By cavilah |

Hi, all. While attempting to obtain some oral history from my grandmother on my Ruiz and Sedano lines from Tlaltenango & Sedanos, Zacatecas, I found out that one of my Ruiz ancestors was born "in the year of the typhoid epidemic." Now, I imagine this was probably sometime after 1920, which is the approximate year of my great-great grandfather's, Felipe Ruiz Róbles, marriage to my great-grandmother. The reason I mention him is becuase he was one of those assigned to carry the catloads of typhoid victims to the "camposanto." My grandmother says that when the poor, homeless people who would go around asking for "un atolito," the cart carriers would say, "Atolito? ¡Cual! ¡Camposanto!" and then throw them in the cart and take them to the camposanto (Probably because they figured they were already carrying the disease.). Anyway, I know that is not relevant, but I thought it was an interesting anecdote. My real purpose for this post is to find out if anyone has come across any reference to this "year of the typhoid epidemic" that may help me to find the birth year for this ancestor and possible a lead to follow for my elusive paternal lines...

Thanks for reading this!

Cristina

Well, now that I think about it, he may or may not have been married to my gg because he was about 15 yrs. her senior when they married. This epidemic could've occurred when he was a young man in the late 1800's. THe reason I think this is that one of his sisters, Emilia Ruiz Róbles, died around 1895 of typhoid disease. It's possible that the epidemic was in the late 1800's but I am not sure and that is why I'm hoping someone has heard of this.

Thanks, again!!!

Cristina Ávila Haro

Dear Cristina:
Do not think that a 15 year age gap is not possible. Many of the Alviso men I am researching married in their 20's, but then after their first wife passed away, would marry again in their 40's to women in their early 20's. It may have been your gg's second marriage and usually the second marriage document will list the first wife and how long ago she had passed. This is how I found one ancestor. I was looking at a microfilm for the marriage of a son and the father happened to get married again in the same year. It listed the father's first wife and when she had died, so I knew the approximate year of death for my ancestor. Neat hah! I tease my husband that he is carrying on a family tradition as there is a 12 year gap between us!

Maureen Bejar

Wow, Maureen, I never thought of that. I never thought of him as having had a wife before my great-grandmother. All I know from my family's stories of her is that she was orphaned as a child and was taken to live with a married brother who mistreated her. She worked in an hacienda until she was 15, which is when she married my great-grandfather who was 30. I honestly think she married him out of necessity in the beginning because she needed someone to care for her (at least HE did, since his family shunned her for being Indian). Anyway, it could be that she was a second wife, but with him only being 30, might it be possible that he was just a late bloomer for the time-period? I guess this is something I need to find out, and quick! My great-grandmother still lives at 103-105 years old, but I need to pay her a visit in Zacatecas soon to get as much information from her as possible. :-( Sad to think of it, but hopefully I can get to visit her soon so she can tell all
the stories.

Thanks for the thought, Maureen; it is definitely something worth investigating.

Cristina

P.S. My husband, too, is carrying on my family tradition. He's 14 yrs. older than me! :-)

Maureen Bejar wrote:

Dear Cristina:
Do not think that a 15 year age gap is not possible. Many of the Alviso men I am researching married in their 20's, but then after their first wife passed away, would marry again in their 40's to women in their early 20's. It may have been your gg's second marriage and usually the second marriage document will list the first wife and how long ago she had passed. This is how I found one ancestor. I was looking at a microfilm for the marriage of a son and the father happened to get married again in the same year. It listed the father's first wife and when she had died, so I knew the approximate year of death for my ancestor. Neat hah! I tease my husband that he is carrying on a family tradition as there is a 12 year gap between us!

Maureen Bejar

My great-grandfather, Cenobio/Zenob(v)io Gonzalez/s (all these daggone
variations, sheesh!), was born in 1846 and married to 16-year-old
Eleuteria Tovar in 1864. They had 4 or 5 kids and then she died about
1881 or 2. She was his first wife. My great-grandmother, Francisca
Saldivar, gave birth to a legitimate daughter on January 30 1883. This
was my grandmother's oldest full sister and my aunts had never heard of
her OR that fact that their grandfather had been married before. He
was very much older than she was. I have a romantic notion in my mind
that he was an acquantance of her father's and that he fell in love
with her and she with him and they ran off somewhere to marry, WHICH IS
WHY I CAN'T FIND THEIR MARRIAGE RECORDED!!!!!! Cenobio is a problem in
that he was born at a time in Mexico where many records were destroyed
and Francisca is a problem for the same reason.:( I can find all three
of her brothers, but can I find her? Noooooo! How blooming
frustrating...grrrrr. Marge:)
On Feb 15, 2007, at 11:50 AM, Maureen Bejar wrote:

>
> Dear Cristina:
> Do not think that a 15 year age gap is not possible. Many of the
> Alviso men I am researching married in their 20's, but then after
> their first wife passed away, would marry again in their 40's to women
> in their early 20's. It may have been your gg's second marriage and
> usually the second marriage document will list the first wife and how
> long ago she had passed. This is how I found one ancestor. I was
> looking at a microfilm for the marriage of a son and the father
> happened to get married again in the same year. It listed the
> father's first wife and when she had died, so I knew the approximate
> year of death for my ancestor. Neat hah! I tease my husband that he
> is carrying on a family tradition as there is a 12 year gap between
> us!
>
> Maureen Bejar

I guess my ggm got off easy w/only a 15 yr. age difference! Ha, ha!

"M. Vallazza" wrote: My great-grandfather, Cenobio/Zenob(v)io Gonzalez/s (all these daggone
variations, sheesh!), was born in 1846 and married to 16-year-old
Eleuteria Tovar in 1864. They had 4 or 5 kids and then she died about
1881 or 2. She was his first wife. My great-grandmother, Francisca
Saldivar, gave birth to a legitimate daughter on January 30 1883. This
was my grandmother's oldest full sister and my aunts had never heard of
her OR that fact that their grandfather had been married before. He
was very much older than she was. I have a romantic notion in my mind
that he was an acquantance of her father's and that he fell in love
with her and she with him and they ran off somewhere to marry, WHICH IS
WHY I CAN'T FIND THEIR MARRIAGE RECORDED!!!!!! Cenobio is a problem in
that he was born at a time in Mexico where many records were destroyed
and Francisca is a problem for the same reason.:( I can find all three
of her brothers, but can I find her? Noooooo! How blooming
frustrating...grrrrr. Marge:)

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