Another view

 

Calisphere, Keystone-Mast Collection. Valparaiso.

From a similar vantage point in the photo shared yesterday of Valparaiso, Chile taken by famed photographer Carleton Watkins in 1852, the undated photo above shows a booming town. Perhaps Gabriel Vasquez took in this view before departing on a ship for the voyage north to Mexico. Maybe he traveled with an older brother or uncle.

Keystone-Mast Collection. Vina del Mar, Valparaiso.

Below is a view of the city and port from an opposite vantage point taken in 1861, with the Iglesia de La Matriz visible on the left side. This was taken at least three years after Gabriel had left Valparaiso.

William Letts Oliver. Valparaiso, 1861.

Revisiting Gabriel

 

Carlton Watkins. Valparaiso, 1852.

While I await news from the Parroquia La Matriz in Chile, I'm revisiting the documents mentioning Gabriel Vasquez in Mexico. The informacion matrimonial from 1863 has detail that I overlooked previously, so it is worth blogging about this again. There are two versions of this document from December 1863, one from Altar, Sonora, and another version submitted to the church in Hermosillo, along with the marriage record from 11 February 1864.

FamilySearch. Marriage record, 11 Feb 1864.

The informacion matrimonial submitted to Hermosillo has a different look than the handwritten one I reviewed back in 2012, and has typewritten text with blanks to complete the information provided by the parties to be married. As with the other record, this one was completed by Bartolome Suastegui, the parish priest of Altar, Sonora, on 18 December 1863. The handwriting is faint, but there are some interesting details that I didn't see in the original document.

Sonora Church Records, Hermosillo. 1863.

This document lists Gabriel as a 25 year old merchant, who has been in Altar for the past five years. His bride-to-be, Maria Jesus Suastegui, is listed as 17. The document also clearly lists the witnesses, or testigos, for Gabriel and Maria Jesus. The first testigo is Jose Ortiz y Loroña, a 25 year old laborer from nearby Oquitoa, who said he had known Gabriel for five years.

The second testigo is Oriol Sotelo, a 30 year old shoemaker. He also said that he knew Gabriel for five years, putting his arrival in Altar from at least 1858, when he would have been 20 years old. Oriol also testified on behalf of Maria Jesus, and stated that he had known her since she was born, indicating that he was a friend of the Suastegui family. There was no fourth testigo on the document.

The handwritten informacion matrimonial was completed the day before, on 17 December 1863 in Altar.

As far as I can tell, Gabriel does not appear in any other records in Sonora earlier than 1863.

A Leap

 

Iglesia de la Matriz, Valparaiso, Chile. 1863.

Since learning about my Chilean ancestry connection back in 2012, I have tried over the years to reach further back for information on my 3rd-great-grandfather Gabriel Vasquez, and his parents Jose Vasquez and Agustina Rojas. In 2013, I wrote to the Archivo Nacional in Chile. I received a response, but it generally pointed me to the resources on FamilySearch, which wasn't very helpful. Nine years later, I'm poking around again for Chilean records.

This week I emailed the Diocese of Valparaiso, who responded quickly that for the date range I'm looking for, I need to check with the church at La Matriz, which was the first in Valparaiso. A church has been at this location since 1559. I immediately reached out in Spanish to the email address for the church, and received a response from the secretary confirming receipt. I have fingers crossed that somewhere in those records is a baptismal entry for Gabriel, and perhaps a marriage or other records on Jose and Agustina. Hopefully more to come soon on this line of my tree.

Valparaiso is high on my travel wish list for a future visit.

Comparing DNA Ethnicity Results with MyHeritage

After seeing the latest AncestryDNA update, I thought I'd do a comparison with the results from MyHeritage. I downloaded my raw data from the AncestryDNA test, and uploaded them to MyHeritage. It took about a week. This morning I received a message from MyHeritage that the results had been processed. There are some curious differences in the percentages between Ancestry and MyHeritage.

MyHeritage DNA ethnicity estimates, 2022.

MyHeritage has me at:

- 28.5% English

- 22% Scandinavian

- 20.9% Irish, Scottish, Welsh

- 11.3% Italian

- 7% Mesoamerican & Andean

- 6.5% Middle Eastern

- 3.8% Greek & South Italian

The percentages for Scotland, Ireland and Wales are similar to the results from Ancestry. The high percentage for Scandinavian is a bit off from Ancestry, which has England & NW Europe much higher. The result for Mesoamerican & Andean is comforting, and close to my Indigenous Americas - Mexico result on Ancestry. I like that MyHeritage also shows a high confidence for the genetic groups Mexicans in Sonora and Arizona and California, as well as Chile, which matches up with AncestryDNA and my own research.

The high concentration for Italian and Greek/South Italian is a little weird. I wonder why Spain doesn't show up, but Middle Eastern does.

The results are interesting, but not substantially different from the past few years of reports from Ancestry. I do like some of the other tools offered by MyHeritage, including the Chromosome Browser and the AutoClusters tool. Ancestry's Thrulines may better than MyHeritage's features. I'll continue checking out the differences and the research offerings with MyHeritage.

In the meantime, there are some new-to-me records for Chile on FamilySearch.

Valparaiso from another view

 

NYPL Digital Collection. Valparaiso, Chile.

Back in 2012 I wrote about my 3rd-great-grandfather, Gabriel Vasquez, who was born in Valparaiso, Chile around 1838. That post included a black and white image of a lithograph of ships entering the port at Valparaiso in 1830. I found a color version of the same picture in the New York Public Library Digital Collection by Jean Louis Tirpenne.

AncestryDNA Update

 

AncestryDNA, April 2022.

Yesterday Ancestry launched a new SideView feature and introduced updated ethnicity estimates in AncestryDNA. This new feature provides an estimate of inherited DNA from each parent. I'm lucky as I had both of my parents test with AncestryDNA, so I can also take this up one level to see the comparison in their results too.

It has been interesting to look back at the updated estimates since 2018. As I've been blogging about my own AncestryDNA results since 2012, the features have constantly evolved and improved over time. In yesterday's update, my percentages shifted again, now at 49% England & Northwestern Europe, 13% Scotland, 8% Spain, 7% each from Germanic Europe, Wales and Ireland, 5% Indigenous Americas - Mexico, 3% Sweden & Denmark and 1% Cameroon, Congo & Western Bantu peoples. I suspected the Cameroon, Congo & Western Bantu came from my Mom's side of the tree, and now I can see it in the results. The SideView feature estimates this percentage came from my Granny's side of the tree, so somewhere along her line from Mexico, there is a more distant link back to Cameroon.

My Mom's results changed a bit, now her largest percentage is Spain at 32%, with England & Northwestern Europe at 24%, Indigenous Americas - Mexico at 12%, Scotland at 12%, Sweden & Denmark at 8%, Ireland 6%, Northern Italy 2%, Wales 2%, Basque 1%, Cameroon, Congo & Western Bantu peoples 1%. My Mom's sisters also had percentages for Indigenous Americas - North, Indigenous Americas - Yucatan, Indigenous Americas - Bolivia/Peru, Portugal, and Northern Africa. 

One aunt has 4% Basque, definitely descended from our Vasquez and Suastegui side of the tree. Portugal ranges from 2-3% between my aunts. It isn't clear yet which side this comes from, but I suspect the Amado side of the tree.

Looking closer at my Dad's results, it is also interesting to isolate the Ireland, Sweden & Denmark traces. According to Ancestry, these were all inherited from my grandmother Blanche O'Brien's side.

AncestryDNA SideView for my Dad.

It will be cool to see where these new features evolve next.

Orange Grove Near Piru

 

Source: LAPL. Herman Schultheis, 1937. Orange grove near Piru, CA.

Lupe and Frank

I'm continuing the story from Tuesday's post on Guadelupe Portillo, sister of my great-grandmother Manuela. Sometime in the early 1940s, Lupe met Francisco Armenta, who had been working in citrus farms in Orange County, California. Francisco had arrived in Arizona at an early age, appearing in Cochise County records from 1910, and may have immigrated by 1900.

Ventura County Star, 18 May 1943.

Francisco enlisted in the Army in September 1942, and was discharged in February 1943. Lupe and Frank obtained a marriage license in Ventura County in May 1943, and they delivered a son, Francisco Jr. in Ventura County in September 1944.

Google Maps. Piru, California.

Francisco's older sister Dolores Sandoval had relocated previously with family to Lemon Cove in Tulare County. Lupe, Francisco and family followed the Sandovals to Woodlake and Visalia, Tulare County.

Based on the 1950 US Census entry, and Lupe's obituary, the family next relocated to Sonora, Tuolumne County, California. She died on 17 February 1952.

Visalia Times-Delta, 18 Feb 1952.

Frank Armenta died in Tuolumne County, California in 1971.

Guadalupe

Yesterday's find of Lupe Armenta and family in the 1950 Census opened up more information on this sister of my great-grandmother Manuela Portillo. She was born Guadalupe Portillo on 5 January 1901 in Hermosillo, Sonora, Mexico. Her birth record was submitted by her mother Teresa Diaz on 28 December 1918 (available via FamilySearch, with a screen capture below). Interestingly, according to this document, Guadalupe was the first child of Teresa and Manuel Portillo. This also shows Teresa and Guadalupe living at Calle Campeche 8 in Hermosillo. According to Google Maps, there is still a house at that address, perhaps it is the same building.

FamilySearch. Birth record for Guadalupe Portillo.

Guadalupe ventured north to Arizona at least twice before residing in Tucson. She appears in the border crossing records in August 1919 at Nogales, and again in March 1921. Both records include photos. On her first visit at the age of 18, she said she could read and write, and was living in Nogales, Sonora.

Guadalupe Portillo, 1919.

Border Crossing Record for Guadalupe Portillo, 22 Mar 1921.

The second border crossing record stated that she was 19 (she was actually 20), noted she was working as a servant in Nogales. This document also included her signature and a photo. Looking at these records, it isn't clear whether Guadalupe made these travels to America on her own, but it is certainly possible she did this alone. She was later joined by her sisters and mother by 1922, but these initial journeys may have been solo. Perhaps distant cousins or extended family helped once she arrived in Tucson, but I can't tell yet.

Guadalupe took a job at the Tucson Steam Laundry, where she worked with her sister Isabel in 1924. In the 1930 US Census, she was living in the same household as my great-grandparents Plutarco and Manuela, along with her mother Teresa. She is listed living with Teresa in the Tucson City Directories in 1933 and 1936.

Guadalupe had a daughter with Carlos Morales in November 1934, Mary Teresa Morales, probably named after her mother. The couple were married in Tucson on 13 April 1935, after living together since at least mid 1934.

Arizona County Marriages, 1935.

Their marriage was brief. It appears that Carlos filed for divorce in July 1935, which was granted around 23 August 1935. He remarried to Carlota Otero in November 1936.

Guadalupe entered a relationship with Candelario Trujillo in 1938, who may have been married at the time. They had a daughter, Margarita Trujillo, in August 1938. This relationship was also short-lived.

At some point, Guadalupe met Francisco Armenta, a fellow Sonoran immigrant who had been working seasonally in the citrus farms of Orange County, California. After the death of her mother Teresa in 1940 (or perhaps before), Guadalupe moved with her daughters to join Francisco in California. I'll pick up the rest of their story with the next post. 

California Connections in the 1950 US Census

 

1950 US Census, Los Angeles.

On my wife's side of the tree, her 2nd-great-grandmother Karolina "Carrie" Rech Freyling and daughters Marie and Emma Carolyn Freyling appear in the 1950 US Census, living at 1243 4th Avenue in Los Angeles. This is an area of Central LA, between Olympic and W. Pico Boulevards. Marie is listed as a stenographer, working for the Navy, while Emma Carolyn was working at a hospital.

Closer to Culver City, Ataulfo Campuzano, his wife Dolores, and their grandson are found in the 1950 US Census. Ataulfo was working as a linotype operator for the Evening Star-News newspaper. Ataulfo was a son of Jose Jesus Campuzano, brother of my 2nd-great-grandfather Vicente Plutarco Campuzano.

1950 US Census, Los Angeles.

Outside Los Angeles, in the Central California town of Sonora in Tuolumne County, I found Lupe Armenta, sister of my great-grandmother Manuela Portillo. She appears in the census with her husband Frank Armenta, and children Frank Jr, Marjorie Trujillo and Maria Teresa Trujillo. The family had moved to Sonora from Ventura, California about 1949, so this census entry is a big find for clearing up Lupe's story.

1950 US Census, Sonora, Tuolumne, California.

Lupe's sister Isabel is also in the 1950 US Census, with her family in Los Angeles. They were living at 1205 Prado Street, between Boyle Heights and East LA.

1950 US Census, Los Angeles.

There are a few others I am looking for:

 - Arthur Jones, who was working at Atlas Peak in Napa County in 1942 and died in San Joaquin County in 1952

 - Harl Cain, who was living in Chico, California in 1942. I'm hoping for any clues that might shed more light on his mysterious father, but this is unlikely.

 - Clarence Rech, who was living in Los Angeles and was a son of William Jacob Rech on my wife's side of the tree.

There's a whole set of Campuzano branches in California, and I'll need to look back through various branches to see which lines to follow forward to 1950.

More from the 1950 US Census

 

1950 US Census, Tucson, Arizona.

I am continuing to go through the 1950 US Census to locate various branches of the family. Above is a capture from Tucson, Arizona, showing my great-grandparents Plutarco Campuzano and Manuela Portillo and family at their home on 453 S. Main Street. 

I found my Granny, grandfather Leo Reid, my Mom and her siblings living on the southside of Indianapolis.

1950 US Census, Indianapolis.

My 2nd-great-grandmother Mary Alice Cain appears in the census living in the household of her daughter Ruth Withers with her husband Theodore. He was working as a manager of a soft-drink bottling company in Bowling Green, Kentucky. Mary Alice answered additional questions. The highest grade of school she completed was 6th.

1950 US Census, Bowling Green, Kentucky.

First Finds in the 1950 US Census

The US National Archives released the 1950 US Census yesterday. I found my Dad's grandparents, Edgar & Alma Jones, living at 102 N. Kealing in Indianapolis. Edgar appears as a real estate broker, while Alma worked as a saleslady at 5 & 10 Cent Stores.

1950 US Census, Indianapolis.

My next find located my great-grandparents, Harry E. and Blanche O'Brien, with my grandparents Keith D. Jones, Blanche O'Brien Jones, and my Dad living next door. Harry Jr. and his family were also next door. Harry Sr. is listed as an owner-manager mouthpiece manufacturer. My Gumpy appears as a machinist for a bearing manufacturer. Ancestry's handy 1950 US Census District Finder was very helpful for locating them north of Broad Ripple, near Ravenswood.

1950 US Census, Indianapolis.

Ancestry. 1950 Census Enumeration District Map.