Hello Nuestros Ranchos,
I have been researching my family history for approximately 11 years. Some of the information I have is from listening to my grandfather, Feliciano Reyes, tell me stories of his life. I loved listening to him and I miss him very much; He passed away in 1989. When my daughter was born in 1997, I realized that I had a duty to pass on to her our history before it becomes lost or forgotten. At the time of my daughter's birth I was living in the Southwestern United States while the majority of my family, the first generation, lived in the Midwest. I now live in the Southeastern U.S. so researching has proven to be a challenge. I went back to the Midwest in 1999 and again a few years ago, and each time I research the library and museum for our family history. In 1999, we started out at the museum in Centerville, Iowa where my great grandparents first settled. The museum took me to the library where I reviewed microfiche and naturalization books. The museum led me to townspeople who were still living and remembered my grandfather and my great aunts and uncles. From that trip, I learned so much. I have it bumps in the road and have gotten discouraged, but something or someone always inspires me to continue.
This is what I know so far:
My great grandfather, Victoriano Reyes (born around 1885 in Zacatecs, Mexcio), and his wife, Mariana Vargas Reyes (born April 17, 1887 in Zacatecas, Mexico), their children: Feliciano Reyes (born 8, June 1908 in Santa Monica de las Viudas in Zacatecas, Mexico), Santos Reyes (born 1, November 1911 in Rancho de las Viudas in Zacatecas, Mexico), Petra Reyes ( born 11, April 1915 in Fresnillo, Zacatecas, Mexico) all left Zacatecas, Mexico in September of 1916 for the United States. My Grandfather Feliciano's naturalization papers stated that they crossed over the footbridge at Laredo, Texas. Somehow, they ended up in Centerville, Iowa.
They lived in a box car in a community with other new immigrants from England, Italy, Czech, etc. Three more children were conceived in Iowa: Juanita, Sanita, and Joseph. My great grandfather, Victoriano, and my grandfather, Feliciano, worked in the coal mines. Santos was a boxer and went to WWII where he died in Luxemburg, Germany. Joseph followed Santos footsteps with boxing and also fought in WWII. He is now deceased. Feliciano worked for the CCC run by the War Dept, which I found was created to help families like my ancestors; He died in 1989. Petra married Paul Castillo and had a family; She is now deceased. Sanita became a dental hygienest, married and did not have children. She later took care of my great grandmother, Mariana, until she died. Mariana went to live with Petra and then a nursing home. Juanita became a nun, Sister Marilyn Reyes, she still lives in Davenport, Iowa in the convent. Victor is also still alive, his wife is deceased.
My great grandfather, Victoriano, died tragically in 1923 leaving my great grandmother and six children behind and was two months pregant with their 7th child, Victor. With my great grandfather Victoriano's death, at the age of fourteen, my grandfather became head of the family.
I am trying to find the birth dates and marriage dates of the parents and grandparents of my great grandparents. Currently, I only have names.
I did not know my grandmothers parents as they had both passed away before I was born. However, I came across a gem! I found a record of my maternal great grandparents marriage record from San Juan de los Lagos. It states that my great grandfather, Juan Atilano was born in "the margin of La Laja" in Jalisco, Mexico. It states he was married in San Juan de Los Lagos. I have attached the certificate. As you can see, I have many names, but no dates.
I am trying to find dates and more about their lives in Mexico.
Atilano Vargas
Dear GenReys:
What time were your relatives in Iowa living in a boxcar? I have Blakes from Iowa and during the depression years (dust bowl), 1925, life was very hard. I have my great great grandmothers letter to my great grandmother, letting her know about her sister. She and her husband were working at the gravel pits for $4.00 a day and living in a shanty. During the summer, the heat in the metal shanty was unbearable. Dust that blew from the fields and not to mention the dust in the pits, shortened the lives of the people living in this area. Dust in the lungs caused infections and they had increased risks of pneumonia. You can imagine what your relatives lives were like. Despite all of that, they were happy to have work at a time when many were starving.
Anyway, asides from that, have you tried name variations in your search for Atilano Vargas? I have some Vargas in my Jauregui line and I have found these variations on the spelling of the name, Baragas, Bargas, Vargas and Varagas. Just a thought. I have a Atilano Baragas, but he was married to Casiana Gutierres Jauregui and they had children in Valle de Guadalupe, Jalisco starting in 1906.
Maureen Bejar
Atilano Vargas
At this time some people from valle de gpe would live in similar conditions when they would come north to Trona California to find work. My mother was born in trona in 1928 but my grandparents moved back to the valle de gpe because life was rough in the Usa during the depression.
------Original Message------
From: mytmo@netnitco.net
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To: research@lists.nuestrosranchos.org
ReplyTo: research@nuestrosranchos.org
Subject: [Nuestros Ranchos] Atilano Vargas
Sent: Mar 22, 2010 4:54 PM
Dear GenReys:
What time were your relatives in Iowa living in a boxcar? I have Blakes from Iowa and during the depression years (dust bowl), 1925, life was very hard. I have my great great grandmothers letter to my great grandmother, letting her know about her sister. She and her husband were working at the gravel pits for $4.00 a day and living in a shanty. During the summer, the heat in the metal shanty was unbearable. Dust that blew from the fields and not to mention the dust in the pits, shortened the lives of the people living in this area. Dust in the lungs caused infections and they had increased risks of pneumonia. You can imagine what your relatives lives were like. Despite all of that, they were happy to have work at a time when many were starving.
Anyway, asides from that, have you tried name variations in your search for Atilano Vargas? I have some Vargas in my Jauregui line and I have found these variations on the spelling of the name, Baragas, Bargas, Vargas and Varagas. Just a thought. I have a Atilano Baragas, but he was married to Casiana Gutierres Jauregui and they had children in Valle de Guadalupe, Jalisco starting in 1906.
Maureen Bejar
Reyes in Iowa
Hellow Maureen,
I have a pretty good history of my ancestors in Iowa. They made it to Iowa in October 1916. From what I understand from my great aunt Sister Marilyn they worked in onion fields picking onions for 10 cents (a day?) and they slept in gunny sacks. I do not know why they chose Iowa as their destination though. I believe Victoriano also worked for the railroad once he made it to the US but he and my grandfather (who lied about his age to work in the coal mines) both worked in the coal mines.
-From Mexico to the Midwest
Reyes in Iowa
Dear Mex to Mid:
As part of my husband's genealogy, I interviewed his father about his family history. It was a great story. His father was a beet worker in Wyoming and that is where my father-in-law was born, only to be deported voluntarily back to Mexico during the depression without his birth certificate. The saga of how he came back to the US was another whole story. Anyway, in the early 1900's, he said, trucks would come into the towns in Mexico calling for workers. The US needed manpower to harvest the fields. Men and sometimes whole families would hop on the truck and would travel up and work the fields. As you can see, they were paid little and the work was hard in very difficult conditions. Sometimes they stayed on and started following the crops from one state to another. This was a boom time in the US and many also migrated east and worked in the steel mills around Chicago. When the depression hit, the steelworkers lost their jobs and were deported back. I discovered this from the border crossings of my husband's ancestors. They had care of Catholic Charities stamped on their border crossings. I searched the Gary Post Tribune for information on the deportation, as I was told that when deported, a person might be listed in the local paper, but I never found any listings, only the articles on Catholic Charities and Indiana Harbor. When I saw the "Catholic Charities" I knew then how and why these people went back to Mexico. The Charity was funded by the Indiana Harbor and they helped people who wanted to go back to Mexico by paying the travel expenses.
This is a possibility of how your family ended up in Iowa. Does anyone else have similar stories of trucks coming into Mexican towns to pick up agricultural workers for the US? If not, please interview some of your people in their late 80's and 90's, to see if they know how and why their families ended up in the US or possibly being in the US for a short time, then going back to Mexico. Would love to hear some stories to corroborate!
Maureen
Introduction
Hello, I'm researching the Alvarado and Hernandez surnames. I am not exactly
sure which part of Mexico the Alvarado surname came from at this time,
although I do know that the Hernandez surname came from either La Blanca,
Zacatecas or Zacatecas, Zacatecas, Mexico.
I am researching Pedro Alvarado, b. 12 Jan. 1883 and his wife, Angela
Hernandez, b. 2 Aug. 1895, as these are my great-grandparents. Their first
born child, Hilario Alvarado, was born in 1916. From what I can figure out they were married in 1919, according to a 1930 US Census record I found for them. I was able to find a border crossing for Angela Hernandez showing that she came over in 1922 with my great-uncle Hilario and my grandfather, Phillip (Felipe) to join her husband, Pedro. They crossed in El Paso, TX and ultimately ended up in Gonzales and Monterey, CA, USA, where their remaining 6 children were born.
At this time I do not know of any siblings for Pedro, nor do I know his
mother's maiden name. I do believe that Angela Hernandez mother's maiden
name was Lira and she had at least two sisters that were living at the time
of her death in 1963. One sister was Mrs. Anastasia Colores of Juarez,
Mexico. The other sister was Mrs. Rosa Hernandez of Toreen, Mexico.
So far my research has been limited to Ancestry.com, California Vital records and any information from living relatives and a few visits to the local cemetary. I am really anxious to find out anything about this family as far back as I
can, thanks in advance for any help.
Introduction
Hello,
I'm just beginning my research and starting off by finding out as much
as I can about the Gonzalez's from Guatimala, Huanusco, Zacatecas.
Guatimala is a small ranch town just west of Huanusco.
I've looked through several rolls from the FHC and have found useful
information, but am hoping for further information about what steps to
take next.
My grandfather's name is Jose Inez Gonzalez, born in Guatimala--birth
year unknown. Jose Inez is the son of Monico Gonzalez, born in 1890.
Monico is the son of Jacinto Gonzalez, born in 1870, who is the son of
Lucas Gonzalez--birth year unknown. From family oral history, I
believe Jose Inez was born sometime in the 1910s. I have looked
through part of the FHC Roll #1089500 (1904-1917), and all of #1083044
(1918-1920) but was unable to find him. (The library closed before I
could finish going through all of the 1904-1917 period.) My oldest
uncle would've been born around 1935, so that means Jose Inez and his wife
would've married around the mid-1930s. Jose Inez's wife, Josefina
Ventura Becerra was born in 1919. I have already compiled a
surprisingly long list of relatives from Guatimala from the late 19th
and early 20th century.
When I finish going thru the 1904-1917 roll, my next step will be to look
at the Church records. My question is where would the church
information be recorded for the ranches around Huanusco? is it the
church Santa María Mecatabasco (Villa del Refugio, Zacatecas)? What
has been your experience with these records? Are there gaps?
Thanks,
Arturo Gonzalez
Introduction
Hi Arturo,My family is from Hacienda La Luz in Huanusco-Calvillo Area,you might know the place. Here's the deal. You have to check both registro civil and church because not everyone did both sets ofacts. Yes, Tabsco (Villa del Refugio) includes all of Huanusco and nearby towns.I have seen most of the films but never got any names from Guatimala.Try looking in Tabasco, Zac those church records are complete, I bet you'llfind him in those films.
Daniel Mendez Camino
> From: agon123@gmail.com
> Date: Tue, 11 May 2010 22:43:01 -0400
> To: research@nuestrosranchos.org
> Subject: [Nuestros Ranchos] Introduction
>
> Hello,
> I'm just beginning my research and starting off by finding out as much
> as I can about the Gonzalez's from Guatimala, Huanusco, Zacatecas.
> Guatimala is a small ranch town just west of Huanusco.
>
> I've looked through several rolls from the FHC and have found useful
> information, but am hoping for further information about what steps to
> take next.
> My grandfather's name is Jose Inez Gonzalez, born in Guatimala--birth
> year unknown. Jose Inez is the son of Monico Gonzalez, born in 1890.
> Monico is the son of Jacinto Gonzalez, born in 1870, who is the son of
> Lucas Gonzalez--birth year unknown. From family oral history, I
> believe Jose Inez was born sometime in the 1910s. I have looked
> through part of the FHC Roll #1089500 (1904-1917), and all of #1083044
> (1918-1920) but was unable to find him. (The library closed before I
> could finish going through all of the 1904-1917 period.) My oldest
> uncle would've been born around 1935, so that means Jose Inez and his
> would've married around the mid-1930s. Jose Inez's wife, Josefina
> Ventura Becerra was born in 1919. I have already compiled a
> surprisingly long list of relatives from Guatimala from the late 19th
> and early 20th century.
>
> When I finish going thru the 1904-1917 roll, my next step was to look
> at the Church records. My question is where would the church
> information be recorded for the ranches around Huanusco? is it the
> church Santa María Mecatabasco (Villa del Refugio, Zacatecas) ? What
> has been your experience with these records? Are there gaps?
>
> Thanks,
> Arturo Gonzalez
Introduction
Susan Larsen
larsenfamilytree
spaceoddity6522@yahoo.com
My twin sister and I first began researching our family history four years ago. We have found a lot through Ancestry.com and FamilySearch.org. My Great Grandmother, Aurelia Haro Robles emigrated to The United States with her mother from Mexico March 26, 1929. She was born July 19, 1916 in Rancho La Nopalera, Mezquital del Oro, Zacatecas.
Her parents were Jose Doroteo Haro, of Mezquital del Oro, Zacatecas, and Maria Esther Robles of Zacatecas, Zacatecas. Not much is known of Maria’s parents, but I have traced Jose’s to the early 1800’s, each generation from is parents (Pedro Pascual Haro Haro and Agapita Banuelos Villarreal) on are born in Moyahua de Estrada, Zacatecas.
INTRODUCTION
Greetings!
My name is Mercedes Gomez Villalobos and I am happy to be a new member to Nuestros Ranchos. I'm still learning how to navigate this website. I'm posting as much info as I've managed to research in the last 3 years. I need help if anyone out there knows about these wonderfully mysterious distant relatives. I often wonder where my family came from and from what countries we originated. I understand we have French and Spanish and Indigenous blood. My parents had 12 children we're all alive, including my 105 year old mother. Her mind is sharp and she has wonderful stories to tell us. My father had blue eyes and blond hair, my mother had brown eyes, hair. We're all different from very light hair and skin to medium olive skin and brown eyes.
My father Antonio Gomez Gonzalez b.1899 and mother Virginia Villalobos Aguilera B.1905 both in Canadas, Jalisco. My paternal grandparents: Francisco Gomez Martinez b.1869 , his parents: Nicolas Gomez and Gregoria Martinez. They had some children born in El Sagrario, Aguascalientes, Irapuato, Guanajuato and Encarnacion de Diaz. . Joaquina Gonzalez Jimenez b. 1874, her parents: Jose Maria Gonzalez and Simona Jimenez. I believe they came from a military family because there's a photo of Francisco's son Jesus Gomez Martinez with a military uniform. I believe he might have served under Porfirio Diaz. We don't know what happened to him. He was 15 when he left Encarnacion to serve in the military.
My maternal grandparents: Florencio Villalobos Aguilera b.1873 in San Sebastian Del Alamo, his parents were Ysidro Villalobos Lopez b.1834 and Jacoba Aguilera Garcia b.1838 m.1857, Teocaltiche
Maria Leonides Aguilera Diaz b.1871, Rio Chico, her parents: Justo Aguilera Quezada B. 1831, his parents: Anastacio Aguilera and Rita Quezada . Macsima Diaz Villalobos b. 1841, her parents: Jose Rafael Diaz and Justa Villalobos Carrano b. 1809. Justa's parents: Juan Jose Villalobos and Petra Carrano. Juan Jose was Fernando Villalobos and Maria Lozano's son.
I hope this introduction will stir some interest in those who might have the same distant relatives.
Thanks and Vaya con Dios.
MGV
http://www.nuestrosranchos.org/node/18772