An Exciting Ancestry Hint for Raymunda Villatoro Vasques

A couple of years ago I clicked on a hint on my tree in Ancestry.com. I'm so glad I did because it turned out to be a very important hint. Of course, hints should be analyzed for accuracy. Thankfully, this hint was accurate.

The hint was for my maternal second great-grandmother, Raymunda Villatoro Vasques, who was from Arriaga, Chiapas, Mexico.¹ The hint was this baptism record (below) for Adolfo Villatoro, which states that he was born on 27 September 1885, and was baptized in November 1885 at Tonala, Chiapas, Mexico.²

The baptism record states that Adolfo was the son of Raymunda Villatoro and that Adolfo's maternal grandparents were Demetrio Villatoro and Ysabel Vasquez. I know that this Raymunda Villatoro is my 2nd great-grandmother because the names of her parents in this record are the same as her known parents in other records I have.

I had no record or knowledge of Adolfo Villatoro before this hint, so this is an exciting discovery. Unfortunately, the baptism record does not include Adolfo's father's name. Hopefully I will be able to find records that include the name of Adolfo's father.

What exciting discoveries have you found through Ancestry hints?

Thanks for stopping by!

Jana

© 2025 Copyright by Jana Iverson Last, All Rights Reserved

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1 "Chiapas, Mexico, Civil Registration Deaths, 1861-1987," database with images, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com : accessed 30 October 2015), image 151 of 2067, entry for Raymunda Villatoro (Arriaga, Chiapas, Mexico), November 1923; citing Chiapas Civil Registry State Archives, Tuxtla Gutierrez, Mexico, Academia Mexicana de Genealogia y Heraldica.^↩
2 "México, Chiapas, registros parroquiales y diocesanos, 1557-1978," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:9392-3LWC-9?cc=1616412&wc=MCS8-CPX%3A123518301%2C123518302%2C123718501 : accessed 8 June 2022), image 1141 of 3013, entry for Adolfo Villatoro, September 1885; citing Parroquias Católicas, Chiapas (Catholic Church parishes, Chiapas).^↩

Those Places Thursday–Webster Family Road Trip: Utah ~ Salt Lake City

This is part of a series of posts dedicated to the immigration story of Debs Webster and his family.

My Grandpa Debs and his family are heading south.  They’ve completed their visit to Idaho, and are now driving to Utah.

The next photographs in Grandpa Debs’ 1952 photo album are from Salt Lake City, specificaly Salt Lake City Temple Square.

Salt Lake City is the headquarters for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, a worldwide church consisting of approximately 14,441,346 members.  As recent converts to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, this visit to Salt Lake City must have been very special to my Grandpa Debs and his family.

The first photograph is of the Salt Lake Temple.  This magnificent temple took 40 years to build.  The cornerstone was laid on April 6, 1853 and the dedication was April 6, 1893.

Salt Lake Temple
1952
Click to Enlarge

Here’s a photo my husband took of the Salt Lake Temple while we were on our vacation to Utah this last summer.

Salt Lake Temple
2012

I just LOVE this spectacular photo of the temple at night (photo from lds.org).

Salt Lake Temple
Photo from lds.org
Click to Enlarge

Below is a photo by my Grandpa Debs of what looks like the Salt Lake City Temple Square grounds.

Salt Lake City Temple Square
1952
Click to Enlarge

And here we have the Assembly Hall.  It is a beautiful Gothic-style building constructed between 1877 and 1882.

The Assembly Hall at
Salt Lake City Temple Square
1952
Click to Enlarge

Here's a photo of the Assembly Hall from our 2012 family vacation to Utah.

The Assembly Hall at

Salt Lake City Temple Square

2012

And here are a couple photos from the lds.org website showing the inside of the Assembly Hall. 

Interior of the Assembly Hall
Photo from lds.org
Click to Enlarge

Don’t you just love this circular staircase?

Circular Staircase in the Assembly Hall
Photo from lds.org
Click to Enlarge

If you are ever in the Salt Lake City area, I hope you take the opportunity to visit Salt Lake City Temple Square.   It is well worth your time.

I’d also love to share with you the vintage postcards of the Salt Lake City area from my Grandpa Debs’ scrapbook.  They are really cool!  But, this post is already getting quite lengthy, so I’ll have to wait until next time.

Thanks for reading!

Jana


Copyright © Jana Last 2012

Those Places Thursday–Webster Family Road Trip: Wyoming ~ Yellowstone National Park

This is part of a series of posts dedicated to the immigration story of Debs Webster and his family.

Debs and his family are on their way to another fun adventure.  They’ve left Mount Rushmore and are heading to Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming.

I don’t know the exact route they took, but here’s what Googlemaps.com shows as a route today.

Googlemaps.com
Click to Enlarge

My regular readers may remember that the Webster family bought sleeping bags and camping equipment to use on their journey across the U.S.A.

They would often stop along the way and use their camping equipment to prepare their meals.

The Webster Family - 1952
Back Row L to R:  Willis, My Mom, My Uncle, Helena
Front Row L to R:  My Uncle, Debs
Click to Enlarge

Previous photos of the Webster family eating at picnic tables along their way haven’t included my Grandpa Debs.  So this is a really fun photo of the whole family.  Hmm, I wonder who took the photo.

My uncle (the little boy seated on the front bench) shared his memories of their trip across the U.S.A.  I love what he said about their mealtimes.

“Dinner usually consisted of Campbell’s soup heated over a Sterno stove.  If there was a creek nearby, Grandma would wander off to it and usually return with an armload of watercress which we made into a salad (how I wish I had her foraging skills!).  Lunches were usually sandwiches and during the day we would beg for Pop to stop at a root-beer stand so we could get something cold and carbonated to drink.  He didn’t spoil us, but did, on many occasions succumb to our pleadings.”

They’ve finally arrived at Yellowstone National Park’s Old Faithful Geyser ~

 


Old Faithful Geyser
Yellowstone National Park - 1952
Click to Enlarge



Old Faithful Geyser
Yellowstone National Park - 1952
Click to Enlarge

And there she goes!



Old Faithful Geyser
Yellowstone National Park - 1952
Click to Enlarge

If you’d like to make a “virtual visit” to Old Faithful, here’s the link to the Old Faithful Live Webcam:

Old Faithful Live Webcam

A few interesting facts about Old Faithful:

• During an eruption the water temperature at the vent has been known to reach a whopping 204 degrees.
• The steam temperature of the geyser has reached above 350 degrees.
• The height of an eruption averages near 130 feet and lasts between 1.5 and 5 minutes.

(Source:  National Park Service Website - Old Faithful FAQs)

The Webster family also saw some Bison during their visit to Yellowstone National Park.




Here’s another interesting fact ~

More visitors are injured by bison than by bears each year at Yellowstone.  Park rules state that visitors need to stay at least 25 yards away from bison or elk and 100 yards away from bears.

(Source:  Yellowstone National Park Website)

I hope you’ve enjoyed your visit to Yellowstone National Park.  The next stop on the Webster family’s road trip is Idaho.

Until next time,

Thanks for reading!


Jana


Copyright © Jana Last 2012

Those Places Thursday–Webster Family Road Trip: South Dakota ~ Mount Rushmore

This is part of a series of posts dedicated to the immigration story of Debs Webster and his family.

Debs Webster and his family are still in South Dakota.  They’ve made it through The Badlands.  If you’d like to read about their experiences in The Badlands, you can read about it HERE.

Now it’s on to visit the amazing Mount Rushmore.

From GoogleMaps.com

As we look at this map showing the distance from The Badlands to Mount Rushmore National Memorial, we need to keep in mind that Interstate 90 was not there in 1952.  I really don’t know the route my Grandpa Debs and his family travelled.  Did they travel to Rapid City on their way?  That would make sense to me as that would be a great place to stop for supplies, etc.

Unfortunately, I don't have any personal information about or photos from their visit to this iconic national treasure.  We'll just have to imagine what these recent immigrants thought as they gazed up in awe at this magnificent sculpture formed on the side of a mountain.

Here are some interesting facts about Mount Rushmore (taken from the Mount Rushmore National Park Service website).

• Over 90% of Mount Rushmore was carved using dynamite
• The sculpture cost $989,992.32
• Mount Rushmore took 14 years to build ~ from October 4, 1927 - October 31,1941
• Gutzon Borglum and 400 workers created the sculpture

And now for some fun photos of this remarkable monument!

Through Tunnel
National Parks Service Image - No Copyright
Click to Enlarge



Mount Rushmore - Wikimedia Commons
Photo by Scott Catron
Click to Enlarge

Mount Rushmore and Avenue of Flags
National Parks Service Image - No Copyright
Click to Enlarge

Mount Rushmore
National Parks Service Image - No Copyright
Click to Enlarge

Full View of Mount Rushmore
National Parks Service Image - No Copyright
Click to Enlarge

Mount Rushmore at Night
National Parks Service Image - No Copyright
Click to Enlarge

I hope you’ve enjoyed our visit to the Mount Rushmore National Memorial.

The next stop for Debs Webster and his family is Yellowstone National Park.  And yes, this stop on their cross-country trip will include old family photos from Grandpa Debs' photo album.

Thanks for reading!

Jana


Copyright © Jana Last 2012

Sepia Saturday 142–Three Hats ~ Three People

Sepia Saturday provides an opportunity for genealogy bloggers to share their family history through photographs.

Today’s Sepia Saturday photo shows three elegantly dressed people wearing and/or holding three hats.  To be more exact, the two ladies are wearing their hats and the gentleman is holding his hat.

So, here’s my amazingly similar photo I have to share with you today.  It’s a photo of my Grandmother Sarah Vasques Madeira Webster (right) standing with my Great-Grandaunt Crecenciana Aurora Matus Villatoro Reinacher and her husband Theodor Reinacher.


Left to Right -

Crecenciana Matus Villatoro Reinacher,

Theodor Reinacher and

Sarah Vasques Madeira Webster

While it's true that my three relatives are not posed exactly as those in the Sepia Saturday photo, and may not be quite as elegantly dressed, they are each in possession of a hat, making a total of three hats.  And my photo does have three people in it.  And two of the people are wearing their hats and the other one is holding a hat, just like in the Sepia Saturday photo.   (Okay, so do I win this week’s prize for posting the most similar photo to the Sepia Saturday photo??  What?  There is no prize?  Oh well, that’s alright.)

Actually, having this photo in our family's possession is a prize in itself.

Here's a little information about those pictured in my photo ~

My regular readers may remember who my Grandmother Sarah is standing on the right in this photo.  I’ve written several posts about her including a previous Sepia Saturday post.  She was married to my Grandpa Debs Webster.  And they were my mom's parents.

Now I’d like to introduce you to Crecenciana Aurora Matus Villatoro.  Crecenciana was one of the sisters of Esther Matus Villatoro who was married to my Great-Grandpa Watson (Frederick) Webster (a.k.a. The Traveling Dentist).

Esther and Frederick were the parents of my Grandpa Debs Webster, so Crecenciana was an aunt to my Grandpa Debs.  (I’m sorry if this is all very confusing…no there won’t be a test later.)

Crecenciana was born in Arriaga, Chiapas, Mexico on September 14, 1906 and later moved to Brazil.  I wonder if she moved to Brazil to be closer to her sister Esther.

On April 4, 1932 Crecenciana Matus Villatoro and Theodor Reinacher were married in Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo, Brazil.

Crecenciana also went by the name Chana.  My mom has fond memories of her Great-Aunt Chana.  Following the death of my Grandma Sarah Webster (my mom's mother), Aunt Chana took care of my mom for a while.  My mom was only six years old at the time of her mother's death.

Below is a photo showing Aunt Chana’s front yard in Brazil.


Crecenciana's Front Yard in Brazil

My mom wrote on the back of the photo ~

“Aunt Chana’s Front Yard.  I used to play here when I stayed here after my mother Sarah’s death.”

Back of Photo of Crecenciana's Front Yard

Crecenciana passed away on July 29, 1973 in Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo, Brazil.

Thank you Aunt Chana for your kindness to my mom during a very difficult time.

To see what other Sepia Saturday participants have written about this week, just click HERE.

Thanks for reading!

Jana

Copyright © Jana Last 2012

Those Places Thursday–Webster Family Road Trip: South Dakota ~ The Badlands National Park

This is part of a series of posts dedicated to the immigration story of Debs Webster and his family.

Well, Debs Webster and his family are heading west.

In today’s world of Interstate Highways that sounds like a simple thing right?  But not so much in 1952.  Interstate 90, which would be the logical route they would have taken, didn’t exist until 1956.

The Webster family left Illinois, traveled a great distance, and entered the area known as The Badlands of South Dakota. 

Video by the National Park Service

Maybe it was the name “Badlands,” or the eerie landscape, or the thought of the wildlife in the area such as rattlesnakes, bobcats and coyotes; whatever the reason, the family was so scared of this place that they slept in their car!

No camping out of doors for them!  And this wasn't tent camping either.  Nope!  This was sleeping in a sleeping bag under the stars camping.

I don’t think I blame them for sleeping in their car either.  What about you?  Would you camp outside, under the stars, along a lonely road in The Badlands of South Dakota in 1952?

Check out the video above and the photos below before you decide.

Badlands National Park
Wikimedia Commons
Photo by Wereldburger758
Click to Enlarge

Badlands National Park
Wikimedia Commons
Photo by Scott Catron
Click to Enlarge

Badlands National Park
Wikimedia Commons
Photo by Scott Catron
Click to Enlarge

Badlands National Park
Wikimedia Commons
NPS Public Domain Photo
Click to Enlarge

Badlands National Park
Wikimedia Commons
Photo by Patrick Bolduan
Click to Enlarge

Rugged beauty? Yes! Kind of scary at night by yourselves? Absolutely!

The next stop on the Webster’s trip is a visit to Mount Rushmore.

 Thanks for reading!

Jana

Copyright © Jana Last 2012

Those Places Thursday–Webster Family Road Trip: Chicago, Illinois

This is part of a series of posts dedicated to the immigration story of Debs Webster and his family.

Bye Bye New York, Hello Chicago, Illinois!

Debs Webster and his family are on the road again! This time they are leaving New York and heading to Chicago, Illinois.

In my last POST I mentioned that my uncle had emailed me with some very interesting recollections regarding this trip across the USA.  Here’s what he had to say about this leg of their journey:

“We travelled first to Chicago, where Pop’s uncle and some cousins lived. They tried to teach me some English words to no avail. Since I wasn’t using them, I had no retention of the words.”

The uncle he is referring to is Rollin Waterman Webster. He was a brother of my "Traveling Dentist Great-Grandpa" Frederick Webster. I introduced you to sweet Uncle Rollin in this previous POST.

Grandpa Debs’ 1952 photo album shows photos and a vintage postcard from Illinois immediately following those from near Palmyra, New York. With that in mind, I hope I’m correct in assuming they left Palmyra and headed directly to Chicago. If that was the case, then according to GoogleMaps, the trip would have taken about 10 hours!

My uncle also said that my Grandpa Debs was the only one in the group who knew how to drive, so guess who drove the whole way!

GoogleMaps.com

According to a letter from Uncle Rollin to my Grandpa Debs, the last time they saw each other was probably sometime before 1923. So I can imagine how exciting this must have been for them to see each other again after so many years! Actually about 29 years! In 1952 Uncle Rollin would have been about 80 or 81 years old.

The photo below of Rollin was taken in June, 1952 in Chicago. The young man behind him is his grandson Billy.

In 1952 Rollin was living at 8937 South Paulina Street in Chicago. According to Zillow.com, his house was built in 1924. Today’s stats say it is 1,087 square feet in size, and has 1 bathroom. It doesn’t list how many bedrooms it has though.

Rollin Waterman Webster and
Grandson Billy in Chicago - 1952

Back of Photo

The following photo of Rollin was taken in 1942 at the Chicago Loop.



Rollin Waterman Webster
at the Chicago Loop - 1942

Back of Photo

Here’s a map of the Chicago Loop from Wikimedia Commons. It was created using OpenStreetMap.org. Ever heard of it? I hadn’t until I wrote this post. It seems pretty cool. And yes, I’ve added the website to my blog’s Research Toolbox. Here’s the LINK to the Chicago Loop map on OpenStreetMap.org.

Map of Chicago Loop from
Wikimedia Commons via
OpenStreetMap.org

I don’t know how long my Grandpa Debs and his family stayed in Chicago visiting Uncle Rollin and his family, but I’m sure they had a wonderful time.

Unfortunately, it is time to get going again for Debs and his family. The next photos and vintage postcard in Debs’ photo album are from Galena, Illinois.

Why did they stop in Galena, Illinois? Tune in next time to find out.

Thanks for reading!

Jana
 
Copyright © Jana Last 2012

Those Places Thursday–Webster Family Road Trip: New York Part 2

This is part of a series of posts dedicated to the immigration story of Debs Webster and his family.

In our last installment, my Grandpa Debs and his family were in New York.  In that previous post, I shared some vintage postcards from Long Island with you.  In today’s post my Webster family takes a road trip within the state of New York.

"See the USA in Your Chevrolet"

According to a recently received and very interesting email from my uncle, who was on this trip, the family actually stayed in New York City for a couple weeks before my grandpa purchased the 1951 Chevrolet sedan.  Then they started on their trip across the U.S.A. to Glendora, California.

From Wikimedia Commons by IFCAR
All Rights Released

I found this photo of a 1951 Chevrolet Sedan on the Wikimedia Commons website.  It looks very similar to the car in the photo of my Webster family stopping for a meal in THIS PREVIOUS POST.

My uncle said their car had no air conditioning, so a lot of the time they had to drive with all four windows rolled down.  Remember, this was during the summer and it was very hot!

Goodbye New York City ~ Hello Palmyra, New York

The next photos and vintage postcards we have from Debs' photo album and scrapbook are from Palmyra, New York.  Now, I don't know if they traveled directly from New York City to Palmyra or if they stopped at other locations along the way.  If they did make a direct trip to Palmyra, then according to Googlemaps.com, that trip would take a good 5-1/2 hours.  And that's using present day calculations.  I wonder how long it took in 1952.  Were the roadways any different back then?

Googlemaps.com

Vintage Postcards and Photos

In this part of Grandpa Debs’ photo album, he displayed photos and their corresponding postcards next to each other.  I really like that he did this!

While in this part of New York, Debs Webster and his family visited LDS historic sites such as The Hill Cumorah and the early home of Joseph Smith.

Angel Moroni Monument Postcard

Back of Angel Moroni Monument Postcard

My Mom, Willis, and My Uncle at The
Angel Moroni Monument Near Palmyra, New York

My Uncle, Willis, and My Mom at The
Angel Moroni Monument Near Palmyra, New York

Hill Cumorah and Angel Moroni Monument Postcard

Back of Hill Cumorah and Angel Moroni Monument Postcard

Hill Cumorah, near Palmyra, New York

Early Home of Joseph Smith Postcard

Back of Early Home of Joseph Smith Postcard

My Two Uncles, Willis, Helena, and My Mom
at The Early Home of Joseph Smith Near Palmyra, New York

Next stop on the trip…Illinois.  See you then!

Thanks for reading!

Jana


Copyright © Jana Last 2012