Reverse engineering from AncestryDNA connections

Source: AncestryDNA.

In looking at my AncestryDNA connections and the family results I administer from my Mom's side of the tree, there are many matches related to Tucson, Arizona. Perhaps it is possible to see where the connection may be even for cases where there is not a "shakey leaf" hint indicating a match. When I look at the results for my Mom and her two sisters, there are a few obvious connections, such as those with Campuzano in their tree with names I've researched.

If I look at one match in particular, for my Mom, Aunt Patty and me, it shows a distant connection in the range of 5th to 8th cousins. Interestingly, this person shows up as a possible 4th cousin for my sister. When I look at this person's tree, a few names stand out, such as the Dalton family. I wrote a little bit about Winnall A. Dalton and Maria Jesus Francesca Vasquez back in July 2016. This connection is likely not where the DNA link would be, but it is fascinating to see the Daltons show up. Winnall's father, Henry Francis Dalton, was a prominent ranch owner in Los Angeles, and his wife Guadelupe Zamorano had a friendship with Concepcion Suastegui, sister of my 5th-great-grandfather Pedro Suastegui.

As interesting as the Dalton family are, I'm going to park them for now, and shift to a more likely link. The Urias family were one of the earliest arrivals in the Presidio of Tucson. It looks like the Urias family came to Tucson from Arizpe, the home of my 3rd and 4th-great-grandparents from the Campuzano family. Perhaps by digging into the Urias family, I may be able to find the link.

Alberto Salazar Urias and Isabel Dalton

I am starting this exercise by researching backward from Alberto Salazar Urias and Isabel Dalton. Alberto was born on 4 July 1904 in Tucson, the second son of Francisco Urias and Ambrosia Salazar. He married Isabel Dalton and they lived in Tucson. Alberto passed away on 14 August 1983. His obituary is available on Newspapers.com. Isabel passed away recently on 21 March 2012, leaving a large extended family. Some of them may find this post.

Francisco Urias and Ambrosia Salazar

Francisco died on 23 June 1926. According to his death certificate, his parents were Juan Urias and Santiaga Barrios. Francisco married Ambrosia Salazar on 7 November 1902 in Tucson. They appear in the 1910 and 1920 US Census together. There is quite a bit on the two of them and their family, which is what I will pick up in the next post.