Valparaiso, entering the harbor

 

Google Arts & Culture. Helsby & Co, 1860.

The English Mercury

 

Anglophonechile.org newspaper archive.

El Mercurio de Valparaiso was founded in 1827, which gives me some hope there may be Chilean newspaper archives available which might mention my Vasquez and Rojas ancestors. An English language newspaper, the Valparaiso English Mercury, ran for twelve issues between December 1843 and March 1844. This was printed at El Mercurio, and aimed at the growing English speaking business community in the bustling port city. The newspaper references incoming and outgoing vessels and their cargo, major events in Chile (such as a massive earthquake in December 1843), and globally (trade in China, Mexican tariffs, etc). This gives a better understanding on the types of trade happening between Valparaiso and other cities at the time.

English Mercury. 2 Mar 1844.

English Mercury. 10 Feb 1844.

2024 in photos

 

Instagram. Photos by Patrick Jones. 

It's that time of the year for a year-end recap of photos and recollections of travels. Earlier in the month I wrote about December being a month of reflections. I'll have a separate post late next week recapping notable family history aspects of the past year. Above and below is a sampling of photos from 2024, along with links scattered throughout the post to additional photos from 2024.

I kicked off the year in LA, followed by meetings in the Montevideo office. February took me to Brussels and Ghent. We closed out the month with an amazingly restful trip to Saint Lucia. In March I celebrated an early birthday in LA, rode the Coast Starlight to Seattle, and connected to San Juan for meetings.

Over Spring Break we went up to NYC, saw the top of the Empire State Building, Eataly and the Met Museum. In April, S & I went to South Carolina for a basketball tournament, followed by a work trip to Istanbul.

In June I went to Kigali, Rwanda. July featured a quick trip to NYC to see the Foo Fighters, and short trip to Seattle. Our daughter took an epic trip to Japan. August and September took us back to New York. 

October saw us cheer on the Virginia Tech Hokies in football at Lane Stadium in Blacksburg. In November I was back in Istanbul, followed by a quick trip to Oregon wine country.

Insta. Photos by Patrick Jones.

I'll likely have another round of photos before the month is out.

Guia de Valparaiso, 1858

 

Source: Harvard.

From Harvard's Latin American Pamphlet Digital Collection, above is the cover of an 1858 guide to Valparaiso and Santiago. The document includes a listing of the commercial operators in the city in 1857. Below is a screen capture of the page showing the section for "V". I do not know yet if these Vazquez names were family members of Gabriel Vasquez. I'd like to think this might be a lead.

Guia de Valparaiso, 1858.

I do not know if Gabriel made multiple voyages between Guaymas, Sonora and Valparaiso before settling in Mexico about 1858. I have another inquiry with the National Archives in Chile to see if there are commercial or other records mentioning Gabriel, his father Jose Vasquez, or mother Agustina Rojas.

There's a lot I do not know about this branch of the family. Based on DNA, it seems at least one corner of this family was in Chile, or the Andes, for a long time.

MyHeritage. Ethnicity Estimate v.95.

Researching Valparaiso

 

Source: FamilySearch.

I am looking again at my 3rd-great-grandfather Gabriel Vasquez, and his origins in Chile in the late 1830s until his departure for Mexico about 1858. Above is a colorful map of the Valparaíso region from the FamilySearch wiki. I'm parking a link to the Valparaiso resources for a future deep dive.

During Gabriel's time, Valparaíso emerged as Chile's primary port and a critical economic center, playing a pivotal role in the country's international trade and economic development. The city's strategic location on the Pacific coast positioned it as a key maritime hub during a period of significant global economic expansion.

The 1850s marked a golden era for Valparaíso's maritime economy. Following Chile's independence in 1810 and the opening of international trade routes, the port became a crucial stopover for transpacific shipping, European and North American merchants, and the California Gold Rush trade. Gabriel's informacion matrimonial in 1863 mentioned he was a merchant. Perhaps this trade brought Gabriel, and potentially his siblings, from Chile to Mexico.