Siblings and Mom

The four children of Ignacio and Andreita Torres got together as adults for their mom’s birthday and had this picture taken – probably in the ’70s. In this photos, from left to right, are Teresita Baca, Joe Torres, mom Andreita, Anastacio Torres and Margarita Lujan.

 

See an earlier collage of these same siblings by CLICKING HERE.

See a collage of their first cousins – from the Jose Torres line – by CLICKING HERE.

See a collage of their first cousins – from the Domitila Sanchez line – by CLICKING HERE.

See information about other first cousins – from the Apolonio Torres line – by CLICKING HERE.

 

Yes, we have a lot of cousins! If you have information about any of the families, share on this blog.

My Mom: Maggie Torres Lujan

By Ed Lujan

My mother Margaret, also known as Maggie Torres, was born on April 8, 1917 in Socorro, New Mexico. She was the youngest daughter of Ignacio and Andreita. My mother had always told us that she and her family were very close. She grew up in Socorro, and in 1934 at the age of 17 she would marry  Atanacio Lujan.

In 1941 after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, many families including the Torres and Lujan families would move to San Francisco, where they would work in the factories, They would make between $30 and $50 a week. My mom and dad went to work at the Richmond shipyards, where my mom worked as a shipyard welder -- also known as a "Rosie the Riveter.”  My mother gave birth to three sons in Socorro and two sons in San Francisco,
My mother told us of her and her brothers and her mom and dad, "Papa Nacchio,” living in San Francisco. I was told that my grandfather worked for San Francisco's parks and recreation department. Parts of the Torres family would move back to New Mexico while my mother and father stayed in San Francisco for a little longer . In 1959, we also moved back to New Mexico. My mother and father went to work for the Albuquerque school district, leaving their oldest son Tony in San Francisco. Son Paul made a career in the Air Force and now lives in Santa Fe.
During the Vietnam conflict, her sons my self (Eddie) now living in Los Angles Calif.   Jimmy, and Danny both now living in Albuquerque would join the military service and serve in Vietnam and with Paul in the Air Force, she was stressed to no end. I recall my mother working for one of the schools in Albuquerque in the cafeteria as a cook also as a school bus driver. I remember my mother would give away anything she had. She was always a happy person, loved gossip, and always spoke well of others. My mother was loved by everyone. Around 1975, she was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease. She lived to the age of 81.

Tell Us Your Stories

We have a wonderful, large family. We’d like to open up the blog for family members to share memories and stories. If living family members are willing to have their names in the blog, please share. Our history is today.

Tragic News

Very sorry to have to share such a sad story. One of our extended family members was tragically killed in Stafford County, Virginia on April 19. The case is being investigated.

Our hearts go out to all those who knew Julie Serna -- the daughter of Maryetta and Rey Serna and sister of Allegra. Julie graduated from Socorro High School in 1989.

A Facebook page has been set up in her memory. Click here to see it.

An early report from a local TV station said:

"The shooting happened just before 2:45 p.m. Friday on Alderwood Drive in Stafford, County sheriff officials say. Julie Serna, 42, was found in her estranged husband's home suffering from gunshot wounds. The mother of two boys died at an area hospital.”

Online commenters said:

"Julie, was a beautiful, loving, and amazing friend that I had the privilege of knowing. We spent many hours, days, weeks, and months together. We often laughed and cried. She was an amazing mother to her two sons. My heartaches every time I think of this tragedy."

llucero

"God Bless you Allegra (Julie's sister). My heart aches for you and your family. Julie was a beautiful person inside and out. She had a wonderful sense of humor and was well loved. For those who didn't know Julie she was extremely popular in high school, yet she was friendly to everybody even if you weren't part of the "in crowd", not a stuck up bone in her body."

Felix Lopez

"Julie was a fun-loving beautiful person. This is truly criminal."

kscott

A Hundred Years Ago

If we were to drop into the lives of our family members 100 years ago, we mostly would home in on Socorro, N.M. Some families had moved to Albuquerque, but our Torres clan had not yet spread far and wide.

Albuquerque’s city directory shows that in early 1913:
José Torres was a baggage man at Albuquerque’s Alvarado Hotel and was living at 311 W. Silver Ave. with his wife, Josie.
Francisco Sanchez was a blacksmith’s helper living at 1123 S. Broadway with his wife, Maria.
Victor Sanchez was a carpenter living at 1224 Barelas.

What were our families doing? The three young men mentioned above got their start with the Santa Fe Railroad, it appears. In Socorro, our families were probably farming. The women worked hard at home. The children were going to school. And families undoubtedly attended Mass every Sunday – perhaps every day.

Did they read the daily newspaper? Did they follow politics? It’s likely that they did. One of the cousins -- A.C. Torres, who was Crespin’s nephew -- ran the local Spanish-language newspaper. It would be interesting to see the front page of that paper 100 years ago, but no copies of that publication are available online.

The closest we can come to a snapshot of today in history is pretty interesting, though. The website http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/newspapers/ offers up some newspaper pages for online perusal and on this day in history, Woodrow Wilson was inaugurated as the U.S. president. The Albuquerque Evening Herald dedicated the entire front page to the topic. Family, we should keep an eye on the Chronicling America website. If it grows, we may be able to search for names of our own family members in the news. And for those interested in Socorro's El Defensor del Pueblo newspaper, published from 1904-1950, you will have to look up editions on microfilm at these libraries.

Orphaned and Widowed

If you follow this blog, you know that Crespin Torres was orphaned as a baby. 

While his youth was spent in homes of different relatives, adult Crespin had one constant – an almost 60-year marriage to Andreita. The fortune he found in his relationship followed the misfortune of his parents and grandparents.

Let’s take a look at the lives of his antecedents – and multiple cases of widowhood.

Crespin’s mother, Maria Josefa Montoya, was married only two years to a man named Antonio Chavez before he died. At the time that Josefa married Crespin’s father, Anastacio Torres, her own dad was widowed and remarried. It appears that Josefa’s mother, Maria Manuela Garcia, died before 1834. Josefa’s dad, Juan Montoya, married Monica Ortega in September 1834, just four months before Josefa and Anastacio tied the knot in January 1835.  By the time Crespin was born, the granddad was widowed again and married for a third time – this time to Maria Tomasa Luna in August 1847. Fortunately, grandpa and his third wife were still around in December 1850 to take in baby Crespin. Both of them were his godparents at baptism.

Crespin’s mother had died in early 1850 – perhaps in childbirth – and his dad died later that same year. We know this from Crespin’s obituary. Granddad Juan Montoya – who was born in 1794 ­ – was no longer around by the time of the 1860 census, when Crespin was living with the family of his Aunt Guadalupe (Torres) Baca.

 

Now let’s look back another generation at the parents of Maria Manuela Garcia. Her father was Francisco Xavier Garcia Jurado, an original grantee of the Socorro Town Land Grant. He was the widower of a woman named Juana Maria Torres before he married Manuela’s mother, Josefa Sanchez, in 1782 in Isleta, Bernalillo County. Josefa was the widow of Jose Manuel Silva. Josefa was married to Silva only a couple of years.

 

And back one more generation: Toribio Garcia Jurado was widowed by his wife, Antonia Teresa Gutierrez, (a great-great grandmother of Crespin’s) and later married Brijida Vallejos on May 12, 1767 in Albuquerque.

Source: Family History Library Rolls 16993 and 16996, San Miguel Catholic Church, Socorro, New Mexico.

 

 

5 Torres Siblings (Plus 2)

These are the children of José Torres -- and another couple. José and Josie (Armijo) Torres had five children born between 1919 and 1929. The three girls are still living. Josie's firstborn, Ben Lubbon, was adopted by José, and Ben married Monica Sanchez -- a cousin of the Torres siblings.

The family members pictured above -- in order of appearance not age -- are Dolores, Robert, Esther, Audrey, Monica (Sanchez) Lubbon, Ben Lubbon, and Santos Torres.

See a snapshot of this family living together in Fresno at the time of the 1940 cenus.

12 Sanchez Offspring

The Sanchez families and others know well that Domitila and Moises Sanchez had many, many children. She had several miscarriages, as well. 

Here’s the fullest list available of their offspring. Most of the births were in Socorro. If anyone has any other information, please share.

• Marcelina – January 19, 1885 – Godparents were: Guadalupe Vaca and Salomon Vaca. She died around age 20.
• Maria de los Remedios – April 18, 1886 – Godparents: Candelario Garcia and Maria de los Remedios Baca. Died young.
• Francisco – December 18, 1887 – Godparents: Candelario Garcia and Maria de los Remedios Baca.
•  Juan Julian – December 15, 1889 – Godparents: Juan Julian Trujillo and Monica Padilla. Died young.
•  Victoriano – January 23, 1893 – Godparents: Rogerio Trujillo and Marcelina Luna.
• Teresa – March 3, 1896 – Godparents: Crespin Torres and Andreita Trujillo. Died young.
• Monica – May 17, 1899 – Godparents: Apolonio Torres and Francisca Luna. Died young.
• Crespin – April 30, 1901 – Godparents: Juan de J. Gallegos and Catalina Sedillo.
• Joe – April 17, 1903 – Godparents: Marcus Baca and Maria Chavez.
• Antonio – March 20, 1905 – Godparents: Antonio Montoya and Maria Dolores Torres. Died young.
• Monica – March 17, 1907 – Godparents: Abran Vigil and Paula Olvarez.
• Enrique – April 24, 1909 – Godparents: Joseph Torres and Maria Guadalupe Torres.

David Montoya, 91, dies

David Montoya

Sadly, we have lost two members of our extended family this year.

David R. Montoya died in Chino Hills, California, on Sept. 27.

David, 91, was the son of Juan and Sara Montoya, who moved to California from Tucson, Arizona. David served in World War II as a member of the U.S. Army Air Corps. He worked for Rockwell/Northrop as an electrical engineer for 30 years.

David was born Aug. 31, 1921 in Tucson, and passed away Sept. 27, 2012 after a long battle with Parkinson's disease.

LAWRENCE B. SANCHEZ

Lawrence B. Sanchez, 62, of Rio Rancho, N.M., died June 14, 2012. He was preceded in death by his sister, Victoria Balbina, who died in Southern California in October 2009; and his father, Victor B., who died in Los Angeles in 1958; and mother Charlotte, who died in Los Angeles in 1976.

Death in the Family: 1918 Spanish Flu

More people died from the 1918-19 Spanish Influenza pandemic than died from World War I. One of those influenza deaths was in our family. The first husband of Lupe Torres (the youngest daughter of Crespin and Andreita) was just 24 years old when he died. His name was Jose Gallegos.

This pandemic was unusual in that it struck young and healthy people in their 20s and 30s. In New Mexico, the Spanish Flu was at its worst in October 1918.

By Oct. 26, 1918, 15,000 New Mexican residents had been stricken by the illness and more than 1,000 were dead, according to the State Historian.

Jose Gallegos’ case followed the pattern. According to his death certificate, Jose H. Gallegos died of influenza in Albuquerque on Oct. 27 at 4 p.m. He had been in Albuquerque less than a week and died in a home at 1224 Barelas Road. Presumably, he went to Albuquerque when he got sick. The death certificate said he was buried in Socorro. Jose and Lupe had been married only five years. They didn’t have any children.

Another Juan Jose

During the Christmas season in 1892, a baby named Juan Jose Montoya was born in Socorro, N.M. Maybe the Montoyas knew this already: Their ancestor had an older sibling of the same name.  

Juan Jose Montoya – who lived in Socorro, Tucson and Los Angeles during his 54 years – was born in 1896 to David Montoya and Monica (Torres) Montoya. The older brother was born four years earlier. He most likely died before the second Juan Jose came along when the parents revived the name.

Here’s the lowdown: On the 1st of January 1893, Father J.B. Brun writes in the Socorro baptismal records that he baptized Juan Jose Montoya, born on the 23rd of December of the previous year. Juan Jose was the legitimate son of David Montoya and Monica Torres. His godparents were Leandro Montoya and Marcelina Baca.

California Families Voted

Voting was important to our Torres relatives.

José Torres’ daughters recall that their father believed strongly in the vote – and that fact helped us zero in on when José left New Mexico and moved to California. It shows how long he and the family lived in Needles. José is registered as early as 1917 in Needles, San Bernardino County. After 1923, he is regularly registered in Fresno.

“California Voter Registrations, 1900-1968” database at ancestry.com doesn’t have every year listed, but it gives a sampling of years to help you see where relatives lived.

The records show that Domitila Sanchez also was a voter. She is registered in Los Angeles in 1930, in Fresno in 1938, and in Los Angeles in 1950 – consistent with family memories and census records.

José and Domitila were registered Democrats, by the way.

The voter records do not list ages. And if a name is common, the records may not help much. But if you are pretty sure that a relative lived in a particular place, the voting records can help verify it.

Many of our relatives can be placed at specific addresses in the ’50s and ’60s based on these records.

As far as New Mexico is concerned, ancestry.com does not currently have a comparable database.