Dedicated to Hispanic Heritage 
and Diversity Issues 

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54% of Latinos young and old say their heritage is very important in their lives.  
Newsweek -July 12, 1999

Society of 
Hispanic Historical
and Ancestral
Research 

Founded
1986

       SHHAR involved Events:

April 29:    Orange FHC Fair
May 13:     SHHAR's Semiannual
June 10-11: Mission San Juan Capistrano
                  Garden Day
July 14-30:  Orange County Fair

For detailed information on SHHAR activities and events being presented by other groups, please look at the SHHAR calendar of events and links at: http://members.aol.com/shhar

Submitters to this Issue

Truth is the secret of eloquence and of virtue, the basis of moral authority; 
it is the highest summit of art and of life." Henri-Frédéic Amiel (1821-1881)

 April 1st is CENSUS 2000 Day

Since the beginning of recorded history, kings have numbered their subjects in order to count them or to tax them.  The American people were very suspicious; therefore they were evasive and uncooperative.  In 1787, the House of Representative agreed for a census to be taken within three years and every ten years after the initial census, according to Article I, Section 2.

The 1790 census took 18 months to complete.  the headcount was 3,929,214 Americans.  They had expected 4 million.  The number of slaves were included.   

Indians were not included in the 1790 census. In the 1800 census, only Indians who were taxed were included. The 1890 census tried to include all Indians for the first time.

More information on the difficulty of finding Indian lines in the census records.

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"The countings reflected the chief interest of the day," reported the *East-Florida Gazette in the summer of 1980.  "Spanish officials repeatedly counted soldiers and their equipment, the British counted their subjects in 1763 and twenty years later the Spanish had a count of those who would stay under their returning regime."  

(Florida's oldest newspaper, 1783, revived 1977)


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*East-Florida Gazette, Vol. 18, No. 3

Birth dates that are otherwise undocumented may be estimated in the following ways.

1. If you know the date of marriage, you may assume husband to have been 25 years old, the wife to have been 21 years old, and the marriage's first child to have been born one year after the marriage. The birth dates of succeeding children may be estimated to have occurred at two-year intervals

2. If you know the actual birth date of only one child, you should assume the husband to have been 32 years than the oldest child known and wife to be 28 years old.

3. If you know the birth or christening date of a first child, assume the husband to have been 26 years old and wife to have been 22 years old when the child was born.

4. If you know the birth or christening date of an illegitimate child, assume mother the mother to have been 22 years old and the father (if known) to have been 26 years old at that time.

Helpful hint:
Found on the Family Research Guide site.

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Project 1890 Census Substitute  
http://www.ancestry.com/search/rectype/census/1890sub/main.htm

When a basement fire in the Commerce Building in Washington, D.C. destroyed most (estimate 99%) of the 1890 federal census, a valuable source of information was lost to researchers of America's past. Particularly unfortunate for Native American lines since the 1890 U.S. Census was the first census when all Indians were included.     Information on Caribbean Indigenous.

 Ancestry.com, with the aid of the National Archives and Records Administration and the Allen County Public Library, now provides the first definitive online substitute for the missing census. More than 20 million records have been identified for inclusion in the collection and additions will be made regularly as they become available for posting. It will include fragments of the original 1890 census that survived the fire, special veterans schedules, several Native American tribe censuses for years surrounding 1890, state censuses (1885 or 1895), city and county directories, alumni directories, and voter registration documents. When completed, this collection will be an unparalleled tool for researchers of American ancestors. 

     

About the 2000 Census

 How America Knows, What America Needs
by Mimi Lozano
Somos Primos, Summer, Vol. 10, No. 3,  1999
 

I had not really thought too much about the year 2000 census. The realization of the importance of encouraging Hispanics to be included suddenly occurred to me at a lecture on the upcoming federal census. What if my paternal grandparents, Jesus Lozano and Francisca Garcia had not been counted in the 1900 and 1910 censuses? I would not have found them in my family root search.

Ties had been severed very early by my parent’s divorce. Without the census, I would not have known even the names of my grandparents, nor the names of my father’s brothers and sisters, my uncles and aunts. I began to wonder what might happen to future researchers estranged from their families, trying to find grandparents who are not counted in the 2000 census.

The United States Constitution mandates a census every 10 years to determine how many seats each state will have in the United States House of Representatives. Originally, there were only 65 members in the U.S. House of Representatives. But because this number was linked to the size of the population, membership grew to 106 after the 1790 census determined that there were four million people in the country. The number of representatives continued to grow along with the nation until 1911 when Congress limited membership of the U.S. House of Representatives to 435.

Apportionment, the process of distributing the 435 Congressional seats among the states, depends on the size of the population in each state. For further information on how Equal Proportions is used to determine the number of Congressional seats in each state.

By law, the Census Bureau cannot share records with any other government agency, including welfare agencies, the Immigration and Naturalization Service, the Internal Revenue Service, courts, police and the military. Violations could lead to a $5,000 fine and five-year prison term.
Originally, there were only 65 members in the U.S. House of Representatives. But because this number was linked to the size of the population, membership grew to 106 after the 1790 census determined that there were four million people in the country. The number of representatives continued to grow along with the nation until 1911 when Congress limited membership to 435.

Apportionment, the process of distributing the 435 Congressional seats among the states, depends on the size of the population in each state. For further information on how Equal Proportions is used to determine the number of Congressional seats in each state.

By law, the Census Bureau cannot share records with any other government agency, including welfare agencies, the Immigration and Naturalization Service, the Internal Revenue Service, courts, police and the military. Violations could lead to a $5,000 fine and five-year prison term.

Census numbers help local planners pick the best locations for schools, roads, hospital, clinics, libraries, day-care and senior citizen centers, playgrounds, bus routes, job training program and much more. Every year, over $100 billion in federal funding and even more in state funds are awarded to localities based on census numbers. Although our numbers keep increasing in the United States, unless we are counted, we will remain the invisible workers, contributing to the welfare of the nation, but unknown for our efforts.

-During the 1990 census, it is estimated that 1.6% of the United States population were missed as 
      well as .2% of the children.
-An estimated 29.7 million people of Hispanic origin resided in the United States in 1997,,   
      representing 11.1 percent of the total population.
-More than one-half (55.8 percent) of Hispanics were born in the United States.
-About one-third (35.7 percent) of all Hispanics were under 18.
-Approximately 68.2 percent of all Hispanic families were comprised of married couple families.

                                            Data: U.S. Department of Commerce  

Why Should anyone join the Sons of the American Revolution?
by
Granville W. Hough, Ph.D.

I have written several items for Somos Primos as a representative of the South Coast Chapter, 
Sons of the American Revolution. Now the question has been fairly put to me: 
What is the SAR, and why should anyone want to join it?

The National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution is an independent offshoot. After SAR got started, the wives and daughters wanted to join. When they made their request to join, the SAR members said: "absolutely NO, this is a man's organization..." or words to that effect. The wives and daughters said: "Very well, we'll form our own organization; and we will admit no males!" So they did, and now their organization is ten times larger than the SAR and much better known. The two organizations are quite cordial today, but the membership restrictions remain in place.

These societies encourage research into the activities of the Revolutionary War, preserving historical records of individual and unit service. They support markers for historic spots of Revolutionary War actions. They participate in anniversaries of important events of the Revolutionary War such as July 4 as Independence Day. They take part in commemorative events such as parades and public ceremonies. They make presentations to high school and college groups and to youth organizations such as the Boy Scouts. They conduct essay and speaking contests among selected groups.

To become a member of the SAR, one must prove a lineage to a person who contributed to the Revolutionary War effort, in the Army, Navy, militia, civil service, or other patriotic activity. It has been my pleasure to be able to extend this offer of membership to those who descend from Spanish soldiers or sailors who participated in the War against England from 1779 through 1783.

Now, why should one join the SAR? 
Probably the first thing one is doing is honoring an ancestor who served during difficult times.

Second, one is honoring a group of people with whom the ancestor served, whether in Georgia or New Mexico. For the New Mexico ancestor, we are honoring the Hispanic heritage of those who fought to make the upper Rio Grande their home. Little did they know they were also holding land for a future United States where their own ideas of freedom and individuality could flourish. For we now recognize that the spark of revolution begun in 1775 in 13 seaboard English colonies would in 50 years sweep through two continents, freeing all of European domination.

The same ideas still activate people, all around the world. Thirdly, when we join the SAR, we are joining to do things with like-minded patriotic people

One may say, "I can do all the things you mention in the America Legion, Veterans of Foreign Wars, or in other civic organizations."

Yes, indeed you can, and there will be many for whom these are better activities. You don't have to worry about genealogy and tracing ancestors. However, these organizations do not get back to the heart of how we started as a nation and honor those who took the risks. In the SAR, we know our specific ancestors who contributed and what it cost them. We honor their courage and dedication.

So, why should one join the SAR? In the final analysis, it is an individual choice of what we want our children to know about our heritage. Is it worth while? For me, the answer is YES.

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l.  Peter David Hill, Cleveland Heights, OH; ancestor, soldier Jose Maximo Alanis of San Diego Presidio.

2. Steven Darrel Machado, Monrovia, CA; ancestor, soldier Jose M. Machado of Santa Barbara Presidio.

3. John William Heaney, Jr, San Diego, CA; ancestors, soldiers Francisco S. Lugo of Santa Barbara Presidio and Jose Maria Ortega of San Diego Presidio.

4. John Henry Blake, Jr, Sacramento, CA; ancestors, soldier Francisco S. Lugo of Santa Barbara Presidio, and contributor of funds to the war effort Ignacio Vincente Ferrer Vallejo of Mission San Carlos.

5. Ted Spriggs, III, of Anaheim, CA; ancestor, Sergeant Juan Pablo Grijalva of San Francisco Presidio.

6. Paul Trejo of Pacific Grove, CA; ancestor, Manuel Butron of Monterey Presidio.

7. Charles Dominic Martinez y Vigil of Espanola, NM; ancestor Francisco Martin Torres of Santa Fe Presidio.

QUE ESTA PASANDO

Orange County Register, 3-8-00
-----------------------

A survey of Angeles Trade-Technical College found that students attracted to skilled trades are overwhelmingly minority. The survey sponsored by Miller Brewing Co, and conducted by the Los Angeles research firm Comm-Sciences, showed that 91% of 231 second-year students responding were nonwhite, with Latinos representing the largest group. Asians and African Americans followed. 

The reasons are varied, and correspond partly to the under representation of minorities in two- and four-year colleges, as well 
as discriminatory practices of some high school counselors who steer minority students toward trades.

Orange County Register, 3-8-00

Orange County Register, 3-8-00
---------------------------

The country's largest owners of Spanish-language radio stations acquired its newest stations, KACE and KRTO. Mac Tichenor, president of Hispanic Broadcasting Corp. laid down $75 million for the stations last year. His Dallas-based company owns 46 Spanish-language radio stations nation- wide. By linking the broadcast of both KACE and KRTO, the radio company will be able to quickly extend its reach in the Los Angeles area - now nearly half Latino and less than 10% black..

The new KACE programming details are scarce.  It will be aimed at an audience Tichenor believes is being underserved here. He still wants more stations, especially in the country's top 15 Latino markets.

Los Angeles Times, 1-31-00 

Hispanic spending power in the United States increased from $208 billion in 1990 to $383 billion last year. During the same period, the increase per person grew from $9,204 to $12,557.

Between 1980 and 1997, the number of Latino households earning between $75,000 and $100,000 increased by 1.1 percent, reaching 5 percent of the Hispanic population. those earning $100,000 and over jumped from 2.1 percent to 4.1 percent.

Those earning $25,000 to $5,000 dropped from 47.2 percent to 43.8 percent during the same period.

Sources: Hispanic business magazine, Cultural Access Group, U.S. Census

Orange County Register, 3-12-00

INTERNET

Quepasa.com, teams with NetZero to provide free access. In an effort to get more Latinos online, a Spanish-English Web site is handing out more than 2 million computer disks offering free Internet access customized for bilingual use.

"Hispanics are barely coming online," said Gary L. Trujillo, chief executive of Quepasa.com, which will mail CD-ROMs to Latino households over the next few week.  "We want to bring access to a community underserved."

Quepasa will use Internet service from NetZero, which already offers free access in English to  about 3 million subscribers.  During their time online, subscribers must look at ads, some targeted specifically to the Latino audience.

Quepasa, based in Phoenix, will pay NetZero an undisclosed fee per use to become the starting page for Web browsing.

A Commerce Department study last summer found that less than 13% of Latino households had Internet access, compared with 30% for non-Latino whites.  Latinos also lagged in computer ownership. Study can found at: http://www.ntia.doc.gov/ntiahome/digitaldivide.

Abstract from article by Anick Jesdun
Los Angeles Times, 3-20-00



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The world's richest man, Bill Gates and Latin America's wealthiest entrepreneur, Carlos Slim Helu, met in Mexico City and launched a Web portal targeting the exploding Latin American market, where the number of Internet users is expected to double within three years, T1MSN, the Latin American version of Microsoft's MSN portal in the United States.  The T1 portal for Mexico is online now at:  http://www.t1msn.com.  

Slim's dominance of telecommunications in Mexico may give T1MSN the clout that MSN lacks in the U.S. were its 2 million subscribers leave it a distant second to AOL's 22 million subscribers. Gates said "T1 will be the leading Spanish-language portal everywhere in the world." He noted that although 80% of Internet users are currently U.s. residents, "it's not going to stay that way."  "If you look at the growth opportunity we have in Latin America, it's actually stronger than anywhere, and that's why we're willing to invest and get out in front," Gate added. "We feel we're starting with a critical mass and we'll take it from there."

Beyond the initial Mexican site, T1 will establish country-specific versions in Argentina, Chile, Peru, Colombia, Venezuela, Central America and the United States.

Abstract from article by James F. Smith, staff writer, Los Angeles Times, 3-22-00  

Catholic Church Archdiocese in Southern Brazil has found a novel way of spreading the faith: Free Internet service - Catolico. Within two weeks after Catolico was launched January 14, 10,000 Brazilians had signed up. The Porto Alegre archdiocese, with 170 parishes, claims to be the first religious institution to offer the free service. The response has been over whelming. Staff gets 1,000 e-mails a day. . . even received a couple of messages from Rome congratulating Catolico on its achievement.

Orange County Register, 3-11-00

Orange County Register, 3-5-00

Los Angeles Times, 3-7-00

Fast-growing family index added to Family Search site

The new resource is a master index to the Pedigree Resource File, a user-submitted collection containing nearly 10 million names a month, and with URL "hot-connect" buttons included, has the potential to eventually become one of the largest exchange sites of family history information.  By connecting to home pages all over the world, this index will help bring the global community of family tree researchers yet closer.

The actual file is contained on nine compact discs that include sources and the submitters' Email addresses.  The Pedigree Resource File CDs are sold at $5 each, and the entire set is available for $15.  For information on how to obtain the CDs, ask at a local Family History Center.  To locate the closest, call 1-800 346-6044

Church News - week ending March 11, 2000                                Return to Table of Contents

Based on the Personal Ancestral File software owned by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, the release of this instructional video has entered the exciting world of genealogy. It's a must for every genealogist using and/or teaching the PAF 4.0 software. For additional information refer to the PAF video web-site at: www.pafvideo.com        Submitted by Mira Smithwick

The  WHITE HOUSE, Office of the Press Secretary
Abstract of a STATEMENT BY THE PRESIDENT
With special thanks to Vivian Drake for sending selected items on Hispanic leaders.

For Immediate Release March 3, 2000
Guillermo Linares was appointed Chair of the President's Advisory Commission on Educational Excellence for Hispanic Americans. Mr. Linares of New York, New York became the first Dominican-American to be elected to public office in the United States when he was elected to the New York City Council in 1991. He was re-elected in November, 1993 and again in November, 1997. 

An educator, he was elected Co-President of the Black and Hispanic Caucus of the New York City Council in 1998. In addition, he serves as a member of the Executive Board of the National Council of La Raza and as a member of the Board of Directors of the National Association of Latino Appointed and Elected Officials.

For Immediate Release March 7, 2000
President on Judge Julio Fuentes: I am pleased that the United States Senate, by a vote of 93-to-0, has confirmed Julio Fuentes to be a judge on the US Court of Appeals for the 3rd Circuit. Judge Fuentes, whom I nominated one year ago tomorrow, is a richly experienced state court judge from Newark, New Jersey. He will be the first Hispanic judge to serve on the 3rd Circuit. 

For Immediate Release March 9, 2000
Today, the Senate finally confirmed, after four years, Judge Richard Paez and, after two years, Marsha Berzon to the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. Both of these candidates bring extraordinary experience and diversity to the bench, both received the American Bar Association's highest rating, both were approved by solid bipartisan majorities today, but unfortunately both were forced to wait far too long to receive votes.

This week, the Senate also confirmed Judge Julio Fuentes of New Jersey, who becomes the first Hispanic to serve on the Third Circuit. Judge Fuentes had to wait a year for his vote, but when it finally came, he was approved unanimously by a vote of 93 to 0.

For Immediate Release March 20, 2000
Ingrid Duran was appointed to serve as a member of the Presidential Advisory council on HIV/AIDS. She is the Executive Director of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute (CHCI), a premier national non-profit and non-partisan organization whose mission is to develop the next generation of Latino leaders. CHCI's vision is to have an educated and civilly active Latino community that participates at the local, sate, and federal policy decision-making levels. Prior to joining the CHCI, Duran was the director of the Washington, D.C. office of the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed officials (NALEO).

Congressman Kika de la Garza has donated his official papers - some 717 archival boxes of correspondence and memorabilia that chronicle his more than 30 years in Washington, D.C. - to the University of Texas-Pan American.

President Miguel A. Nevárez accepted the papers on behalf of the university, calling them "an important historical collection that represents the incredible career of a true statesman, a true Texan and a true friend to UT Pan American. . . . .This collection is truly a national treasure, and we at UT Pan American are very proud to be the keeper of the keys," he added.

Los Arcos, Winter 1999, Vol. 5, No. 2 Submitted by Granville Hough, Ph.D.

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Black

Aetna Inc., the nation's largest health insurer, apologized for selling policies in the 1850s that reimbursed slave owners for financial losses when those they enslaved died.

Aetna spokesman Fred Laberge said March 9th, "We express our deep regret over any participation at all in this deplorable practice." Aetna said its records show the company wrote no more than a dozen such policies to slave owners. Aetna policies were legal before slavery was abolished, said it plans to make no reparations.

Orange County Register, 3-11-00

Roberto Rodriguez and Patrisia
African Roots Stretch Deep in Mexico

The African presence in Mexico is not so much denied as it is obscured. Aguirre Beltrán's work has brought to light something most Mexicans and Mexican Americans have historically been unaware of -- that they, like other Latinos, have not only Indian and Spanish blood, but African blood as well.

In times of racial discord between Latinos and African Americans, this historical confluence of cultures should serve as a reminder that both communities share common ancestors. In fact, if we probe far enough, we're all related.

Latino Spectrum is a nationally syndicated column, distributed by Chronicle Features.Rodriguez/Gonzales can be reached at XColumn@AOL.COM.

A user-friendly central link to a wide range of websites that either focus upon or shed light upon the Native peoples of the Caribbean and circum-Caribbean. The website is a venue of communication for these peoples and also offers a variety of research and cultural tools, including histories, news and articles about Native Caribbean peoples, educational resources, on-line surveys, and discussions of problems and prospects for Caribbean Amerindians and their descendants all over the world. 

http://pages.hotbot.com/current/mcforte/index.html

The Caribbean Amerindian Centrelink is seeking submissions for its new electronic journal, KACIKE: JOURNAL OF CARIBBEAN AMERINDIAN HISTORY AND ANTHROPOLOGY. The inaugural issue features "Criollos: The Birth of a Dynamic New Indo-Afro-European People and Culture on Hispaniola," by Lynne Guitar (Ph.D. History, Vanderbilt University) and "The Contemporary Context of Carib 'Revival' in Trinidad and Tobago: Creolization, Developmentalism and the State," by Maximilian C. Forte (Ph.D. Candidate, Anthropology, University of Adelaide, Australia). See the inaugural issue and writers'/submission guidelines at www.kacike.org

Submitted by Peter Carr      Return to Table of Contents

College of William and Mary University Relations Office website: http://www.wm.edu    (Look below)

This conference will explore the Atlantic slave trade and ultimately expand current knowledge and understanding of Africans in the Diaspora. Organized as part of the Middle Passage Project at the Collegeof William and Mary, the conference will examine interdisciplinary scholarly and popular topics ranging from the history of the slave trade to African and Caribbean writers, storytelling and the oral tradition, Afro-Hispanic literature, dance and gesture, religion and spirituality, black identity formation, and the development of independent African political thought.

 Submitted by Peter Carr

The College founder, Rev. James Blair was in London during the winter of 1691-92, trying to secure a Royal charter.  He interceded in favor of three pirates whose booty had been seized by Captain Roe.  Before the reverend secured the money for the privateers, the three men privateers promised to give him the sum of 300 pounds for the new college.  A ledger in the early records of the College of William and Mary shows the sources of the first monies given to support the school.  Among these is the notation: "By money obtained of the Privateers . . . . 300 pounds."   
Smithsonian, April 2000, Vol. 31, No. 1 

More than 150 Spanish mission churches, built between the 1560s and the 1760s, once dotted the landscape between modern Miami and the Chespeake Bay.  Milanich documents one of the least-known colonial encounters in the history of the Americas and contends that the southeastern mission system was central to the Spanish colonial enterprise.

210 pp. $26.95 Smithsonian Institution Press,
Call (800) 782-4612 

Elizabeth Israel, possibly the oldest person in the world lives in the Caribbean nation of Dominica. The Roman Catholic archdiocese issued an official baptismal certificate just in time for Israel's birthday declaring that she was born January 27, 1875. The document confirms an entry the neighbor unearthed in December in a tattered church registry, which recorded Israel's baptism on January 30th of that year.

Los Angeles Times, 3-7-00

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When the National Register of Historic Places launches its Travel Itineraries Web site in 1996, it guided tourists and armchair travelers along one one route the Georgia-Florida coast. The detailed path plotting 51 historical places from Savanna's historic district to Fort Jefferson in Dry Tortugas National Register's most ambitious and popular on-line service. The site has grown to 11 itineraries mapped for explorers of places where history was made. http://www.cr.nps.gov/nr/tourism.html   

Preservation, January/February 2000, Vol. 52, #1

United States Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan has been a champion for the preservation of historic sites. "Architecture," he once wrote, "is inescapably a political art, and it reports faithfully for ages to come what the political values of a particular era were."

Preservation, January/February 2000, Vol. 52

Wondering what the Save America's Treasures Trust is doing? 

Look at: http://www.ruralheritage.org 

Historical Dates

Editor's note:  The first three issues of Somos Primos included historical dates in sequential daily order. Recently Johanna de Soto sent your editor, some wonderful sites that include daily historical dates, plus much, much more. Instead of continuing the column of historical dates, we instead will encourage you to scan, abstract, bookmark and use them for searching on a regular basis. 

http://www.Scopesys.com 
A great source for birth dates, death dates and notable happenings as well as religious holidays of a wide variety of religions.

http://www.HistoryChannel.com  
Click on -This day in history,- It also has an interesting timeline in a more narrative style rather than short bulleted facts. You can search by a  decade, or by a specific date.  You can what is news today, or even by keyword. 

http://www.TheHistoryNet.com 
Today in history, offers articles in depth and links for greater understanding.

http://www.dmarie.com  
Type in a date between 1900 and 1997 and get the events of the day, newspaper headlines on the day you were born, sports, popular songs of the year, as well as a table showing average prices of certain items, and who was in political office. In addition, heart warming essays about the value of journal writing and scrap book keeping.

Submitted by Ernest Wood and Eva Booher

Historical Resources on http://www.yahoo.com 
Submitted by Johanna de Soto
 Timeline>  Arts, Humanities, History  > This day in history >
                   Ancient, Middle Age, Military, Regional, Science&Technology >  Regional  > Mexico

 Below are some abstracts from this site to acquaint you with the scope of information. 

Introduction to the category of Mexico:

Although all countries have visible remains of their history, Mexico seems to have reminders of its past in just about every town you visit. Due to Mexico's vast history this portion of Mexico Connect contains an overview of the country's history which shows what the rest of the world was up to as Mexico evolved. We have also divided Mexico's history into several smaller categories in order to help you achieve a greater understanding of the evolutionary and revolutionary processes that have made Mexico what it is today.

6. Clicking on: The Economy of New Spain.

Dale Hoyte Palfrey: "As early as 1536 copper, silver and cold coins were being milled in Mexico City at the Western Hemisphere's first mint. Silver coins in denominations of Ocho Reales were first struck in 1572. Better known as the Spanish Dollar, this hefty bit of change was widely circulated as legal tender throughout Europe and the Orient. The widespread practice of cutting the coin into smaller parts gave rise to the terms "pieces of eight" and "two bits." The dollar sign derives from the pillars of Hercules designed for some issues of the coin. By the end of the 18th Century Spanish dollars made up the bulk of England's treasury. Counter-marked with new seals, the coins were converted into official British currency. "

MILITARY RESOURCES

 American Civil War Research Database

A web site created by Historical Data systems, makes Civil War ancestor research not only possible, but easy. The company's staff has entered records from several sources for roughly half of the four million soldiers who fought in the war. The database is a work-in-progress, bur even now it is a valuable research tool that will only improve as more information is added.

http://www.civilwardata.com

The Family Tree, April/May 1999

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Living Memorials

At Patriots Point, South Carolina, a massive tree planting effort pays tribute to recipients of the Medal of Honor. The program began on Veterans Day 1994, when 1,000 vets and 1,200 local students worked together to plan 434 historic sycamores, oaks, myrtles, and other trees - one for each World War II Medal of Honor recipient. Today, a tree grows in the Carolina sun for each of the nation's 3,429 Medal of Honor recipients.

Veterans of Foreign Wars, February 2000, Vol. 87, No. 6 Submitted by Granville Hough, Ph.D.

World War I Soldier database information available

The Naval and Military Press is now offering a complete and searchable Digital Database of the soldiers who died in World War I.

In 1921, 81 volumes embracing every regiment and corps of the British Army were published listing about 645,000 soldier and 37,000 officers who died in the ward.

this list is now available on one fully-relational database CD-ROM. the CD contains the complete set of all 81 volumes with software that allows searching of every element in each record.

Searches can be executed for regiments, battalions, surnames, Christian name(s), initial(s), born (town), enlisted (country), regimental number, rank, killed in action, died of wounds, died, theatre of war of death, date(s), supplementary notes. The cost of the CD is $330, plus $4.00 s/h.

For system requirements and for more information, contact The Naval & Military Press, Order Department, PO, Box 61, Dallingtron, Heathfield, East Sussex TN219ZS. You might like more information from the web site at  http://www.great-war-casualties.com

The Family Tree, April/May 1999

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World War II Archives

Florida State University's History Department has been creating an archive of precious personal memories of WWII since 1997. There are whole libraries analyzing the great battles and generals of the war. But very little has been done either to preserve the traditions of the average GI or to relate systematically what their experiences tell us about the U.S. and its character - the sacrifices made in the 1940s by a truly remarkable generation of Americans.

To protect the legacy of the surviving 6.5 million veterans of WWII, it will take determined effort and the cooperation of all interested parties. The sad fact is that irreplaceable material (letters, diaries, photos, etc.) many times ends up in county dumps.

To obtain more information, to schedule a phone interview, or to donate your memorabilia, please contact: Dr. William Oldson, Director, Institute on WWII and the Human Experience
Department of History, Florida State University, Tallahassee, Fl 32306-2029, Tel: (805) 644-9541
Fax: (805) 644-6402  To email: woldson@garnet.acns.fsu.edu Internet: http://www.fsu.edu/~ww2/

Veterans of Foreign Wars, February 2000, Vol. 87, No. 6 Submitted by Granville Hough, Ph.D.

Veterans of Foreign Wars, Post 4781

Post 4781 in Ocala, Florida is the only VFW Post named after a woman, and in honor of victims of terrorism. The first U.S. servicewoman killed by terrorists was Angela Santos. On April 14, 1988, in Naples, Italy, a car bomb exploded in front of the USO Club. Navy Petty Officer Santos had just finished judging a music contest and was caught in the explosion. She was one of five people killed.

The culprit was the Marxist Japanese Red Army. During the last half of the Cold War, Moscow often used surrogates to strike at the West. In every corner of the world, unwary Americans were shot and bombed. Santos was among 97 American military personnel killed by Communist terrorists or guerrillas.

Veterans of Foreign Wars, February 2000, Vol. 87, No. 6 Submitted by Granville Hough, Ph.D.

VIETNAM
Submitted by Johanna de Soto
http://www.nara.gov/nara/electronic/caalviet.html

U.S. Military Personnel Who Died (Including Missing and Captured Declared Dead) 
as a result of the Vietnam conflict, 1957-1995 
The listing below is a sample of the information and organization of the data.  

 
Name                        Service   City      State  Death  Where     Birth   Type of Casualty

ABBIE DONALD PAUL PFC ARMY SACRAMENTO CA 12SEP68 S.VIETNAM 24OCT48 HOSTILE,KILLED

ABBOTT EDWARD DONALD PFC ARMY YUBA CITY CA 06MAY68 S.VIETNAM 08OCT49 HOSTILE,KILLED

ABBOTT JOHN CAPT NAVY SAN DIEGO CA 27APR66 N.VIETNAM 20AUG27 HOSTILE,DIED-CAPTURED

ABEYTA ERNEST PFC MARINES LOS ANGELES CA 01JUN69 S.VIETNAM 29MAR49 HOSTILE,KILLED

ABINA ROBERT THOMAS PFC MARINES SAN LEANDRO CA 30NOV67 S.VIETNAM 13AUG47 HOSTILE,KILLED

ABLES ELMER ROBERT LEE JR SFC ARMY NEWHALL CA 26OCT67 S.VIETNAM 25OCT37 HOSTILE,KILLED

ABNER CARL EDWARD LCPL MARINES CAMPBELL CA 27DEC67 S.VIETNAM 24SEP47 HOSTILE,KILLED

ABRAHAM PAUL LEONARD CPL ARMY SANTA ANA CA 02MAY68 S.VIETNAM 13OCT47 HOSTILE,KILLED

ACEVEDO RICHARD JOSEPH LCPL MARINES LOS ANGELES CA 26OCT67 S.VIETNAM 01JUN48 HOSTILE,KILLED

ACHICA EDDIE SGT ARMY SAN FRANCISCO CA 10AUG66 S.VIETNAM 05SEP30 HOSTILE,KILLED

ACHOR TERRENCE WILLIAM PFC ARMY WHITTIER CA 04MAR68 S.VIETNAM 19JUL47 HOSTILE,DIED-WOUNDS

ACKLEY GERALD LEVIE SGT MARINES DUNNIGAN CA 03JUN67 S.VIETNAM 19NOV46 HOSTILE,KILLED

ACOSTA DANIEL PFC MARINES STOCKTON CA 12NOV66 S.VIETNAM 13JUL45 HOSTILE,KILLED

ACOSTA JOHN MICHAEL PFC ARMY SACRAMENTO CA 21JAN68 S.VIETNAM 15AUG47 HOSTILE,DIED-WOUNDS

ACOSTA LOYD DEAN LCPL MARINES NORWALK CA 15SEP69 S.VIETNAM 14JAN49 NON-HOS.DIED-OTHER

ACUNIA EDGAR LCPL MARINES LOS ANGELES CA 06MAR69 S.VIETNAM 17OCT48 NON-HOS.DIED-OTHER

ADACHI THOMAS YUJI SMS AIR FORCE LOS ANGELES CA 11SEP78 LAOS 03APR46 HOSTILE,DIED-MISSING

ADAIR HARVEY GENE PFC ARMY KINGSBURG CA 27MAR68 S.VIETNAM 03APR47 HOSTILE,KILLED

ADAME GILBERT JIMMIE PFC MARINES COLTON CA 07APR68 S.VIETNAM 10FEB49 HOSTILE,KILLED

ARIZONA

THE CHICANO EXPERIENCE ONLINE

The Department of Archives and Manuscripts, University Libraries, Arizona State University in Tempe, is proud to announce the availability of the Chicana/Chicano Experience in Arizona on the Web, designed to bring educational information about the history and contributions of Mexican Americans in Arizona. This new online exhibit can be used as a foundation for community discussion or as a curriculum supplement for schools, colleges, and universities. Socially & culturally, Mexican Americans have been an integral part of Arizona since the Territorial period. The Chicana/Chicano Experience in Arizona on line exhibit traces Mexican American contributions from Arizona territorial days as cattle ranchers and ranch hands; as miners in the development of the Copper state; and as agricultural laborers. The exhibit acquaints the viewer with the   organizations formed to preserve Mexican American culture in a Euro-American society. Historically, family and community spirit maintained the culture through traditional beliefs and practices, many of which are documented with historic photographs, manuscripts, and a bilingual text, English/Spanish. Please mark these two sites, the Chicano Research Collection, AND the Chicana/Chicano Experience in Arizona on the Web

http://www.asu.edu/lib/archives/chicano.htm. 
http://www.asu.edu/lib/archives/website/index.htm.                                Return to Table of Contents

California

New York City to California via Central America, 1851 - 1856

http://www.pt5dome.com/PassHome.html

The information on this site is taken from microfilm copies of The New York Daily Times. Beginning with the first issue of the Times, September 18, 1851, the lists will proceed through the years. When possible, passengers will be linked to the ship they later boarded on the Pacific side of the Isthmus for the final leg of the journey to San Francisco. If you don't locate your relative(s), look in Louis J. Rassmussen's "San Francisco Passenger Lists,"  273 pgs. Available from: Clearfield Co.
$27.50 + postage, (410) 625-9004

Ships and Boats

Ships and boats have played a central role in the life of Lucille Santos Paixao.  If it hadn't been for the Bordeaux, a French sail vessel that carried two children destined to become her parents around Cape Horn to Hawaii in 1884, Lucille might have been born in Portugal.  Instead, she was born in Monterey, where her father fished the waters off Northern California until the fish became scarce.  If it hadn't been for the Sacramento, a tuna boat that her father and 

San Diego Union-Tribune, 3-25-00 
Submitted by Tawn Skousen

JOHN CHARLES FREMONT
1813-90

Written by LaDeane W. Miller

American explorer, army officer, and politician, noted for his explorations of the Far West.

Frémont was born on January 31, 1813, in Savannah, Georgia, and was educated at the College of Charleston, South Carolina. In 1838 he was commissioned second lieutenant in the Corps of Engineers, U.S. Army. During the following year Frémont was a member of the expedition of the French explorer Joseph Nicolas Nicollet that surveyed and mapped the region between the upper Mississippi and Missouri rivers. Between 1842 and 1845 Frémont led three expeditions into Oregon Territory. During the first, in 1842, he mapped most of the Oregon Trail and ascended, in present-day Wyoming, the second highest peak in the Wind River Mountains, afterward called Fremont Peak (4185 m/13,730 ft). In 1843 he completed the survey of the Oregon Trail to the mouth of the Columbia River on the Pacific coast. The party, guided by the famous scout Kit Carson, turned south and then east, making a midwinter crossing of the Sierra Nevada Mountains. Frémont made his third expedition in 1845, further exploring both the area known as the Great Basin and the Pacific coast.

During the Mexican War (1846-48), Frémont attained the rank of major and assisted greatly in the annexation of California. He was appointed civil governor of California by the U.S. Navy commodore Robert Field Stockton, but in a conflict of authority between Stockton and the U.S. Army brigadier general Stephen Watts Kearny, Frémont refused to obey Kearny's orders. He was arrested for mutiny and insubordination and was subsequently court-martialed. He resigned his commission after President James Polk remitted his sentence of dismissal from the service. In the winter of 1848 and 1849 Frémont led an expedition to locate passes for a proposed railway line from the upper Río Grande to California. In 1850 he was elected one of the first two senators from California, serving until 1851. In 1856 he was the presidential candidate of the newly formed Republican Party, but was defeated by James Buchanan. During the American Civil War Frémont was appointed a major general in the Union Army and held several important but brief commands; he resigned his commission in 1862 rather than serve under General John Pope. In 1864 Frémont was again a presidential nominee; he withdrew, however, in favor of President Abraham Lincoln. He served as governor of the territory of Arizona from 1878 to 1883. In 1890 he was restored to the rank of major general and retired with full pay. He died in New York City on July 13, 1890.

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Mission San Gabriel Archangel was the fourth mission founded by Francisco Padre Junipero Serra during the time the area was known as Alta California and ruled by the Spanish crown.

Many of the original Padres are buried at the mission's Campo Santo Cemetery, the oldest in Los Angeles County. A crucifix is dedicated to the 6,000 Indians buried throughout the grounds.

Orange County Register, 1-1-00 Submitted by Granville Hough, Ph.D.


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Among the collection is a volume of Mexican history that dates back to 1830 and was purchased by the State Library for $1,600 in 1863. Today when you tell someone you're going to spend $1,600 on a book, they're shocked.  But to do that in 1863 is unbelievable, said curator Peter J. Flagg,   

Orange County Register, 1-23-00

The Legend of ZORRO: http://members.tripod.com/~zorro23/legend.html. - Luis Angel Vega
Via agarcia@wahoo.sjsu.edu (Anthony Garcia) from  http://www.LatinoLA.com.

COLORADO

Colorado Starts Here! Research Outline for Colorado: 
This is part of the LDS Family History Source Guides prepared for each U.S. state.
Many Links:

http://www.FamilySearch.org

http://www.everton.com/usa/co.htm

http://resources.rootsweb.com/USA/CO.html

These sites include links with information on the historical background on the state, 
as well as information on major genealogical record sources available for research in the state.

These sites also connects to a beginners course on family history research.

State of Colorado: 
The official website of the state government.

How to Order Birth, Marriage, Death and Divorce Certificates: Information from the Colorado state Department of Public Health.

U.S. National Archives: Rocky Mountain: The official Web page of the NARA facility in Denver.

Colorado GenWeb: Gateway to genealogical information for Colorado and its counties.

Colorado GenWeb Archives: Transcriptions of original source material from the state of Colorado, arranged by county.

Colorado Maps: In the Perry-Castañeda Library Map Collection of the University of Texas at Austin.

1895 Atlas of Colorado: Alphabetic listing of towns in the state, with maps.

Colorado Links on Cyndi's List: Arranged by subject.

Colorado Resources at Rootsweb: Arranged by county.

Colorado Genealogical Society: A statewide genealogical organization with headquarters in Denver.

Colorado Email Lists: Email-based discussion forums on genealogy in Colorado.

NEW MEXICO