Dear Mex to Mid:
As part of my husband's genealogy, I interviewed his father about his family history. It was a great story. His father was a beet worker in Wyoming and that is where my father-in-law was born, only to be deported voluntarily back to Mexico during the depression without his birth certificate. The saga of how he came back to the US was another whole story. Anyway, in the early 1900's, he said, trucks would come into the towns in Mexico calling for workers. The US needed manpower to harvest the fields. Men and sometimes whole families would hop on the truck and would travel up and work the fields. As you can see, they were paid little and the work was hard in very difficult conditions. Sometimes they stayed on and started following the crops from one state to another. This was a boom time in the US and many also migrated east and worked in the steel mills around Chicago. When the depression hit, the steelworkers lost their jobs and were deported back. I discovered this from the border crossings of my husband's ancestors. They had care of Catholic Charities stamped on their border crossings. I searched the Gary Post Tribune for information on the deportation, as I was told that when deported, a person might be listed in the local paper, but I never found any listings, only the articles on Catholic Charities and Indiana Harbor. When I saw the "Catholic Charities" I knew then how and why these people went back to Mexico. The Charity was funded by the Indiana Harbor and they helped people who wanted to go back to Mexico by paying the travel expenses.

This is a possibility of how your family ended up in Iowa. Does anyone else have similar stories of trucks coming into Mexican towns to pick up agricultural workers for the US? If not, please interview some of your people in their late 80's and 90's, to see if they know how and why their families ended up in the US or possibly being in the US for a short time, then going back to Mexico. Would love to hear some stories to corroborate!

Maureen

Hello, I'm researching the Alvarado and Hernandez surnames. I am not exactly
sure which part of Mexico the Alvarado surname came from at this time,
although I do know that the Hernandez surname came from either La Blanca,
Zacatecas or Zacatecas, Zacatecas, Mexico.

I am researching Pedro Alvarado, b. 12 Jan. 1883 and his wife, Angela
Hernandez, b. 2 Aug. 1895, as these are my great-grandparents. Their first
born child, Hilario Alvarado, was born in 1916. From what I can figure out they were married in 1919, according to a 1930 US Census record I found for them. I was able to find a border crossing for Angela Hernandez showing that she came over in 1922 with my great-uncle Hilario and my grandfather, Phillip (Felipe) to join her husband, Pedro. They crossed in El Paso, TX and ultimately ended up in Gonzales and Monterey, CA, USA, where their remaining 6 children were born.

At this time I do not know of any siblings for Pedro, nor do I know his
mother's maiden name. I do believe that Angela Hernandez mother's maiden
name was Lira and she had at least two sisters that were living at the time
of her death in 1963. One sister was Mrs. Anastasia Colores of Juarez,
Mexico. The other sister was Mrs. Rosa Hernandez of Toreen, Mexico.

So far my research has been limited to Ancestry.com, California Vital records and any information from living relatives and a few visits to the local cemetary. I am really anxious to find out anything about this family as far back as I
can, thanks in advance for any help.

Hello,
I'm just beginning my research and starting off by finding out as much
as I can about the Gonzalez's from Guatimala, Huanusco, Zacatecas.
Guatimala is a small ranch town just west of Huanusco.

I've looked through several rolls from the FHC and have found useful
information, but am hoping for further information about what steps to
take next.
My grandfather's name is Jose Inez Gonzalez, born in Guatimala--birth
year unknown. Jose Inez is the son of Monico Gonzalez, born in 1890.
Monico is the son of Jacinto Gonzalez, born in 1870, who is the son of
Lucas Gonzalez--birth year unknown. From family oral history, I
believe Jose Inez was born sometime in the 1910s. I have looked
through part of the FHC Roll #1089500 (1904-1917), and all of #1083044
(1918-1920) but was unable to find him. (The library closed before I
could finish going through all of the 1904-1917 period.) My oldest
uncle would've been born around 1935, so that means Jose Inez and his wife
would've married around the mid-1930s. Jose Inez's wife, Josefina
Ventura Becerra was born in 1919. I have already compiled a
surprisingly long list of relatives from Guatimala from the late 19th
and early 20th century.

When I finish going thru the 1904-1917 roll, my next step will be to look
at the Church records. My question is where would the church
information be recorded for the ranches around Huanusco? is it the
church Santa María Mecatabasco (Villa del Refugio, Zacatecas)? What
has been your experience with these records? Are there gaps?

Thanks,
Arturo Gonzalez