Dad, April 1979

Photo by B. Jones. Martinsville, Indiana, April 1979.

The shot above was converted from slide to digital, showing my Dad on skis after a spring snowstorm in April 1979 near our home in Martinsville, Indiana. My sister is behind my Dad, and I'm in the far background running to catch up.

Memories of Travel

Photo by Patrick Jones. Travel books at home.

Statue of Amir Temur

Photo by Patrick Jones. Amir Temur statue, Tashkent, UZ. 20 May 2015.

Before COVID-19 cancelled travel plans, I likely would have been back in Tashkent, Uzbekistan this week for a training and some engagements. The photo above is from my last visit to Tashkent, taken 20 May 2015 while on a morning run near my hotel. I previously shared this back on 23 May 2015, but the photo above has been cropped & filtered for Instagram.

News Clipping from May 1949

Indianapolis News, 9 May 1949.

The news clipping above announcing the funeral services for James D. Havens, Allison's 2nd-great-grandfather, appeared in the Indianapolis News on 9 May 1949. I last looked into her Havens side of the family in 2017. While shelter-in-place continues, I thought I'd see what articles on her tree I may have missed.

Sunrise at Mother's Beach

Photo by Patrick Jones. Mother's Beach, Marina del Rey, CA. 8 Jan 2020.

This shot above was captured at the end of my sunrise run back in January, while I was visiting my LA office before continuing on to Singapore. In the distance, I can see the office building that was our original LA office on Admiralty Way.

It's another grey & dreary morning in Virginia, so I thought I'd look back at a beautiful sunrise, recalling a memory of a nice run to the Venice Beach Pier and in Marina del Rey. 

Quarantine Cooking: Homemade Pizza

Photo by Patrick Jones. Pizza by A. Jones.

On Saturday Allison made homemade pizza. Her pizza is our favorite, so of course we had to document this quarantine cooking. Unlike some of my previous grill experiments of smoked lamb shoulder and ropa vieja, her homemade pizza is a more regular treat in the house. Some progress shots are below.

Photo by Patrick Jones. Tomato & garlic pizza.

Photo by Patrick Jones. Mozzarella added to the pizza.

Photo by Patrick Jones. Potato, bacon & shallots.

Photo by Patrick Jones. Cheese added to potato pizza.

I ran six miles yesterday afternoon so I could eat pizza.

Photo by Patrick Jones. This potato pizza did not last long.

Photo by Patrick Jones. Pizza #3.

Photo by Patrick Jones. Cheese & tomato sauce.

Alejandro

This is a fourth in a series attempting to connect the family of cousin MC to either my Portillo or Diaz line (or both). This post takes a closer look at Alejandro Portillo, father of Maria Luisa Castillo. Alejandro was born Teodoro Alejandro Portillo on 9 November 1866. His parents were Manuel Portillo and Maria Lopez.

Source: Ancestry. Mexico Church Records, Hermosillo.

I cannot tell for certain yet if this is the connection, but my 3rd-great-grandfather was also Manuel Portillo. A complication is that my 3rd-great-grandmother was Maria Bernal, not Maria Lopez. Perhaps Alejandro's mother Maria was a second wife of Manuel Portillo, or the Portillo connection is farther back in time.

Previous posts can be seen at:
- Looking for a connection
- Piecing together a puzzle
- Dolores
- Diaz sisters

Diaz sisters

Tucson Daily Citizen, 27 Jan 1947.

The news clipping above announced the January 1947 mass for Maria Diaz, sister of Dolores Diaz de Rascon. Maria was born on 19 March 1876 in Hermosillo, Sonora. During her life in the United States, she lived with her older sister Nieves Diaz Moncada and her family in Tucson at 134 Cushing Street.

Source: Ancestry. Resident Alien card for Maria Diaz.

The resident alien card from 1945 references her crossing on 2 April 1914, which she made with her sister Nieves as they were going to join Nieves' husband Rosario Moncada in Tucson.

Source: Ancestry. Border crossing, 2 Apr 1914.

On another crossing in March 1915, Maria traveled with her sister Nieves & Nieves' children, going from Nogales to Tucson. The manifest listed their final destination as El Paso, Texas.

In the 1920 US Census, Nieves and Rosario Moncada were living in Tucson. By the 1930 Census, Maria Diaz had moved into the home of Nieves and Rosario. She is listed as a dressmaker.

Source: Ancestry. 1930 US Census, Tucson, Arizona.

In the 1940 Census, Maria was still living with Nieves and her children at the home on Cushing Street.

Maria & Nieves were closely connected over the years, from their journey from Mexico to the US.

Dolores

Source: Ancestry. Border crossing for Dolores Diaz, 28 Apr 1927.

I'm working my way through the documents on the family of Dolores Diaz de Rascon, mother of Maria Luisa Carrillo. My last post covered Dolores' first husband, Joaquin Rascon, and her daughters. As hinted, the records reveal a much more complex structure for Maria Luisa's family.

Source: Ancestry. Border crossing record for Dolores Diaz, 28 Apr 1927.

The news clipping in the previous post announcing the rosary for Nieves Moncada was a big find, and opened up a new perspective into Dolores' life. Nieves Moncada was born Maria Nieves Diaz on 5 August 1868 in Hermosillo, Sonora. Her parents were Reyes Diaz and Dolores Lopez, and she was Dolores' younger sister.

Finding the names Reyes Diaz and Dolores Lopez revealed the other members of the family, and a baptism record for Dolores Diaz. Maria Dolores Diaz was baptized on 16 March 1864 in Hermosillo, Sonora. A later document listed her birth date as 15 March 1864.

Source: Ancestry. Mexico Church Records, Hermosillo.

I still cannot tell if Reyes Diaz connects into my Diaz line. Reyes and Dolores had at least the following children:
- Maria Dolores Diaz, 1864-
- Jose Reyes Diaz, 1865-1889
- Jose Ramon Esequiel Diaz, 1867-
- Maria Nieves Diaz, 1868-1946
- Maria Diaz, 1876-1947

I'll come back to Nieves and Maria Diaz.

At some point in 1906, Dolores Diaz separated from Joaquin Rascon and moved to Hermosillo. On 14 April 1907, she gave birth to Maria Luisa Portillo in Hermosillo. Her baptism record is below:

Source: Ancestry. Mexico Church Records, Hermosillo.

According to the record above, Maria Luisa's father was Alejandro Portillo.

Alejandro and Dolores appear together in the 1930 Mexico Census, living in Nogales. There's another set of familiar names living right next door to Alejandro and Dolores. Four children of Dolores' daughter by her first marriage, Dolores Rascon de Hernandez, are listed on the census - Francisca, Alfonso, Juan and Jesus.

Source: Ancestry. 1930 Mexico Census, Nogales, Sonora.

Alejandro Portillo passed away in Nogales on 1 December 1932. Dolores Diaz is listed in the record, and they were living at 7 Calle Naranjo, Nogales.

Source: Ancestry. Mexico Civil Registrations.

Dolores passed away on 6 August 1951 in Nogales.

Piecing together a puzzle

Continuing with yesterday's research to find the link between the family of cousin MC and one or both of my Portillo or Diaz branches, I am picking up the research with Joaquin Rascon. He was the first husband of Dolores Diaz, and they had at least the following children:
- Matilde Diaz Rascon (1888-
- Adelina Rascon
- Amelia Diaz Rascon (September 1896-
- Dolores Rascon (abt 1898-)

Joaquin and daughter Amelia appear together in the 1910 US Census, living in Nogales, Arizona. He is listed as a 64 year old shoemaker, putting his birth year about 1846. Amelia is also listed as 14, putting her birth year about 1896. Curiously, Joaquin is also listed as widowed. From the finds of Dolores in the border crossing records living in neighboring Nogales, Sonora, this was definitely not the case. At some point, Joaquin and Dolores separated, at least before 1906.

Source: Ancestry. 1910 US Census, Nogales, Arizona.

Joaquin Rascon appears in the Tucson City Directory in 1917, living at 159 W. Cushing. He also appears in the 1918 City Directory at the same address. Joaquin is mentioned in another 1918 document as living in Tucson. In the border crossing record for daughter Dolores Rascon Hernandez, dated 15 April 1918, she states that she was going to visit her father, Joaquin Rascon, in Tucson. Dolores was accompanied by her children, Francisca, Alfonso, and Juan, and all of the children listed they were visiting their grandfather Joaquin Rascon in Tucson. I'll return to Dolores R. Hernandez and Alfonso in the next post.

Back to Amelia, she married tailor Leonardo Santos on 27 July 1918 in Phoenix, Maricopa County, Arizona. He was 34, she was 20 on the marriage certificate, but was actually almost 22.

Source: Ancestry. Marriage License, 22 Jul 1918.

In 1920, Amelia and Leonardo (listed as Leonidas in the census) returned to Tucson, where he was working as a tailor. They are listed together in the 1923 City Directory for Phoenix. By 1930, Amelia was living as a widow in Phoenix with her children, working as a laundress. She and family were still in Phoenix in the 1940 Census.

On 11 January 1941, Amelia signed an oath of allegiance for repatriation of her citizenship. Although she was born a citizen in Nogales, Arizona on 11 September 1896, she thought she lost her citizenship when she married Leonardo (a Mexican citizen) in Phoenix. The document is below and includes her signature. It also references as evidence her baptismal certificate and marriage certificate. The baptismal certificate is not in the images scanned by Ancestry, and she most likely has a USCIS Case File. Descendants of Amelia will definitely want to follow that lead.

Source: Ancestry. Repatriation document.

Joaquin and Dolores' oldest daughter, Matilde, married Ricardo Rojas on 4 June 1910 in Tucson. Her marriage certificate says she was 21 at the time, putting her birth year as 1889.

Source: Ancestry. Arizona Marriage Records.

The 1920 census shows Matilde and Ricardo living in Gila Bend, Maricopa County, Arizona. Ricardo was working as the manager of a grocery store. They later moved to El Paso, Texas.

As for the other sister or half-sister of Maria Luisa Carrillo, Adelina de Rosas, I have not found much on her. I did find an interesting news clipping from the Arizona Daily Star dated 15 April 1946, mentioning all of the Rascon sisters and some other members of the family. The text of the clipping is not quite accurate on the relationships of those mentioned. This one took me in another direction of research, into the family of Dolores Diaz Vda Rascon. And that's the next post.

Arizona Daily Star, 15 Apr 1946.

Looking for a connection

Source: Ancestry. US Border Crossing Records, Nogales, AZ. 5 Mar 1929.

Yesterday I received a query on Ancestry from a distant cousin, MC, who is a DNA match at the third cousin level. She asked if I had information on her family, and gave me a few details to see where the potential connection may be. I know she is a match on my Granny's Mexican side of the tree. With this post, I'll try to work backward and see if I can shed some light on this potential branch of the family. This will likely stretch over a series of blog posts.

MC knew her grandmother was Maria Luisa Carrillo, and that she was born in Sonora, Mexico and may have had the maiden name of Portillo. She also knew her grandmother had sisters (or half-sisters) with the last name Rascon. This gave me a good starting point, and piqued my interest in digging into research again, as the Portillo name shows up in my tree.

I found a border crossing record from 5 March 1929, which listed her name as Maria Luisa Rascon de Carrillo, born in Hermosillo, Sonora. The border crossing record above shows that she was married to Juan Carrillo, MC's grandfather, and they had been living in Oakland, California. It also notes that Maria Luisa previously crossed the border on 17 July 1919, which is a helpful hint to another record. The reverse side of the record also includes her photo.

Reverse side, border crossing record.

I also found another border crossing record from 16 July 1931, which listed her mother, Dolores Diaz Vda Rascon, living in Nogales, Sonora. This is an important piece of information, as my 2nd-great-grandmother Teresa Diaz had a large family in Sonora. Perhaps the connection is on the Diaz side of the tree. The record also lists an address in Nogales, Arizona where Maria Luisa lived with her husband Juan Carrillo, 106 Franklin Street, a short drive away from the US-Mexico border. On this particular day, Maria Luisa crossed the border on foot.

Ancestry. US border crossing records. 16 Jul 1931.

The border crossing record from 17 July 1919 gives even more information. On that day, Maria Luisa crossed at Nogales on foot with her mother, Dolores Diaz Vda Rascon. She was 11 years old on this record, putting her date of birth around 1908 and place of birth as Hermosillo, Sonora.

Ancestry. US Border Crossing, 17 Jul 1919.

They were traveling from Nogales, Sonora to Tucson, Arizona, to visit Maria Luisa's sister, Adelina de Rosas, who was living at 306 S 3rd Avenue. According to the manifest, they were planning to stay "for a year or more".

Ancestry. US Border Crossing, 17 Jul 1919.

Dolores' record also states she was born in Hermosillo, and the record includes a signature.

The earlier crossing record from 23 March 1918 shows Maria Luisa and Dolores crossing at Nogales, traveling to Gila Bend, Arizona to visit Matilda de Rojas (another daughter of Dolores'). Matilda married Ricardo Rojas in Tucson on 4 June 1910. They moved to Gila Bend, Maricopa County, Arizona. The family appears in the 1920 US Census, with Ricardo working as a manager of a grocery store. Matilda and Ricardo later moved to El Paso, Texas. I was able to find other records, including her death certificate, which listed her place of birth as Nogales, Arizona, and parents as Joaquin Rascon and Dolores Diaz. This document also listed her birthdate as 19 April 1889.

There's more on this family and I'll move on to Joaquin Rascon and other siblings of Maria Luisa in the next post.

Something we're missing

Photo by Patrick Jones. Nats v Dodgers, 26 Jul 2019.

I never thought I'd actually miss baseball, but live sports & our son's Little League season are two of the things we're missing due to COVID-19. This season seems to be lost, and for good reason, but we look forward to a time when the games can be played again.

Photo by Patrick Jones. S warming up before a game, 14 Sep 2019.

Earth Day 2020

Source: NASA. Earthrise Reimagined, 12 Oct 2015.

Angkor, Four Years Ago

Photo by Patrick Jones. Angkor Thom, 23 Apr 2016.

It's hard to believe it's been four years since my 24 hour excursion to Siem Reap, Cambodia and sunrise visit to Angkor Wat. These photos popped up as reminder today, so I'm looking back at this trip while our shelter-in-place continues. More photos here and here.

O'Brien Clarinets, 1942

Indianapolis News, 30 Apr 1942.

The advertisement above was for my great-grandfather's clarinet and music business. I've written about his work making crystal reed mouthpieces and previously shared photos of his shop.

Closed for Spring

Photo by Patrick Jones. Simpson Field. 19 Apr 2020.

Photo by Patrick Jones. YMCA Basketball Court.

Photo by Patrick Jones. Simpson Field.

ACDC in Concert, 2008

Photo by Patrick Jones. AC/DC at The Forum, 6 Dec 2008.

While going through old photos, I stumbled on this bit of music history I witnessed at The Forum in Los Angeles. Back when we were living in LA, I caught legendary rock band AC/DC during their Black Ice tour on 6 December 2008. My photo isn't great, but show was certainly memorable. The LA Times concert review from the show captures it well.

San Francisco Earthquake, 18 April 1906

LoC, Arnold Genthe. San Francisco. 18 Apr 1906.

On this date, 114 years ago, San Francisco was hit by the devastating 7.9 earthquake at 5:12am on 18 April 1906. Over 80% of the city was destroyed. It remains one of the greatest natural disasters in California's history.

California Historical Society, 1906 map by William H. Lee.

Quarantine Cooking: Homemade Tortillas

Photo by Patrick Jones. Tortilla Prep. 17 Apr 2020.

Last night we tried homemade tortillas using a tortilla press, corn flour and a bit of teamwork. We paired these with sweet potato tacos from Peter Meehan's Power Vegetables cookbook. We probably could have made the cooktop hotter, but these tortillas turned out pretty good.

Photo by Patrick Jones. Sweet potatoes & seasoning make excellent tacos.

Photo by B. Jones. Sous chef assisting with tortillas.

Photo by A. Jones. Tortilla prep.

Photo by A. Jones. Tortilla making.

Photo by Patrick Jones. Finished product.