arroyo Grande, CA, of heart attack.
Buried: Catholic Cemetery, Arroyo Grande, January 6th, 1942   
Married: Francico Feliz Olivas January 13th, 1910, at Saint Patrick’s Church in  Arroyo Grande. 
            This couple had 10 Children

VII. *TIBO TREJO
Went by the name of Santos all his life.
 
Born: January 4th, 1878, in San Luis Obispo, CA  
Baptized: June 27th, 1878, at Mission San Luis Obispo  
Died: May 6, 1943, in San Luis Obispo 
Buried: May 10th, 1943, in Catholic Cemetery, San Luis Obispo  
Married: Maria Clotilda Garner December 3rd, 1899, at Mission San Luis Obispo.  Maria Clotilda was born in Castroville, CA, on February 22nd, 1877.  Maria Clotilda died of influenza, November 
  30th, 1918, in Betteravia, CA. Buried December 2nd, 1918, in Catholic Cemetery, San Luis            Obispo.  This couple had eight children, to be enumerated.

                      Photo, Tibo Santos Trejo, 1941

                 



VIII. MARTA (MARTHA) TREJO  
Born: April 29, 1879, in San Luis Obispo CA
Baptized: August 3rd, 1879, at Mission San Luis Obispo  
Died: April 17th 1905, in San Luis Obispo, at age 26, of tuberculosis.  At the probate of her mother’s estate, Marta was instrumental in identifying all her mother’s Trejo and Lopez children. She had on illegitimate son by her step father Jesus "Papa" Lopez. See page 14.

IX. JUAN DE DIOS TREJO   
Born: March 8th, 1881, in San Luis Obispo, CA 
Baptized: June 25th, 1881, at Mission San Luis Obispo  
Died: Probably in Alaska, date unknown Juan de Dios was reputed to be "fast liver", a gambler of some talent, and was slightly crippled. He went to Alaska during the "Klondike gold rush" of 1898-1902, and was never heard from again.

DESCENDANTS OF TIBO (SANTOS) TREJO AND MARIA CLOTILDA GARNER



My grandfather, Santos Trejo was a talented horticulturist who worked as a gardener for the California State Poly Tech Institute at San Luis Obispo for a number of years. At the turn of the Century, Ignacio Garner and Valeriana Garcia relocated with many of their children to the Santa Maria- San Luis Obispo area.


Earliest Children of Santos Trejo and Clotida Garner: Top Row: Left to Right:
Ernest (Dad) 10 years, Hank Thomson, Friend 13 years, Fred 11 years

Bottom Row: Left to Right:
Rosa 3 years, Alexander 1.5 months, and Josephine 6 years

           


The big attraction was employment in the large sugar mill at Betteravia, located about three mile east of Santa Maria. The Garners were originally from the Monterey Bay area, but their relocation to San Luis Obispo was to produce marriages between their families and those native to San Luis Obispo. Jose Thomas Garner would marry Mary Catherine Olivera, from and old San Luis Obispo family . Mary Catherine’s mother, a Peralta, was from another pioneer San Luis family. Maria Clotilda Garner, Thomas Garner’s sister, would marry my grandfather Tibo (Santos) Trejo, and it was noted previously, that the Trejos were in San Luis Obispo from 1840's. If that were not enough, Thomas Garner’s other sister, Juanita Francis Garner would marry Joe Lopez, the son of Jose "Papa" Lopez and my great grandmother Catalina Bielmas de Trejo.

       CHILD NUMBER 1: PETER WILLIAM TREJO:  
               Born: December 19th, 1901, in San Luis Obispo   
               Died: July 11th, 1902, in San Luis Obispo   No church record of baptism or death was
                          found. This information was from the San Luis Obispo County records.

        CHILD NUMBER 2:  ALFRED ANASETTO TREJO  
               Born: April 17th, 1903, in San Luis Obispo   
               Baptized: May 4th, 1903, at Mission San Luis Obispo  
               Died: August 16th, 1970 in Livingston, CA   
               Married: Geneva Leocadia Damaso on February 27th 1933, at Mission San Luis Obispo.   
                  Geneva’s Parents: John Damaso and Rose Martines  Geneva baptized December 29th,
                  1916, at Saint Joseph’s church in Cayucos, CA.
                 
CHILDREN OF ALFRED ANASETTO TREJO AND GENEVA DAMASO
                        
1.  Maurice (Morris) Alfred Trejo 
                              Born: June 9th, 1938, in San Luis Obispo   
                              Baptized: October 9th, 1938, at Mission San Luis Obispo 
                              Died: LIVING 
                              Married: Velia Evangelina Chacon on December  21st, 1957, in Merced, CA   
                                      Velia Chacon born : August 16th, 1939, in Los Angeles, CA 
                                      Veila died: LIVING

                             Children of Maurice Alfred Trejo and Velia Evangelina Chacon
                                    I. Morris Alfred Trejo Junior 
                                              Born: October 7th, 1965, in Merced, CA 
                                              Died: LIVING
                                   II. Jean Frieta Trejo 
                                              Born: February 25th, 1947, in Merced, CA 
                                              Baptized: Merced, CA 
                                              Died: Living
                                              Married: 1. Dennis McLaughlin, November 26th, 1963, in Merced, CA
                                              Children Of Jean Frita Trejo and Dennis McLaughlin
                                                         (1) Karen McLaughlin  
                                                                     Born: December 4th, 1964, in                                                                      Baptized: Merced, CA
                                                                     Died: LIVING
                                             Married: 2. Robert Atwood in Merced, CA
                                             Children of Karen McLaughlin and Robert Atwood
                                                        
(1)  Trisha Jean Atwood 
                                                                      Born: October 26th, 1984, in Merced, CA 
                                                                      Baptized: Merced, CA
                                                         (2) Ashley Christy Atwood 
                                                                      Born: April 15th, 1989, in Merced, CA 
                                                                      Baptized: Merced, CA
                                      III. Patricia Rose Trejo 
                                            Born: February 15th, 1957 in Atwater, CA  
                                            Baptized: Merced, CA 
                                            Died: LIVING
                                            Married: 1 James Moberly   No children this marriage
                                            Married  2 Patrick Thurlby in Merced, CA
                                            Children of Patricia Rose Trejo and Patrick Thurlby
                                                        (1) Rose Carmen Thurlby   
                                                                    Born: January 20th, 1983   
                                                                    Baptized: Merced, CA
                                                         (2) Debra Thurlby  
                                                                     Born : October 23rd, 1984, in Atwater, CA   
                                                                     Baptized: Merced, CA


       
CHILD NUMBER 3: ERNESTO AMBROSIO TREJO
               
Born: December 7th, 1904, in San Luis Obispo, CA   
                Baptized: March 28th, 1905, at Mission San Luis Obispo   
                Died: October 25th, 1995, in San Jose, CA   
                Buried: October 30th, 1995, in Oak Hill Memorial Park, in San Jose, CA   
                Married:* Eldana Lucille Shelton, February 7th, 1924, in Stockton, CA   
                              Eldana Lucille Shelton was born March 20th, 1908, in San Jose, CA 
  
                              Eldana’s parents were Sylvester Shelton and Carrie Blanch Yoakum de Brien.  
                              Eldana died May 1st, 1995, in Monterey, CA, buried in Mission Memorial Park, in
                              Seaside, CA   * Eldana detested her name, and adopted the name "Dorothy"
                              which she used all her life. Eldana would remarry Glen David Berwick on
                              September September 6th , 1930, in Monterey, CA.
               
                CHILDREN OF ERNEST AMBROSE TREJO & ELDANA SHELTON

                       1. Ernest Santos Trejo 
                                  Born: August 30th, 1924, in San Jose, CA  
                                  Died: October 13th, 2000, in Portland, Oregon. 
                                  Buried in the Willimette National Cemetery, near Portland, Oregon. Ernest had 
                                          his surname legally changed to Berwick, the name of our stepfather, and
                                          is buried as Ernest Berwick Married: Never married
                       2.  Paul Edgar Trejo   
                                  Born: October 31st, 1926 in San Jose, CA 
                                  Died: LIVING
                                  Married: 1. Ruth Emilia Holley, September 13th, 1946. at the University of
                                                   Southern California Chapel, Los Angeles, CA  Ruth Holly Trejo de
                                                    Holland died September 23rd, 2003, in Sunnyvale, CA
                                  Married: 2. Kathleen Ruth Wessel in Saratoga, CA,  August 13th, 1989   
                                                    Kathleen Ruth was born in Vincennes, IL, January 2nd, 1949 
                                                    No children in this marriage.
                                 CHILDREN OF PAUL EDGAR TREJO/ RUTH EMELIA HOLLEY
                                         
1. Leslie Lee Trejo 
                                                     Born: September 22nd, 1947, US Naval Hospital, Long Beach, CA
                                                     Died: LIVING 
                                                     Married: Miami Yang, in Reno, Nevada, July 13th, 1974  
                                                                  Miami born in Ti Tei, Tiwan, Republic of China
                                                                  Died: LIVING Children of Leslie Lee Trejo/ Miami Yang
                                                                         1. Natasha Trejo
                                                                                     Born: March 24th, 1976, in San Jose, CA
                                                                          2. Ruthie Trejo
                                                                                      Born: October 26th, 1981. in Quincy, CA
                                                                          3. Tammy Trejo
                                                                                      Born: August 31st, 1985, Monterey Park, CA
                                           2. Catherine Ann Trejo  
                                                        Born: January, 6th, 1949, US Naval Hospital, San Diego, CA
                                                        Married: Edward Collins, July 31st, 1973, at Watsonville, CA
                                                                     Edward Collins Died June 4th, 2001, in Santa Clara, CA
                                        
CHILDREN:CATHERINE ANN TREJO/EDWARD COLLINS
                                                       
1.. Oceana Collins 
                                                                     Born: May 26th, 1973, in Santa Cruz, CA
                                                                     Married:1. Todd Gjertsen in Los Altos Hills, Sept 1991
                                                                     Children of Oceana Collins and Todd Gjertsen
                                                                                (1) Onyx Moon Gjertsen 
                                                                                            Born: August 17th, 1992, Eugene, OR

                                                                     Married: 2. Rick Zeleznik, Watsonville, CA , May, 1988
                                                                     Children of Oceana Collins and Rick Zeleznik
                                                                                 (1) Ki Zeleznik
                                                                                            Born: May 10th, 1999, Watsonville, CA
                                                                                  (2) Quin Zeleznik
                                                                                             Born: June 20th, 2001, Watsonville, CA
                                                                                  (3) Rowan Zeleznik 
                                                                                       Born: August 27th, 2003, Boulder Creek CA


       
CHILD 4:  ROSANA (ROSA) TREJO
         Born: April 16th, 1906, in San Luis Obispo, CA 
         Baptized: June 26th, 1906, at Mission San Luis Obispo 
         Died: November 29th, 1918, in Betteravia, Santa Maria CA 
         Buried: Catholic Cemetery, South Higuera Street, San Luis Obispo, December 1st, 1918 
                 Note: Rosa Trejo died of influenza in the great epidemic of 1918, that swept the world
                 claiming thousands of lives. It was brought to this country from France by soldiers returning
                 from WW-I. She was laid to rest along side her mother Maria Clotilda who died November
                 28th, also from the flu. See page 16.

        CHILD NUMBER 5:  JOSEPHINE ELIZABETH TREJO
        Born: February 23rd, 1908, in Betteravia, Santa Maria, CA 
        Baptized: June 7th, 1908, at Saint Mary’s Church, Santa Maria, CA 
        Died: October 15th, 1974, in Tulsa, Oklahoma
   
     Married: 1. Keeney Rodriquez, April 5th, 1924, in Moro Bay, CA, Justice of the Peace: 
                         R. Tossini, Approved by Judge J. Driscoll Keeney Rodriquez Born: September 12th,
                         1899 in Oso Flaco, CA 
Kenney Died: October 15th, 1985, in San Luis Obispo 
                        Buried: Catholic Cemetery, South Higuera  St., San Luis Obispo. 
        Married: 2. Lester Creekpaum March 1955, in Tulsa, Oklahoma  No Children This Marriage

                    CHILDREN OF JOSEPHINE TREJO AND KEENEY RODRIQUEZ
                            1. Albert Keeney Rodriquez, 
                                       Born: June 29th, 1924, at Coon Creek (Morro Creek) near Morro Bay, CA
                                       Died LIVING 
                                       Married: Christine Dorothy ___, at San Luis Obispo on______. 
                                                     Dorothy Died: November 5th, 2001, in Cupertino, CA, 
                                                     Buried: Skylawn Memorial Park, San  Mateo, CA 
                                                      Children: Adopted Dorothy’s son from a previous marriage:____
                           2. William Lester Rodriquez 
                                        Born: Nov  29th, 1925, at Coon Creek (Morro Creek) near Morro Bay, CA
                                        Died: LIVING
                           3. Kenneth Orville Rodriquez  
                                         Born: Nov 5th, 1927, at Coon Creek (Morro Creek) near Morro  Bay, CA

     CHILD NUMBER 6:  ISREAL RAYMOND TREJO
              Born: November 28th, 1911, in Betteravia, Santa Maria, CA 
              Baptized: December, 1911, at Saint Mary’s Church, in Santa Maria, CA, 
              Died: February 7th, 1977, in Los Osos, CA
              Buried: Los Osos Valley Cemetery, February 10th,1977.  
              Married: *Gladys Katherine Brooks, October 16th, 1933, in San Luis Obispo
                         CHILDREN OF ISREAL TREJO AND *GLADYS KATHERINE BROOKS
                                 1. Donald Ray Trejo 
                                            Born: March 5th, 1934, in San Luis Obispo 
                                            Died: August 31st, 1963, in San Luis Obispo, under mysterious
                                                    circumstances. 
                                            Married: Lorrain Gray, 1953, in San Luis Obispo
                                                        Children of Donald Ray Trejo and Lorrain Gray
                                                                 1. Donald Robert Trejo 
                                                                             Born: February 14th, 1954, in San Luis Obispo
                                                                 2. Donna Elain Trejo
                                                                              Born: October 16th, 1955 in San Luis Obispo
                                   * Note: Gladys Katherine Brooks would later marry Isreal’s uncle..


      
CHILD Number 7:  ALEXANDER ELWIN TREJO
               
Born: January 28th, 1913, in Betteravia, Santa Maria, CA, 
                Baptized: May 27th, 1913, at Saint Mary’s of the Assumption Church in Santa Maria, CA, 
                Died: June 21st, 1952, in Downey, CA, in a fire at work. 
                Buried: City Cemetery, Riverside, CA
                Married: Deloras La Rea Kimmenau, October 3rd, 1933, at Mission San Luis Obispo
                             Deloras was born June 18th, 1917, in San Francisco,CA. Her parents were William
                             John Remeo Kimmenau and Acki Lila Sheradin Mann. Deloras 
                             Died: LIVING
                             CHILDREN OF ALEXANDER ELWIN TREJO AND DELORAS KIMMENAU           
                                     1.Elwin Luis Santos Trejo 
                                              Born: April 19th, 1934, in San Luis Obispo, CA  
                                              Baptized: June 20th,  1934, at Mission San Luis Obispo,
                                              Died: Broken Bow, Oklahoma, on May 20th, 2001, 
                                              Married:  Roberta Jean Piercall, 1955, Riverside, CA 
                                                           This couple had three children.
                                      2.Kenneth Lee Trejo 
                                               Born: February 5th, 1936, in San Luis Obispo CA, 
                                               Died: LIVING  
                                               Married: Phyllis Jean Kopke, June 28th, 1959, Rising City, Nebraska . 
                                                            This couple had four children
                                      3. Josephine La Rae Trejo  
                                                Born: March 20, 1939, in San Luis Obispo, CA,

                                                Died: Living
      
                                          Married: Clarence Raymond Cox, May 15th, 1959, in Riverside, CA 
                                                              This couple had three children.
                                     4. Shirly Ann Trejo
                                                Born: October 12th, 1942, in San Luis Obispo, CA, 
                                                Died: LIVING
                                                Married: Thomas Jefferson Rollins Junior. September 28th, 1956, in
                                                             Quartzsite, Arizona. This couple had five children


      
CHILD NUMBER 8: LINCOLN TREJO 
               Born: February 12th, 1915, in San Luis Obispo
               Died: LIVING  
               Married: 1. Consort Johnnie Kendricks Johnnie died in San Jose, CA
                           CHILDREN OF LINCOLN TREJO AND JOHNNIE KENDRICKS
                                  1. Linda Marie Trejo 
                                            Born: March 1st, 1952 in San Jose, CA 
                                            Died: April 26th, 1971, In San Jose 
                                            Married: Victor Juarez in San Jose
                                                         Children of Linda Marie Trejo and Victor Juarez
                                                                1. Suzette L. Juarez 
                                                                            Born: May 24th, 1969, in San Jose, CA
                                                                2. Antonio Juarez 
                                                                             Born: November 17th, 1970. in San Jose, CA
              Married 2. Ellie Lenz, October 17th, 1959, in San Luis Obispo, CA  No children this marriage

Final Comments: I reside in my home town of Pacific Grove, CA, and spend my time doing volunteer work for the Diocese of Monterey. I have been designated the official genealogist for the Diocese, and as such I have access to all of the Mission records for those Missions in our Diocese. I am also active in several military service and civic organizations.

Paul E. Trejo

END OF NARRATIVE



THE MANY MANUEL BUTRONS
Prepared by Paul "Pablo" Trejo

Manuel BUTRON I

               1. Born about 1727 in Molina, Valencia, Spain
               2. Married the Esselen Indian girl Margarita Dominguez, from the Rancheria of Tucclnet,
                   at Mission San Carlos de Monterey, on May 20th, 1773.
               3. Manuel Butron was buried at Mission San Carlos de Carmelo on January 5th, 1793
               4. Margarita Dominguez died January 25th, 1815, and was buried in the cemetery of
                   Mission San Carlos de Monterey

Children of Manuel Butron and Margarita Dominguez

              1. Manuel Joseph Butron
              Born: April 8th, 1776, in Monterey
              Baptized: April 9th, 1776, at Mission San Carlos de Monterey
              Died: Buried February 12th, 1842, at Mission San Juan Bautista
              Married: Maria Ygnacia Higuera, at Mission Santa Clara January 30th, 1794
                            Maria Ygnacia Higuera Born: February 10th, 1778, in Santa Clara, CA
                            Baptized: May 13th, 1778, at Mission Santa Clara
                            Died: Buried July 6th, 1844 at Mission San Juan Bautista
                            Children: This couple had 14 children

             2. Sebastian Joseph Butron
             Born: January 19th, 1779, in Monterey
             Baptized: January 20th, 1779, at Mission San Carlos de Monterey
             Died: Buried May 14th, 1843, at Mission San Juan Bautista
             Married: Maria Antonia Amesquita December 30th, 1807, at Mission Santa Clara 
                           Maria Antonia Maria Antonia Baptized Sept 5th, 1791, at Mission Santa Clara
                           Maria Antonia Died March 29th, 1831, Buried March 30th, 1831 at Mission
                           San Juan Bautista  Children: This couple had 11 children

Manuel BUTRON II

Manuel Butron II is Manuel Joseph Butron above

Manuel BUTRON III

               Manuel Salustiano Butron
 
                         1. Son of Manuel Joseph Butron and Maria Rita Higuera
                                      Born: June 9th, 1823
                                      Baptized: June 10th, 1823, at Mission San Juan Bautista
                                      Died : Death date uncertain. Best estimate at age 50 in 1873, or age 60
                                                in 1883 on Rancho Natividad
                                      Married: Maria Antonia Buelna October 27th, 1845 at Mission San Carlos
                                                de Monterey
                                                Maria Antonia Buelna 
                                                Born: 1820 from her death record, probably Monterey or Soledad                                                 Died: In Castroville, CA, at age 69, where she received the
                                                Sacraments and was buried at Mission San Carlos de Monterey on
                                                August 6th, 1889. (Monterey Deaths 1872-1913, page 174)
                                                Children of: Manuel Salustiano Butron and Maria Antonia Buelna 
                                                This couple had 13 children, possibly more, baptized at Mission
                                                San Carlos de Monterey and Mission Santa Clara


Manuel BUTRON IV

 

                 Manuel Butron IV
                            Born: Probably in Castroville or Monterey
                            Parents: Manuel Salustiano Butron and Maria Antonia Buelna
                            Baptized: Our Lady Help of Christians Church, Watsonville
                            Baptized: October 2nd, 1867
                            Born: June 27th, 1867
                            Married: Guadalupe Gabriela Garner at Castroville, CA, February 2nd, 1889
                                          Guadalupe Gabriela was born March 18th, 1870, in Castroville., and
                                          baptized at Mission San Carlos de Monterey on March 19th, 1871.
                                           Her parents were Ignacio Garner and Valeriana Garcia
                                           Guadalupe died May 11th, 1933, in Santa Clara
                            Manuel Butron IV died in Castroville or San Jose in 1930s ( will send)
                            Guadalupe Gabriela died May 11th, 1933, in Santa Clara, CA

Manuel BUTRON V

                 Manuel Butron V
                            Manuel A. Butron
                            Born: July 2nd, 1892, in Castroville
                            Baptized: August 25th, 1892, at Our Lady Of Refuge Church in Castroville, CA
                            Married: Never married
                           Consorts: 1. Hattie
                                           2. Sarah
                           Children: No Chidren

END OF Manuel BUTRONS


 

NORTHWESTERN UNITED STATES

Voting materials in Spanish Las Hermanas


Extract: SBC donates $5,000 to fund voting materials in Spanish
RENO GAZETTE-JOURNAL, 5/11/2004 11:34 pm 
Sent by Cindy LoBuglio lobuglio@thegrid.net

For the first time in Washoe County, voter information pamphlets, sample ballots, absentee ballots and possibly electronic ballots used on new voting machines this fall will be written in Spanish.County commissioners on Tuesday accepted a $5,000 donation from SBC Nevada President Sylvia Samano for publishing the voting materials. Samano, who is Hispanic, said the gift was from all 850 company employees in Nevada.  "We believe in this project and immediately stepped up to it,” she said. “It’s very important for this growing population to be able to understand the process in their own language.”

Registrar of Voters Dan Burk said the materials will provide Spanish-speaking voters an objective source of basic information concerning their rights as voters, participating in the elections and how to become informed voters. Burk said he also is working with SBC to offer a Spanish language ballot option in the new touch-screen voting machines that will debut Sept. 7.
 


Extract: Las Hermanas
May 17, 2004 SU-JIN YIM, The Oregonian
Sent by Howard Shorr  howardshorr@msn.com


Edith Quiroz  is an immigrant's story, about the daughter of a fruit picker and sister to six siblings who decided she would go to college, then found her calling running Las Hermanas, a program of SMG Foundation designed to help Latino girls learn leadership skills and teach others healthy habits.. 

Each week, the petite program director gathers with Latina teens just before 3:30 p.m. in the small lobby of community radio station KBOO in Southeast Portland. 

Sometimes, they decide the topic just before they go on the air. Recently, they focused on eating disorders, or desorden alimenticio, a term even the native speakers had to look up. The week before, they talked about sexual harassment issues, a show they all agreed was too boring. 

But Quiroz is firm about the show broadcasting more than music. "We actually have a hard time educating the community about what we do because all they want is music," Quiroz says with a smile. 

The girls have been on the air for about a year. They plan to start taping a televised show on Portland Community Media next month. In addition to the Tuesday afternoon radio show, Las Hermanas performs "sociodramas" at community events, such as the recent conference for the Girls Initiative Network. 

Her long, dark hair pulled back and headphones on, 26 year old Quiroz fits right in next to the two high school girls in the radio booth.  But she is also their cheerleader, nag, college information center, summer job recruiter and pal. 

"School is so hard. If they can't see someone they can relate to, it's hard to believe in making it to college," Quiroz says. "When girls see me, they see a short, little woman that's dark and that can speak Spanish and English, and that even though I come from a very poor family, that I have an education." 

When a girl in Las Hermanas called recently to tell Quiroz she couldn't go to college, Quiroz encouraged her not to give up. Just because her family couldn't come up with $3,000 in cash to pay tuition doesn't mean she can't get a loan or a grant or find some other way to pay, Quiroz told her. 

"It's so hard for Latino girls, starting with our own families and perceptions of college," Quiroz says. "Our parents don't understand the system."  That's why she works in the community, not just on education, but on health issues. She plans to pursue a master's degree in public health education. 

In her free time, she decompresses with friends, many of them also Oregon State University grads working in the community.  "All of us are either teachers or program coordinators," she says. "All of us, we believe in empowering our communities and working with our youth. If we had more resources, we could do more. But there's not enough of us. There are so many kids out there that need help and need encouragement." 

Inside the radio booth, Quiroz lets the girls -- Gresham High School juniors Maria Rangel and Sonia Torres and senior Erika Zacarias -- run pieces of the 90-minute show. They answer calls from the public and read community announcements. 

 

SOUTHWESTERN UNITED STATES

Views of El Paso
Circles of Stones
Wacha
Stories from the Barrio & other Hoods
Law of the Land Grant
225th year Anza Crossing Poncha Pass

 


 El Paso,  Texas

A few months ago, Margarita Velez, historian, author, and friend took me on a personal tour to enjoy her town, her history, her El Paso,.  I was deeply touched by the experience of visiting the Concordia Cemetery, located now on the outskirts because of urban growth.  

Some times it takes a physical, sensory experience to grasp the reality of the experiences of our ancestors.  The cemetery was dry and windy.  In one area of the cemetery, I noticed little circles of stones, most had nothing in the center, just many circles of stones in the graveyard.

Puzzled, I looked more closely and noticed that at the head or in the middle of the circles some had little crosses, metal or wood, a few had a plaque, such as the one above. It read El Nino, Raul Ponce, a star and a word that starts with F . . followed by 1919, next row, a cross and Mayo 6, 1917.  Underneath, Recuerdo de sus Padres.

As I looked at the little circles of stones, I realized that each was a child, an infant that had died with most parents too poor to afford more than a circle of stones.  Looking at what dates I could find, I realized most were 1918-1919.  

The tragedy dawned on me. The world wide epidemic that killed millions had left its mark, here in isolated El Paso. They too were touched.  The evidence was at my feet.  The experienced changed me.
   I can't say in what ways, but it did.       
Driving through town on Saturday morning , we chanced to come across men playing Wacha.  It is played in the street by men of all ages.  Similar to horse shoes, the idea is to get the large metal plumber's washer as close to or inside of a hole/indentation in the street..  Margarita was surprised that I had never seen it played before.  We asked their permission to take some photos.

Margarita Velez (on the right)  speaks to Ray Valdez who is an El Paso Probation officer.
He said he had been coming to that street corner with his father to play Wacha, since he was a child. He now brings his own children. 


















We drove around Margarita's neighborhood.  She pointed out houses and doorways, schools, and playgrounds that were filled with memories.  Margarita published  a book in 2001, Stories from the Barrio and Other `Hoods.   The book is a collection of personal stories, 68 in all. We stopped at buildings as she identified the stories in her book that tied to these sites.  

One of the stories is about Ben's Tacos which were usually purchased by the dozen. We visited Ben's, which had apparently not changed much. The store also sold games, such as jacks, which  triggered more memories, as we waited.  I think what Margarita has done can serve as an encouragement to all of us.  All have  memories to share, insight to reveal, humor and tragedies to give voice to.  
Stories from the Barrio and Other `Hoods began as a collection of stories for Margarita Velez' children.  she moved around the country with her husband and feared the children would miss the family hearth she experienced as a child. She wrote a permanent record of the people, the customs, and traditions that were integral in her life.
Margarita tells about growing up in El Paso and the assortment or relatives and other people who influenced her life.  To purchase a copy, email directly to her, MBVelez@elp.rr.com


Law of the Land Grant: The Land Laws of Spain and Mexico 
Edited and Translated by Jane C. Sanchez  © 2000, Los Sanchez
January 5, 2000 
Sent by Paul Newfield pcn01@webdsi.com


Jane C. Sanchez sanchezj@writeme.com 
13301 Sunset Canyon Dr., NE 
Albuquerque, N.M. 87111 
Phone: 505 294-5598 
Fax: 505 294-5393 

Abbreviations Used in this Book
AGI: Archivo General de Indias, Seville 
AGM: Archivo General Nacional, México 
SANM: Spanish Archives of New Mexico 
HR: New Mexico Historical Review

Table of Contents
Introduction 
Recopilacion de leyes de las Indias 
Laws Promulgated from 1680 to 1753 
Laws Promulgated from 1754-1782
The Plan of Pitic and Related Material, 1778-1789
Laws Promulgated from 1786 to 1799
Laws Promulgated from 1800 to 1820
The Land Laws of Mexico
Water Law
Glossary
Bibliography 


Celebrating the 225th Anniversary of the Crossing of Poncha Pass
by Juan Bautista de Anza

I have been asked by Mike Fernandez, Manager at Roper Lake State Park in Safford, Arizona, to forward you information on the upcoming Anza Conference and the Anza Colonization Tour. 

The conference is scheduled for August 26 - 29, 2004 in Salida, Colorado to celebrate the 225th Anniversary of the crossing on Poncha Pass by Juan Bautista de Anza. 

The Anza Colonization tour will start in Mazatlan, Sinoloa on March 4, 2005 and visit the towns and villages from which the early colonists of San Francisco originated.  We will be matching family members from across the country to relatives who remained in these towns.  The tour ends in Tucson or Phoenix on March 13. 

 In addition, a domestic Anza Trail Tour is scheduled for April 18 - May 1, 2005.  This tour commences in Tucson and ends in San Francisco.  We will be visiting the Anza sites including Anza Borrego desert, San Diego and the missions.  For those who want to fly out of San Francisco they may do so or return by bus through Reno, Tahoe and Las Vegas to Phoenix or Tucson
 
Please contact me for complete information on anyone one of these tours.
602-993-1162 or 602-300-5297 cell.  
Linda Rushton, Event Planner for The Anza Society
CEO  Tour AZ 4 Fun, llc.   touraz4fun@cox.net



INDIGENOUS




2200 E. Red River
, Victoria, Texas 77901
www.museumofthecoastalbend.org
Annette Musgrave 361- 582-2436

Thursdays at the Museum of the Coastal Bend
"Native American Trade Networks"
By
William C. Foster

VICTORIA, TEXAS On Thursday, May 20 at 12 noon and 7 PM author and historian William C. Foster will present a program about the Native American trade networks which existed in the central and southwestern United States between 1500 and 1700. Foster’s talk is based upon his extensive research of French and Spanish expeditions as well as knowledge of the pre-history of early inhabitants of the region. Foster will address the diffusion of plant and other goods as well as the actual routes that were used.

Foster, a prominent historian of the early French and Spanish expeditions to Texas will be

signing copies of his latest book, The La Salle Expedition on the Mississippi River: A Lost Manuscript of Nicolas de La Salle, 1682, which was released in January of this year. For more information about the book, please refer to http://www.tsha.utexas.edu/publications/books/salle2.html.

Museum of the Coastal Bend, page 2 of 2

The program at the Museum of the Coastal Bend continues a series of talks related to the history of the Coastal Bend region that will be held monthly on Thursdays at the new Museum of the Coastal Bend at The Victoria College. The programs feature historians and archeologists with new research contributions to history of the Coastal Bend.

These programs are open to the public and free with museum admission. Adult admission is $3.50, senior citizens $2.50 and The Victoria College/UHV students are free. The museum is located at 2200 East Red River on the campus of The Victoria College. The museum is open to the public Tuesday through Saturday 10 AM to 4 PM.

 

 

BLACK

Buffalo Soldiers, El Paso, Texas
Black Confederate Soldiers
Slaves Named in Rare Records
The Black Mexico Homepage

 



Buffalo Soldiers

Concordia Cemetery, El Paso, Texas has a section dedicated  to the Buffalo soldiers that served in that area.  Only about half of the crosses have names.  The goal is to eventually  identify all.



Black Confederate Soldiers

http://www.sterlingprice145.org/blackconfed.htm
Sent by Bill Carmena  

Well documented with first hand quotes.  Such as, "Black Confederate heritage is beginning to receive the attention it deserves. For instance, Terri Williams, a black journalist for the Suffolk “Virginia Pilot” newspaper, writes: “I’ve had to re-examine my feelings toward the [Confederate] flag…It started when I read a newspaper article about an elderly black man whose ancestor worked with the Confederate forces. The man spoke with pride about his family member’s contribution to the cause, was photographed with the [Confederate] flag draped over his lap…that’s why I now have no definite stand on just what the flag symbolizes, because it no longer is their history, or my history, but our history.”



SLAVES NAMED IN RARE RECORD

North Carolina state archivist Chris Meekins has uncovered a one-of-a-kind census record: one that lists first names and ages of slaves along with their owners' families. 

The 1860 census of Camden County, located in North Carolina's northeast corner, records 2,127 slaves--roughly half the county's population--on a page with the heading Free Inhabitants. Census taker Jesse Bell added an S next to each slave's name.

In 1860, recording slaves in the regular census was illegal. Census instructions required enumerators to list slaves' age, sex, color (black or mulatto) and owners' names on separate slave schedules. That's because the Three-Fifths Clause of the US Constitution stipulated that each slave 
be considered three-fifths of a person for the apportionment of congressional representatives. Counting slaves as whole people would have meant more governmental representation for the South--which Northerners wanted to avoid. 

State Office of Archives and History http://www.ncdcr.gov/oah.htm  archivist Earl  Ljames 
thinks Bell broke the law intentionally, writing the slaves' names to acknowledge their humanity. "I wonder if he did it tongue-in-cheek," Ljames says. "He had to have known it was illegal." 

Later, someone added parentheses around the slaves' names, perhaps to keep them from being counted as free people. The slaves aren't included in the 1860 federal census index, which may be why Bell's deed went undetected for so long.


The Black Mexico Homepage

Afro-Mexicans of the Costa Chica

http://www.afromexico.com/    
webmaster: Bobby Vaughn's
Sent by Yolanda Ochoa  motherredcaps@yahoo.com

The purpose of this website is to introduce readers to the culture and unique experience of Mexicans of African descent.  If you are like most people, you probably have never heard of Afro-Mexicans and are completely unaware that they exist. If you fall into this category, this page will hopefully be quite a learning experience for you.  As a cultural anthropologist, I am interested in how issues of race, color, and nationalism make the Afro-Mexican experience what it is, today, and hopefully, I can come to some general conclusions as to larger issues of race and ethnicity. Perhaps the question most central to my thinking about the topic could be expressed succinctly as: "How do black people in Mexico understand and live their black identity?" This question fascinates me primarily because issues of blackness and race are rarely talked about in Mexico, and the black population is extremely small there. 

However, over and above my research interests, the people of Mexico have treated me with such kindness, respect, and genuine affection over the last 10 years, that I carry with me a genuine joy to be doing what I am doing. I endeavor to present the story of Afro-Mexicans in the most respectful way I know how. I therefore refuse to exoticize or caricature the people who have meant so much to me.

The site is designed to be introductory, with a brief historical overview of African slavery in Mexico, a discussion of the Costa Chica region -- which is where most black Mexicans live today --, as well as some photographs I've taken. I hope you enjoy the site and I welcome your comments. 

Also, I should add that I am not a specialist in African American genealogy, Black Seminoles, or African Americans in the southwestern United States,  links for resources are included, plus photos and much more. 

 

SEPHARDIC




Sephardi Report, Vol.1, No.1
American Sephardi Federation and the Sephardic House
 

Inaugural issue is available, slick cover, 40 pages full of information.

American Sephardi Federation with the Sephardic House
at the Center for Jewish History
15 West 16th St.,
New York, NY 10011
Tel: 2112-294-8350  Fax: 212-294-8348
asf@cjf.org  www.astonline.org

 

TEXAS 

DeLeón, A Tejano Family History
New Look at Battle of San Jacinto
Carlos Truan Symposium San Antonio Founders Day Alliance
The Charreria/Mexican Rodeo
Corpus Christi Public Libraries,
Doña Teresa Saenz de Zevallos
Trinity Farms: Rancho Cemetery 
General Antonio Canales

 

Deep into the heart of a Tejano family's life
Carolina Castillo Grimm's New Book  
Elda Silva, San Antonio Express-News
Sent by Elsa Herbeck epherbeck@juno.com

When Ana Carolina Castillo Crimm finished her dissertation about the de León family that founded Victoria, it was filled with all the requisite numbers and percentages. 

In other words, "It was duller than dishwater!" says Castillo Crimm, an associate professor of history at Sam Houston State University in Huntsville. 

Castillo Crimm knew she had a great story to tell about Martín de León and his wife, Patricia de la Garza, who left Mexico for the rugged Texas frontier in 1801, and went on, with their children, to establish family ranches in South Texas and the town of Victoria in 1824. 


"I said, "It's got to be narrative history,'" she recalls. "If people are going to read it, I've got to get rid of the numbers and make it something readable." 

Castillo Crimm took the facts that she unearthed from deeds, court records, tax rolls and wills and added her intuition to bring three generations of the family to life in "De León, a Tejano Family History," published by the University of Texas Press. 

The author will read from her book at 3 p.m. Saturday at the Guadalupe Bookstore, 1301 Guadalupe, inside the Guadalupe Theater. A book-signing reception will follow. 

Other than Stephen F. Austin, Martín de León was the only empresario who completed his colony as he promised, Castillo Crimm says. "And then the family itself is fascinating because they split over the Texas Revolution. Some of them refused to have anything at all to do with the revolution and yet some of them supported the Texians and actually fought." 

Castillo Crimm, a Mexican native who came to the United States with her family as a teenager in 1963, began investigating the de Leóns' history in 1987. At the time she was working on her doctorate at the University of Texas at Austin under Nettie Lee Benson, a renowned scholar of Mexican history. 

"She was the one that got me started on Martín de León. She had just become interested in Mexican Texas, and so she was the one that convinced me that I should get involved in studying Mexican Texas," Castillo Crimm says. "Of course, everybody tells you, 'Oh, well, they're Mexicans. Of course they don't have any records.' Well, they do." 

While few diaries and letters by Tejanas and Tejanos are available, Castillo Crimm was able to use official records to reconstruct the lives of the de León family. 

"Patricia de la Garza's will is such a wonderful jewel of information, because in it she literally dismissed her eldest son and leaves everything to the rest of the kids and leaves the debt that he owes her — a thousand dollars — to the other kids to collect. When you start looking at that, you start thinking, 'My heavens! What a story!'" Castillo Crimm says. 

She spent 15 years on the book, rewriting it over and over to eliminate elements that were bogging the story down. 

Castillo Crimm filled out the details of the family's life using "logic and common sense." For example, when Francisca, the youngest child of Patricia de la Garza and Martín de León, lay dying after childbirth, Castillo Crimm writes that her sisters placed the baby in her arms. 

"I have no source whatsoever for that, but I said it," Castillo Crimm says. "A lot of times you have to make assumptions. That's why this book is what we call narrative history. It's much more than just dry details. It is stretching what I absolutely can prove, but when you look at human nature, you have to assume something. To me, that's what makes history fascinating." 

She jokes that she has invented a whole new footnote — NSW, that's "No source whatsoever." And should her fellow scholars get angry at her, " Ni modo!," she says. Oh, well! 


A New Look at the Battle of San Jacinto
Greg Flakus, Houston, Texas, 28 Apr 2004, 14:28 UTC
Sent by Loretta Martinez Williams latejana3000@aaahawk.com


In a park just east of Houston, Texas, troupes of living history activists re-enacted
the Battle of San Jacinto,
which was fought on the site on April 21, 1836.

San Jacinto Re-enactors, photo by G. Flakus
As a result of the victory by General Sam Houston and his rebel army, Mexico was forced to relinquish control of Texas and, eventually, an area that today includes such states as California, Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico and Colorado. As VOA's Greg Flakus reports from Houston, the events of 168 years ago remain vivid for Texans and the millions of people of Mexican descent who call the state home. Firing vintage flintlock rifles of the type used in the early 19th century, several dozen men dressed in period costume salute the men who fought and died on this ground. It was here, in 1836, that a ragtag army led by General Sam Houston, charged Mexican lines with the cry, "Remember the Alamo!" and won the day. The siege of the Alamo and the battle fought here at San Jacinto are depicted in the new movie called "The Alamo," which is currently showing in theaters nationwide.

Mexican Americans have their own gripes about the way the Texas history has been told and are generally pleased that the new Alamo movie includes the Hispanic rebels, called Tejanos, who joined in the fight for Texas independence. Here, at San Jacinto, Spanish/Mexican Americans like Tony Tristan have been championing the role of Tejanos for some time now.

"In the last several years I have seen more people researching their Tejano roots and more air time dedicated to the Tejanos and what their contribution was," he said. "It is getting a lot better. Before it was mostly Texan versus Mexican and the Tejano was omitted, but that is coming around and I am glad to see it."  In the re-enactments, sometimes Tony Tristan plays a Tejano rebel and sometimes he plays a Mexican soldier. His wife, Patti, and his 13-year-old daughter, Alicia, often join him dressed in the style of Mexican peasant women from that time. In spite of the efforts to educate people about the history of the period, Patti Tristan said that many young people still tend to oversimplify the conflict.  "When we are in our Mexican army portrayal, children will sometimes say to us, 'You are the bad guys'"                                                              

(VOA photo - G. Flakus) 


Tony Tristan, Patti Tristan and their 13-year-old daughter Alicia


Loretta Martintez Williams


Telling the many sides of the story is one of the goals of the Daughters of the Texas Revolution, a women's group whose local chapter secretary, Loretta Martinez Williams, counts a Tejano member of Houston's army among her ancestors. She said the festivities to mark the anniversary include much more than a re-enactment and festival.

Loretta Martinez Williams commented, "I think that with educators coming to the San Jacinto symposium, one of their roles is to open up and make people more aware of both sides and I think that with leaders like Dr. Andres Tijerina who is considered a leader in the Mexican-American community as an educator, I think new insights will be looked into," she said.

Through the ceremonies, festivals and educational forums held every year to mark the anniversary of San Jacinto, Texans are coming together to develop a better understanding of their past and the influence it has had on their state and country. 



Carlos Truan Symposium Proceedings
Sent by George Gause ggause@panam.edu

Former state Senator Carlos F. Truan gave the South Texas Archives and Special Collections, Texas A&M University-Kingsville, his papers upon his retirement. Because the collection includes over 1300 archival document boxes of materials it has taken us almost three years to process it.  To officially open the Collection we asked professors from various departments on the TAMUK campus to have students write term papers using the materials. From those submitted we selected the nine best papers and asked the authors to read them in during a Carlos F. Truan Symposium on April 15, 2004. We have published the proceedings of that Symposium (see table of contents below) and they are now for sale at $10.00 a copy (includes postage).  Checks should be made payable to: South Texas Archives.  Send orders to: Cecilia Aros Hunter, South Texas Archives and Special Collections, MSC 197, Texas A&M University-Kingsville, Kingsville, TX   78363.

We would also like to announce that the papers are open and available for use should any researcher be interested.

The papers of the Honorable Carlos F. Truan are a substantial and important collection of over 1100 linear feet of historical documents that  reveal the how a young Mexican-American man grew up to be a political activist, working within the “system” to help bring equality and justice to the socially and economically disadvantaged of South Texas.

Legislation authored, sponsored, co-sponsored, or supported by Truan during his thirty five years serving in the Texas State House of Representatives and Texas State Senate, and the supporting research, can be found in this collection.  The documents include background for his work on legislation for International Trade, especially on NAFTA, on health care issues, veterans’ issues, and education at all levels.  Files for correspondence on bills introduced into the legislature, constituent needs and concerns and special projects are included.  Especially significant was the work that he did to introduce the first Bilingual Education bill that served as a model for other state laws on the topic.

Senator Truan began his political career when he was elected to serve in the Texas House of Representatives in 1968. He became a part of the “Dirty Thirty,” a group of Representatives who forced an investigation of government wrong-doings in the early 1970s.  When he subsequently moved to the Senate he was also a member of the “Killer Bees,” who left the Senate floor and used parliamentary procedures to stop government business and prove a point.  Their tactics were recently used by a group of Texas Legislators who fled the State Legislature to stop redistricting in the State.  Ultimately, Truan rose to be Dean of the Texas State Senate.

The papers the Senator collected while serving in the Texas State Legislature reveal insights into the politics of South Texas and the large Hispanic community that is beginning to emerge as a political force.  As Hispanics have grown into the nation's largest minority group, with Mexican-Americans being the largest single group within this diverse group, they are a group whose votes are increasingly courted.  Studying Carlos Truan’s papers will give students of history, politics and social concerns, a glimpse of how, at least, one person learned to compete in the dominate Anglo society while retaining a culture and language that he was taught to love and appreciate.

Carlos F. Truan Symposium, April 15, 2004, CONTENTS
 I. REFORM
Youthful Passion to Political Activism: Carlos F. Truan, The United States Commission on Civil Rights and the Rio Grande City Civil Rights Hearings By Diane H. M. Garcia
Carlos Truan’s Involvement in the “Dirty Thirty” and “Killer Bees”, By Estanislado (T. J.) Gonzales
Carlos Truan and the Killer Bees”: Great Outcome After Good Judgment,, By Ariana A. Campos

II. CONTROVERSY
State Sentor Carlos Truan’s Aid in Acquiring  the U.S.S. Lexington, By Kendra G. Taylor
Carlos Truan and the Issue of Abortion, By Maribel Hernandez
Texas Birth Registry: Carlos Truan and the Attempt to Decrease Birth Defects in the Rio Grande Valley By Joshua Rene Garcia

 III. HEALTH & EDUCATION
Carlos Truan and Bilingual Education: “A Fight for Educational Equality”, By Erica Olivarez
Carlos Truan and the Crusade Against colonias in the Texas Border Region, By Eduardo Villarreal
Carlos Truan and Texas Child Care Legislation,  1973 to 1975, By Cadi L. Lusk
The Carlos F. Truan Collection, by Cecilia Aros Hunter and Elda N. Ayala

 SOURCE: Cecilia Aros Hunter mailto:kacah00@tamuk.edu 


San Antonio Founders Day Alliance

To all my Bexareños friends: 

Some of you will recall that I spoke to the organization at a meeting in July last year. I spoke about my feeling that there is a need to begin celebrating our city's birthday every year -- something that never has been done on an annual basis in our 286-year history. In that same year, I spoke to the Canary Islanders on the same subject. I believe there is wide agreement in San Antonio that it's time to honor all the cultural groups who have made our city what it is -- to celebrate San Antonio Founders Day every year. We have organized San Antonio Founders Day Alliance (SAFDA) to accomplish this.

I am attaching a copy of our 4-page fact sheet that tells all about it. There will be a program with the SA Symphony and Sonny Melendrez as emcee in San Pedro Springs Park on Saturday, October 23, 2004. That program (described in the fact sheet) will run from 11 a.m to 12:30. It will be followed by other "people" activities in the park and with music and food, according to present plans.

Several neighborhood associations and cultural groups have indicated a desire to set up exhibits and information tables to help spread among the other San Antonians a greater appreciation of what their organization does -- what are its goals and what it offers to others. The key person at that location is Hector Cardenas, president of Friends of San Pedro Springs Park. 

The people who are handling this are members of our SAFDA Cultural Groups and Neighborhoods Committee. They are:
Hector Cardenas hc747@grandecom.net
Jean Heide jean.heide@hklaw.com  and
Richard Contreras rcontreras@sbcglobal.net

Current plans call for the setting up of displays or tables well before 11 a.m . We must expect fairly silent surroundings for the symphony orchestra and the very important program which we hope all those from the cultural groups and neighborhood associations will want to witness.

Frank W. Jennings 496-0502.
Sent by Elsa Herbeck epherbeck@JUNO.com

The Charreria/Mexican Rodeo
Sunday May 23, 2004



Dear Mimi Lozano:
I am forwarding you these pictures from a fellow Canary Islander, Paul Casanova-Garcia of San Antonio, Texas. Paul is also a member of the Sons of the American Revolution and the Sons of Confederate Veterans.
Loretta Martinez Williams david@scvcamp67.org

This was my first visit to the Charreria or Mexican Rodeo, held here is San Antonio, and I had a great time! I was only able to stay for an hour but I plan to spend a full day next rodeo. Please view my photos of this event. http://paulcasanovagarcia.smugmug.com/gallery/124318

For more than 50 years the San Antonio Charro Association, has been passing the love of the charreada form generation to generation. A member of the National Federation of Mexico, the Association is the oldest Charro Association in the United States. Run by a volunteer board of directors, who are elected every two years, the Association is a non-profit corporation. Regular Charredas are held at the Association's ranch, which overlooks the San Antonio River. In keeping with the family orientation of the association, an annual Posada is held to commemorate the nativity, along with an annual grand ball, to crown the new queen or present the new directors and officers. to maintain the ties with Old Mexico, the Association regularly competes and communicates with the equipos (groups) there.

The San Antonio Charro Association hosted the Texas Charreada at its arena at 6126 Padre Drive in San Antonio, Texas. 78218
For more information visit: http://www.sacharro.com/index.html

Phone: (210) 532-0693
rmj8757@hotmail.com


Spanish and Mexican Documents,
Corpus Christi Public Libraries, Local History

http://www.library.ci.corpus-christi.tx.us/lhdocuments.htm
Sent by Paul Newfield  pcn01@webdsi.com

Chapa: The First Four Generations: Chapa genealogy prepared by Mr. Norman P. Brown. Colony of Nuevo Santander. Much of South Texas and parts of northern Mexico comprised the Spanish settlement, Colonia de Nuevo Santander. 

Colony of Nuevo Santander: Much of south Texas and parts of northern Mexico comprised the Spanish settlement, Colonia de Nuevo Santander.Corpus Christi resident Edna Brown provided the English translation of the original 18th century census and related documents of José de Escandón's exploration and settlement of this area.

Early Maps: View the following maps: Captain Alonso de Piñeda's map of the Gulf of Mexico (1519); South Texas coast (1766);Nuevo Santander (1792); Indians of Tamaulipas (1943).

Historia Del Nuevo Reino De Leon (1577-1723): Major work on early Northern Mexico history.  English translation by Edna Brown. 

Corpus Christi Public Libraries     805 Comanche     Corpus Christi, TX 78401 Tel: (361) 880-7000       Fax (361)  880-7005    Email:  library@ccpl.ci.corpus-christi.tx.usLast Update: September 2003     ©2003  Corpus Christi Public Libraries      Text Version 

 


DÕNA TERESA SAENZ DE ZEVALLOS 

Last Will and Testament, June 11, 1802

Sent by John Inclan fromgalveston@yahoo.com
The original can be found at the Bexar County Courthouse Archives.


Be it known that I Teresa Saenz de Zevallos, am a native and resident of this city of San Fernando, the Capital of Texas, and that I am seriously ill of a malady which God has been pleased to inflict upon me, but through his infinite mercy, I am in my sound mind, memory and natural understanding. 
I firmly believe in all the articles and mysteries of or Holy Faith. I truly expect to appear before the Supreme Justice of Almighty God and therefore I select as my advocate and guide Holy Mary in order that she and my guardian Angel and saints of my name and devotion may support me in that dreadful hour.

I hereby make, order and declare this my last will and testament in the following form:

FIRST: I commend my soul to God, Our Lord who created it and redeemed it with His holy blood and I consign my body to the earth of which it was formed. I declare this to be true.

SECOND: I direct that when God may be pleased to take me from this world into the next, my body be buried in the parish of this said city in a grave costing 20 reales. I request that my burial be with simple ceremonies and double tools of the passing-bell: and that I be laid away without a casket. I direct that my body be shrouded with the robe of our Patron Saint Francis, which robe my son Jose Antonio has given me. I direct that this clause be followed.

THIRD: I leave one half real to each of the compulsory church bequests. I direct this bequest to be paid.

FOURTH: I declare that I am married to Juan Antonio Romero and by this marriage we had and procreated four children namely, Maria Ignacia, Maria Josefa, Jose Antonio, and Maria Antonio, all of whom are living. I declare this to be true.

FIFTH: I declare that I promised the most Holy Mary of Sorrows and the Lord of Miracles, who are worshipped in this parish, 15 pesos. I direct this sum to be divided equally between them, and that one low mass be celebrated, with half pound of wax candles burning before the statue of Our Lord of Miracles. Therefore. I leave my own converlet to my grand-daughter Maria Luisa in payments for sweeping the church during the entire nine days while nine masses are celebrated. I direct this clause to be observed.

SIXTH: I declare as my property one stone house and a one room stone house adjoining the house in which I live. My husband does not have any interest, not even in the slightest particular, in these buildings because I inherited them from my deceased mother. In the same manner I inherited the land on which my home is built as well as the solar adjacent to the two stone houses, and it has 34 varas frontage, all of which is built upon and its depth is 51 varas. I call the attention of my heirs to these facts for their guidance.

The building material for the house in which I live, but not the material of the living-room and other one-room house I have mentioned, was purchased by my said husband with his own money during our marriage. So, before he may take possession of the portion for which he paid, that is, the building material of the house, he must reimburse my said heirs for the value of 14 gold rings of my jewelry which he sold to Cayetano de la Garza; the gold band set with emeralds which he said he sold to Concepcion de Estrada for 20 pesos; some silver bracelets embossed with gold which he sold to the first wife of the late Bustillos; the part of the house which was my share of the inheritance from my mother, that is, the house which now belongs to the heirs of the late Francisca Rodriguez and finally the value of several other articles which he sold, without my consent, in order to gamble. 
This property came into his hands when we were married, all of it inherited from my deceased mother. For this reason a short time ago when he believed that he had suffered a fatal wound, he confessed in one of the clauses of the last will and testament which he made in that belief that he did not have any right whatever to claim half the building material of this said house, which he might have claimed, since the jewelry of his malversation which he had converted without my consent was worth as much if not more that the cost of his share of the said building material. Those who can testify to these facts are Angel Navarro and the school master, Juan Bautista Sanchez, because they were witnesses of his last will and testament. I declare this to be true.

I leave one blue Mexican shawl made of cotton to be sold to pay part of the debt to the Virgin of Sorrows and the Lord of Miracles. I also leave a pair of fine cotton home for the same purpose.
I own one metal mortar for kitchen use, one candle holder of the same metal, a bronze crucifix and another crucifix from Rome, one statue of our Lady of the Rosary, two chests of which I will the large one to my daughter Maria Ignacia, and the other, which is smaller, to Maria Antonia; two metates which I also bequeath to the same two daughters as a reward for the love and great pains they have taken to make me comfortable during my illness. The little three-legged iron pot and two old boilers I leave to Maria Josefa. I declare these articles as my own.

The old copper kettle and spit belong to my husband, the table, bench and candelabra which are in the house I leave to my daughter Maria Josefa because her husband left them with me. I direct that these bequests be fulfilled.

I have made a free gift and donation inter vivos so my daughter Maria Antonia of my interests in the land of the solar, formerly owned by Francisco Xavier Rodriguez which I inherited from my late mother; and now as a means of increasing her share I bequesth to the said Maria Antonio one gold cross set with emeralds and to Maria Ignacia I leave five strings of genuine pearls with a little gold vross as these two daughters have shown so great devotion and tenderness toward me in all my afflictions. I direct that this chance be observed.

I declare that I paid to my grand-daughter Maria Luisa five pesos which my husband owed her, with a thin sheet which rightfully was his property. The bed I leave, just as it is, to my said husband. I direct this to be done.

After probate of my will and payment of all the debts described in my will, as to the residue of my property (to which I add a reliquary filled with relics), rights and interests I name and appoint as my sole and universal heirs my said four children so that with the utmost harmony they may partition that estate into equal parts among them, and may they use it and enjoy it with the blessing of God and my own, I direct this clause to be observed.

I hereby name and appoint as my executors and administrators, first Jose Antonio Maria Saucedo, and second, my son-in-law Thomas de Arocha, to whom I give jointly and severally in solidum the necessary power and authority which is required by law to enter in possession of my estate as if it were their own, and do whatever is necessary for the purpose of discharging their duties with which I burden their consciences.

I, Gavino Valdez, the Vicar curate and Ecclesiastical Judge of this city and its jurisdiction, certify that I know the testatrix and that I witnessed the making of this her last will and testament which she executed in her sound mind and full understanding, and to validate it, I signed it with two witnesses to my acts. The testatrix did not sign because she did not know how to write, but she made a sign of the cross. 

Likewise the Instrumental witnesses who were requested and summoned by the testatrix signed this document. They were Ignacio Lucero, Mariano de Urena and Jose Arreola all residents of this city, the place where this will was excecuted, June 11, 1802.
In witness whereof, I signed it,
Bachelor Gavino Valdez
[Rubric]
Mariano de Urena
[Witness;] [Witness]
Ignacio Maria Luzero, Jose de Arreola
[Rubric] [Rubric]

Trinity Farms:
Rancho Grande Cemetery
 
Dallas, Texas 
http://www.81x.com/ranchogrande/rancho
grandecemetery

Sent by Angelita Hernandez  Garmondez@aol.com

 


Trinity Farms (Rancho Grande Cemetery) Is Located In Dallas, Texas. The cemetery Is
Located behind St. Paul's hospital. Rancho Grande Cemetery at one time was to have had over 16 acres of land that was Donated for cemetery purpose. Within time the cemetery now rest on what is now less Than one acre. (This soon to be figured out.) For information on the Rancho Grande foundation and any questions regarding the cemetery, please contact Angelita Hernandez or Raymond Hernandez. 

Beside burial names, the website includes a message Board, upcoming meetings, Dia de los Muertos events, history of the cemetery,  pictures of grave stones, pictures and slide show of family events at the cemetery and family and friend stories, such as the example below.

I wrote this as a speech I intended to give on the "El Dia De Los Muertos" at "The Rancho Grande Cemetery." That is why I titled it The Speech not given.  

                                    
The Speech Not Given by Isabel Rodriguez

This special place is a history of our people, for us to remember them by and to cherish, and they live on in spirit.  The hardships our families endured, the prejudices, and the loss of life. Can anyone imagine what they would think seeing us here today, interracial marriages, with there children and grandchildren standing together as one family.

We can live anywhere we want, buried in any cemetery next to any race, because segregation does not exist anymore! Yes, people, some of you here have probably never heard of such a thing. I have, he has, she has. In our town of Paducah, that's the way it was. I guess we all accepted it at the time, but that cemetery is kept up by the town of Paducah, and that is a good thing. which brings me back to The Rancho Grande Cemetery.

This land was donated by several farmers, to the people who worked for them. They donated 16 acres for ever and ever to the people who worked and lived here at The Rancho Grande. They had housing, school, and a place to be buried, when they died, and that was great. Through the years some good people have taken care of this place where our ancestors toiled the land, grew vegetables, and cotton, raised cattle. This farmers did a great deed for our ancestors, but through the years this beautiful place has lost most of the land that was donated. The cemetery has decayed and there is zero funding from the city, county, or state. We must continue it's upkeep for them, for us, and for our children. At that time they came in wagons to a place of promise, with housing, work, food, and safety.

I want to thank the families who helped in the financing of the fence, the families who helped in making this a historical cemetery, and to the Hernandez family. Angelita and her husband Frank, their daughter Elizabeth, sons Cecilio, Raymond, Chris, Mike, Angel, and Juan. She is an awesome amazing person, who because of her illness wanted to leave something to her family (children) she had no money so she gave them us, she gave them you. Her research found all of the documentation and history of the cemetery. She found the history of our ancestors, and found family we lost touch of, and family we never knew we had, or met before.

I am so proud of our great-grandfather Alejos, and great-grandmother Angelita for coming here to better themselves, for now this beautiful place on top of this small hill, surrounded by black oak trees, and hog apple trees, vines growing on the fence, is a place we can all come to visit in it's peaceful existence.

 


T
he Legendary General Antonio Canales, Folk Hero, Patriot, or Villain

© By John D. Inclan fromgalveston@yahoo.com

Edited by Bernadette Inclan   

 


This is the final installment on articles about my ancestors. This article came about as a result of the stories my mother often told my sister and me at bedtime. These stories were not only of great delight, but also at times puzzling. It wasn’t until my adult life that I fully understood mother’s stories, and, in piecing together the unanswered question. I have learned the rich history of my family’s heritage.
The narratives might have remained an obscure recollection in the chronicles of a family’s account were it not for mother’s bedtime stories and her keen knowledge of her family’s history. 

Mother was vivid in her accounts of her early years in Texas, her teen years in New York City, and life during the Great Depression. As a descendent of General Canales, mother often spoke about him and and about the Spanish Land Grants. This story is dedicated to my mother, Viola Otilia Canales Cavazos. 


Viola Otilia Cavazos CANALES, circa:1926


In 1821, Mexico had won it’s Independence from Spain. In March 1836, Mexico also won the battle for the Alamo. However, in losing the battle at San Jacinto in April 1836, Mexico lost all of Texas . The annexation of Texas into the United States caused the US-Mexican War (Mexican American War 1846-1848), The Union and Confederate Armies would fight in the Battle of Galveston (January 1863). The Confederates would prove victorious, but a bittersweet victory it was when the Confederacy was lost.

Napoleon III would establish a monarchy in Mexico. This final turbulent era would unveil a time of prosperity for Mexico, but at the expense of Mexico’s poor. This set the stage for the Mexican Revolution in the century that followed. 

This story begins with the historical background of the time General Antonio Canales, and his son Servando would enter the page of history. It is during this period, after the Mexican American War and  the French intervention into Mexico, that one will find the obscure accounts in the life story of General Antonio Canales, and,  later his son Servando, two generations of patriots. 

General Antonio Mariano Canales Rosillo was born in Monterrey, N.L., on December 24, 1802 to Don Jose Antonio Nepomuseno Canales Trevino and Dona Maria Josefa Rosillo Canales. He marry Dona Maria del Refugio Molano Melo of Nadadores, Coahuila, on January 12, 1824 in the parish church, Sagrario Metropolitano, in Monterrey, Nuevo Leon. This military leader and politician would have four sons, Indalecio, Antonio, Servando, Jose Maria,  and one daughter, Manuela. One son, Servando would also reach the ranks of General.  

Servando was born in Camargo, Tamaulipas in 1830. Educated  in Camargo and later in a Seminary in Monterrey, N.L., his studies included French and Latin.  At 16, the war of the American Intervention interrupted his schooling. It was this period that both father and son serving to unite the National Forces of Mexico for what is called in American history, the Mexican-American War.  

War with Mexico had become inevitable with the annexation of Texas in early 1845.  James K. Polk, then the President of the United States, hoped to settle matters peacefully but was determined to have his way if war became necessary. In November 1845, President Polk sent John Slidell to Mexico with an offer of $5,000,000 for the purchase of New Mexico and $25,000,000 for California. The offer was steadfastly refused. On May 9, 1846, word reached Washington, D.C. that Mexican forces attacked American troops that previous April 4. Congress granted Polk a declaration of war. Congress also authorized the President to call for 50,000 volunteers and appropriated $10,000,000. Congress and the nation, however, were far from united on the idea of waging war. Southerners favored war as likely to extend slave territory, while northerners opposed the war for the same reason.  

President Polk ordered U.S. troops and their commanding general, Zachary Taylor, into the region in southern Texas in dispute with Mexico (an area roughly parallel between the Nueces and Rio Grande rivers). The battle of Palo Alto was the first engagement of the Mexican War for US troops with the Americans triumphing over the Mexican forces. From this time forward, General Antonio Canales  began a campaign of harassment toward US troops stationed between Corpus Christi, Texas and Matamoras, Mexico.  

Canales served under General Pedro de Ampudia at Cerralvo, N.L. and fought at Palo Alto. Under Santa Anna he fought at Buena Vista at Resaca de Guerrero. During the Paso de Zacate campaign in the municipality of Doctor Coss, N.L., he lost his son,  Indalecio Canales.

 In March 1847, 10,000 U.S. forces, under General Winfield Scott, landed near Vera Cruz, Mexico in what was the first large-scale amphibious operation in U.S. history.  On March 22, Scott began a siege of Vera Cruz and the fortress fell on March 27. On April 8, Scott moved toward Mexico City.

 The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, signed by the U.S.A. and Mexico on February 2, 1848, formally ended the war which by now, was of  two years duration.  According to the terms of the treaty, Mexico recognized Texas as part of the U.S. and ceded to the U.S. over 500,000 square miles of territory.  This included the future states of California, Nevada, and Utah, almost all of New Mexico and Arizona, and parts of Colorado and Wyoming. In return the U.S. agreed to pay Mexico $15,000,000 and assumed the claims of U.S. citizens against Mexico, amounting to $3,250,000. Also in the agreement, the U.S. recognized prior Spanish and Mexican land grants in the Southwest, and offered citizenship to any Mexicans residing in the area. In principle, the treaty  maintained the protection of the liberty and properties of the new citizen’s, and they were free to exercise of their religion without restriction. An interesting note, the Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo was signed just nine days after gold was discovered at Sutter's Mill California.

It can be argued that California was scarcely under Mexican control at all and was under constant immediate threat to be taken by Great Britain, France, or Russia; that New Mexico was still the almost undisturbed wilderness and home to Indian tribes; that large settlements were virtually nonexistent in the lands from the Nueces to the Rio Grande; and, that the American troops were in possession of the Mexican capital. However, the U.S. felt that it’s terms offered to Mexico very generous. Polk was urged by many to annex the whole country of Mexico to the United States, but he refused to consider such a proposal. With the signed treaty, the U.S. became an enormous continental republic. However, the acquisition of the new territory aggravated the dispute between slavery and antislavery forces. Also, the casualties of war were significant:1721 dead, 4102 wounded, and 11,155 Americans died of diseases that were related in one form or another to war. The total cost of the war was estimated at a staggering $97,500,000.  

After surviving the war, between 1848 and 1851, General Antonio Canales served Tamaulipas as surveyor general, legislative envoy, and interim governor. Of note, his sons Servando and Antonio would later served as governors of Tamaulipas.  On July 22, 1852, he received a gold award for exemplary conduct. In 1852, General Antonio Canales , died  while leading government forces in suppressing a rebellion at El Paso de Azúcar, near Camargo, Tamaulipus. His legacy provides a epoch in the chapters of Mexico history where he is revered by those who served under him and described as Valiant, Bold, and a devoted Patriot.  

Servando continued the Canales legacy with a highly recognized military career. In 1854, General Servando distinguished himself in the rebellion of Ayutla when he defended his position amongst the Liberals.  During the War of Reformation, he served under the orders of two Generals, Draga and José Carvajal. During the French intervention into Mexico (1863-1867), Servando organized a brigade and participated in important battles.  He rose in rank to that of Colonel during the Battle of Santa Gertrudis. Although the French forces suffered some embarrassing early defeats in Mexican Campaigns, in June 1863, they succeeded in occupying Mexico City. They established a puppet government under Austro-Hungarian Archduke Fernando Maximilian von Hapsburg, and his wife, Carlota. In 1864, they crowned them Emperor and Empress of Mexico.  

Opposition from Mexico’s Interim President, Miguel Miramon, and from the Republican forces of the North, mentioned above, plunged the country into general warfare. Benito Juárez led the insurgents from the North while Porfirio Díaz led the South. Although French forces repeatedly triumphed over both armies, Mexican squads managed to keep a presence in the field.  

Under General Escobedo’s command, a decision that the Republican forces would best serve Northern Mexico was drafted in Camargo on June 16, 1866.  Furthermore, the Republican forces maintained the peace of the areas of Matamoros, Monterrey, and other cities thus preventing them falling under French influence.  Combat, however, resulted on the hills of Santa Gertrudis  (Santa Gertrudis is a few miles outside the city of Camargo, Tamaulipas).  Under the command of General Feliciano Olvera, the Republican forces triumphed and succeeded in destroying the Imperialist (French) Army.  Although the Imperial forces had a well-planned battle strategy, they found themselves fighting in unaccustomed hand-to-hand combat.  The Republican soldiers prevailed, and, within one hour of battle, succeeded in destroying the French.  This battle resulted in the capture of  one thousand Imperial forces prisoners. With General Escobedo’s encouragement, a prisoner received a pardon when his enthusiasm embraced the Cause and gave his allegiance to the Republic army of the North. 

The triumphant victory at the Battle of Santa Gertrudis secured the Republican Government of President Benito Juárez. Eight days after the defeat at Santa Gertrudis, the Imperialist armies surrendered the port of Matamoros to the Republican army.

It is ironic that while the United States opposed the European presence in Mexico, the Civil War offered a distraction here at home.  When the Civil War ended in 1865, a large numbers of American Civil War veterans and soldiers-of-fortune from all parts of the world wanted to capitalize on the aftermath of the conflict.  A generation earlier they had fought the Mexican army over Texas,  and now they were fighting along side of the Mexicans. By early 1867, the remaining French troops withdrew from Mexico.  Without a military force, Emperor Maximilian’s monarchy collapsed. He underwent capture and was executed in June of that year.

Benito Juarez took over the presidency of the new government in Mexico until his death on July 18, 1872.    Before his death, President Juarez elevated Canales’ commission and appointed him to Brigadier General.  

In September 1872, Sebastian Lerdo de Tejada succeeded Juarez.   As a historical note, he too is one of Mexico's foremost and rarely mentioned leaders. In 1863, under Juarez’s administration,  Lerdo became the minister of Justice.  A few days later, Juarez elevated him to minister of Relations and Government, a position he held for four years. At this point in time, he was not only Juarez’s main advisor,  but also next in line to assume the position of president.  In the City of Victoria in 1876, Canales became the Governor of Tamaulipas. In October of this same year, he participated in a skirmish at the Hacienda de las Antonias.  This conflict resulted in Lerdo’s fall from grace and the downfall of his administration, which was due more to his inflexibility and strong will, his strictness for following the law and its enforcement, and his fervent advocacy towards freedom of the press.

In 1876, a new administration took office in Mexico City, with Profirio Diaz serving as president from 1876 to 1880, and again from 1884 to 1911. In the four-year interim, a Diaz puppet named Manuel González held the post of president. In reality, Diaz ruled as a Dictator for more than 30 years.

Canales was elevated to Division General during the Diaz administration.  Submerging himself into the politics of Tamaulipas, he secured several terms as Governor.  The first time occurred from August 1866 to September 1870.  A brief term took place in June 1872 to August 1872. He was elected again in September 1874 to September 1875. He secured his final term as Governor in April to November 1876.   

Canales distinguished himself with his energy and dynamism. If can be noted that between 1870 and 1872, during his tenure as Governor, he enforced high standards in the legislative branch: He would implement important new laws, ratified the Código Civil del Distrito Federal and the Código de Procedimientos Civiles. In 1873, he adopted  a radical law which abolished the death sentence. 

In 1881, this veritable patriot retired from political life. He had survived the American and French Occupation of his homeland.  He rose through the ranks during his military career.  In addition, he distinguished himself as a statesman in the political arena.  He died at Matamoros on June 28, 1881.

In honor of their native hero, the city’s Municipal airport and a major avenue carry his name. Below the latest generation of descendants of General Antonio Canales.

 


Bernadette Inclan and Sons, Stephen M. Coindreau and Brian R. Coindreau


EAST OF THE MISSISSIPPI

Louis Dominguez: 
An American Hero
Erminio Dominguez: 
In the Service of  His Country 


LOUIE DOMINGUEZ: AN AMERICAN HERO

By 
Donna S. Morales and John P. Schmal



When Louie Dominguez was born on July 20, 1926, it was a day of both celebration and mourning for the Dominguez family of Turner, Kansas. In recent years, Louie's mother, Luisa Lujan de Dominguez had grown progressively weaker and more fragile with each of her pregnancies. While Luisa had managed to pull through in the past, her general poor health and poor nutrition had led to serious complications this time. Although little Louie survived the birthing process, Luisa experienced serious postpartum hemorrhage following childbirth. 

Luisa died at the age of 39 years, leaving her grieving and ailing husband Geronimo Dominguez with nine children who ranged in age from 21 years to one day (Louis). But Geronimo had the support of his extended family and, in the years to follow, he managed to make sure that his children were cared for, clothed, and fed.

Both of Louie's parents were immigrants from the Mexican state of Zacatecas, but all but two of his older siblings had been born in the United States. And, although they spoke Spanish at home, the Dominguez family was very focused on making the best of their now permanent home in Kansas. By 1930, the Mexican-American community of Kansas City had grown considerably from its beginnings around 1905. 

But people of Mexican origin in the Kansas City were, for the most part, segregated and forced to live in substandard conditions. They could not eat in certain restaurants or go to any theater they wanted to. Employment discrimination against Hispanics was widely practiced and Mexican children could not attend certain schools. Even some churches were segregated.

However, little Louie was shielded from these deprivations because the Dominguez family lived in Turner. On a little hill in Turner, ten Mexican families lived side by side in relative isolation. Living next door to the Dominguez family was the Rangel family. Esperanza Rangel (now Esperanza Amayo) became Louie's childhood playmate and friend. In a telephone interview with the authors, Esperanza fondly remembers that her life in Turner seemed so simple during the 1930s and the early 1940s. 

Esperanza and Louie had both attended Turner Grade School, and Louie had later gone on to Turner High School. Esperanza said that "it seems like yesterday that we were children. Louie and I ran across cow pastures and climbed over barbed wire fences as we made our way to Turner Grade School." With a sigh, she concluded, "Our life was very happy and carefree before World War II." However, their idyllic lives would soon be interrupted by a worldwide conflagration that would cost the lives of at least fifty million people.

On the afternoon of December 7, 1941, Geronimo Dominguez returned to home from church and family socializing with his three children who still lived at home: 21-year-old Effie, 19-year-old Erminio and 15-year-old Louie. After turning on the radio, the Dominguez family heard the startling news: The Japanese Imperial Navy had launched a surprise attack on the American naval fleet at Pearl Harbor, killing 2,235 servicemen and sixty civilians. Equally devastating was the fact that our entire Hawaii fleet, sitting at anchor in the harbor, was destroyed. Simultaneously, the Japanese launched military strikes throughout Southeast Asia, including invasions of the Philippine Islands (an American colony), Singapore, Malaysia, and the Dutch East Indies.

Geronimo, by now, suffered from tuberculosis and a chronic cough. Although he was only fifty-seven years old, he was not a well man. With the startling news, the Dominguez children fell into a state of shock and did not fully comprehend what this could mean for them or for the country. But, as the reality sank in, both Erminio and Louie started to express anger and outrage over this surprise attack. "How the could the Japanese do this to us," Erminio asked, "what would make them thing they could get away with it?" 

The whole family listened when President Franklin Delano Roosevelt made his famous speech to the American people, decrying the savage assault on American territory. The President's opening words - "Yesterday, December 7, 1941 - a date which will live in infamy - the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan." Mr. Roosevelt pointed out that the Japanese and American governments had been having conversations "toward the maintenance of peace in the Pacific." But all Japan's peaceful gestures, it now appeared, had been feigned to lull the United States into a false sense of security. On December 8, the U.S. Congress - acting on the request of the President - declared war on Japan.

In Berlin on December 8, 1941, the German dictator Adolph Hitler was elated, stating to his Propaganda Minister, Josef Goebbels, that "we have ally that has not been defeated in 1,500 years!" Soon after, on December 11, Germany and Italy - the two primary Axis Powers of Europe - declared war on the United States. What the Axis Powers did not realize at the time is that, instead of crippling an enemy and rendering him ineffective, they had awakened a sleeping giant, the United States of America.

Once he had received the news about the actions of Germany and Italy, President Roosevelt addressed the American people, explaining that "the long-known and the long-expected has thus taken place. The forces endeavoring to enslave the entire world now are moving toward this hemisphere. Never before has there been a greater challenge to life, liberty and civilization." Once again at Roosevelt's request, the United States Congress declared war, this time against Germany and Italy. In a mere five days, America had gone from a nation at peace to a nation at war with three formidable enemies, Germany, Italy and Japan. 

Now a major world war loomed over the lives of the Mexican American families on the hill in Turner. Esperanza's brothers, Solomon and Tony Rangel, had already gone to war, as did another neighbor, Isaiah Zamarripa, who became an officer in the Army-Air Force. Then, on September 2, 1942, Louie's older brother, Erminio, joined the military. Like most other Americans, Erminio had no illusions and knew that it would be a long road to Berlin and Tokyo. Erminio's first military assignment was with the 2nd Squadron of the 102nd Cavalry Regiment, part of which would later be designated as the 117th Cavalry Reconnaissance Squadron (Mechanized). After several months, he was sent to the African Theater, after which he moved on to Italian Front.

Erminio, Isaiah, Solomon and the other neighborhood boys became roll models to young Louie, who was still too young to go to the Army. Altogether, the ten Mexican-American families on the hill would contribute five soldiers to the war effort, including both Louie and Erminio. During this period, the movements of Allied and Axis Fronts and the casualty reports became a major preoccupation for the little Mexican-American community in Turner.

Because they were neighbors, Louie and Esperanza would both go to draw water from the same water pump outside. With delight, Esperanza recalls that whenever she went outside to fetch water, Louie would frequently come out at the same time and help her pump the water. She told the authors that she and Louie had developed an attraction for each other and that, from his house, Louie may have watched for her daily journeys to the water pump. She recalls "I sensed an awakening attraction, yet meaningful words were left unspoken and disallowed by both time and circumstance." 

As American forces began to engage the enemy on a wide range of fronts in 1943, young Louie watched the progress of the war with great interest. He was intrigued and fascinated by the image of soldiers marching off to war to save America from the Fascist threat. Louie admired and emulated his older brother, Erminio, and aspired to be like him. He could not wait for the opportunity to become a soldier and wear his own uniform.

On April 13, 1943, Geronimo Dominguez passed away at his home in Turner, Kansas. For the last year of his life, Geronimo had been suffering from pulmonary tuberculosis. He had grown steadily weaker and sicker over the years. Up to the day of his death, Geronimo had refused to give permission to Louie to join the military. After his father had died, Louie pleaded with his siblings to approve his entry into the armed forces. But his brothers and sisters also believed that Louie was too young to go to war and possibly risk death at the hands of a fierce and desperate enemy that was being pushed into a corner.

On June 6, 1944, the largest armada ever assembled in history reached the shores of Normandy in France. In the great amphibious operation of the Twentieth Century, 3,000 landing craft, 2,500 other ships and 500 naval vessels - as well as 822 aircraft - delivered 154,000 British, Canadian, and American soldiers to the shores of Normandy. By the end of that day, Hitler's Atlantic Wall had been breached and the Allies struggled to increase their foothold in France. The Allies suffered 9,500 casualties that day, while the Germans probably lost a slightly smaller number of soldiers.

But the landings at Normandy were only the beginning of the end for Hitler. The Allies made slow progress in expanding their beachheads, and supplies and reinforcements were not coming ashore as rapidly as they had hoped for. A great deal was yet to be done, and America was continuing to send more boys off to war.

Seventeen-year-old Louie Dominguez - a few days away from graduation from Turner High School - paid careful attention to the news from the Normandy battlefields. He wanted desperately to become a soldier like his older brother Erminio and wanted to do all that he could to prepare himself for this mission. Louie talked incessantly to his friends and family about his intention to become a soldier. 

Finally, July 30th arrived, and Louie Dominguez was eighteen years old. Louie celebrated his birthday by going to Missouri and enlisting in the army almost immediately. Then, on August 15, 1944, Louie Dominguez followed his dream and reported for basic training at Fort McClellan in Alabama. Esperanza soon learned about Louie's enlistment. 

Commenting on the last time she saw Louie, Esperanza told the authors, "Louie looked so fine in his Army uniform as he strode across the dirt road on the hill in Turner." After he had joined the Army, Louie had developed a new walk. When he wore his uniform, Louie - already a very handsome young man - now walked with a determined and purposeful gait, exuding both confidence and pride in his new career. Esperanza noted that Louie, with his striking good looks and his sharp well-tailored uniform, Louie cut a dashing and impressive figure as he prepared to go overseas.

Esperanza believes that this walk reflected his enthusiasm for his new career and his important mission. For a young boy from a poor Mexican-American family in Turner, the armed services represented a step up in life. Reflecting on her last meeting with Louie, Esperanza wrote "He went to war radiating youthful and patriotic eagerness."

A month after his enlistment, Louie and the rest of the Dominguez family were informed by the military that Erminio Dominguez was missing in action on the French front. It would be a couple of weeks before they learned that Erminio had actually survived the Battle of Montrevel and was now a prisoner of war in a German POW camp. This startling information greatly upset young Louie, who was now engaged in his basic training at Fort McClellan. It was a difficult period for Louie, who had looked up to and emulated his older brother. 

Learning that his hero and role model had been captured had a dramatic effect on the young teenager. Enraged that the Germans were still capable of mounting such counterattacks and fearing for his brother's life, Louie's patriotic fervor reached a fever pitch. Writing from Fort McClellan, Louie promised his family in Kansas that he would finish his basic training and - with great enthusiasm - take part in the defeat of Nazi Germany, with high hopes that his brother would one day be a free man again. Louie had come to recognize that this war was - for him - a special mission, both to serve his country and to help liberate his brother from German captivity. 

After finishing basic training, Louie was attached to the 75th Infantry Division and soon found himself traveling across the Atlantic Ocean on his way to the war zone. By the end of the year, Louie had landed right in the middle of the war zone. In these desperate days, Germany was very clearly losing this war. Allied troops had pushed up to the German border in some areas, while the Russians were making steady gains along the long eastern front. In the meantime, American and British bombs devastated many German cities with intensive bombing. And, in the south, most of the Italian peninsula had fallen into Allied hands.

But, Hitler had one more ace up his sleeve. On December 16,1944, eight German armored divisions and thirteen infantry divisions launched an all-out attack on five divisions of the United States in the Ardennes area of Belgium, Luxembourg and France. Initially, the Ardennes offensive - more popularly known as the "Battle of the Bulge - caught the Allies off guard and pushed back several American divisions.

With this sudden threat looming over the Western Front, the Allied Command quickly rushed the 75th Infantry Division up to the front lines, which they reached just before Christmas. Louie belonged to the 2nd Platoon of "A Company" (Able Company) of the 289th Infantry Regiment. Able Company saw their first action on Christmas Day, near the town of Erezec in Belgium. The 75th Infantry Division - because of its recent arrival and its young, new recruits - was originally dubbed as the "Diaper Division." But the division earned the respect of the other units because of its distinguished record during the Ardennes battle and some observers started to call them the "Bulge Busters." 

During the period December 24, 1944 and January 24, 1945, the 75th Infantry Division played a pivotal role in turning back the German offensive, but their losses were heavy: 407 killed, 1,707 wounded, and 334 missing. By March 10, the 75th Division had moved up to the Rhine River, the border between Germany and Belgium. In essence, they were mere feet away from the native soil of the German people and expected that enemy resistance would grow more determined.

On March 10, 1945, the 75th Division occupied a sector on the west bank of the Rhine, across from Duisberg and Wesel. Their mission was to defend the west bank against any German attacks or patrol activities and "to guard communication lines, utilities, bridges, and culverts; to improve the defensive positions; to dispatch night patrols to the east shore in order to discover the enemy strength, order of battle, and the terrain situation." The 75th was successful in preventing German patrols from crossing the Rhine to engage in reconnaissance activity.

Between March 10 and 24, the Division sent more than thirty patrols organized by three regiments across the Rhine. According to the official 75th Division history, nineteen of these patrols "were able to produce valuable enemy intelligence, including information of enemy strength, dugouts, trenches, pillboxes, wire, observation posts, 88mm guns, antiaircraft, machine gun, mortar and artillery positions. These operations were made hazardous by the river itself, with its cold waters and swift currents; by enemy searchlights, and by enemy counter-patrol activities. As a result, several of the patrols suffered casualties."

On March 13th, Sergeant Flores of the 289th Infantry Regiment's A Company led one of these missions across the Rhine. Louie took part in this reconnaissance patrol. On their way back, however, enemy fire destroyed the kayak in which Privates Sawgle and Peterson were traveling in. Fortunately, Louie and the other three men in the patrol reached the west bank of the Rhine safely. Finally, on March 29, the 75th Division completed its crossing to the east bank of the Rhine River, officially penetrating German territory.

On March 31, the 289th stopped short of the small city of Marl, a short distance east of the Rhine River. As they moved forward, they had encountered direct high velocity fire on their flanks. Then, as they approached a hill on which the Germans were entrenched, the captain of Louie's unit carefully surveyed the situation and came to the conclusion that, in order to take this elevated stronghold, he would have to send an advance unit forward to locate the enemy's exact position. 

When the Captain asked for volunteers, Louie Dominguez quickly stepped forward. Soon after, Louie and several other soldiers of A Company advanced up the hill towards the German positions. Suddenly enemy fire targeted the American soldiers and several of the soldiers fell to the ground. On this day, five weeks before the surrender of Nazi Germany, 18-year-old Louie Dominguez died for his country. 

During its ninety-four days in combat, the 75th Infantry had the following losses: 817 soldiers killed in action (KIA), 3,314 wounded in action, and 111 who died of wounds, representing almost 60% of the total unit strength. The 75th captured 20,630 German soldiers. For its combat participation in World War II, the soldiers of the 75th Division received numerous awards, including four Distinguished Service Crosses, 193 Silver Stars, 7 Legion of Merits, 30 Soldier´s Medals, and 1321 Bronze Star Medals. For his own military service, Louie Dominguez posthumously received six medals, including the bronze star, the Purple Heart and the combat infantry badge. 

At the time of Louie's death on March 31, 1945, Erminio Dominguez was still interned at the Moosburg POW Camp (Stalag VIIA) in the Bavarian state of Germany. However, on April 29, 1945, American forces, led by General George S. Patton, liberated Mossburg. With these events, Erminio Dominguez became a free man. The brave veteran of the French and Italian campaigns received a warm welcome from the Dominguez family in Kansas City. However, when Erminio found out that his younger brother Louie had died in combat just a few weeks earlier, his sense of loss was overwhelming. Although Erminio received four bronze stars, the Purple Heart, the service ribbon and a good conduct medal for his extraordinary service to his country, he never spoke of his experiences in World War II to anyone ever again. 

Esperanza Rangel, in her anguish, struggled to understand the loss of her childhood friend, Louie Dominguez, and pondered over the meaning of his death in battlefield action. World War II represented a bittersweet experience for Mexican-American men in Kansas and the nation as a whole. Although they had helped win the war through their important contributions, Mexican-American soldiers returning from overseas were discriminated against in education, employment, and public accommodations. When she witnessed these injustices to her brothers and other Hispanics in Kansas City, Esperanza felt outrage and disgust. 

For some time, she even questioned the validity of the sacrifices of Mexican Americans in war, feeling that these contributions were not appreciated by some Americans. When she heard that Louie had been killed in action, Esperanza was told by her neighbors and friends that "Louie died in the name of peace and liberty." And yet, in an interview with the authors, she observed, "Mexican-American servicemen returning to Kansas from World War II did not earn an ounce of respect for their war duties and sacrifices. Instead of a confetti and ticker-tape welcome, these conquering heroes were blatantly denied the liberties and ordinary human rights guaranteed to Anglos." 

Over the years, however, Esperanza saw a change in attitudes and a new appreciation of the contributions of Mexican Americans to America's protection and defense. On May 5, 2004, fifty-nine years after the death of Louie Dominguez, the authors visited with Esperanza at her home in Kansas City. In discussing her childhood friend, Esperanza noted that Louie would have turned 78 in July, but, "for me, Louie will remain forever young." The authors also visited with Louie's surviving siblings, all of whom spoke of their little brother in sorrowful terms because, it seems, they too still saw him as a vivacious and energetic 18-year-old boy. In separate interviews, his 92-year-old brother Jessie Dominguez and 86-year-old sister Bessie Morales would bow their heads and say quietly, "And he never came back."

In the present day, Esperanza sees the contributions of Louie, Solomon, Erminio and Isaiah in a different light. She explained to the authors that, with time, Mexican Americans had become "free to struggle and rise above our adversities." Proudly, she points out that "we [Mexican Americans in Kansas] have contributed in war and in peace to the productivity and stability of this community and now enjoy a self-fulfilling and respectable place in its society." Today, Esperanza proudly states that "in this era of racial justice, I finally know that indeed my friend did die for me. His memory will live with me always." 

Note: Donna Morales is the niece of Louie Dominguez.

Sources:

Amayo, Esperanza. "All Equal in Death," Kansas City Star, June 3, 1984.

MacCarrick, Franklin C. "Up Front With the Able Doughboys, 289th Infantry: History of Able Company" (August 1945). [The diary of A Company was graciously donated by Jacque Stoltz (a veteran of the 4th platoon) and by Steven Graber.]

© 2004 by Donna S. Morales and John P. Schmal. This work has been derived in its entirety from "The Dominguez Family: A Mexican-American Journey" (scheduled for publication, Summer 2004, Heritage Books, item M2527, available at 

http://marketplacesolutions.net/secure/heritagebooks/merchant2/merchant.mvc?
Screen=PROD&Store_Code=HBI&Product_Code=M2527




ERMINIO DOMINGUEZ:  IN THE SERVICE OF HIS COUNTRY
By 
Donna S. Morales and John P. Schmal



Erminio Lujan Dominguez was born on May 19, 1922 in Turner, Kansas as the seventh of nine children of Geronimo Dominguez and Luisa Lujan, who were both immigrants from the Hacienda de Santa Monica in the municipio of Sain Alto in Zacatecas, Mexico.  Erminio's parents had left Mexico in 1909 as the Mexican Republic was beginning its rapid descent into its bloody ten-year Mexican Revolution.  Their first two children were born in Mexico, but the rest of their children were born in Canadian, Texas and Kansas City, Kansas.

At the age of four, Little Erminio lost his mother Luisa, who had died in childbirth with Erminio's little brother, Louie.  However, even with the loss of their mother, the Dominguez children were cared for by their father Geronimo, their grandfather Aniceto Dominguez, and an assortment of extended family members.  In Kansas City, Mexican-American citizens were, according to the author Cynthia Mines, "set apart linguistically, economically, religiously, and culturally from the mostly white, Protestant, middle class Kansans with which they were surrounded.  They tended to stay within their colonies, some eventually building their own schools and churches, and ventured out only to buy necessities."

As a young boy, Erminio accompanied his family to the beet fields of Nebraska, Colorado and Wyoming to do summer work.  He also attended the Turner Grade School up until the Seventh Grade.  Although the Dominguez family lived in a small Mexican community on a small hill in Turner, Kansas, the children had to attend a school in which they were forbidden from using the Spanish language that they spoke at home.  

In the 1920s and 1930s, the teachers at the schools in the Kansas City area were very adamant about the use of the Spanish language in school.  Believing that the use of Spanish at home might interfere with their English-language education, some teachers very strictly enforced these rules.  These rules were similarly enforced at the Turner High School, which was attended by Erminio's two younger brothers, Marshall and Louie.

In 1939, a female teacher seemed to have a vendetta against the Dominguez family.  Erminio's young brother Marshall was punished severely several times for speaking Spanish.  Then, one day, some students stole erasers from the classroom and gave them to Marshall.  When the erasers were discovered in Marshall's possession, he was beaten severely by the school madam.  To this day, the family believes that this - and under beatings - led to Marshall's premature death at the age of 14 years and eight months from acute general nephritis on March 29, 1939.

Erminio's family exhibited great fortitude and endurance in times of sorrow and, through the tragedies and the Great Depression, the Dominguez family continued to make the best of their lives in the Kansas City area.  So, when the Japanese Imperial Navy launched a surprise attack on the American naval fleet at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, the Dominguez family exhibited the same concern that all American families felt.

Suddenly at war with three powerful foes - Germany, Italy, and Japan - the American people exhibited an uncompromising sense of confidence in eventual victory. Able-bodied men in every town of every state made painful decisions to leave their families behind to defend their nation in its time of need.  

During the first two years of World War II, from September 1939 through December 1941, a series of startling military victories permitted German domination of the European continent.  After the conquest of Poland in 1939, Adolph Hitler gave the order to invade other countries, even while professing his desire to make peace with Great Britain and France. Using Blitzkrieg (Lightning-war) tactics, the German military had overwhelmed and destroyed the armies of France, Poland, Norway, Yugoslavia, and Greece.  In addition, Denmark, Belgium, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands had been occupied after short campaigns. Hitler had been able to achieve his conquests, partly through the help of his allies, Italy, Rumania, Hungary, and Bulgaria.  In June 1941, Germany and her allies would invade the Soviet Union along a 2,000-mile front.

On September 2, 1942, during America's darkest hours, 20-year-old Erminio Dominguez enlisted in the armed forces.  On December 11, 1942, he reported to duty and was officially inducted into the United States armed services at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas.  His first military assignment was with the Reconnaissance Section of the Cavalry School in Fort Riley, Kansas.

The Fort Riley Cavalry School had originally been established in 1893 as the "Cavalry and Light Artillery School."  Entire units were usually sent to Fort Riley to receive training and special instructions in the cavalry techniques and tactics.   Erminio's military emphasis, however, was military reconnaissance, which involved the inspection and study of the land to gather military information.

Before enlisting, Erminio had been a truck driver for the Santa Fe Freight House in Kansas City, Missouri for more than a year.  After finishing his basic cavalry training at Fort Riley, Erminio was promoted to Private First Class (Pfc.) and took on new duties as a truck driver.  In this capacity, he operated, serviced and made minor repairs on various army vehicles, both in the United States and overseas in combat. As an overseas combat soldier, Erminio also became a skilled marksman and specialized in the service and use of military weapons, in particular .45 caliber Thompson sub-machine guns.  

During 1943, Erminio was given his first overseas assignment with the 117th Cavalry Reconnaissance Squadron (Mechanized).  But it was not until 1944 that Erminio would see major action.  In April 1944, the 117th Cavalry Reconnaissance Squadron was assigned to the 5th Army of General Mark Clark, which was making its way up the Italian Peninsula, against stiff German resistance.   With its new assignment at the battlefront, the 117th Squadron was ordered by General Clark to embark for Naples, where it landed on May 16, 1944.  

On May 22, the 117th went into action at Itri and Sperlonga, both of which were located almost one hundred miles south of Rome.  Almost two weeks later on June 2, Erminio would be wounded in action.  On June 23, 1944, the Army awarded him with the Purple Heart for this wound.  Erminio, however, would be still be able to take part in the liberation of Rome.

The battle for the liberation of Rome was a long and protracted struggle.  The Germans had first occupied the famous city in September 1943.  Next, they constructed three major defensive lines across the Italian Peninsula in the hope of slowing the Allied advance northward.  These defensive moves were very effective in halting Allied attacks and led to some of the fiercest battles of the entire war.

By the beginning of June, however, the German commanders realized that they would have to evacuate Rome in order to make an orderly retreat northward.  Allied air forces dropped propaganda leaflets, which urged the Romans "to stand shoulder-to-shoulder to protect the city from destruction and to defeat our common enemies." Even though the retreating Germans had declared Rome to be an open city, the citizens of Rome were urged to do everything possible to protect public services, transportation facilities, and communications. 

When American forces arrived on the outskirts of Rome on June 4, 1944, they encountered only scattered German resistance.  On this day, advance patrols of the 3rd Division had reached the outer limits of Rome.  By the morning of June 5th, all elements on the 117th had made their way into Rome.  In a mere twelve days, the 117th Squadron had advanced almost 161 kilometers (100 miles). Erminio - despite his wound - was able to accompany his unit into the Eternal City.

Most of the citizens of Rome had remained indoors as instructed, but on the following day, June 5, 1944, throngs of ecstatic Italians spilled into the streets to welcome the Americans as the main elements of the Fifth Army moved north through the city on their way to the next battlefront.  Delirious with joy and happiness, millions of Italians welcomed the liberators with great fanfare.  Italians throughout Rome climbed onto American tanks and armored cars to greet the soldiers.  

Reflecting on the reception that the American soldiers received from the Romans, the 117th Squadron historian Colonel Harold J. Samsel wrote, "All the hardships and loneliness of a soldier seemed well worth whatever sacrifices have been made.  The Italian people suffered badly under the Germans…  To see the extreme happiness on their faces as we liberated their lands made one proud to be wearing an American Uniform.  Without a doubt, we all gained great moral strength and justification for our cause."

After the fall of Rome, the 117th Regiment was ordered to continue its journey northward.  However, according to Colonel Samsel, "the remainder of June saw the 117th engaged in heavy fighting north of Rome, in almost constant contact with the enemy."  Colonel Samsel explains that "fire fights were frequent and deadly, artillery fire was heavy, and the German anti-tank guns and mines took their toll.  Casualties were high, for the enemy was making the Fifth Army fight for every foot of ground it gave up."

On June 29, 1944, the 117th Reconnaissance Squadron was relieved of its mission on the Italian front and reassigned to the VI Corps as part of the 7th Army's "Operation Anvil"  (the Allied amphibious invasion of Southern France).  Earlier in the month, Allied forces had landed on the shores of Normandy in northwestern France, but after some initial successes, it appeared that the Allied forces were pinned down by strong German resistance.  Some military planners believed that an invasion of Southern France might cause the Germans to divert some of their forces south, thus giving the Allied forces in Normandy some breathing room.

On August 14, 1944, the invasion convoy set sail and on August 15th, the Allied forces made a successful landing in Southern France between Toulon and Cannes. 
Erminio Dominguez and the 117th Squadron were now reassigned as a reconnaissance element of "Task Force Butler," commanded by Brigadier General F. B. Butler.  During August, Task Force Butler was ordered to cut off the retreat of the German 19th Army that was moving northward to escape the Allied onslaught.  In four days, the 117th Squadron advanced 306 kilometers (190 miles) from the beachhead, liberating 6,645 square miles of French territory and capturing more than 2,500 prisoners.   

On August 30, 1944, the 117th Squadron was relieved of its attachment to Task Force Butler and reattached to the VI Corps.  They were now 442 kilometers (275 miles) from their original beachhead on the shores of the Mediterranean.  The Squadron had successfully harassed the German 19th Army as it retreated toward Germany.  In the words of Colonel Samsel, the American forces "kept stabbing at the flanks of the German Army fastly retreating to Germany." 

At the beginning of September, the 117th Squadron received a new assignment that would dramatically alter the lives and destinies of all the unit's men, including Erminio Dominguez.  On September 2, 1944, the unit had received the following message from Brigadier General Carlton, the Deputy Commander of the 6th Corps:  "Seize and hold Montrevel by daylight, establish road blocks on the roads leading into the town from the South, the East and the North so as to cut off the escape route of the 19th Germany Army."

Troop B, commanded by Captain John L. Wood, was to lead the attack on Montrevel and Troop A, commanded by Thomas C. Piddington, was to keep the lines of communication open. Initially, the seizure of Montrevel went well, and the Americans were able to capture seventy-five German prisoners.   However, the American seizure of Montrevel had cut off the main supply route of the 11th Panzer Division, which was engaged at Borg with the American 45th Infantry Division, some distance to the south.

When General Wend von Wietersheim, the commander of the 11th Panzer Division, found out about the seizure of Montrevel, he sent a reconnaissance battalion, reinforced by six tanks and an engineer battalion, to recapture the town.  Seeking to cover its own retreat route, the 11th Panzer Division surrounded Montrevel and pinched off the escape routes in and out of the town.   Quickly, the Germans moved into Montrevel to extinguish all resistance and safeguard their supply routes.  

According to the Departmental Records Branch of the Army's Adjutant General's Office, "again and again, the Troops [of the 117th Regiment] launched attacks against the greatly superior armor and numerical superiority of the enemy.  These forays kept the enemy forces off balance and in the dark as to the strength of the defenders."

Erminio Dominguez and the other men of 117th Regiment were able to inflict heavy losses on the German forces.  However, the vastly superior German forces, with three years of experience on the Russian front, used heavy artillery against the defenders and gradually squeezed the American defenders into a small corner of the town.  As the day war on and the fighting became more intense, the American casualties mounted steadily, while their ammunition ran low.  

Finally, according to one battle account, "the handful of  [surviving] Americans, surrounded, exhausted, their ammunition expended, with five killed, 60 wounded, 70 prisoners of war, most of their equipment and vehicles in flames, had no choice."  By the end of that day, September 3, 1944, the beleaguered Americans of the 117th Cavalry Regiment in Montrevel surrendered to the German forces.  

The gallant men of the 117th who defended Montrevel - including Erminio Dominguez - were praised for their bravery and tenacity, even by their adversaries.  The Adjutant General's report stated that "the aggressive tactics and the personal bravery of the Troops within the town were of such a high degree that the enemy commander displayed considerable amazement that the force which had opposed him was so small numerically and so lacking in heavy armor."

By the end of the day, the German 11th Panzer Division had captured all the surviving soldiers of the 117th Squadron.  Many soldiers from both Troop A and Troop B were captured, including Private Erminio Dominguez.  The prisoners of war were quickly transported by train to Stalag VII-A at Moosburg in the German state of Bavaria.  By the end of the war, at least 80,000 Allied soldiers would be interned in Moosburg, located 35 kilometers (22 miles) northeast of Munich.

From early September 1944 to April 29, 1945 - a total of eight months - Erminio Dominguez was an inmate of this prisoner of war camp.    In the final days of April, as the end of the war drew near, the American POWs in Moosburg anxiously waited for their day of liberation.  With the use of clandestine radio equipment, Erminio and the other prisoners were able to learn that the Third Army of General George S. Patton was racing through Bavaria en route to Munich.  The Americans knew that their liberation  would soon be at hand.

The German soldiers guarding the prisoners became as anxious as the Americans, realizing that they may be called upon by Adolph Hitler, the German dictator, to take retaliatory action against the POWs.  On April 28, both the inmates and the guards could hear artillery fire coming from the west and southwest. As the artillery fire grew closer, an amazing event took place.

On April 29, outside the prison gates, the prisoners could see Germans fighting each other.  It was later learned that Hitler had issued an order to kill all the prisoners in the camp, but the German Wehrmacht (Army) had refused to take this action.  When the Gestapo tried to take possession of Moosburg, the Wehrmacht fought back and prevented the massacre of prisoners of war.

Shortly after noon on the 29th, Combat Team A of the 14th American Armored Division appeared near the camp entrance and the American flag was raised over Moosburg.  Erminio and his fellow American soldiers cheered wildly as their liberation took place.  But the greatest thrill was yet to come.  An hour later, General George S. Patton arrived in a jeep.  General Patton gave a rousing speech to the liberated prisoners and then concluded that "we will whip the bastards all the way to Berlin."   As it turns out, Moosburg was the last of the POW camps to be liberated.  Nine days later, on May 8, 1945, Germany unconditionally surrendered to the Allied forces.  

With these events, Erminio Dominguez became a free man. Erminio soon returned to the United States where he received his honorary discharge on October 5, 1945 at Fort Riley, Kansas.  The brave veteran of the French and Italian campaigns received a warm welcome from the Dominguez family in Kansas City.  However, Erminio was shattered to learn that his youngest brother, Louie, had been killed in action on March 31, 1945, after having made his way across the Rhine River onto German territory.

Young Louie had joined the Army in August, shortly before Erminio's capture in France, so Erminio had not been aware of his whereabouts as the Third Reich crumbled.  Louie had looked up to his older brother and aspired to be a soldier like he was.  As with the rest of his family, Erminio was devastated by this news.

Although Erminio received four bronze stars, the Purple Heart, the EAME Theater Ribbon, and a good conduct medal for his extraordinary service to his country, he only spoke to his family about his experience once.  For Erminio, his POW experience had been both humiliating and frightening.  At times, the German camp guards even threw food at the American prisoners, as if they were dogs.

Being held as a POW for any period of time is a traumatic experience and even when a man is released from captivity, he carries around the memories of his imprisonment like a "black cloud."  The nightmares keep coming back, even many years after freedom has been restored.  As a means of forgetting this terrible chapter in their lives, many POWs refuse to talk about their experiences for the rest of their lives. 

Mexican-American veterans who returned to Kansas City found it hard to gain acceptance from their fellow American veterans, so they had to start their own VFW and American Legion chapters.  Two years after being released from German captivity, Erminio Dominguez was married to Carmen Garcia.  He returned to work for the Santa Fe Railroad, where he took on a position as a forklift operator.  On June 8, 1996, Erminio Dominguez died at the age of 74.  

Note: Donna Morales is the niece of Erminio, Louie and Marshall Dominguez.

Sources:

Bill Ethridge, "Time Out. A Remembrance of World War II." (1998), pp. 137- 143;  Moosburg WebTeam, "Stalag VII A: Oral History:  Part II: Stalag VII-A Moosburg" Online: <http://www.moosburg.org/info/stalag/eth2eng.html>. 

Cynthia Mines, "Riding the Rails to Kansas: The Mexican Immigrants."  McPherson, Kansas: 1980. 

Harold J. Samsel, "The Operational History of the 117th Cavalry Reconnaissance Squadron (Mecz.), World War II." Westfield, New Jersey: 117th Cavalry Association, 1982.

Harold J. Samsel, "The Battle of Montrevel, France, September 3, 1944:  117th Cavalry Reconnaissance Squadron (Mechanized)." Princeton, New Jersey: Triangle Reproduction, 1986, 2nd edition.

© 2004 by Donna S. Morales and John P. Schmal.  This work has been derived in its entirety from  "The Dominguez Family:  A Mexican-American Journey" (scheduled for publication, Summer 2004, Heritage Books, item M2527, available at 
http://marketplacesolutions.net/secure/heritagebooks/merchant2/merchant.mvc?
Screen=PROD&Store_Code=HBI&Product_Code=M2527



EAST COAST

New York, Manhattan LDS Temple
Viva Mexico,  D.C. Celebrates
Puerta al Futuro


Fernando Fernandez, an architect with experience designing small sound studios has been enlisted by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to build a temple in mid-town Manhattan.  "You need a quiet atmosphere to communicate with the Lord," said Scott Trotter, a church spokesman.

Fernandez' solution was to build a building inside a building.  Instead of bolting the temple walls to the structure's marble exterior, he attached them only at the floors and ceilings, leaving two inches of air space between the walls.  He also added 12 inches of insulation (3 inches is typical) and two layers of 5/8 inch sheetrock for extra measure.  The floors and ceilings have additional insulation. 
"Usually this is only done for sound studios," says Fernandez.  "This is an entire six-floor building."  The result? Silence. And in this city, you don't have to be a believer to call that a miracle.  
Elise Soukup, Sound Off, Newsweek, May 17, 2004.    Photo: Gregg Segal for Newsweek 



Viva Mexico, Washington, D.C. Celebrates, March 20 to October 15, 2004
http://search.atomz.com/search/?sp-q=Hispanic%2FLatino&submit=Search&sp-
a=sp1002d14d&sp-p=all&sp-f=ISO-8859-1


Washington, DC area cultural institutions have joined with the Mexican Cultural Institute and the Embassy of Mexico to present a celebration of Mexican culture this spring and summer through various exhibitions, performances and events. ¡Viva Mexico! Washington, DC Celebrates , is anchored by the exhibition "The Courtly Art of the Ancient Maya" making its debut in the United States and opening April 4, 2004 at the National Gallery of Art. "The Courtly Art of the Ancient Maya" is the first exhibition of its kind in the U.S. devoted specifically to this subject. In addition, the National Gallery will host " The Cubist Paintings of Diego Rivera: Memory, Politics, Place " and a special film series, The Milestones in Mexican Cinema. The Hirshhorn Museum, Arena Stage, Kennedy Center, the National Museum of Natural History , the National Cathedral and the National Endowment for the Arts are also planning exhibits and activities in conjunction with the celebration. Full details on special events can be found below: 



 

Puerta al Futuro: 
Fairleigh Dickinson's Gateway to the Future Program


Enabling Spanish-Speaking Adults to Learn English and Earn an Associate in Arts Degree Through Progressive All-Spanish to All-English Coursework 

Sent by by Deborah Gonzalez  dgewc@fdu.edu

New Jersey now ranks among the top 10 states in the country in terms of its Hispanic population. Among them are many newcomers with limited or no English language skills who have immigrated to the United States from throughout Mexico, the Caribbean, and Central and Latin America. 

For these individuals, the challenges of learning English and advancing their education while working are immense. In response to the growing number of employers interested in providing educational opportunities to their Latino employees, Fairleigh Dickinson has designed an exciting new Associate in Arts (A.A.) degree for Spanish-speaking adults that makes it possible for these men and women to realize their dreams and potential. 

By attending evening and Saturday classes as a cohort, participants in the Gateway to the Future program develop their English writing and speaking skills through a professional and structured program of study – plus earn their A.A. degree – in just three years. Language instruction will be provided through the University's partnership with ELS Educational Services, Inc., a division of Berlitz International, Inc. 

This new 60-credit program, which begins in the fall of 2003, is offered on the University's Metropolitan Campus in Teaneck, NJ. It combines proven, quality language training with the invaluable professional skills acquired through a college-level degree: the ability to communicate effectively, think critically, and work as a member of a team. 

Upon successful completion of the program, students will have the credentials needed to transfer into a traditional baccalaureate program at Fairleigh Dickinson or another accredited college or university. The Puerta al Futuro – Gateway to the Future – program continues the University's great tradition of what it does best: working with adult learners, providing them with the practical and professional education they need to further their careers. Program Format

Aimed at Spanish-speaking residents in northern New Jersey with very limited English skills, the program gradually transitions students from all-Spanish to all-English classes over the course of study. The first year combines intensive English language training with college-level coursework taught entirely in Spanish. In the second year, students continue their English language studies while attending courses in English and Spanish taught by bilingual faculty. By the third year, all courses are taught completely in English. 

The Gateway program is offered in three tri-semesters – a traditional 15-week fall semester followed by two 12-week winter and spring semesters – on Tuesday and Thursday evenings plus Saturdays. While there is a break in degree studies each summer during July and August, students do continue their English immersion courses year-round during the first five semesters. 

Academic courses will be taught by full- and part-time faculty at Fairleigh Dickinson University, as well as new adjunct faculty recruited form the Hispanic professional community. Fairleigh Dickinson was the first traditional university in the country to require all its students to take at least one three-credit online course for every 30 credits as part of its mission to prepare global citizens. The same holds true for participants in this program, who will build their Internet skills by taking two distance learning courses as part of their degree requirements. Theses courses are team-taught by members of the University's traditional faculty as well as its Global Virtual Faculty – scholars and professionals from around the world, including a number from Spanish-speaking countries. 

The Puerta al Futuro program has been developed in cooperation with the Bergen Hispanic Business Association and the Institute for Latino Studies, Research and Development. For More Information

For details on this innovative program, contact Deborah Gonzalez, Director, at the New College of General and Continuing Studies, at 201-692-2449 or dgewc@fdu.edu



MEXICO

Zirahuén, Rincón Michoacano
Luz Hilton Montejano
Maximillian and Carlota Grand Opera 
Irish Troops on the Mexican Side
Angel Custodio Rebollo 

      
Somos Primos en España
       La Primera Huelga
 

Como Buscar en familysearch
Jerez, Zacatecas, Mexico 
Los Principales Terratenientes
       Tapatios en los Albores del
       Siglo XVII

 





Zirahuén, Rincón Michoacano
Armando M Escobar Olmedo
Morelia, Michoacán, marzo de 2004


En la parte centro-norte del Estado de Michoacán se encuentra una de las más bellas regiones del Occidente de México, la del paradisiaco Lago de Zirahuén, situado en una cuenca de aproximadamente unos 600 kilómetros y que es alimentada por los ríos Zinamba y Manzanillo. Hidrográficamente pertenece a un conjunto endorreico.

De fácil acceso por la recientemente inaugurada autopista Morelia-Uruapan, se encuentra por esta, a unos 18 kilómetros de la ciudad de Pátzcuaro.

Zirahuén, cuyo nombre en tarasco significa "Humareda" según fray Diego de Basalenque (en su Arte de la Lengua Tarasca), pareciera sin embargo provenir el nombre más bien de la raíz "Thzirah, estar frio" (Diccionario Grande de la Lengua de Michoacán) el cual le va muy bien con lo fresco de la región. El pequeño poblado de origen prehispánico, pertenece actualmente al Municipio de Santa Clara del Cobre, cuya cabecera municipal es oficialmente conocida como Villa Escalante. Es muy visitado, principalmente los fines de semana, en vacaciones y temporadas calurosas.

Uno de los lugares preferidos es el embarcadero en cuyos lados se puede disfrutar de un apacible y bello paisaje y a la vez saborear la exquisita comida regional. 

 

En la siguiente fotografía podemos ver una típica mesa con su colorido mantel y atrás un brasero con su fogón de leña. En la mesa se observan varios platos que de arriba a la izquierda se ven unos charales enchilados y luego otros charles rebozados, ambos son muy buenos para "botanear" mientras se sirve la comida principal. Así con una gruesas y calientitas tortillas de maíz fresco y recién salidas del comal, se puedes saborear los crujientes charales acompañados de una buena copa de tequila o charanda (aguardiente) o bien una fresca cerveza. A continuación está un plato con unas redondas tortitas de papa, que acompañadas de una salsa de jitomate son excelentes antes de comer el plato principal, ya sea los pescados blancos rebozados que se ven en el plato siguiente y que se encuentran entre los mas deliciosos que puedan disfrutar los más exigentes paladares, o bien unos sabrosos chiles rellenos, rellenos de queso.

En la siguiente fila se ven los charales frescos listos para cocinarse, o bien puestos en sus vasos para ser comidos solos con su limón. Se ve un plato de queso Oaxaca que servirá para las no menos sabrosas quesadillas, que podrán ser si quieren de flor de calabaza, o de hongos o de huitlacoches. Le siguen unos brillantes y relucientes chiles perones, picosos pero sabrosos y unos aguacates para el infaltable guacamole.


En la imagen siguiente se ve el rústico brasero con su comal en el que se están cociendo los jitomates para la salsa; el metate con su masa de maíz para hacer las tortillas o gorditas, y en la mesa diferentes guisos regionales y grandes pescados para freirse. Si se prefiere se les pueden asar unos bosteces con su salsa picante y así, mientras se come y se disfruta del apacible paisaje, se contempla como llegan los pescadores en sus canoas de madera. 

Después de comer, se embarca uno para dar una paseo por el lago, y al regresar se apresta uno para aprovisionarse de los típicos dulces.


En esta vistosa y navideña mesa, vemos algunos de los mas variados dulces de la región: De la izquierda arriba hacia la derecha se ven las apetecibles rebanadas de calabaza azucarada o con piloncillo, le siguen, naranjas azucaradas, Chilacayotes o bolas de amaranto (alegría) y calabazas en tacha completas, a su lado a la derecha se ven don recipientes con zanahorias en dulce y jitomates azucarados, bajo estos en color oscuro se ven las pencas deliciosas de nopal enmieladas; en el extremo derecho y con sus tenazas amarillas, el blanco dulce de coco: A su izquierda unos verdes limones rellenos de coco, rodeados de jamoncillos y rebanadas de piña azucarada. En los vasos se encuentras lo muy sabrosos tejocotes en miel. Y cerca de ellos uno vistosos jarritos de tamarindo con chile. No se aprecia en la foto pero del lado extremo izquierdo abajo estaban una gran variedad de nueces, almendras, cacahuates y semillas garapiñados, o tortitas de ajonjolí en dulce y un gran cantidad de dulces cuyos nombres omitimos.

Terminamos nuestro recorrido por el bello Zirahuén y antes de regresar a Morelia, con una vista de la imagen del Santo Cristo de la capilla lateral de la Parroquia del lugar, con un fondo ricamente tallado en madera (de la que abunda en la región). No nos queda mas que decirles, ¡los esperamos en este bello rincón michoacano.




LUZ HILTON MONTEJANO 
luzmontejano@hotmail.com
 

MASTER GENEALOGIST AND AUTHOR
http://www.prodigyweb.net.mx/luzmontejano/

ULTIMAS NOTICIASARTÍCULOS QUE PUEDEN INTERESARTE nuevo
INVESTIGACIONES GENEALÓGICAS nuevo
LIBROS QUE NOS PUEDEN AYUDARVÍNCULOS GENEALÓGICOSSE SOLICITA INFORMACIÓN 


I
NVESTIGACIONES GENEALÓGICAS by Luz Montejano

ARMENDÁRIZ (Chihuahua, México)

CORDERO (Chihuahua, México)

CORDERO (Edo. de México, México)

ESCALANTE (Medina-Sidonia en Cádiz, Andalucía, España - Puebla, Cd. de México, México)

LÓPEZ RAYÓN (Maravatío en Michoacán, México)

MONTEJANO (Zacatecas, Jalisco, Chihuahua, México)

MONTIEL (Huelva, España - Tamaulipas, México)

PÉREZ-GRANILLO (Tlaxcala, Sonora, Chihuahua, México)

PEVEDILLA (Lugar de Escobedo, Valle de Camargo en Burgos, España - Cd. de México)

SILVA (Querétaro, México)

SONÍ (Hidalgo, México)

TORRES-GUERRERO (Michoacán, Cd. de México, México)

TRASVIÑA Y RETES (España - Chihuahua, México)

UGALDE (Querétaro, México)

URANGA (Tolosa en Guipúzcoa, España - Chihuahua, Puebla, México)

URIBE (Errigoitia, Bilbao en Vizcaya, España - Cd. de México, México)

VEGA, DE LA (Lugar de Carraza, Villa de Laredo en Burgos, España - Chihuahua, México)

VERA (Tarazona en Zaragoza, España - Querétaro, México) (presentación de prueba)

ZAVALA (Guanajuato, México)

ZURIA o SURIA EN MÉXICO (Foyos en Valencia y Madrid, España - Cd. de México)

 

Maximillian 
and 
Carlota 
Grand Opera
 

http://www.grandopera.com

Sent by George Gause :ggause@panam.edu
Source: John Inclan fromgalveston@yahoo.com



Irish Troops on the Mexican Side
For information, go to the Catholic church publication:
http://www.crisismagazine.com/hogan.htm

Publicado 30 de mayo de 2004 
en "Odiel Informaci
ón"

SOMOS PRIMOS 

Leyendo el Boletín "Somos Primos" de abril pasado, me encontré con el nombre de una población y recordé que siempre, en mi época joven, era en la que se situaban las novelas del oeste y donde tanto los indios, como "el forastero" protagonizaban sus aventuras, perdiendo los primeros y ganándolas el segundo.

Pero me fijé en Laredo, porque en la publicación mencionada al principio, se dedicaba un capitulo a Tomás Sánchez de la Barreda y Garza, nacido en el Valle de Carrizal cerca de Monterrey en 1709, que fue fundador el 15 de mayo de 1755 de Laredo.

El Capitán Sánchez, que estaba a las órdenes de José de Escandon que era el responsable de la colonización del Río Grande, recibió permiso del Gobernador para que con 3 familias mas formasen un pequeño núcleo de población, a unas 30 millas de la Hacienda Ntra. Sra. De los Dolores. Escandon había sido encargado de la creación de 20 ciudades y 18 misiones en la zona que llamaron Nuevo Santander.

En 1767, cuando ya eran 185 las familias, eligieron a José Martínez Sotomayor como Alcalde, pero como no supo defender a Laredo de los ataques de los indios, fue sustituido por el Capitán Sánchez, que además de fundador y Juez, fue su Alcalde.

Pero esta historia fue originada por un paisano nuestro, de quien Tomas Sánchez de la Barrera era descendiente, porque Francisco Sánchez de la Barrera, hijo de José Sánchez Ortega y Juana Márquez de la Barrera, nacido en Lepe en 1603, llegó a Nueva España como soldado de Felipe III en la Compañía del Gobernador Martín de Zavala.

Contrajo matrimonio con Maria Durán Uzcanga en 1632 y se convirtió en Escribano Publico de Monterrey, donde residió con su familia hasta su muerte el 2 de febrero de 1678.

Angel Custodio Rebollo.

Publicado 17 de mayo de 2004 
en "Odiel Información"

LA PRIMERA HUELGA.

Muchas veces, repasando la historia, te encuentras con noticias que casi no puedes creer. Por ejemplo, ¿sabes quien provocó la
primera huelga en Norteamérica?. Pues fue un español en el verano de 1766, se llamaba Pedro Romero de Terreros y había nacido en mi pueblo, en Cortegana, en 1710.

Emigró a América donde vivía su tío Juan Vázquez de Terreros que tenía negocios en Querétaro en la Nueva España. A los tres años de llegar murió su tío y heredó sus bienes, que tampoco eran muchos, pero como era un hombre emprendedor y que no se arredraba por nada, inició primero su carrera política a nivel local y posteriormente adquirió una mina de plata, que le produjo toda su fortuna, tanto que se decía que era el hombre mas rico de toda América en aquel tiempo.

Era muy caritativo y le gustaba ser alabado por su pueblo, por lo que rodeaba todos sus actos de parafernalia, para que se conociera todo lo que hacía para la comunidad.

Las minas de Don Pedro, producían enormes cantidades del noble metal, lo que permitía a su propietario pagar unos salarios en los que se incluían parte de los minerales extraídos, que los propios mineros vendían o comercializaban.

Pero cuando llegó la hora de reducir costes, en junio de 1765, redujo los sueldos en un 25%, aunque él seguía entregando para las organizaciones religiosas y políticas, las mismas donaciones, lo que exaltó a los mineros e iniciaron "rebelión" que hoy le llamamos huelga, pero que entonces como no existía esa palabra. Huelga no se introdujo en el diccionario hasta 1884.

Los ánimos se alteraron mucho y el propietario de la mina, para no ceder ante la reivindicaciones de los mineros, se retiró a su Hacienda y dejó que intervinieran los políticos para castigar a los rebeldes, aunque su reputación si quedó dañada.

Angel Custodio Rebollo  

 

Como buscar en familysearch

Por Salvador Cabral Valdés
scabral@ancestros.com.mx

Ing. Agr..Zoot.

Pagina Personal

Heraldica y Genealogia Cabral Valdés

 

La  iglesia de Jesucristo de los santos de los últimos días,  tiene una pagina dedicada exclusivamente a la búsqueda de ancestros, que se llama,  http://www.familysearch.org/   y en donde aparecerán  barias opciones  pero  las de  mejores resultados son la buscar(search) y aparece una relación de búsquedas como;

All  Resources

Aquí encontramos toda la siguiente información, en forma  general,

Ancestral File, Census,  International Genealogical Index, Pedigree Resource File, US Social Security Death Index, Vital Records Index, Search Family History Web Sites.

 

Ancestral File  y Pedigree Resource File.

En estos dos temas encontramos buena información, incluso algunos pequeños árboles genealógicos, pero lo malo que no tiene el gedcom, sin que tiene que comprar los discos.

 

International Genealogical Index,  Vital Records Index.

El primero es el mas completo, tiene mucha información, y en el Segundo tiene información interesante porque trae incluido a los abuelos, así que uno avanza mucho con esta información,

 

En estos dos lugares, es donde podemos manejar los batch, o el numero del film, y a buscar ancestros.

 

Donde se escribirá el apellido, el país y el estado donde buscamos, y nos saldrá una lista con todas las personas  que tengan el  apellido  que estamos buscando, pero  sale una selección de 5000 nombres como máximo o los que existan en el estado, la búsqueda esta dada por Film, y por batch, en el batch salen  todos los apellidos por municipio si son de Jerez, podemos pone el batch J600804 o el  K600800  en los cuales aparecen en unos puras mujeres y en otros puros hombres, también aparecen puros matrimonios en los batch

M600801 o también C600801 que son puros bautismos.  a continuación los batch, los film de algunos municipios de Zacatecas que se están investigando

 

Significado de las letras adelante de los números

C= Bautismos M= Matrimonios J= Hombres K= Mujeres

 

 

Jerez, Zacatecas, Mexico.

Bautismos:

No de Film Años Batch No Batch No Batch No Batch No 
0439844  1648 – 1746 C600801      
0439845 1746 - 1758 C600802      
0439846 1761 - 1771 C600803      
0439847 1771 - 1780      J600804 K600804
0439848 1780 - 1800     J600805 K600805
0439849 1806 - 1874     J600806 K600806
0439850 1820 - 1828 C600807      
0439851 1836 - 1840 C600808
0439852 1867 - 1869 C600809       
0439853 1870 - 1871 C607171      
0439854 1871 - 1873 C607172      
0439855  1873 - 1875 C607173      
0439889 1867 - 1891 C607175

Matrimonios

0439844

1648 - 1746

M600801

 

Tepetongo,  Zacatecas,  México

Bautismos:

445156 1750-1797

C600831

445157 1797-1817

C600832

445158 1818-1831

C600833

445159 1831-1842

C600834

445160 1842-1850    

J600835

K600835
445161 1850-1858

C600836

     
445162 1859-1869

C600837

     

445163

1839-1877 C600838      

Matrimonios

445236 1816-1849   M606211    
445237 1849-1869   M606212    
445238 1870-1888   M606213    

 

Monte Escobedo, Zacatecas, México

Matrimonios

1158237 1799-1877 M611173
1158238 1877-1899 M611174

 

Zacatecas,  México

Bautismos

245034 1840-1842 C600782      
283370 1854-1878 C600781      
245035 1859-1861 C600783      
245036 1861-1863 C600784      
245037 1863-1866 C600785      
245038 1866-1868 C600786      
245039 1868-1869 C600787      
245040 1869-1870     J600789 K600789
245041 1870-1871        
245042 1871     J6006141 K6006141
245043 1871-1873 C600142      
245044 1873-1874 C600143      
245045 1874-1875 C600144      
245084 1867-1900 C600146      


Villanueva, Zacatecas, México

Bautismos

1092952 1860-1865 C601091      
1092954 1870-1873 C601093      
1092955 1876-1880 C601094      

Matrimonios

1094363 1859-1871   M601095    
1094364 1871-1882   M601096    


Villanueva, Zacatecas, México

Bautismos

443799 1630-1632 C600891      
443800 1694-1703        
443801 1704-1718 C600893      
443802 1718-1732     J600894 K600894
443803 1732-1745 C600895      
443804 1745-1758 C600896      
443805 1758-1764 C600897      
443806 1764-1769 C600898      
443807 1769-1777 C600899      
443809 1788-1800 C607122      
443810 1800-1809 C607123      
443812 1818-1823 C607125      
443814 1828-1833 C607127      

Matrimonios

443968 1704-1754   M607139    
443969 1754-1769   M607141    
443970 1769-1791   M607142    
443971 1791-1821   M607143    
443972 1821-1840   M607144    
443973 1842-1855   M607145    
443974 1858-1885   M607146    
443975 1885   M607147    

 

Pinos, Zacatecas, México

Bautismos

1095299 1769-1779 C601467      
1095300 1774-1778 C601468      

Matrimonios

1096163 1697-1769   M606317    
1096164 1760-1784   M606318    
1096165 1784-1820   M606319    
1096166 1797-1831   M606321    
1096792 1807-1853   M606322    
1096793 1853-1871   M606323    

 

Panuco, Zacatecas, México

Bautismos

1093323 1684-1883     J601111 K601111
1093324 1784-1834        

Matrimonios

1093332 1977-1749   M601116    
1093333 1752-1787   M601117    
1092764 1787-1834   M601118    
1092765 1836-1879   M601119    
1092766 1880-1885   M607151    

 

Panuco, Zacatecas, México

Bautismos

443987 1776-1811 C600841
443989 1829-1850 C600843
443990 1850-1878 C600844

Matrimonios

444019 1776-1907   M600895    
 



                          
LOS PRINCIPALES TERRATENIENTES TAPATIOS 
                                          EN LOS ALBORES DEL SIGLO XVII

                                                                     by 
                                                      Guillermo Padilla Origel

Dadas varias circunstancias por las mercedes de tierras otorgadas a principios de la colonización Española en la Nueva España, existieron en la capital de la Nueva Galicia, tres personajes destacados por sus cuantiosas fortunas y que detallamos a continuación:


I.-El Alférez Real Don Diego de Porres Baranda, alcalde mayor de la villa de San Miguel el Grande y Sombrerete y Alcalde ordinario de Guadalajara, funda el primer mayorazgo Tapatío en 1603 en Guadalajara, donde comenta que pertenecieron a su patrimonio tres cuartas partes de la manzana en contraesquina del palacio de gobierno con portal que aún tiene vista a la plaza de armas, conocido como el portal de la "Fruta" o del "mayorazgo" ; la famosa hacienda de "Mazatepeque" ó "San Isidro" y muchas mas tierras, se casó en primeras nupcias con ;:

Doña Beatriz de Rivera, de la cual tuvo cuatro hijos:

1.-Diego, murió joven, 2.- Juan fue presbítero, 3.- Ana , religiosa, y 4.- Casilda, también religiosa, se casó en segundas nupcias con:

Doña Catalina Temiño de la Mota, hija legítima de Don Gaspar de la Mota y Mena y Doña Bernardina Temiño de Bañuelos y de este matrimonio fueron 7 hijos, a los cuales como condición al mayorazgo les solicito que utilizaran en primer término el apellido Porres Baranda , y fueron :

1.-Bernardina, casada con Rodrigo de Ibarra; 
2.-Francisca,
3.-Catalina, religiosa,
4.-Sancha,
5.-Juana,
6.-María y
7.-Magdalena, ( primer mayorazgo) la cual heredó los bienes del mayorazgo en 1620 y se casó en primeras nupcias en 1619, en Guadalajara, con su deudo: Don Bernardo de Porres Osorio y fueron dos de sus hijos:
Don Bernardo de Porres Baranda y Núñez de Villavicencio y
Doña María Manuela de Porres Baranda y Núñez de Villavicencio casada con Bartolomé de Mestas Bustillos.

Doña Magdalena, se casó en segundas nupcias con Don Hernando Mojica y fue su hijo: 

Don Diego de Porres Baranda y Núñez de Villavicencio, (segundo mayorazgo)

Doña Magdalena, se casó en terceras nupcias con el capitán Don Juan de Robles en 1658, y fueron sus hijos entre otros:

1.-Don Juan Blas Porres Baranda y Núñez de Villavicencio, ( tercer mayorazgo) casado con Doña Juana Carrillo Baeza y Calderón y su hermano: 

2.- Alférez real y regidor Don Francisco de Porres Baranda y Núñez de Villavicencio, ( cuarto mayorazgo) muerto en 1762, se caso en primeras nupcias con Francisca Temiño y en segundas con Teresa de Gamboa.

Don Diego de Porres Baranda "el viejo", se casó en terceras nupcias con Doña Mariana de Padilla Dávila y Domínguez, hija legitima de Don Lorenzo de Padilla Dávila y Temiño de Velazco y de Doña Juana Domínguez y Barahona Padilla y fue su hija :

1.-Doña Andrea de Porres Baranda y Padilla Dávila, casada con el capitan Don Francisco Ruíz de Otálora y a su vez fue su hijo Don Marcos Ruíz de Otálora y Porres Baranda bautizado en la villa de los Lagos, en 1643.

II.-Don Juan González de Apodaca, nacido en 1549 en Ubirrudia, Álava, España, hijosdalgo, escribano real en Guadalajara, alcalde de la provincia de Ávalos, mercedado y dueño de la hacienda de "Cuicillos", y de la de "Huejotitlán", asi como varias casas ubicadas en el portal llamado de "Apodaca", colindando con la casa de Don Diego de Padilla Dávila, (donde hoy esta la oficina de telégrafos), murió en Guadalajara el 11 de febrero de 1619 y tuvo una hija natural llamada, Francisca de Apodaca, casada el 15 de septiembre de 1619 con Don Agustín de Velazco; y Don Juan se Casó en primeras nupcias, con Doña Micaela Rubín de Celis, hija legítima de Francisco Pérez Rubín de Celis y Doña Francisca Flores y de este matrimonio fue su hijo :

1.-Don Juan González de Apodaca y Rubín de Celis, "el mozo", heredero principal de la fortuna de su padre, hizo testamento el 30 de mayo de 1629 en Guadalajara y se casó en primeras nupcias con Doña Francisca Cerón de Toledo, hija legítima de Don Juan de Cerón Carvajal y de Felipa de Toledo y Don Juan y Doña Francisca tuvieron dos hijos:

a.-Don Nicolás González de Apodaca y Cerón, bautizado en 1619 y murió niño, y

b.-Doña Magdalena González de Apodaca y Cerón, bautizada en 1599, sin descendencia.

Don Juan Gózales de Apodaca y Rubin de Celis, se casó en segundas nupcias con :

Doña Antonia Guerra de Colio, hija legitima de Francisco Guerra de Colio y Catalina de Barrios, y tampoco hubo descendencia, entonces Don Juan heredó a su sobrino en segundo grado y fue:

Don Zeledón González de Apodaca , tambien ultramarino de Álava, hijo legítimo de Don Juan González de Apodaca y Cortázar y María González de Apodaca, primos hermanos de su tia Magdalena, fue pues heredero universal de las propiedades de su tia y se casó Don Zeledón con la viuda de su tio Doña Antonia Guerra de Colio, sin tener tampoco descendencia.
Don Zeledón tuvo una hija natural y fue Doña Mariana González de Apodaca, la cual fue la heredera universal de los bienes de su padre, pero como ya tenia varias deudas, tuvo que vender lo que poseía para pagar todo lo que debía su padre, quedando sin recursos.


III.-Don Luis de Ahumada, ultramarino, hijo del conquistador Francisco de Estrada , encomendero de "guachinango" y nieto de Don Antonio de Estrada y Mayor de Vallejo; Don Luis tuvo una hermana llamada Francisca de Estrada, casada con Pedro de Narváez y a su vez tuvieron dos hijos: Francisco y María.
Don Luis, aumentó su patrimonio considerablemente ya que fue dueño de todo el valle de "Ameca" con 80,000 hectáreas de tierra, se casó con Doña Mariana de Ojeda, hija del contador Juan de Ojeda y tuvieron 6 hijos entre ellos tenemos conocimiento de tres:

1.-Don Francisco de Ahumada y Ojeda, Teniente, alcalde mayor de Guachinango en 1599

2.-Doña María de Ahumada y Ojeda, casada con Fernando de Aguilar, alcalde ordinario de Guadalajara, sin sucesión.

3.-Doña Ana de Ojeda, casada con Pedro Enríquez Topete, corregidor de Tlacochula

de estas familias descienden las familias Jalisciences : Ahumada, Rico, Topete, Cañedo, Vizcarra y varias otras familias tapatías.


Fuentes Bibliográficas:

Memorias de la academia de genealogía y heráldica "Mota Padilla", 1955, el primer mayorazgo tapatío, por Don Ricardo Lancaster Jones.

Diccionario biográfico de occidente Novohispano de Thomás Hillerkuss, volumen 2

Los protocolos de Rodrigo Hernández Cordero, de Don Jorge Palomino y Cañedo

CARIBBEAN/CUBA



A Typical Californio Boy (Chapter One)  
February 2004 Essays III
by Manuel Hernández 
 
http://www.puertoricans.com/city/MANNY/index.asp
Professor Manuel Hernández  mannyh32@puertoricans.com
http://www.geocities.com/mannyh32/
For additional information, call 787-448-6080 or e-mail.

My grandfather came to the United States of America in the winter of 1900. Puerto Ricans began migrating to the United States as back as 1775, but it was not until Americans won the Hispanic American War that their presence as a community in America emerged. He was part of a massive immigration movement inspired by the new American military government of 1898. 

Great-grandpa lost half of his property to a Spanish landlord in the hills of an eastern coast town in Puerto Rico, and he welcomed his newly found American friends with open arms. His first-born was forced to drop out of school to help support the family at the age of seven. Manolo sold his mother's famous "papaya" sweets in the morning and worked as a delivery boy in the local bakery in the afternoon. When he turned ten, his parents separated, and his uncle needed help in his farm, so he was sent away and worked like a stubborn mule from dawn to sunset in his uncles plantain field in the steep hills of Naguabo. 

With the change of government, a new immigration package was announced through town representatives. There was an Island in the Pacific called Hawaii, and Puerto Ricans were told they could make a fortune and provide for the well being of their families on The Island. There were too many Puerto Ricans in The Island of Puerto Rico, and the unemployment rate was high, they reasoned. Manolo agreed. You only got a ticket if you participated and won a lottery. His cousin won the ticket, but Manolo was persistent and won it back after he challenged him and won it over a deck of cards. He had just turned eighteen and was tired of being enslaved and humiliated by his uncle and father. 

It was a cold freezing night when the loud steamboat reached the California coastline. There were about six thousand Puerto Rican men who made the two-week boat trip. They were all lined up like sardines in a can when American soldiers greeted them on the dock. The thousands of flashing lights Manolo saw from inside the boat startled him. The soldiers had rifles and bayonets, and he feared the worst. As he walked down the stairs and into the dock, the stark wind felt like it could cut his skin. He had an old worn sweater, and he felt the cold breeze crawling in every bone of his body. His lips began peeling, his ears felt like solid rock, and his knees trembled like an earthquake. When he looked at the line of the sun in his hands, they seemed to be out of their usual position. 

From there, they walked swiftly but steadfastly for about two miles under the guidance and watchful eye of their caretakers. They were taken to giant freight trains. Grandpa was worried. First, the soldiers, then the rifles and now the train. Some of the Islanders started thinking of escaping. He had dreamed of a better life in Hawaii, but he feared for his life. At two in the morning, he and a thousand others got out of the train and ran towards the flashing town lights he had seen hours earlier. 

The new immigrants founded a Puerto Rico of their own in California. After many discussions, the local town government decided to let them stay, and grandpa began his adult life working in a farm in California. The salary was a bit higher than what he made in Puerto Rico, but he made the best of his situation and settled down in a rural neighborhood just minutes away from the city. Two years later, he met the lady of his dreams and married a Mexican girl who had ran across the border from Tijuana. He never again would go back to La Isla. 


INTERNATIONAL 

"Don Quixote" 
University Colombia Medical School
Hombres de Gibraleón
Spanish Civil Archival System



"Don Quixote" 

Written in 1604 by Cervantes, 2004 and the next will be celebrated during the 400th anniversary celebration.  In April the celebration started by a 44-hour public reading of the masterpiece.  The marathon involved readers from 19 Spanish-speaking nations, and almost a dozen others, many of them connected by audio link, such as London, Paris, Honolulu.



The National University of Colombia Medical School


In 1826, seven years after the Independence from Spain Simon Bolivar signed a law to organize three Central Universities in the three departments of the Gran Colombia: Bogota, Caracas and Quito. The one in Bogota was closed by political reasons. In 1864 Antonio Vargas Reyes and a group physicians started the Private Medical School in the Capital of Colombia.

In 1867 the President of Colombia, a physician and General Santos Acosta, signed the Law # 66 to create the National University of the United States of Colombia.

The Private Medical School started by Antonio Vargas Reyes and colleagues was incorporated into the National University Medical School. The San Juan de Dios Hospital was also ascribed to the new organization.

The National University was a center of excellence for Colombia. Students came from all regions in the country and from neighboring ones. Initially, the French influence characterized the teachings. Therefore, Professor Pierre Paul Broc of Anatomy and Bernard Daste of surgery were invited to joint the medical staff.

Most Colombian physicians traveled to France for postgraduate education at the University of Paris. After WWII the American influence started and Doctors came to the United States for their specialty training in different fields of medicine.

In 1955 a group of 185 medical students completed their courses at the National University Medical School. Many of them came to the the best universities in the USA to finish their education. Most of us returned to practice in Colombia and taught at the medical schools; other fellows stayed in the United States.

Next year the Medical Students who graduated from the National University Medical School in Bogota, Colombia will have their Golden anniversary. Mrs. Mimi Lozano has suggested to write these lines to reach some of our colleagues living in the USA and invite them to participate in this event. Friends in Argentina and Bolivia have made web sites for the occasion and we would like to invite you to visit them. The Web Address is: www.amun55.8m.net For more information please contact Jaime Gomez-Gonzalez, M.D. e-mail amun2005@yahoo.com

Best regards,

Jaime Gomez-Gonzalez, M.D.,  gome8457@bellsouth.net
148 Newcastle Drive
Jupiter, Florida 33458  USA
amun2005@yahoo.com
Visita la pagina http://www.amun55.8m.net



           Publicado en “Odiel Información 
                el 10 de mayo de 2004 

Hombres de Gibraleón

Gibraleón aportó mucho capital humano para la conquista de América. Tenemos a Andrés Dorantes y a su esclavo Estevanico, de los que he hablado en diferentes ocasiones; a Rodrigo de Gibraleón, que estableció muy buenos negocios en la isla de Cuba y Panamá, convirtiendo a su familia en una de las mas acaudaladas y prósperas de aquella zona, y a sus hijos Juan que se hizo cargo de los negocios en México y Ruy Díaz de Gibraleón, que participó de ellos en Perú.

A todos ellos les he dedicado anteriormente unas líneas en mi pequeña columna, pero de quien no he dicho antes nada es de Juan Martínez de Vergara, que era natural de Gibraleón, y su padre que era natural de la Villa guipuzcoana de Vergara, que también se llamaba Juan Martínez de Vergara, cuando vino a Gibraleón se casó aquí con Isabel Alonso, vecina de la población y se quedó a vivir por estas tierras donde nacieron sus hijos.         

Juan (hijo) fue el progenitor de una rama del apellido Vergara, que aún conserva descendientes en Chile. El llegó a Chile para intervenir en la conquista en el año 1601, a las órdenes del Gobernador Alonso de Rivera y como soldado de la Compañía del Capitán Gines de Lillo. 

Fue adquiriendo graduación por méritos durante varios años hasta que en 1628 llegó a ser capitán, con cuya categoría unos años después, en 1634 contrajo matrimonio con Magdalena de Leiva y Sepúlveda, con quien tuvo cuatro hijos; un varón Juan y tres hembras, Francisca, Mariana e Isabel.

Llegó ser admitido en la nobleza de la Villa de Madrid y falleció en Valparaíso en 1668.

Era propietario de varios edificios en Santiago de Chile y Valparaíso, algunos que se conservan y están declarados monumentos protegidos. Una rama de la familia aún existe en la zona de Talca.

Angel Custodio Rebollo Barroso
custodiorebollo@terra.es 
                                        



A Brief Look at the Spanish Civil Archival System 
By Lynn Turner 
Everton's Newsline--13 May 2004
Sent by Chuck Bobo ChuckBobo@aol.com
  
Understanding archival systems in your country of interest will help you become a better genealogist. Knowing where records are archived can be one of the biggest obstacles many researchers encounter. This article will briefly explore the oft-confusing archival system of Spain. 

The civil archival system in Spain can be divided into three levels: 
1. Municipal Archives 
2. Provincial Historical Archives 
3. National Archives 

The first level of archives in Spain is Municipal. Municipal archives house local records. These records include, but are not limited to, business licenses, town censuses, immigration records, draft records or anything pertaining to the local city. 

Included in this same level are juzgados or courts of first instance. These courts are important to know. They usually are found in larger cities or a designated central town of several smaller towns.  If a town has a juzgado, the civil registers in the town will be kept in the local courthouse. If the town does not have a juzgado, the civil registers will be stored in the ayuntamiento or city hall. Larger cities may be divided into districts, which are in charge of keeping and maintaining their own civil registers. Spain’s civil registers system began in 1870. Each book should have an index in the back, making them easier to search. Civil register records include birth, marriage, and death. They have proved to be excellent alternatives when parish records do not exist. They also act a verifying tool to church or oral records. 

The next level is Provincial. Notary records demand the attention of the genealogist at the provincial level. All notary records kept within a particular province were ordered to be centralized in the provincial archives located in the capitol of the province. The records are organized chronologically under each notary. Notary records include marriage contracts, wills, real property sales, lawsuits, power of attorney and others. Our ancestors’ lives become more real with the help of these invaluable records. In death inventories and wills an individual’s belongings are listed, allowing us to peek into their world for a brief moment. Notary records often serve as better gap fillers than civil registers. Civil registers are often complete, but limit your search to after 1870; whereas notary records often date back into the 1500s. 

The final level of the Spanish archival system is that of National. Spain’s national archival system is separated into different entities such as geographical location or time period. National archives include records pertaining to the national government, royal chancelleries, military, and the American colonies. Some of these archives have searchable indexes or inventories on the Internet, making their repositories more accessible to the public and more valuable to the genealogist. The best Web site for Spanish provincial and national archives is http://www.mec.es  .  

Lynn Turner is a senior at Brigham Young University. He will graduate with a bachelor’s degree. in genealogy and family history in August 2004. His areas of specialty include Latin America, Spain, and the United States. He provides research services and consultations and can be reached at lynnturner@hotmail.com

 

HISTORY

* Bissonnette on Costume
* Clash of Steel  
Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and it's Guard 



* Bissonnette on Costume: A Visual Directory of Fashion

http://dept.kent.edu/museum/costume
Find out what was "in" for your kin.

* Clash of Steel  
http://www.clash-of-steel.co.uk
Search this database of military engagements to learn about the battles your ancestors fought.
 

Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and it's Guard 
Sent by Bill Carmena JCarm1724@aol.com

Interesting facts about the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and the Sentinels of the Third United States Infantry Regiment "Old Guard"

1. How many steps does the guard take during his walk across the tomb of the Unknowns and why? Answer: 21 steps. It alludes to the twenty-one gun salute, which is the highest honor given any military or foreign dignitary

2. How long does he hesitate after his about face to begin his return walk and why? Answer: 21 seconds for the same reason as answer number 1.

3. Why are his gloves wet?  His gloves are moistened to prevent his losing his grip on the rifle.

4. Does he carry his rifle on the same shoulder all the time, and if not, why not?  No, he carries the rifle on the shoulder away from the tomb. After his march across the path, he executes an about face, and moves the rifle to the outside shoulder.

5. How often are the guards changed? Guards are changed every thirty minutes, twenty-four hours a day, 365 days a year.

6. What are the required physical traits of the guard? The honor is limited. Soldiers who apply for guard duty at the tomb, he must be between 5' 10" and 6' 2" tall. Their waist size cannot exceed 30".

Other requirements of the Guard:

They must commit 2 years of their lives to guard the tomb. They live in a barracks under the tomb, and cannot drink any alcohol on or off duty FOR THE REST OF THEIR LIVES. They cannot swear in public FOR THE REST OF THEIR LIVES and cannot disgrace the uniform {fighting} or the tomb in any way.

After TWO YEARS, the guard is given a wreath insignia that is worn on their lapel signifying they served as guard of the tomb. There are only 400 such pins presently worn. The guard must obey the rules of the guard for the rest of their lives or give up the wreath pin.

The shoes are specially made with very thick soles to keep the heat and cold from their feet. There are metal heel plates that extend to the top of the shoe in order to make the loud click as they come to a halt. There are no wrinkles, folds or lint on the uniform. Guards dress for duty in front of a full-length mirror.

During the first SIX MONTHS of duty a guard cannot talk to anyone, nor watch TV. All off duty time is spent studying the 175 notable people laid to rest in Arlington National Cemetery. A guard must memorize who they are and where they are interred. Among the notables are: President Taft, Joe E. Lewis

{the boxer} and Medal of Honor winner Audie Murphy, {the most decorated soldier of WWII} of Hollywood fame. Every guard spends FIVE HOURS A DAY ensuring that his uniforms are ready for sentinel duty.

The Sentinels Creed

"My dedication to this sacred duty is total and wholehearted. In the responsibility bestowed on me never will I falter. And with dignity and perseverance my standard will remain perfection. Through the years of diligence and praise and the discomfort of the elements, I will walk my tour in humble reverence to the best of my ability. It is he who commands the respect I protect. His bravery that made us so proud. Surrounded by well meaning crowds by day alone in the thoughtful peace of night, this soldier will in honored glory rest under my eternal vigilance."

More Interesting facts about the Tomb of the Unknowns The marble for the Tomb of the Unknowns was furnished by the Vermont Marble Company of Danby, Vt. The marble is the finest and whitest of American marble, quarried from the Yule Marble Quarry located near Marble, Colorado and is called Yule Marble. The Marble for the Lincoln memorial and other famous buildings was also quarried there. The Tomb consists of seven pieces of rectangular marble:

Four pieces in sub base; weight Â- 15 tons One piece in base or plinth; weight Â- 16 tons One piece in die; weight Â- 36 tons One piece in cap; weight Â- 12 tons.  Carved on the East side (the front of the Tomb, which faces Washington, D.C.) is a composite of three figures, commemorative of the spirit of the Allies of World War I. In the center of the panel stands Victory (female). On the right side, a male figure symbolizes Valor. On the left side stands Peace, with her palm branch to reward the devotion and sacrifice that went with courage to make the cause of righteousness triumphant. The north and south sides are divided into three panels by Doric pilasters. In each panel is an inverted wreath. On the west, or rear, panel (facing the Amphitheater) is enscribed:

HERE RESTS IN HONORED GLORY AN AMERICAN SOLDIER KNOWN BUT TO GOD

The first Tomb of the Unknown Soldier was a sub base and a base or plinth. It was slightly smaller than the present base. This was torn away when the present Tomb was started Aug. 27, 1931. The Tomb was completed and the area opened to the public 9:15 a.m. April 9, 1932, without any ceremony.

Cost of the Tomb Â- $48,000 Sculptor Â- Thomas Hudson Jones Architect Â- Lorimer Rich Contractors Â- Hagerman & Harris, New York City Inscription Â- Author Unknown (Interesting Commentary)

The Third Infantry Regiment at Fort Myer has the responsibility for providing ceremonial units and honor guards for state occasions, White House social functions, public celebrations and interments at Arlington National Cemetery and standing a very formal sentry watch at the Tomb of the Unknowns.

The public is familiar with the precision of what is called "walking post" at the Tombs. There are roped off galleries where visitors can form to observe the troopers and their measured step and almost mechanically silent rifle shoulder changes. They are relieved every hour in a very formal drill that has to be seen to be believed. Some people think that when the Cemetery is closed to the public in the evening that this "show" stops. First, to the men who are dedicated to this work, it is no show. It is a "charge of honor." 

The formality and precision continues uninterrupted all night. During the nighttime, the drill of relief and the measured step of the on duty sentry remain unchanged from the daylight hours. To these men, these special men, the continuity of this post is the key to the honor and respect shown to these honored dead, symbolic of all American, unaccounted for, combat dead. The steady rhythmic step in rain, sleet, snow, hail, heat, cold, must be uninterrupted. Uninterrupted is the important part of the honor shown. Recently, while we were sleeping, the teeth of hurricane Isabel came through this area and tore hell out of everything. We had thousands of trees down, power outages, traffic signals out, roads filled with downed limbs and "gear adrift" debris. We had flooding and the place looked like it had been the impact area of an off shore bombardment. The Regimental Commander of the U.S. Third Infantry sent word to the nighttime Sentry Detail to secure the post and seek shelter from the high winds, to ensure their personal safety.  

THEY DISOBEYED THE ORDER!  

During winds that turned over vehicles and turned debris into projectiles, the measured step continued. One fellow said "I've got buddies getting shot at in Iraq who would kick my butt if word got to them that we let them down. I sure as hell have no intention of spending my Army career being known as the damned idiot who couldn't stand a little light breeze and shirked his duty." Then he said something in response to a female reporters question regarding silly purposeless personal risk.... "I wouldn't expect you to understand. It's an enlisted man's thing." God bless the rascal... In a time in our nation's history when spin and total b.s. seem to have become the accepted coin-of-the-realm, there beat hearts - the enlisted hearts we all knew and were so damn proud to be a part of - that fully understand that devotion to duty is not a part-time occupation. While we slept, we were represented by some damn fine men who fully understood their post orders and proudly went about their assigned responsibilities unseen, unrecognized and in the finest tradition of the American Enlisted Man. Folks, there's hope that the spirit that George S. Patton, Arliegh Burke and Jimmy Doolittle left us... survives. On the ABC evening news, it was reported recently that, because of the dangers from Hurricane Isabel approaching Washington DC, the military members assigned the duty of guarding the Tomb of  the Unknown Soldier were given permission to suspend the assignment. They refused. "No way, Sir!" Soaked to the skin, marching in the pelting rain of a tropical storm, they said that guarding the Tomb was not just an assignment; it is the highest  honor that can be afforded to a service person. The tomb has been patrolled continuously, 24/7, since 1930. Be very, very proud of such soldiers in uniform!

 

FAMILY HISTORY

Sorenson Molecular Genealogy 
Facts & Genes from FamilyTree DNA

Social Security Scoop 
Veteran's Benefits

Natalie Myres and Scott R. Woodward observe 
a step in processing samples for DNA testing.
Church News, week ending April 24, 2004

Because the DNA controls the genetic code of heredity, it also contains direct evidence of a human being's forebears.  It is this aspect of DNA that has made it a subject of pursuit for LDS philanthropist James L. Sorenson and his Sorenson Molecular Genealogy Foundation, started in 1999. 

The Y chromosome follows the paternal line, while the mitochondrial DNA follows the maternal line. It will not reveal any information of initials living after 1900 to protect privacy. Some of the earliest Y chromosome information is now online at:  http://www.smgf.org .
Extracts from:  Facts & Genes from Family Tree DNA  
editor@familytreedna.com
Tom Asencio tomasnsio@aol.com
May 6, 2004  Volume 3, Issue 3

Publication devoted to Genetic Genealogy.  Facts & Genes is published every month, and provides a variety of information about utilizing Genetic Genealogy testing for your family history research, and keeps you informed about the latest advancements in the field.

There are just two steps to take to become a Group Administrator of a Surname Project:

1.  Find out if a Surname Project exists for your surname. Click on the link below to search our database of Surname Projects: http://www.familytreeDNA.com/surname.asp

2.  If a Surname Project hasn't been established for your surname, then use the email contact below to establish a Surname Project, or to discuss establishing a Surname Project.
bcg@familytreeDNA.com
    Send your comments, suggestions, tips, questions, and tell us about your Surname Project to: editor@FamilyTreeDNA.com. We hope you enjoy this issue. Dexter

If you have fellow genealogists, friends, family members, or participants in a Surname Project who you think would enjoy receiving our monthly newsletter, Facts & Genes, send them the link below, where they can get a free subscription:  http://www.familytreeDNA.com/fgregister.asp

If you missed any of the past issues, they can be found online at http:www.FamilyTreeDNA.com.  Click on the link below for the past issues of Facts + Genes:
http://www.familytreeDNA.com/facts_genes.asp?act=past 
Any issue of the newsletter can be printed or downloaded from our site.

Family Tree DNA is providing the hosting for these web sites at no charge. Your web site will have an address which you can send to others or post on mailing lists, inviting people to visit your web site.
A web site is a very important tool to both recruit participants as well as to keep participants informed of the results of your project.  Having a web site adds credibility to your Surname Project, and should improve your recruiting results.

Even if you have a web site hosted somewhere else, you may want to consider either replacing it with a web site at Family Tree DNA, or having a second web site.  The advantage of a Family Tree DNA web site is the time savings when new results are returned from the lab.  With a Family Tree DNA web site, no action is required to add these results to your web site.  The results are automatically included.  

As a Group Administrator, you want participants for your Surname Project. On the other hand, the potential participants want to know what's in it for them.  What's in it for them are the benefits, which must be effectively communicated to the potential participants.

As a Group Administrator, you are probably quite interested in family history research, and quite enthusiastic about utilizing DNA testing for genealogy.  Most likely, the majority of potential participants may not be as interested in family history research, and may not see the benefits from participation.  A key element to recruiting participants is to identify the benefits and then communicate the benefits.

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Expert Advise:
Social Security Scoop 
source; http://www.familytreemagazine.com

The Social Security Death Index (SSDI) is a database of deaths reported to the Social Security Administration (SSA). Social Security started in the 1930s, but the SSDI wasn’t computerized until 1961--so the bulk of its entries are deaths occurring after that year.

SSDI has other limitations: It lists only deaths the SSA found out about from beneficiaries' survivors, and it excludes people with certain occupations, such as railroad workers. The good news about SSDI is you can search it for free online. And once you've found someone in the SSDI, you can request his SS-5 Social Security application form from the SSA (visit http://www.ssa.gov/foia for instructions).

You’ll find the SSDI at these Web sites:
* Genealogy.com Family Finder: http://www.genealogy.com
* FamilySearch: http://www.familysearch.org
* Family Tree Legends: http://www.familytreelegends.com
* RootsWeb: http://www.rootsweb.com

Excerpted from Finding Your Famous (& Infamous)
Ancestors by Rhonda R. McClure (Betterway Books, $21.99), available online at http://familytreemagazine.com/store/display.asp?id=70604.


F A M I L Y  T R E E  M A G A Z I N E  E M A I L U P D A T E
Essential news and tips for family historians.
http://www.familytreemagazine.com

VETERANS BENEFITS

Earlier this month the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) launched an online database of more than 3 million records of burials in its 120 national cemeteries.

The Nationwide Gravesite Locator, accessible at http://www.cem.va.gov, contains records of interred veterans and their dependents dating to the establishment of the first national cemeteries during the Civil War. Also listed are burial records since 1999 from some state veterans cemeteries and from Arlington National Cemetery (operated by the US Army rather than the VA). The VA will 
update the grave site locator nightly with the previous day's burials.

The basic search is by first and/or last name. You also can enter a first and last initial, or the last name plus a partial first name. The advanced search adds options for a middle name, birth and death dates, and cemetery.

Results show the interred person's name, rank and branch of service (if available), service dates, birth and death dates, burial date, the cemetery and its contact information, and the grave's exact location.

Before 1994, each cemetery kept its burial records on paper. Records for four cemeteries--Long Island, Los Angeles, Fort Rosencrans and the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific--are incomplete, so some burials 



ARCHAEOLOGY

Maya "Masterpiece" in Guatemala Ancient Maya City

Extract: Archaeologists Uncover Maya "Masterpiece" in Guatemala
Sean Markey, National Geographic News, April 23, 2004
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2004/04/0423_040423_
mayapanel.html?c=Newsletters&n=2Q04_Insider2&t=internal#main

Sent by John Inclan fromGalveston@yahoo.com

Archaeologists working deep in Guatemala's rain forest under the protection of armed guards say they have unearthed one of the greatest Maya art masterpieces ever found.

The artifact—a 100-pound (45-kilogram) stone panel carved with images and hieroglyphics—depicts Taj Chan Ahk, the mighty 8th-century king of the ancient Maya city-state of Cancuén.

The panel was excavated in perfect condition from a royal ball court. Exquisitely carved in precise high relief, the 80-centimeter-wide (31.5-inch) stone depicts the Maya king seated on an earth symbol and throne with a jaguar skin, installing subordinate rulers in the nearby city-state of Machaquila.

Researchers say the panel's text confirms Ahk's status as one of the last, great kings of classic Maya civilization who controlled a vast territory in the Petén rain forest. Ahk grew and held his power through savvy politics and economic clout, rather than war, at a time when most other great Maya city-states were in their final decline, experts say.

"This panel is incredibly important," Arthur Demarest, a Vanderbilt University archaeologist and excavation co-leader, said in a satellite telephone interview from the dig site. "Every once in a while you have a beautiful, spectacular piece of art that is also profoundly historically important."

"It is … the best piece of Maya art that has ever been found in an excavated context," he added. "It looks like it was made yesterday."

Classic Maya civilization peaked between A.D. 250 and 900, a period six times longer than the reign of ancient Rome. During that time, the Maya built more cities than ancient Egypt.  What caused Maya civilization to collapse, however, remains a mystery. Experts believe a range of factors, from internecine warfare to severe drought, may have triggered the fall. But the true cause remains a mystery.





Extract:
Ancient Maya City, artifacts are research treasure-trove 
By Dan Vergano, USA TODAY
http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2004-05-10-maya-city_x.htm?POE=click-refer
Sent by John Inclan fromGalveston@yahoo.com:  

The discovery of royal tombs, jade offerings and the mask of a forgotten god is providing valuable clues about the life and times of the ancient Maya. A spate of archaeological findings has been reported this month about the Maya, the ancient rulers of a land that included parts of Guatemala, Belize and the Yucatan Peninsula. After more than 2,000 years of rule, the mysterious collapse of their civilization began after A.D. 800. Left behind were massive pyramids, ceremonial centers and inscriptions, which scholars are steadily uncovering from the rain forest.

"We're talking about one of the richest archaeological landscapes in the world," says epigrapher Simon Martin of the University of Pennsylvania Museum. The Maya had a complex society centered on the worship of various gods. Dynasties ruled city-states that traded in exotic items such as jade and collected water in urban reservoirs for use in the dry season. Astronomical readings of the seasons, important for planting crops, were vital to the Maya. While scientists still don't know exactly what happened to the Maya, the latest findings shed light on their rise and fall:

• Cival was a large and sophisticated city of perhaps 10,000 people that thrived in the preclassic era of Maya at about 150 B.C. The classic era, which began in A.D. 250, is defined by the evidence of dynasties and writing. But Cival shows all the hallmarks of the later classic Maya, including three ceremonial plazas and five pyramids organized along astronomical lines, which is a surprising finding, says project archaeologist Francisco Estrada-Belli of Vanderbilt University in Nashville.

Also found were jade offerings and two 15-by-9-foot masks representing a corn deity, which also was worshiped by rulers in the classic period.

• At Takalik Abaj in southwestern Guatemala, a preclassic royal tomb has emerged from the remains of an astronomical observatory. Miguel Orrego Corzo and Christa Schhieber de Lavarreda of the Guatemalan Ministry of Culture and Sport believe the tomb held the last ruler of the site, dated to before A.D. 200. Carved stones and jade ornaments also support evidence of a sophisticated culture among the early Maya.

• At San Bartolo, further information about a stunning mural from A.D. 100 is expected later this year. Discovered by William Saturno of Harvard's Peabody Museum, the mural depicts the corn god. It is well preserved and executed with a skill that delights scientists. It was known that many classic Maya features, including writing, began in earlier times, but the smoothness of the transition revealed in the new finds is surprising scholars, Martin says.

• At Waka, or El Perú, a royal tomb of a queen and a warlord from A.D. 630 shows that female rulers played a role, says project archaeologist David Freidel of Southern Methodist University. Buried with a warrior's war helmet, bones of the woman were later removed as objects of veneration. She may be the "Kaloomte," or supreme ruler, mentioned in inscriptions at the site. The unexpected size of Waka, with 672 buildings spread over nearly half a square mile of jungle, shows the unnamed queen ruled a powerful city involved in struggles in the sixth and seventh centuries between the larger cities of Tikal and Calakmul.

• Cancuén, an even later classic palace dated to after A.D. 765, has yielded information about upheavals before the Maya collapse. An altar stone appears to record a treaty between warring kings in the twilight of the classic Maya.  Project head Arthur Demarest of Vanderbilt suggests that the city's ruler, Taj Chan Ahk, skillfully maneuvered for power even as the Maya headed for collapse.



MISCELLANEOUS

English "transliterations" You live in... 

English "transliterations"
Sent by Carlos Villanueva latino-business@yahoogroups.com
Source: Eric Rojo

English language signs throughout the world collected by Foreign Service people.

Cocktail lounge, Norway : LADIES ARE REQUESTED NOT TO HAVE CHILDREN IN THE BAR.

At the Budapest Zoo : PLEASE DO NOT FEED THE ANIMALS. IF YOU HAVE ANY SUITABLE FOOD, GIVE IT TO THE GUARD ON DUTY.

Doctors office, Rome :  SPECIALIST IN WOMEN AND OTHER DISEASES

Hotel, Acapulco : THE MANAGER HAS PERSONALLY PASSED ALL THE WATER SERVED HERE.

Information booklet about using a hotel air conditioner, Japan : COOLES AND HEATES : IF YOU WANT CONDITION OF WARM AIR IN YOUR ROOM, PLEASE CONTROL YOURSELF

Car rental brochure, Tokyo : WHEN PASSENGER OF FOOT HEAVE IN SIGHT, TOOTLE THE HORN. TRUMPET HIM MELODIOUSLY AT FIRST, BUT IF HE STILL OBSTACLES YOUR PASSAGE THEN
TOOTLE HIM WITH VIGOUR.

Sign in men's rest room in Japan : TO STOP LEAK TURN COCK TO THE RIGHT

In a Nairobi restaurant : CUSTOMERS WHO FIND OUR WAITRESSES RUDE OUGHT TO SEE THE MANAGER.

On the grounds of a private school : NO TRESPASSING WITHOUT PERMISSION.

O n a highway, Canada: TAKE NOTICE : WHEN THIS SIGN IS UNDER WATER, THIS ROAD IS IMPASSABLE.

On a poster at Kencom : ARE YOU AN ADULT THAT CANNOT READ? IF SO, WE CAN HELP.

In a City restaurant : OPEN SEVEN DAYS A WEEK, AND WEEKENDS TOO.

On a mental institution building : MENTAL HEALTH PREVENTION CENTE.

A sign seen on an automatic restroom hand dryer : DO NOT ACTIVATE WITH WET HANDS

In a maternity ward : NO CHILDREN ALLOWED

In a cemetery : PERSONS ARE PROHIBITED FROM PICKING FLOWERS FROM ANY BUT THEIR OWN GRAVES.

Tokyo hotel's rules and regulations : GUESTS ARE REQUESTED NOT TO SMOKE OR DO OTHER DISGUSTING BEHAVIOURS IN BED.

On the menu of a Swiss restaurant : OUR WINES LEAVE YOU NOTHING TO HOPE FOR.

In a Tokyo bar : SPECIAL COCKTAILS FOR THE LADIES WITH NUTS.

In a Bangkok temple : IT IS FORBIDDEN TO ENTER A WOMAN EVEN A FOREIGNER IF DRESSED AS A MAN.

Hotel room notice, Chiang-Mai, Thailand : PLEASE DO NOT BRING SOLICITORS INTO YOUR ROOM.

Hotel brochure, Italy : THIS HOTEL IS RENOWNED FOR ITS PEACE AND SOLITUDE. IN FACT, CROWDS FROM ALL OVER THE WORLD FLOCK HERE TO ENJOY ITS SOLITUDE.

Hotel lobby, Bucharest : THE LIFT IS BEING FIXED FOR THE NEXT DAY. DURING THAT TIME WE REGRET THAT YOU WILL BE UNBEARABLE.

Hotel elevator, Paris : PLEASE LEAVE YOUR VALUES AT THE FRONT DESK.

Hotel, Yugoslavia : THE FLATTENING OF UNDERWEAR WITH PLEASURE IS THE JOB OF THE CHAMBERMAID.

Hotel, Japan : YOU ARE INVITED TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE CHAMBERMAID.

In the lobby of a Moscow hotel across from a Russian Orthodox monastery : YOU ARE WELCOME TO VISIT THE CEMETERY WHERE FAMOUS RUSSIAN AND SOVIET COMPOSERS, ARTISTS, AND WRITERS ARE BURIED DAILY EXCEPT THURSDAY.

Hotel catering to skiers, Austria : NOT TO PERAMBULATE THE CORRIDORS IN THE HOURS OF REPOSE IN THE BOOTS OF ASCENSION.

Supermarket, Hong Kong : FOR YOUR CONVENIENCE, WE RECOMMEND COURTEOUS, EFFICIENT SELF-SERVICE

From the "Soviet Weekly" : THERE WILL BE A MOSCOW EXHIBITION OF ARTS BY 15,000 SOVIET REPUBLIC PAINTERS AND SCULPTORS. THESE WERE EXECUTED OVER THE PAST TWO YEARS.

In an East African newspaper : A NEW SWIMMING POOL IS RAPIDLY TAKING SHAPE SINCE THE CONTRACTORS HAVE THROWN IN THE BULK OF THEIR WORKERS.

Hotel, Vienna : IN CASE OF FIRE, DO YOUR UTMOST TO ALARM THE HOTEL PORTER.

A sign posted in Germany's Black Forest : IT IS STRICTLY FORBIDDEN ON OUR BLACK FOREST CAMPING SITE THAT PEOPLE OF DIFFERENT SEX, FOR INSTANCE, MEN AND WOMEN, LIVE TOGETHER IN ONE TENT UNLESS THEY ARE MARRIED WITH EACH OTHER FOR THIS PURPOSE.

Hotel, Zurich : BECAUSE OF THE IMPROPRIETY OF ENTERTAINING GUESTS OF THE OPPOSITE SEX IN THE BEDROOM, IT IS SUGGESTED THAT THE LOBBY BE USED FOR THIS PURPOSE.

An advertisement by a Hong Kong dentist : TEETH EXTRACTED BY THE LATEST METHODISTS.

A laundry in Rome : LADIES, LEAVE YOUR CLOTHES HERE AND SPEND THE AFTERNOON HAVING A GOOD TIME.

Tourist agency, Czechoslovakia : TAKE ONE OF OUR HORSE-DRIVEN CITY TOURS. WE GUARANTEE NO MISCARRIAGES.

Advertisement for donkey rides, Thailand : WOULD YOU LIKE TO RIDE ON YOUR OWN ASS?

The box of a clockwork toy made in Hong Kong : GUARANTEED TO WORK THROUGHOUT ITS USEFUL LIFE.

In a Swiss mountain inn : SPECIAL TODAY - NO ICE-CREAM.

Airline ticket office, Copenhagen : WE TAKE YOUR BAGS AND SEND THEM IN ALL DIRECTIONS.

On the door of a Moscow hotel room : IF THIS IS YOUR FIRST VISIT TO THE USSR, YOU ARE WELCOME TO IT.


You live in... 
Sent by Tom Ascencio Tom Asnsio@aol.com

You live in Arizona when...
1. You are willing to park 3 blocks away because you found shade.
2. You can open and drive your car without touching the car door or the steering wheel.
3. You've experienced condensation on your butt from the hot water in the toilet bowl.
4. You would give anything to be able to splash cold water on your face.
5. You can attend any function wearing shorts and a tank top.
6. "Dress Code" is meaningless at high schools and universities. Picture lingerie ads.
7. You can drive for 4 hours in one direction and never leave town.
8. You have over 100 recipes for Mexican food.
9. The 4 seasons are: tolerable, hot, really hot, and ARE YOU KIDDING ME??!!
10. You know that "dry heat" is comparable to what hits you in the face when you open your oven door.

You Live in California when...
1. You make over $250,000 and you still can't afford to buy a house.
2 The high school quarterback calls a time-out to answer his cell phone.
3. The fastest part of your commute is going down your driveway.
4. You know how to eat an artichoke.
5. You drive your rented Mercedes to your neighborhood block party.
6. When someone asks you how far something is, you tell them how long it will take to get there rather than how many miles away it is.

You Live in New York City when...
1. You say "the city" and expect everyone to know you mean Manhattan.
2. You have never been to the Statue of Liberty or the Empire State Building.
3. You can get into a four-hour argument about how to get from Columbus Circle to Battery Park, but can't find Wisconsin on a map.
4. You think Central Park is "nature".
5. You believe that being able to swear at people in their own language makes you multi-lingual.
6. You've worn out a car horn.
7. You think eye contact is an act of aggression.

You Live in Maine when...
1. You only have four spices: salt, pepper, ketchup, and Tabasco.
2. Halloween costumes fit over parkas.
3. You have more than one recipe for moose.
4. Sexy lingerie is anything flannel with less than eight buttons.
5. The four seasons are: winter, still winter, almost winter, and construction.

You Live in the Deep South when...
1. You can rent a movie and buy bait in the same store.
2. "Ya'll" is singular and "all ya'll" is plural.
3. After five years you still hear, "You ain't from 'round here, are Ya?"
4. "He needed killin' " is a valid defense.
5. Everyone has 2 first names: Billy Bob, Jimmy Bob, Mary Sue, Betty Jean, etc.

You live in Colorado when...
1. You carry your $3,000 mountain bike atop your $500 car.
2. You tell your husband to pick up Granola on his way home and he stops at the day care center.
3. A pass does not involve a football or dating.
4. The top of your head is bald, but you still have a pony tail.

You live in the Midwest when...
1. You've never met any celebrities, but the mayor knows your name.
2. Your idea of a traffic jam is ten cars waiting to pass a tractor.
3. You have had to switch from "heat" to "A/C" on the same day.
4. You end sentences with a preposition: "Where's my coat at?"
5. When asked how your trip was to any exotic place, you say, "It was different!"

You live in Florida when....
1. You eat dinner at 3:15 in the afternoon.
2. All purchases include a coupon of some kind -- even houses and cars.
3. Everyone can recommend an excellent dermatologist.
4. Road construction never ends anywhere in the state.
5. Cars in front of you are often driven by headless people.

END

                12/30/2009 04:48 PM