Connecting backward through the records

 

Vasquez-Dalton-Suastegui families, 1888. Ronstadt, p.61.

I've returned to the well of history on the Dalton, Vasquez-Suastegui and Ronstadt families, this time looking back to see if there might be distant cousins who could take a mtDNA test to help determine the mitochondrial haplogroup on our common ancestor, my 5th-great-grandmother Maria Josefa de la Pena, or for Concepcion Suastegui, sister of my 4th-great-grandfather Pedro Suastegui. Sadly, it does not appear there's a cousin available descending from this branch of the family who can connect us back through mtDNA to the Suastegui or de la Pena lines. Or maybe there is, given how cluster views show these people who moved from Sonora, Mexico to the US were likely distantly related to each other.

The photo above comes from Borderman, Memoirs of Federico Jose Maria Ronstadt. From left to right, Josefa Vasquez, Natalie Dalton, Concepcion Suastegui, Hortense Dalton, Winnall Dalton Sr, Henry Dalton (in his lap), Maria Jesus Francesca Vasquez, Lupe Dalton, Rosa Herras, Amelia Herras Vasquez, Adolfo Vasquez, and little Raul and Laura Vasquez in front on the right. The cousin search identified some new-to-me records on the Daltons in Tucson, Los Angeles, and Central America.

I've looked at these cousin connections previously, focusing on Anita Calneh Post and her mother, Maria Esther Suastegui. Anita often performed with her cousin Natalie, but when I was writing about these performances in 2017, I didn't follow Natalie's own path, or her siblings. Their stories highlight some fascinating travel experiences and lead to some surprising, even revolutionary, paths.