Monday, June 9, 2014

52 Ancestors: #23 ~ Catalina Matus Villatoro

This is part of the "52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks" Challenge begun by Amy Johnson Crow, author of the blog No Story Too Small.

Catalina Matus Villatoro

In last week's 52 ancestors post, I introduced you to my maternal great-grandaunt, Crecenciana Aurora Matus Villatoro. Today, I'd like to introduce you to her sister, Catalina Matus Villatoro.

Unfortunately, I don't know a lot about Catalina. My records indicate that she was born around 1900 in Chiapas, Mexico. I know that she didn't pass away until sometime after July of 1955.


In July of 1955, my grandparents, Debs and Willis Webster, traveled to Mexico. During their visit, Catalina gave them this photo of herself. She wrote in Spanish on the back of the photo. Catalina signed it, "With all affection, your Aunt Catalina." She also wrote the date and place on the back of the photo as July 16, 1955 Arriaga, Chiapas.

I don't know the name of Catalina's husband. But I know she had three children with the last name of Arriola. She mentioned her children in a letter sent to my grandfather.

Based on the dates these children were born, they may still be living. So for privacy reasons, I won't include their names in this post.

The letter in which Catalina mentioned her children was dated 22 January 1955. Here's her signature from that letter. It is a two-sided hand-written letter. That's why you can see the writing from the other side of the page.


Catalina Matus Villatoro Signature

Catalina's letter is written in Spanish. I will most likely share it here on my blog. But I need to get a full translation first.

Thanks for reading!

Jana

© 2014 Copyright by Jana Last, All Rights Reserved

10 comments:

  1. A picture with name, date, and location is a great find.

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  2. Isn't Catalina beautiful?! I especially like the style and cut of her dress.

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  3. Her earrings look quite modern and would be just as stylish today. I wonder if her necklace was engraved or maybe depicted a saint.

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    1. Good points Wendy! I tried to zoom in on the necklace and couldn't see anything to identify what kind of necklace it is. Thanks for stopping by!

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  4. A photo, a letter. These are the treasures, the clues that lead us to more discoveries.

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    1. They truly are treasures, for sure! Thanks for stopping by!

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  5. Your collection of photos amazes me Jana. She had such big soulful eyes!

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    1. Yes, she did have big soulful eyes, didn't she? I'm very grateful for the many photos that have been preserved over the years in our family. My ancestors have given our family priceless gifts with these photos. Thanks for stopping by!

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