My 25th entry in Amy Johnson Crow’s “52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks” family history blogging challenge for 2015.
The challenge: have one blog post each week devoted to a specific ancestor. It could be a story, a biography, a photograph, an outline of a research problem — anything that focuses on one ancestor.
Amy’s 2015 version of this challenge focuses on a different theme each week.
The theme for week 25 is – The Old Homestead: Have you visited an ancestral home? Do you have photos of an old family house? Do you have homesteading ancestors?
Leonard Jackson was born on the overland journey (possibly in present-day Nebraska or Utah), when his parents emigrated via wagon train from Missouri to California.1 The family crossed from Nevada into California over Ebbett’s Pass, a High Sierras pass that closes during winter each year.2 Last July, my husband and I made a road trip retracing the family’s route from the eastern end of Ebbett’s Pass, following their settlement steps down the western side of the Sierras across the California Central Valley, and then south to Mariposa County.
Homesteading played a critical role in the settling of the American West. Yet despite being a Western U.S. historian (specializing in California history), I never paid much attention to homestead records because most my ancestors were late-comers to the U.S. who did not even own homes until the early-to-late 1900s. And homesteading (aka the Homestead Acts) just happened back in the 1860s, right? [Wrong.] Most of my people weren’t even in the U.S. at that time. Nor was it a topic discussed in any detail during my college California history classes, or in my own California history research.
California Homesteading
When I saw a session being offered by Jamie Lee McManus Mayhew at the Southern California Genealogy Jamboree this past June on “Homesteading California,” I thought that the California historian in me ought to go learn a bit about this historical era and its records. The information might come in handy when helping library patrons at work, or helping others with their family history. Even if my California ancestors weren’t homesteaders.
Discovering GLO
During her session, Jamie talked about and demonstrated GLO.
While GLO–in genealogy-speak, the Bureau of Land Management’s General Land Office database index and digitized records– was a database I was aware of, I never bothered to actually use the site, since I was certain my ancestors were not homesteaders, and did not think it likely bought any other federal land.
We provide live access to Federal land conveyance records for the Public Land States, including image access to more than five million Federal land title records issued between 1820 and the present. We also have images related to survey plats and field notes, dating back to 1810. Due to organization of documents in the GLO collection, this site does not currently contain every Federal title record issued for the Public Land States.5
Sitting through that introduction to GLO, a thought hit me…
My husband’s ancestors–the Harless and Gann lines who came to California in 1858–had been ranchers and farmers, and might have acquired Homestead land. I started searching for my husband’s Harless line. Bingo! The very first entry I found listed was for my husband’s 2nd great-grandmother Pauline Adeline Gann.
The second listing for Harless on the GLO index results is for Leonard Jackson Harless himself. And since, unlike that first entry for his wife Pauline, Leonard Jackson’s entry shows that the digitized document is included, I am focusing on his Homestead claim for this post, and to learn more about GLO as well as Homestead laws.
I will definitely revisit the records for his wife Pauline and mother Margaret when I have more time. And identify William H. Harless.
The Land Patent
I will analyze the record details more thoroughly in a later post, but following is my extracted summary, as well as a digitized copy of the original record–the serial patent file.6 I find it interesting that although Leonard Jackson grew up in a California pioneer family during 1860s and 1870s, his particular homestead patent was not purchased and registered until 1912, at 54 years of age.
Claimant: Leonard J. Harless [index says Leonard Y. Harless]
My 24th entry in Amy Johnson Crow’s “52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks” family history blogging challenge for 2015.
The challenge: have one blog post each week devoted to a specific ancestor. It could be a story, a biography, a photograph, an outline of a research problem — anything that focuses on one ancestor.
Amy’s 2015 version of this challenge focuses on a different theme each week.
The theme for week 24 is – Heirloom: What heirloom do you treasure? Who gave it to you? What heirloom do you wish you had?
I met Betty decades ago, a couple of times, when my husband Jeff and I first became friends in college. But Betty died far too young, five years before Jeff and I re-met in 2007 (long-lost friends by that time), started dating in 2008, and married in 2009.
Betty was the youngest child of Roy Delmar Pace (1913-2000), from Texas, and Rebecca Haley (1916-1991), from Arkansas, the only one of their children born after Roy and Becky moved their young family to California from New Mexico. Betty and her siblings grew up in the California Central Valley.
So although Betty technically was/is my (first) mother-in-law, I never knew her as my mother-in-law. By the time Jeff and I became reacquainted with each other, Jeff’s father had remarried to the woman I have always known and loved as my mother-in-law. I have written before about Jeff’s wonderful stepmom. She was Betty’s best friend since childhood, and had been divorced a very long time when Betty became ill from the tragic disease that took her from us way too young. Knowing she was dying, Betty–as my husband likes to tell the story–selflessly “fixed up” his dad and her best friend. When Betty’s husband and best friend were ready to move on from their shared grief, they started dating and eventually married (read this heart-touching story).
Betty’s Teaching Bible
Betty had a very strong Christian faith, bringing her peace and comfort as she grew more ill, knowing the end was near. She was very active in serving through her church and in teaching Bible study during my husband’s childhood. Betty remained an active teacher and leader with Bible Study Fellowship, an international interdenominational organization, until her illness made her too weak to teach anymore.
When Jeff and I were dating, he showed me his mom’s teaching Bible, which his father gave to him after Betty died. The Bible is well worn, with all sorts of highlighted passages and notes in Betty’s hand.
After Jeff and I became engaged and started planning our wedding, we began pre-marital counseling with my family pastor. I had an idea. I wanted some tangible way to have Jeff’s mom Betty involved in our wedding ceremony. I remembered her Bible, and asked my pastor to marry us using Betty’s Bible instead of his own, explaining what that Bible meant to Betty.
As the wedding date approached, I asked Jeff to let his dad, mother-in-law, and brother know about us using Betty’s Bible in the ceremony. I did not want to catch Jeff’s family by surprise during the ceremony; Jeff and I wanted them to be emotionally prepared.
Pastor Gary made a point during the ceremony to talk about Betty’s Bible–about our request, and about the Bible’s significance. He told the wedding guests how worn and annotated the Bible was, and how obvious it was that Betty heavily and regularly used it. He told our guests what Jeff had shared during our counseling sessions…how much comfort this Bible brought to Betty as she sensed her death drawing near.
Tears were heavily shed by us and our guests.
I cannot pretend to know how much my husband, his brother, his father, and his stepmom still hurt from losing Betty–especially losing her so young. I realize I will experience that same hurt and grief someday, but I am fortunate to still have my mom with us. I do know that my husband would have given anything to have had his mother there with us, in person, at the wedding. So it brings me such joy to have found even just a tiny tangible way to have included Betty in our ceremony and special day.
Because of how much that Bible meant to Betty, what it means to my husband, and the role it played in our wedding, Betty’s Bible will forever be a cherished family heirloom.
My 23rd entry in Amy Johnson Crow’s “52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks” family history blogging challenge for 2015.
The challenge: have one blog post each week devoted to a specific ancestor. It could be a story, a biography, a photograph, an outline of a research problem — anything that focuses on one ancestor.
Amy’s 2015 version of this challenge focuses on a different theme each week.
The theme for week 23 is– Wedding: June is time for weddings. Write about a June bride in your family or highlight a favorite wedding photo. Maybe there’s a serial marry-er in the family — that could be a fun post!
I am quite behind on this blog challenge, hence the late wedding post.
My 23rd ancestor is my 2nd great-grandfather Refugio Nieto (1863-1909), who was born about 1863 in the state of San Luis Potosí, Mexico. I have not yet identified the specific location, but it likely was in the municipality of Armadillo de los Infante.1
Marriage
Refugio married my 2nd great-grandmother Maria Aurelia Compean on 18 October 1883 in the parish of San José, located in Villa de Yturbidge (now Villa Hidalgo), a municipality in the state of San Luis Potosí.2
Aurelia (called “Little Grandma” by our family) immigrated to the U.S. in 1919 joining some of her children and great-grandchildren in Long Beach, Los Angeles County, California.3,4 Refugio died before the family immigrated.5,6 Consequently, my living family members never knew anything about him, including his given name.
The Original Record
I wrote just a couple months ago about the recent discovery of this marriage record and of my 2nd great-grandfather’s given name of Refugio. Finding Refugio and Aurelia’s marriage record provided the first piece of (long-awaited) primary and direct evidence of their marriage as well as of my 2nd great-grandfather’s name. But I did not spend much time in that post analyzing the actual marriage record.
At that time, I was able to glean some key pieces of information from this Spanish language record (I do not speak Spanish, and my reading ability is very rudimentary). But to properly analyze the record for genealogical evidence, I needed to understand this record better.
That’s where my Spanish-fluent retired Dad comes in; I assigned a translation to him as homework last week. I think Dad enjoyed getting to read in-depth the marriage record for his great-grandparents and helping me piece together their history.
Pre-Marriage Investigations
The record referenced in this blog post is what the Spanish Catholic church refers to as a pre-marriage investigation report (called informaciones matrimoniales in the Mexican church). These investigations were conducted by the parish priest, prior to marrying a couple, to ensure that the couple met the church’s requirements for marriage.
The honor of the Catholic Church as an institution was maintained by being certain that a full investigation was conducted and the parties were free from (that is, they were not in violation of) the impediments imposed by Catholic canon law.7
Informacion Matrimonial
Below is the digitized copy of the marriage investigation record for my 3rd great-grandparents. Note that it spans two pages in the volume, and is rich with genealogical information.
The Record Translation
Following is the verbatim translation provided by my father. Since Dad used parenthesis and brackets for his notes, I am enclosing mine {in braces}.8In Dad’s own words, “The translation is a bit rough partially because the document is in old Spanish.” 9
For each part to the record, I have inserted the corresponding section from the digitized record above, to more easily refer to it while reading the translation.
{Introduction by the Priest & Statement by the Groom}
Marriage information {for Refugio Nieto}
Male spouse
In the village of Ytarbido (?) {Yturbide} on 20 September, 1883, before me Father Domingo Torres, Refugio presented himself to reveal his desire to marry with Aurelia Compeon. Declaring his petition, and understanding the importance of the obligation of his desire, understanding well the Christian doctrine and the gravity of his affirmation, I received before God and the cross, by his faith he answered all the questions he was asked, agreeable to the general instructions of the diocese, that he is a resident of the district of Temascal {also Temazcal, a village in the muncipality of Armadillo de los Infante}, unmarried of 21 years of age, of Tedra {possibly Pedro} Nieto and of Fabriana {likely Fabiana} Mesa who are alive, who desires to wed Aurelia Compeon per the requirements of the Roman Apostolic Catholic Church, with his petition he affirms that he has no ties of consequence to another marriage, nor to another woman, nor to the sister of the proposed spouse, nor a vow of chastity, nor any liability of criminal or civil dishonesty. By this proposed marriage contract with respect for the spouse, being of clear conscience free of any burden I declare by the Church to enter marriage of my own free will without urging, force, or compelling, and I believe this to be true of my future spouse. All I have put forth is true and honest.
[The signatures may be from a church witness and Father Torres]
{Statement by the Bride}
Female spouse
On the same date, Aurelia Compeon appeared to declare her intention to marry Refugio Nieto. Declaring her petition, and understanding the importance of the obligation of her desire, understanding well the Christian doctrine and the gravity of his affirmation, I received this statement as required, by her faith she answered all the questions she was asked, agreeable to the general instructions of the diocese, that she is a resident of the district of Temascal {same village as Refugio}, unmarried of 18 years of age, of Santiago Compeon now deceased and Eutimia Sanches who is alive, who desires to wed Refugio Nieto per the requirements of the Roman Apostolic Catholic Church, with his petition he affirms that he has no ties of consequence to another marriage, nor to another man, nor to the brother of the proposed spouse, nor a vow of chastity, nor any liability of criminal or civil dishonesty. By this proposed marriage contract with respect for the spouse, being of clear conscience free of any burden I declare by the Church to enter marriage of my own free will without urging, force, or compelling, and I believe this to be true of my future spouse. All I have put forth is true and honest.
[The signatures may be from a church witness and Father Torres]
{Statement by the First Witness}
First witness
The petitioner Refugio Nieto in support of his declaration presented his first witness Antonio Flores who understood the importance of his oath, rightfully offered to speak the truth to answer all that was asked, and doing so for this matter, that he is a resident of the district of Temascal, 57 years of age married. He knows the petitioners to free of marriage and knows of no obstacles about what has been asked. All I have put forth is true and honest.
[The signatures may be from a church witness and Father Torres]
{Statement by the Second Witness}
Second witness
The petitioner Refugio Nieto in support of his declaration presented his second witness Vicente Garcia who understood the importance of his oath, rightfully offered to speak the truth to answer all that was asked, and doing so for this matter, that he is a resident of the district of Temascal, 69 years of age married. He knows the petitioners to free of marriage and knows of no obstacles about what has been asked. All I have put forth is true and honest.
[The signatures may be from a church witness and Father Torres]
{Certification by the Priest}
Consent with the required waiting, this petition is made public from September 23 to October 7, 1883.
This marriage was verified October 18, 1883.
Evidence Analysis
What sort of new information items did this record present to me to analyze as evidence?
My rudimentary Spanish reading ability at the time of discovery allowed me to:
Identify their date and place of marriage.
Identify the given name for my Nieto 2nd great-grandfather Refugio.
Identify the names of Refugio Nieto’s parents (my 3rd gg).
Confirm the names of Maria Aurelia Compean’s parents (my other 3rd gg).
What new information did I learn from Dad’s translation?
That 3rd great-grandfather Jose Compean was already dead by this time. This helps me narrow the scope a bit in searching for a church death record for Jose.
Because the parish is located in Villa de Yturbide, I assumed that was also the home town of Refugio when I attempted to read the original document, but Dad’s translation indicates both parties lived in the village of Temascal. Since Temascal lies in the municipality of nearby Armadillo de los Infante and is served by the parish of San Isabél (established 1610), I have a bit of research to do to determine why my 3rd great-grandparents married outside of their home parish.
My 22nd entry in Amy Johnson Crow’s “52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks” family history blogging challenge for 2015.
The challenge: have one blog post each week devoted to a specific ancestor. It could be a story, a biography, a photograph, an outline of a research problem — anything that focuses on one ancestor.
Amy’s 2015 version of this challenge focuses on a different theme each week.
The theme for week 22 is – Commencement: Countless schools will be having their commencement ceremonies around this time. Think not only about school, but also about commencement meaning “a beginning.”
I am quite behind on this blog challenge, hence the late commencement post.
Grandfather Greene grew up in the territory and then state of Arizona. He was born 26 August 1908 in Phoenix, Maricopa County, Arizona Territory, as the oldest of two children to William Wallace Greene, Sr. (1869-1944), and Veronica Victoria Dorris (1883-1982). He was 3 and 1/2 years old when Arizona achieved statehood in 1912.
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Wallace, as he liked to be called then, attended Phoenix Union High School. Phoenix Union High School was founded in 1895, beginning “…with four classrooms and 90 students.”2 The high school, located at 7th Street and Van Buren, closed in 1987 after 92 years of operation.
Ancestry has digitized all four of Grandfather Greene’s yearbooks, so in honor of this commencement theme, I took another peak at what those yearbooks can tell me about Grandfather’s high school years.
Freshmen Class, 1922
Grandfather Greene joined the freshmen class of Phoenix Union High School in 1922, at the age of 14 years. He is identified as Wallace Greene on the Freshmen Class Roll of the Phoenician, the school yearbook.3 A class photo is included, and I think I successfully identified Grandfather Greene–based on other photos I have seen of him–by his smile, eyes, and forehead.
Sophomore Class, 1923
Identified as Wallace again, Grandfather is listed on the Class Roll for Sophomores in the 1923 issue of the Phoenician yearbook.6
In the 1923 edition, individual student photos were included for every class, not just seniors. However, since none of the individual photos are identified with names (except seniors), I had to again guess which one was Grandfather, based on a comparison of his features in later photos.
Wallace also belonged to an honor society that year.
Grandfather’s senior yearbook provides information about the Parnassus Society.
The scholarship Club, or Parnassus Society, is a club composed of about sixty students made up of the school’s scholars. To be eligible to this club one must have grades of at last two “ones” and two “twos”, or three “ones” and one “three”. The Scholarship Club was organized three years ago as a local club. It has since then gained national recognition and is now one of the most important clubs in the school. This year the Scholarship Club put on two very successful banquets and sponsored an interesting assembly.8
Junior Class, 1924
The 1924 edition of the yearbook included individual student photos just for the senior class. The junior class–Wallace’s class–has a big group photo in which the students are so tiny that I cannot even begin to try to identify Grandfather Greene.
The yearbook includes a note about Grandfather under the Music Department page, indicating that he played in the band and qualified for the Coyote Emblem.10
I was not able to identify Wallace in any club or activity photos for that year, and since members were not identified by name, I could not find him by name either.
Senior Class, 1925
His senior yearbook is where I struck gold with Grandfather Greene. Despite first reviewing these yearbooks back in November, I made a new discovery last week. Which did not pop up in the initial November 2014 results, when I had searched under the proper spelling of his/our surname–Greene, with an “e” at the end. Silly me. I should know better. By failing that first time to search under all variant spellings, I missed the best information item of them all.
Right there, in the section of individual senior photos, is Grandfather’s senior photo.
But that’s not all. Right next to his photo is… his signature! The yearbook copy that Ancestry digitized was owned by someone who knew my husband’s grandfather, and had Grandfather sign the yearbook.
Special mention is made about Grandfather Greene at the Coyote Club banquet on the night of 22 January 1925. “The musical program consisted of a vocal solo by Miss Methel Ingraham and a horn solo by Wallace Greene accompanied by Nell Greene.”12 Nell Greene was Grandfather’s younger sister.
My 21st entry in Amy Johnson Crow’s “52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks” family history blogging challenge for 2015.
The challenge: have one blog post each week devoted to a specific ancestor. It could be a story, a biography, a photograph, an outline of a research problem — anything that focuses on one ancestor.
Amy’s 2015 version of this challenge focuses on a different theme each week.
The theme for week 21 is – Military: This week, the United States will be observing Memorial Day [as you can tell, I am quite late with this post]. Do you have any military ancestors? Were any ancestors affected by the military or by war?
I am five weeks behind on this blog challenge, hence the late Memorial Day post.
I have not written previously about Great Uncle Joe, except when mentioning him in posts about my great grandparents (his parents), Jose Robledo (1875-1937) and Maria Hermalinda Nieto (1887-1974). Jose, Jr.–named after his father, I assume– was the sixth of eight siblings, the third son, and the fourth child born in the United States after the family immigrated here in 1915. If I ever met Great Uncle Joe the first few years of my life, I do not remember him.
Joe was born 20 May 1924 in Los Angeles County, California.1 He married and was later divorced from Aurora Flores in 1946, six months after being released from the Army.2 Joe Robledo had four children, none whom Dad thinks are still living. I only remember meeting his now-deceased daughter Maria, a nun, about fifteen years ago when she came down to southern California to visit the family. Dad thinks his uncle still has one grandson alive.
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Why Great Uncle Joe?
This is a very brief post, since I have not done much research at all on Great Uncle Joe. It is simply a belated Memorial Day tribute to one of the veterans in my family history. I have not yet identified any family who ever died in service to our country (thankfully), so instead I try to honor those who made this ultimate sacrifice by paying tribute to my ancestors and relatives who were fortunate enough to live to come home.
After the Southern California Genealogy Jamboree conference wrapped up two Sundays ago, two of my out-of-state genealogy friends rented a car to go cemetery hopping. The Los Angeles National Cemetery was one of the locations on their itinerary. I have visited this nearby cemetery before, but could not remember if I had any family buried there. So the next day, I looked through my research notes and confirmed that I do indeed have a veteran family member buried at this cemetery–my great uncle Joe Robledo, Jr.3
The Second to Serve
Joe Robledo, Jr. was the second member of his immigrant family to serve in the military, on behalf of his family’s new home. My grandfather Benjamin Robledo (1919-1990), Joe’s first U.S.-born sibling, was the first to serve. Unlike his older brother, Great Uncle Joe opted for the Army over the Navy.
Joe enlisted in the U.S. Army on 28 June 1944 as a Private at Fort MacArthur in San Pedro, Los Angeles County, California, shortly after his 20th birthday.4 He was released on 18 April 1946–less than two years later.5 I know nothing else about Uncle Joe’s service, nor do I have a photo of him in uniform. Dad says his uncle served in the European theater during World War II, thinks his uncle was at Omaha Beach, and says his uncle was injured in the war. D-Day took place on 6 June 1944, which occurred before Joe joined the Army. So Great Uncle Joe could not have been a part of D-Day, but perhaps news of the Normandy landings is what inspired him to enlist shortly after.
Joe’s older brother–my grandfather Benjamin–enlisted in the Navy nine months prior to Joe’s own enlistment, and interestingly joined the U.S.S. Waterford ARD-5 at Receiving Station Noumea, New Caledonia, the very same day that Joe enlisted. My immigrant great-grandparents, like so many other new families here, now had multiple sons in the war, just 19 years after making the U.S. their home.
I am torn between trying to track down Great Uncle Joe’s sole living grandchild (which I want to do anyway!) to see if he has his grandfather’s military records, or just sending off to NARA for them myself, and hoping Joe’s records are not among those lost due to the 1973 fire. I do not think Joe’s military records will answer any questions that I need in order to move forward with research on that family line, but I would like to know more about his story.
Great Uncle Joe is not listed yet on the National WWII Registry, so at the very least, I want to add him and honor him in that manner as soon as possible. I am waiting for the Registry site to recover my very old username and password.
My 20th entry in Amy Johnson Crow’s “52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks” family history blogging challenge for 2015.
The challenge: have one blog post each week devoted to a specific ancestor. It could be a story, a biography, a photograph, an outline of a research problem — anything that focuses on one ancestor.
Amy’s 2015 version of this challenge focuses on a different theme each week.
The theme for week 20 is – Black Sheep: Each of us has an ancestor who was the troublemaker or the ne’er-do-well. This is their week.
Black Sheep? I do not know his story well enough to actually label Great Grand Uncle Gene a black sheep, troublemaker, or ne’er-do-well. But I do know that there was something fishy going on that caused Great Grand Uncle Gene to disappear from the Hayes family, and to assume a new identity.
About Great Grand Uncle Gene
William Eugene Hayes was born 30 December 1885 in Ovid, Clinton County, Michigan. He was the oldest son and the second of five children born to my 2nd great-grandparents William James Hayes (1861-1903) and Goodwith Sophia (Shippee) Race (1867-1937), of Ontario, Canada and Allegany County, New York. His granddaughter–who we will call “Cousin E” in this post–says he went by the nickname Gene. Gene was the older brother of my great-grandfather James Bruce “Bruce” Hayes (1888-1970), on my maternal line.
Other than being a sibling of my great-grandfather, Great Grand Uncle Gene was never even on my research radar until about 7 years ago when his granddaughter (Cousin E) first made contact with me, trying to gauge what I might know about her grandfather. And even then, William Eugene did not start capturing my interest until a few years ago, when Cousin E and I started to more frequently correspond.
Cousin E was trying to prove that her grandfather was my William Eugene Hayes. Her entire life, Cousin E knew her grandfather by the name Eddie Eugene Williams. But she knew almost nothing else about him. Except that somehow–through decades of pursuing his paper trail–Cousin E and another of our Hayes/Race cousins (Cousin L) came to the conclusion that Cousin E’s grandfather Eddie Eugene Williams was the same person as my great grand uncle William Eugene Hayes. Cousin E’s mother–the now-deceased daughter of William Eugene Hayes (aka Eddie Eugene Williams)–started trying to find her father’s long lost family in 1952.
They just never found that smoking gun document that verifies this hunch. Because there probably is no such document.
His Many Identities
By corroborating Great Grand Uncle Gene’s parents’ names and his date and place of birth against other documents, I have been able to track his evolving identity as follows.
Event: Married Mildred (Brown) Standish (1st marriage for him, 2nd for her)
Place: Cedar Rapids, Linn County, Iowa
Birth: Age 42 at next birthday (b. abt. 1895)
Occupation: Baker
Place of Birth: Ovid, Michigan (corroborates with birth record)
Note: Parents listed as William James Hayes and Goodwith Shippey (corroborates with birth record).
Records from Cousin E’s Tree
The death record and marriage info for Oagle Barksdale were gleaned from Cousin E’s tree as clues to her grandfather’s assumed identity. Those details led me to a 1940 census and possibly a second marriage to Oagle. Corroboration against his birth identity is a little more sketchy here, but it’s plausible. I am also pursuing a lead on a possible marriage that preceded his 1928 one to Mildred.
If these facts do indeed belong to Cousin E’s grandfather, it would appear that my great grand uncle William Eugene Hayes assumed a new identity (name, birth date/age, and sometimes birthplace) about the time of his 1934 marriage to Oagle.
Event: Applied for marriage license with Oagle Aline Barksdale
Place: Marion County, Florida
Birth: Age 52 (b. abt. 1890) [real age should be 56]
Note: Not sure if they actually married. This would be a remarriage for them. Claims a residence in Prescott, Arkansas. Claims to have been married before, but claims spouse is deceased [despite previous marriage to same woman]. Birthplace noted as Ovid, Michigan [corroborates with birth record].
Birth: Age 60 (b. abt. 1892) [real age should be 66]
Note: No corroborating evidence on death index; would need to review actual record.
I have no idea what prompted William Eugene Hayes to leave his family and his birth name, and to assume these other identities. Was it criminal in nature? A falling out with his mother? An emotional breakdown? Wanderlust? I suppose any effort to answer this question would have to start by paying a research visit to the courthouse.
I doubt, however, that I will spend more time on the paper trail of William E. Hayes, or on a possible new assumed identity. I have too much work to do still on his brother and parents (my ancestors), and since this collateral relative evidently broke off ties from his family, Great Grand Uncle Gene’s post-marriage life probably will not help me much with further research on his family history.
DNA Confirmation
Why I am telling his story now, though, is that Uncle Gene was the focus of my first DNA effort to confirm or refute a hunch. Cousin E and Cousin L’s hunch that Cousin E’s grandfather Eddie Eugene Williams is the same person as my great grand uncle William Eugene Hayes.
When Mom’s autosomal DNA results became available on AncestryDNA on 31 March 2015, I immediately took a quick peak through her matches for familiar names, and Cousin E showed up as the closest match, with an estimated 2nd-3rd cousin relationship and extremely high confidence level. On 25 April 2015, after transferring Mom’s AncestryDNA autosomal DNA data to GEDmatch, I was able to run a one-to-one test that showed Cousin E and Mom match on 12 segments and share 3.681% of their DNA, which calculates out to a 2nd cousin according to the ISOGG Wiki.8 Cousin E also showed up on the list of one-to-many matches for Mom’s kit when GEDmatch finished processing it on 01 May 2015.
I quickly emailed Cousin E to break the good news that both AncestryDNA and GEDmatch confirm she and Mom are genetically related, as 2nd cousins. Cousin E’s response back was very emotional, thanking me for being the first person to provide her with genetic evidence that her grandfather really was a Hayes/Race.
BIG YAY!!!
But unfortunately this only confirms that Cousin E and Mom are genetically related (they share too much DNA to be Identical by State). Not that her grandfather is indeed William Eugene Hayes, nor that he is definitely genetically related to Mom’s Hayes/Race line. Just that they are genetically related as estimated 2nd cousins. We need to test other Hayes/Race cousins (or identify Hayes or Race matches who have already tested) in hopes of a triangulation that can verify the genetic connection exists on the Hayes/Race line, instead of on one of Mom’s other lines–including her paternal line. And as far as proving that Cousin E’s grandfather is definitely my great grand uncle William Eugene Hayes…well, that will take even more testing and paper trail sleuthing. Something I just don’t have the time for when I have so many other DNA tests and lines to analyze. Besides, my autosomal DNA analysis skills aren’t honed enough yet for that sort of project.
For now, I am content to have made my Cousin E very happy just by confirming she is genetically related to Mom.
My 19th entry in Amy Johnson Crow’s “52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks” family history blogging challenge for 2015.
The challenge: have one blog post each week devoted to a specific ancestor. It could be a story, a biography, a photograph, an outline of a research problem — anything that focuses on one ancestor.
Amy’s 2015 version of this challenge focuses on a different theme each week.
The theme for week 19 is – There’s a Way: What ancestor found a way out of a sticky situation? You might also think of this in terms of transportation or migration.
My 19th ancestor is my great-aunt Guadalupe “Lupe” Maria Robledo (1910-1975 ). According to the dual surname convention used in her country of birth, Mexico, her full name is Guadalupe Maria Robledo Nieto.
This post is really about the way my paternal grandfather’s Mexico-born family came to the U.S. Not so much about a particular ancestor. However, since the blog challenge requires we identify a focus ancestor, and since I have already blogged about my both of my great-grandparents for this same challenge, I had to choose a new ancestor or relative. So I have chosen Aunt Lupe, since she is one of the four immediate family members who immigrated to the U.S., and because her border crossing record was one of the two gems I discovered on Monday.
About Aunt Lupe
I have very vague memories of my great-aunt Lupe. She died when I was a very little girl.
Guadalupe Maria Robledo Nieto was the oldest of eight children born to my great-grandparents, Jose Robledo (1875-1937) and Maria Hermalinda Nieto (1887-1973). She is also one of two children born to Jose and Maria in Mexico; my grandfather Benjamin Robledo (1919-1997) was the first child born in the United States.
Lupe was born 30 June 1910 in the state of San Luis Potosi, Mexico. I have not yet found a baptism or civil birth registration record from Mexico, confirming the date and place–but it is very likely she was born in the family’s hometown of Tomascal (Temescal) in the municipality of Armadillo de los Infante, state of San Luis Potosi. From what I can tell, she was not given the traditional Mexican order for given names, which would have been Maria Guadalupe, with the saint/biblical name of Maria preceding her primary name of Guadalupe. But since I have not yet found her baptism or civil registration for birth, I can’t be certain of that.
This is all the biographical info I plan to share about Aunt Lupe at this time, because the real focus of this post is on the next major phase of Lupe’s life that I have identified so far–immigrating to the U.S. with her parents and baby brother.
Immigrating to the U.S.
Dad, his cousins, and I have always heard that his father’s family fled to the U.S. to escape the Mexican Revolution (1910-1920). The family supposedly had land and lost everything during the revolution. They came seeking a new home, a new life, a fresh start. Much of their extended family immigrated here, in phases, with a large group–that included my great-grandparents–then migrating to Long Beach, Los Angeles County, California.
The 1920 U.S. census indicates that the whole immediate family group immigrated in 1916.1 The 1930 U.S. census claims it was 1915.2
For over 15 years, I have tried to find documentation that would identify where and when my grandfather’s immediate family crossed into the U.S. For over 15 years, I have pulled my hair out and banged my head against a wall, each time my attempted search failed.
Two days ago, after 15+ years, the search came to an end.
I found them. All of them. Finally!
Finding Great-Grandmother Maria First
The first documented evidence I came across that indicated the way my grandfather’s family immigrated to the U.S. was the discovery of my great-grandmother Maria “Nana” Nieto’s naturalization records at the National Archives in Laguna Niguel, California, back in 2003-2005 (I didn’t note back then when I found a document). Those documents reference Laredo, Texas, as her point of entry and confirmed entry in October 1915.3 The exact date was noted wrong on those naturalization documents, but I will save that document’s analysis for another post.
A bit of digging around for information about Laredo, Texas, as a point of entry from Mexico during that era indicated that the Laredo footbridge, over the famous Rio Grande, is how immigrants in 1915 would have entered the U.S. via Laredo. I wrote about the bridge’s history in a 2012 blog post about my great-grandmother Maria’s immigration. According to Wikipedia, the foot bridge (now called the Gateways to the Americas International Bridge) was first constructed in the 1880s, was destroyed by a flood in 1905, then repaired, and was rebuilt in 1932, continuing this cycle through present day.4
Once Ancestry had the digitized US-Mexico border records indexed, the information on Nana’s naturalization records allowed me to find her border entry record in 2012.
Nana, or Maria, is identified under her paternal surname of Nieto (what we would think of as a maiden name), not under Robledo (what we think of as a married name). Back in 2012, this had me a bit stumped, as to why my great-grandmother was not recorded as Maria Robledo. I did not then fully understand the dual surname convention used in Mexico, and that Mexican women do not take their husband’s name. Mexican immigrant women generally only become identified by their husband’s name after coming to the U.S., on U.S.-generated records, such as a census, city directory, or death record.
She was admitted via the bridge, on 27 October 1915. The “2” in the date is hard to read on her card, but further evidence confirms the 27th as the date.
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Maria’s border entry card indicates that she was married, that she was accompanied by “baby Refugio Robledo,” and she was entering the country for “shopping.”5
Note that Refugio’s border entry card more clearly indicates the date that he and his mother Maria entered the U.S.–October 27th. 6
Nana had two children by this time, including older daughter Guadalupe. So why wasn’t Maria accompanied by Lupe as well? Why not also accompanied by her husband, my great-grandfather Jose? Why was the family split up at the border? Where were Jose and Lupe?
If the family had been split up, for whatever reason, one can reasonably assume why an infant is the child who would be left with the mother. Maria would have been nursing baby Refugio; not exactly something her husband Jose could do.
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Discovering Great-Grandfather in an Old Clue
Two years after finding the border entry cards for Maria and her baby son Refugio, I still had not been able to find out what happened to older daughter Lupe and husband Jose Robledo.
Until this past Monday.
Thinking that I might focus this blog post topic on Baby Refugio’s way into the U.S., I took another look at the border records for both Refugio and his mother Maria Nieto. Nothing. No Jose Robledo or Guadalupe Robledo with the right birth and family info anywhere. I looked at EVERY person recorded as crossing on that same date. Also for the date before, and the date after. I looked at every Robledo and Nieto who crossed in October 1915. Still nothing.
But…then…there…it…was…staring me right in the face.
The whole time.
I just hadn’t ever registered and thought-out the note before. Perhaps because it never even meant anything to me, until a month ago.
The back of Maria’s border entry card has a handwritten note about her being caught with a Jose Sanchez.7
Was in office at same time with Jose Sanchez but denied knowing him — subsequently found with him in the street and returned to Mex to appear for B.__.__. in the morning — suspicion of __.
I had seen that note many many times, and dismissed it every time.
The name Jose Sanchez meant nothing to me. I had no such person in my database. Jose Sanchez must have been a stranger, someone she ran into at the border. But, then, why was she later seen with him again on the streets? Was she so scared after being detained in a strange new country, that she gravitated towards the only other person there she knew–the person she had met in the immigration office?
This time, it clicked.
Sanchez.
My great-grandfather Jose Robledo’s maternal surname is Sanchez. According to Mexican naming conventions (those darn dual-surnames again!), his full name is Jose Robledo Sanchez [a 2nd given name has not been found for him]. Until last month, I did not even know that. Because last month, another 15+ year brick wall was finally busted, when I found Mexico Catholic parish records identifying my great-grandfather’s parents’ names–which no currently living member of our family ever knew. Until my discovery last month.
Either Jose intentionally misled border officials by giving them his maternal surname as his only surname, or, as is so often the case with Mexican immigrants, U.S. officials (not understanding the dual-surname convention) recorded the maternal (last) surname as the lone surname.
I had seen and dismissed a 27 October 1915 border entry record for a Jose Sanchez. Stupid mistake. Especially considering the note about a Jose Sanchez on the back of Maria’s record.
BINGO!
That border record for Jose Sanchez matched the birth info for my great-grandfather and noted that he was accompanied by a daughter named Guadalupe! Even better…like Maria’s card, Jose’s border entry card contains an identical handwritten note on the back–indicating that he was detained and caught with a Maria Nieto.8 My Maria Nieto! His Maria Nieto!
At long last…my great-grandparents. Identified together. Detained together. Later caught again together. And hopefully, allowed to cross together.
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The record for this Jose Sanchez, my great-grandfather, indicates that he was accompanied by his daughter Guadalupe.
And Guadalupe Makes Four!
This discovery allowed me to quickly find the last border crossing record, for Aunt Lupe.
Guadalupe Sanchez [Robledo] is recorded as 7 years old (we think she was only 5 years old), from the right hometown, accompanied by her father Jose Sanchez.9
All four of my paternal grandfather’s immediate family entered the U.S. on 27 October 1915.
But, why is Aunt Lupe recorded with the name Sanchez? Sanchez is not one of her dual-surnames. Her full Mexican name is Maria Guadalupe Robledo Nieto. It is very likely that because her father Jose was recorded under just his second/maternal surname Sanchez (border officials probably thought Robledo was a middle name), officials simply assumed–like U.S. children–that Mexican children inherit a single surname from their father. Hence, Guadalupe Sanchez was born at the border.
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Celebrating the 100th Anniversary
While preparing for this blog post theme, and in reviewing these records again over the past couple weeks, I had another significant discovery…if my family immigrated in 1915, then this coming October 27th marks the 100th anniversary of them crossing the border and crossing the Laredo footbridge to their new country.
The 100th anniversary! Coming up this year!
How can one pass up the chance to walk where their ancestors walked, exactly 100 years ago?! To stand where their ancestors stood exactly one century prior, staring across the Rio Grande, taking that walk (and leap) of hope, into a new country?
This gal ain’t passing up that chance!
I’m headed to Laredo, Texas, this fall, to walk across (not drive across) the international bridge into the border town of Nuevo Laredo, Mexico, then back across the Rio Grande again into the United States. The way my great-grandparents and their two oldest children did it. The actual bridge from 1915 no longer stands. It’s a newer bridge. So it won’t be in their exact footsteps, but it’s as close as I can get to retracing their steps. And best of all, I’m taking Dad with me! He was raised by my great-grandmother Maria Neto, his grandmother. She was the only mother he ever really had. I can’t wait to stand on that bridge with him, sharing this emotional experience, as we both reflect upon what all that Laredo bridge symbolizes for our family.
Follow-up Questions
Finding these final two border crossing records answered some key questions about the Mexico-born members of my paternal grandfather’s immediate family, but it also raises many more, to which I will most likely never get answers.
Why were my great-grandparents detained in a government office?
Why did they deny knowing each other when questioned in that office?
If they were in the same office, pretending not to know each other, how on earth did they keep little Lupe from crying out and running to her mother, giving the cover story away?
Were they indeed returned to Mexico, for further questioning the next day?
So would that make their official immigration date the day after October 27th…the 28th?
What sort of questioning took place the next day, and are there records?
What prompted officials to release them and allow them to continue on their journey?
My heart breaks for the terror they must have experienced. The fear that must have forced Maria and her husband Jose to deny knowing each other, perhaps thinking it might protect the other person–allowing the other spouse and at least one child safe passage if one set were detained or sent back. The fear that they might be sent back, all journey preparations for naught, returned to a war-torn country. The fear that their family might be separated…across a border, in separate countries.
What admiration I have for these two people, who lost everything, faced this fearful situation, and persevered. Persevered to make a new home for their young family, to grow their family with more children, and to instill such a profound sense of family and love among generations of children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and now 2nd great-grandchildren. Maria and Jose were always poor here, but they left a very rich legacy.
Lessons Learned
Having missed the final two border entry cards multiple times over the past two years has taught me some valuable lessons.
ALWAYS look for records and references to Mexican immigrants under both of their conventional surnames.
ALWAYS look for records and reference to Mexican immigrants’ children under any combination of the parents’ dual surnames (all four surnames).
ALWAYS pay close attention to, and frequently re-visit, notes written on the back of or in the margins of records.