In the Canal Zone

I am currently in Panama for meetings. I had an opportunity this morning to check out the Miraflores Locks, the closest locks of the historic Panama Canal to Panama City. The first photo shows a catamaran entering the locks from the Pacific side. The middle and last photo show a container ship making its way through to the Atlantic side.

Photo by Patrick Jones. Miraflores Locks, Panama. 24 June 2018.

Photo by Patrick Jones. Miraflores Locks, Panama. 24 June 2018.

The entry fee to the Miraflores Locks Museum is $15 USD. They are currently building an IMAX theatre next to the locks. Due to limited time, I didn't stay very long.

Photo by Patrick Jones. Miraflores Locks, Panama. 24 June 2018.

George Oyler, hop planter

This clipping from the London Morning Post mentions my 4th-great-grandfather George Oyler, who had moved to Ohio from Staplehurst, Kent, England in 1828. The article is from a meeting of hop planters from Kent in 1853.

London Morning Post, 18 May 1853.

The clipping shows that George had built a hop oast (a building designed for drying hops as part of the brewing process) after arriving in America. According to the account of a Mr. Bonnick, George found that hops did not pay as much as wheat, so he switched his crop. This also shows George maintained his connections with business interests in England after moving to America. The census records from 1850-1870 indicate George was well-off. Perhaps George sold his hops to early brewers in Cincinnati.

Milestone Anniversary

Cincinnati Enquirer, 11 May 1908.

This is another news clipping from Cincinnati, Ohio, recalling the 50th marriage anniversary of George Washington Oyler and Caroline "Carrie" Pruden Oyler. The article mentions George came to Cincinnati in 1834. They were married in nearby Dearborn County, Indiana on 10 May 1858, although it looks like they may have received the license on 10 April 1858.

Source: Ancestry. Indiana Marriages 1810-2001.

Several Oyler siblings were married in Dearborn County although they lived in Hamilton County, Ohio, including my 3rd-great-grandfather Samuel Oyler (brother of George W. Oyler).

Rye, England

Source: British Museum. Print by Sir Muirhead Bone of Ypres Tower, Rye.

I have covered this before, last in November 2016. The Oyler family departed England from Rye in 1828 on the Schooner Fame. The drawing above provides another view of this departure point.

Nearly 100

Lincoln Journal Star (NE), 23 Sep 1927

The clipping above on Harriet Wickersham Oyler includes some references to the family of husband Daniel Oyler, a son of George Oyler (my 4th-great-grandfather). At the time, Harriet had 144 living descendants in Nebraska. The article says Daniel came to Cincinnati my steamer and later made his way to Indiana. He likely went to Tippecanoe County, Indiana due to others in the Oyler family who had moved there after immigrating from England. There he met Harriet and they were married in 1847.

Here's another article showing a five generation photo, published in the Lincoln Star on 31 July 1927.

Lincoln Star, 31 Jul 1927.

Harriet passed away on 23 January 1928 in Wilber, Nebraska.

Meeting of the Hamilton County Teachers Association, 1875

The clipping below is taken from the Cincinnati Daily Star on 13 March 1875, mentioning a son of my 4th-great-grandfather George Oyler. George and his family immigrated to the US in 1828 and his son George Washington Oyler founded a school in Hamilton County, Ohio. The clipping provides some insight into George's views on education, showing that he supported music and learning a foreign language. He taught at the school for over 40 years.

Cincinnati Daily Star, 13 Mar 1875.

The World Cup starts today

Photo by Patrick Jones. Red Square, Moscow. 16 March 2014.

The FIFA World Cup kicks off today in Russia. I'm a huge fan of the game and am looking forward to cheering on several teams this month. While the US Mens National Team didn't qualify, there are other teams to follow. Marketers in the US have caught on too, encouraging fans to "cheer for their roots" and support countries where you had ancestors. For me this means Mexico, but outside of those DNA connections I will also be cheering on underdog Iceland.

I will be in Panama soon, a country playing in its first World Cup. It should make for a good atmosphere down there, and in case they pull an upset over England and Tunisia, the country may make it a national holiday.

Another party providing family hints

Arizona Daily Star, 11 Jul 1941

This news clipping from 1941 describes a birthday party celebrating Mariana (Annie) Campuzano Freilinger. The party was hosted by Annie's daughter Mary Ann Freilinger Maracigan and then-husband James. I looked into some of these names. Mrs. Rose Campuzano would be Rosaura, sister of Mariana. Mr. and Mrs. O. V. Parrish would be Rosaura's daughter Isabel Dobson and her husband Otis Parrish.

I can't tell who Mrs. Elinera Campuzano was. The spelling of her name could be a typo.

Purple Heart sent home

Tucson Daily Citizen, 25 Jan 1945

The clipping above shows Joseph Chacon sent home his Purple Heart medal, received from fighting in a major battle on the German border on 21 November 1944. At the time, Angela Freilinger Chacon was living at her father's home with her four children.

Celebrating a birthday

Arizona Daily Star, 7 Aug 1934.

This clipping describes a birthday party at the home Ernest & Annie Freilinger (formerly Mariana Campuzano) for their oldest daughter, Angela (Angelita in this clipping). The attendee list includes a few familiar names. "Mrs. Grijalva and daughter" are Maria Jesus Campuzano Grijalva and her daughter Maria Lourdes. Maria Jesus was the oldest daughter of my 2nd-great-grandfather Vicente Campuzano, so therefore a cousin to Annie Campuzano Freilinger.

"Mrs. Sam Polita and daughter" are Concha Campuzano Polito and her daughter Betty. I wrote about Concha back in April 2018.

Some of the other last names I recognize but I don't know if they are children of distant cousins to the family. We certainly have Flores, Bernal, Gutierrez and Elias in the family tree.

Another Freilinger birthday appeared in the Tucson newspaper - one for Ernest & Annie's youngest daughter Gloria in 1947.

Arizona Daily Star, 21 Sep 1947

Annie had passed away in 1945. The article states that in 1947, Mrs. A. Chacon was foster-mother of Gloria. Mrs. A. Chacon was Angela Freilinger, Gloria's birth mother and oldest daughter of Ernest and Annie. She was 17 years older than Gloria. Angela married Joseph Chacon in 1936 (less than 2 years after the first news clipping above), and by 1947 she was raising four children of her own.

Updated 17 Aug 2020. 

Immigrant Heritage Month

Just yesterday I wrote about my lack of writing and today I have two posts. Today marks another Immigrant Heritage Month. In the current toxic political environment, heartless targeting of immigrants and separating families, it is important to remember my own family immigration story. So I do it once again, at the start of each June (see last year, 2016, 2015, and 2014).

Photo by Patrick Jones. Mural at Guisados Echo Park, Los Angeles. 19 May 2018.

Another generation back, my 2nd-great-grandfather, Vicente Plutarco Campuzano, supported immigrant rights in Liga Protectora Latina between 1913-1916 while he lived in Arizona. "Uno para todos, todos para uno" was the motto of the organization. In keeping with that spirit I am again supporting a few organizations that help immigrants such as the National Immigration Law Center and ACLU.

Photo by Patrick Jones. Mural at Guisados Echo Park, Los Angeles. 19 May 2018.

Another branch of the Campuzano family

Two years ago I had a series of posts on the family of Jose Jesus Campuzano and Elvira Felix. Jose Jesus was a brother of my 2nd-great-grandfather Vicente Campuzano. Back in March 2016, I received a scan of a photo showing Mariana Campuzano (oldest daughter of Jose Jesus and Elvira), holding her daughter Angela Freilinger. It's a great photo, courtesy of Irene Wagers. I don't believe I have posted this before.

Mariana Campuzano Freilinger and Angela. Photo source: I. Wagers.

Mariana (she later went by Ana and Annie) was born in Altar, Sonora on 8 July 1883. She may have married Miguel Gonzales in Tucson at the age of 19, on 15 February 1904.

She married miner Ernest John Freilinger on 10 February 1916. Mariana's sister Rosaura was a witness.

Source: Ancestry. Arizona Marriage Records.

Mariana and Ernest had at least the following children:
- Angelita Freilinger
- Mary Ann Freilinger
- Margaret Freilinger
- Ernestina Freilinger
- Gloria Joan Freilinger * (adopted daughter of Angelita Freilinger, born Chacon)

Mariana registered to vote and participated in at least the 1918, 1924 and 1926 elections.

Source: Ancestry. 1926 Arizona Voter Registration.

The family appears in the 1920, 1930 and 1940 US Censuses. By 1940, Mariana's mother Elvira was living with them.

Source: Ancestry. 1940 US Census.

According to her obituary, Mariana (later Annie) came to the US in 1892. She died on 11 October 1945 in Tucson.

Tucson Daily Citizen, 12 Oct 1945.

Note: Updated 17 Aug 2020.