52 Ancestors: #20 ~ Is This Raymunda?

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

Last week's 52 Ancestors blog post was about my maternal great-grandmother, Esther Matus Villatoro.

Esther's parents were Nicanor Matus and Raymunda Villatoro Vasques. This beautiful portrait was found in one of the briefcases that belonged to my Grandpa Debs Webster. The briefcase contained many wonderful photos and other family history treasures.



Unfortunately, this beautiful photo didn't contain any information about who this lovely woman was. The photo is rather large. It measures approximately 9-1/2 inches x 7-3/4 inches.

We've wondered if this is a photo of Esther's mother, Raymunda. For comparison, here's a photo of Esther. What do you think? Is there any resemblance?



We have another photo that may show Raymunda. Here it is. It's a very small photo measuring only about 2-1/8 inches x 2-3/8 inches. It was also found in one of my Grandpa Debs' briefcases.



The little boy in this photograph is my Grandpa Debs. And I believe the girl behind him and to the right is his sister, Carlota. As you can see, the writing on the photo says "Mexico." Unfortunately, I don't know who wrote that.

Debs and Carlota's mom, Esther, died in 1919, when Debs was five years old and Carlota was nine years old.

I wonder if this is a photo showing Debs and Carlota visiting their grandparents, Nicanor and Raymunda, sometime after the death of their mother. Perhaps they were even staying with them while their father, Frederick, a.k.a. "The Traveling Dentist," was on a trip somewhere.

Sadly, I don't know a whole lot about my 2nd great-grandmother, Raymunda Villatoro Vasques. I don't know where or when she was born. And I don't know her exact death date. I do know that she died sometime before 7 March 1925. The reason I know this is because that is the date her son, Francisco, got married. According to his marriage record, his parents, Nicanor and Raymunda, were both deceased.

So, if this really is a photo of Nicanor and Raymunda with their grandchildren, Debs and Carlota, then the photo was taken sometime before 7 March 1925.

Nicanor and Raymunda were the parents of four children:

1. Esther Matus Villatoro (1893-1919) [my great-grandmother]
2. Catalina Matus Villatoro
3. Francisco Matus Villatoro
4. Crecenciana Matus Villatoro (1906-1973)

I do know who Raymunda's parents were. Their names were Demitrio Villatoro and Isabel Vasques. I'll share what I know about them and their children in a future post.

As you can see, I still have a lot of research to do in order to fill in the details about Raymunda's life. As I find out more about her, I will share the information here on my blog.

Thanks for reading!

Jana

© 2014 Copyright by Jana Last, All Rights Reserved

Sepia Saturday 154 ~ On The Road Again

Sepia Saturday provides an opportunity for genealogy bloggers to share their family history through photographs.
     
Today’s Sepia Saturday photo prompt (at end of post) shows a precarious looking wooden bridge over a river.  There are a few people daring to stand and/or sit on that rickety-looking bridge.

The two photos of bridges I’m sharing with you today aren’t made out of wood and don’t appear to be rickety.

My regular readers may remember that my Grandpa Debs Webster and his family immigrated to the United States from Brazil in 1952.  In the last installment of their immigration story, I shared my uncle’s memories of seeing some curious contraptions used as early air conditioners for cars at that time.  I also found photos of these devices.  For those who missed this post, you can read it HERE.

Well, just a short three years after my Grandpa Debs Webster and his family settled in the United States, he and his wife Willis were on the road again.  This time they traveled down to Mexico.  Debs’ only surviving sibling, Carlota, lived in Mexico City.  The photo below shows Willis, Debs, and Carlota on what appears to be a bridge or roadway near or over water.

Mexico City

L to R - Willis Webster, Debs Webster,

Carlota Webster Guerrero

Here’s a close-up view of the happy trio.

Mexico City

L to R - Willis Webster, Debs Webster,

Carlota Webster Guerrero

While Debs and Willis were in Mexico, they traveled down to Chiapas to visit relatives there.  They must have purchased this postcard while on this visit.

Dr. Belisario Dominguez Bridge

at Tuxtla Gutiérrez, Chiapas, Mexico

Vintage Postcard

Upon closer examination of this vintage postcard, I noticed that I could read the sign on the top of the bridge.  Here’s a close-up view.

 The sign reads as follows -

1913 Puente 1931

Dr. Belisario Dominguez

Puente means bridge in English.  So, this bridge must have been dedicated to Dr. Belisario Dominguez.  I wondered who this doctor was so I did a little research.  He was a  Mexican physician who was born in Chiapas in 1863 and was murdered in Mexico City in 1913.

He served as a Senator from Chiapas during the Mexican Revolution and was killed because of a political speech he wrote following Victoriano Huerta’s coup d'état .    Today, the Mexican Government awards the  “Order of the Belisario Dominguez Medal of Honor” to eminent Mexican citizens who meet the criteria for this award.

Here's another close-up view from the vintage postcard.  This time, I chose to focus on the car on the bridge.  I thought I'd share this with you just because it's fun to see this old vintage car.

My Grandpa Debs and Grandma Willis took lots of photos and purchased several postcards while on their trip to Mexico in 1955.  And I’m looking forward to sharing more of these with you in the future.

To see what other Sepia Saturday participants have written about, whether it be rickety bridges, water, vintage postcards and cars, or anything else for that matter, just click HERE.



Thanks for reading!

Jana

Copyright © Jana Last 2012

The Traveling Dentist - Part 3

So, just where was my "traveling dentist" great-grandfather, Frederick Webster, all those years from 1902-1946?  I have made a timeline for him and it shows that Frederick was a prolific traveler!

Here is his passport application issued April 1907.¹  It states that his permanent residence was El Paso, Texas, that his occupation was a dentist, that he left the United States on January 19, 1907 and that he was residing at Guaymas, Sonora, Mexico.  The application also states that his purpose for the passport was for traveling in South America and that he intended to return to the United States within eighteen months.


I don't know all the places in Mexico where Frederick traveled, but I do know that he traveled to Arriaga, Chiapas, Mexico at some point because that is where he met his future wife, my great-grandmother, Esther Matus Villatoro.

Esther Matus Villatoro

Unfortunately, I don't have Frederick and Esther's marriage certificate yet, but I'm going to assume they married (notice her wedding ring in the picture).  Esther was born in Arriaga, Chiapas, Mexico on September 18, 1893.  Esther was the daughter of Nicanor Matus and Raymunda Villatoro Vasques.  Nicanor Matus was from Oaxaca, Mexico and Raymunda was from Chiapas, Mexico.  Frederick and Esther had five children:

1. Carlota Adelia Webster - born January 11, 1910 in Arriaga, Chiapas, Mexico
2. Edna Lilie Webster - born September, 1912 in Santos, Sao Paulo, Brazil, and died before 1923
3. Debs Warren Webster (my grandfather) - born April 27, 1914 in Santos, Sao Paulo, Brazil and died August 15, 1994 in Petaluma, Sonoma, California
4. Eugene Rollin Webster - born December 4, 1915 in Santos, Sao Paulo Brazil, and died before 1923
5. Alice Webster - born 1918 in Santos, Sao Paulo, Brazil, and died before 1923

Unfortunately, Esther Matus Villatoro Webster died on November 2, 1919 in Santos, Sao Paulo, Brazil.  According to Esther's death record she died of Tuberculosis.  And three of her children died before 1923.  Only Carlota and my grandfather, Debs, survived to adulthood.  My grandfather, Debs, didn't talk a lot about his growing up years.  I think it must have been very painful for him to talk about his childhood because of the death of his mother and three of his siblings.

I have some priceless pictures of Fred, Esther and their family.  Here are a few of them:

Esther with one of her children

Fred, Esther and one of their children

                                                                    

Fred, Esther, Carlota and Edna Lilie Webster

I just LOVE this picture of Fred and Esther with two of their children.  Esther's hat is so pretty!

Fred, Esther and their children traveled between the United States and Mexico and Brazil.  I found several Passenger Lists listing this family and their travels.

More on that in an upcoming blog!  See you then!

Thanks for reading!

Copyright © Jana Last 2012

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1 National Archives and Records Administration (NARA); Washington D.C.; Emergency Passport Applications (Issued Abroad), 1877-1907; Collection Number: ARC Identifier 1187503 / MLR Number A1 515; NARA Series: M1834; Roll #: 21; ; Volume #: 35. Ancestry.com. U.S. Passport Applications, 1795-1925 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2007.^↩