Monday, July 1, 2013

A Potential Find in the 1899 Tucson City Directory

One of my big brick walls is my 2nd-great-grandfather, Manuel Portillo. I know very little about him, except he died before my 2nd-great-grandmother Teresa Diaz de Portillo crossed into the United States with my great-grandmother Manuela Portillo in November 1922. This evening I found a Manuel Portillo in the 1899 Tucson City Directory. At this point I am not certain it's my Manuel Portillo, but this is worth some digging to try to find out.
1899 Tucson City Directory via Ancestry.com
The directory states that he is an employee of the Legal Tender Saloon, with his residence at 98 S. Main Street in Tucson.  In the 12 December 1896 issue of the Arizona Weekly Citizen (published in Tucson), an article mentions the Legal Tender saloon and its proprietor, J. P. Walsh (also referred to as J.J. Walsh in other articles):
The saloon is described as the place to go for live music and drinks. A photo of the Legal Tender after 1900 (via the Pima County Library's Flickr stream) is available below:
Legal Tender Saloon, photo source Pima County Library
Interestingly, there is also a Jesus Portillo, tailor, at G. K. Smith, with residence at 248 Convent Street in Tucson. The 1913 Tucson City Directory shows Jesus Portillo still working as a tailor for G. K. Smith. The directory from 1913 includes an advertisement for G. K. Smith's tailor shop. I don't know yet if Jesus Portillo was related to Manuel Portillo, but I am parking this information here for now.

No comments:

Post a Comment

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.