The Baca / Douglas Genealogy and Family History Blog

06 March 2006

Wedding Photo - Robert C. Baca and Frances R. Baca

Wedding photo, Robert C. Baca and Frances R. Baca, October 27, 1954, Socorro, New Mexico.

From left to right (not including the children)
1.) Theresa Baca, bridesmaid, groom's sister.
2.) David Baca, groomsman, groom's brother.
3.) Unknown bridesmaid.
4.) Ernest Chavez, groomsman, bride's cousin.
5.) Ernest Manning, best man, bride's uncle.
6.) Robert C. Baca, groom.
7.) Frances R. Baca, bride.
8.) Ida (Zimmerly) Manning, matron of honor, bride's aunt.
9.) Unknown groomsman.
10.) Josie Baca, bridesmaid, bride's sister.
11.) Unknown bridesmaid.
12.) Unknown groomsmen.

Children:
1.) Eddie Bernal, ring-bearer, bride's cousin.
2.) Ina Mae Zimmerly, flower girl, bride's cousin.

Of the groomsmen that I was not able to identify, one is Robert Navarez, the other Nazario Lopez.
Of the bridesmaids that I was not able to identify, one is Lucy Gonzales, the othe Lugy Romero.

05 March 2006

Wedding Announcement # 2: Robert C. Baca and Frances R. Baca


From the El Paso Times, Thursday, October 28, 1954, page E1. The Photo is from the same article.

Miss Baca Becomes Bride in Socorro Church Rites

Socorro, N.M. – Miss Frances Rosaline Baca, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Santiago Baca, became the bride of Robert C. Baca, son of Mr. and Mrs. Robert B. Baca, in ceremonies Wednesday in San Miguel Catholic Church here.

Bridal attendants wee Mrs. Ernest Manning, matron of honor; and Miss Josie Baca, sister of the bride, Miss Lugi Romero, Miss Lucy Gonzales and Miss Theresa Baca, sister of the bridegroom, bridesmaids.

Mr. Manning was best man, Ina Mae Zimmerly was flower girl, and Eddie Bernal was ring bearer.

Both the bride and the bridegroom were graduated from Socorro High School. The bride has been employed by her father, and the bridegroom is stationed with the Army in New York.

Among the pre-nuptial courtesies honoring the bride were a lingerie shower given by Mrs. Jimmie Baca and a miscellaneous shower which Miss Gonzales and Miss Romero were hostesses.

Wedding Announcement #1: Robert C. Baca and Frances R. Baca

Probably from the Albuquerque Journal. My parents were married on October 27, 1954.

Historic San Miguel Church is Scene of Socorro Wedding

Journal Special

SOCORRO – Historic San Miguel Church was the scene of the wedding of Miss Frances Baca, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Santiago Baca, and Pfc. Robert Baca, son of Mr. and Mrs. Robert B. Baca. The fashionable wedding united two prominent Socorro families.

Rev. Louis Antlitz officiated at the double ring ceremony. The four bridesmaids were Misses Josie Baca, sister of the bride, Lucy Gonzales, Lugy Romero and Theresa Baca, the groom’s sister. Mrs. Ernest Lee Manning of Albuquerque, the bride’s aunt, was matron of honor and the bride’s small cousin, Ina Mae Zimmerly was flower girl. Little Eddie Bernal was ring-bearer. Ernest Lee Manning was best man and the four ushers were David Baca, brother of the groom, Robert Navarez, Navario Lopez and Ernest Chavez.

Mrs. Carl Dagostino sang accompanied by Mrs. Philip Baca, organist.

The bride wore a gown of imported Chantilly lace over blush pink bridal satin. Matching blush silk illusion veil was held by a jeweled crown of floral design. She carried a white orchid and carnation bouquet.

The matron of honor wore a waltz length iridescent taffeta gown of deep rose. The four bridesmaids were attired in identically designed waltz length gowns of taffeta in soft tones of blue, rose, turquoise, and green.

The bride’s mother was attired in a two-piece costume of ice blue starched lace with black and white accessories. Her corsage was pink carnations. Mrs. Robert B. Baca, the groom’s mother, wore rust wool jersey with black accessories and a yellow carnation corsage.

A reception was held in the ballroom of the Hotel Val Verde. Those who poured wee Miss Priscilla Baca, Mrs. Lorenzo Baca, Mrs. Paul Padilla, and Mrs. Pete Romero. Mrs. Sylvestra Zimmerly was in charge of the guest book. Misses Christine Pino, Eugenia Baca and Mrs. Howard McConeghey sang.

A wedding dinner was served.

Engagement announcement - Robert C. Baca and Frances R. Baca

From an unknown newspaper

Socorro Couple Plans Wedding

Mr. and Mrs. Santiago Baca of Socorro announce the engagement and approaching marriage of their daughter, Frances Bosaline, (sic) to Robert C. Baca, son of the Robert B. Bacas of Socorro.

The Couple will be married Wednesday at 8 a.m. at San Miguel Catholic Church in Socorro.

Both young people are members of leading Socorro families. Santiago Baca, a business man, has served on the county and municipal school boards.

Robert B. Baca is assistant postmaster of Socorro.

The prospective bridegroom is serving in the Army. He will come from New York for the ceremony.

50th Birthday Announcement - Robert C. Baca


Photo and caption are from the El Defensor Chieftain, c. April, 1982:

BOBBY BACA, celebrated his birthday this month and was photographed at his birthplace – no, he wasn’t born either in jail or in the courtroom – but he was born in the old courthouse formerly at the site of the Socorro County Courthouse on April 6th when his father, Robert B. Baca, was Under-Sheriff. The family lived at the courthouse at the time. Bobby or Robert C. Baca lives on Cuba Road. His bookkeeping service is appropriately on Court Street. Mr. Baca is also a trustee of the Socorro Electric Cooperative. Staff photo by Valarie Bates.

03 March 2006

Samuel Zimmerly and Maria Paubla Torres


Samuel Zimmerly, son of Santiago (James?) Zimmerly and Maria Schus; married Maria Paubla Torres, daughter of Ricardo Torres and Maria Gertudes Padilla, on September 29, 1866 at San Miguel Parish, Socorro, New Mexico. On the marriage record, Samuel Zimmerly is mentioned as being from Switzerland.[1] However, according to his military records Samuel is listed as being born in Luzerne, Penn.[2]

Samuel Zimmerly was a member of Company B, 1st Regiment of the California Infantry. He enlisted on October 2, 1861 at Camp Latham, California, for a three year term. He was a carpenter at the time. He was 5’ 8” tall, had sandy hair and complexion, and “black” eyes. After completing his three year duty Samuel was discharged at Fort Craig, New Mexico on November 3, 1864.[3]

[1] Matrimonios San Miguel del Socorro, San Ignacio y San Cristobal, San Marcial & Our Lady of Guadalupe of La Jolla, (Albuquerque: Hispanic Genealogical Research Center, 1999.), pg. 75.
[2] Military Records: Samuel Zimmerly. National Archives, Washington, D.C.
[3] Military Records: Samuel Zimmerly. National Archives, Washington, D.C.

Website Link: Fort Craig National Historic Site

I found a site for Fort Craig at

http://www.nm.blm.gov/sfo/fort_craig/fort_craig_home.htm

Fort Craig was a U.S. military outpost from 1854 to 1885. The Civil War battle of Velverde was fought nearby by soldiers from the fort.

Two of my 2nd Great Grandfathers served at Fort Craig in the mid-1800s, Philip Bourguignon and Samuel Zimmerly. From what I can gather, Philip Bourguignon had been discharged from the army prior to the battle. Samuel Zimmerly was part of the California Column which entered New Mexico in response to the Confederate invasion. He did not take part in any Civil War battle either.

Website Link: Information about Samuel Zimmerly and Maria Paubla Torres

I found a web site that includes stories about my 2nd Great Grandfather Samuel Zimmerly and his wife Maria Paubla Torres. It is on the El Defensor chieftain website:

http://dchieftain.com/cuentos/39551-04-03-04.html

This history has some incorrect information. Samuel Zimmerly was from Switzerland, not Germany. There is no proof that he arrived in the United States with his family; he may have come here alone. The story is that he and his three brothers arrived in the United States and went their separate ways. This may be true, but I haven't found any information to back this up.

Also, since Samuel Zimmerly was born in Switzerland, his grandson Edward Zimmerly who was shot down during World War II in Germany didn't die near where his grandfather was born.

I'll post some information about the Zimmerlys on this site soon.

Samuel Zimmerly was my maternal grandmother Paublita (Zimmerly) Baca's paternal grandfather. Paublita Baca's father was Samuel's son Estevan, who was not mentioned in this article.

-RJCB

Bob's Genealogy Lesson # 1: How to Begin Searching for Your Family Tree

Copyright (c) 2006 By Robert J. C. Baca

Most of us are interested in our family history. We want to know who our ancestors were and what they did. However, most of us don't know how to find out this information. Beginning with this article I will be posting tips on how to do family tree research. I will use examples from my own labors in order to illustrate how genealogist does his or her research.

As the old Chinese proverb goes, the journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step. Well, let us begin our search for a thousand relatives by taking our first three steps.

First Step: Write down everything you know. Write down the names, dates and places of family that you know about. Write down the stories that you heard about them. You will even want to write down the unsubstantiated rumors. Even if you think the information is irrelevant now, you may find it important later. If you don't write it down what you know now, you may forget it later when you need it.

Second Step: Create Pedigree Charts and a Family Group Sheets on your family. You may get free forms from a website at http://byubroadcasting.org/ancestors/charts/

Instructions on how to complete these forms which can be found on this blog at http://nmgenealogy.blogspot.com/2006/03/how-to-complete-pedigree-charts-and.html.

Please use the “back” space on your browser to get back to this page after you have printed up the forms.

Third Step: Start asking your family questions. Talk to your grandparents about their parents and grandparents. If your grandparents are dead, talk to your parents, or your uncles and aunts. What you are looking for are names, dates, places and interesting stories about your family.

If someone only remembers a relative by their nickname, write it down. If someone says that a certain relative is from Germany, (or was it Switzerland?) write it down. Any information that you gather may be important to you later, even it is erroneous information. Half truths have a way of giving us clues that will help us find solid facts about our families.

When you are talking to your family, ask them for copies of newspaper clippings (especially obituaries), photographs and other documents. You will use these later in constructing your family tree.

How I began researching my own genealogy
My mother died in February, 1999. After her funeral, my sister and I talked to my dad about the family. My sister had found a website for New Mexico families and she wanted to find out if we were related to any of the names on the website. However, my dad did not feel like answering questions. Unfortunately, a few months later my dad died, too.

When I was younger, my parents told me a lot stories about our relatives. At the time I did not have a great interest in researching my family tree, so I did not write them down. When I did get an interest in the subject, it was too late. Both of my parents were dead. I remember some of the stories, but many of the details are gone.

The next year, a great-aunt of mine died. At her wake, I started asking everyone about their families. I was surprised at the amount of information that I was able to collect. I dispelled many misconceptions that I had regarding my relatives. There were certain distant cousins that I didn’t know were siblings. I figured out which distant cousins were children of certain great-uncles and aunts. I also got to know their children and grandchildren.

After the funeral, I asked my sister about a family tree that I thought my father put together. Originally I thought that he may have put it in a bible. What he actually did was write a four page family tree showing his and my mom’s ancestors going back four generations and the names of other family members. Surprisingly, once I was finally able to do my own research I discovered that much of his information was correct.

I started gathering other information from my family. I collected newspapers clippings including an article written about one of my 2nd great grandfathers, Samuel Zimmerly. Although this article had some mistakes, it did show the names and birthdays of all of his children and grandchildren.

I also started collecting photographs from my family. Throughout the years I have collected photographs of my parents, all my grandparents, all my great-grandparents and many of my 2nd great grandparents. I keep searching for more photos. Maybe one of these days I will actually be lucky enough to find a photograph of one of my 3rd great grandparents.

My research had just begun. Soon it would blossom beyond my wildest dreams! More about that in future posts to this blog.

If you have any questions regarding this article, feel free to post a comment or send me an E-mail. Since I moderate comments to this blog, your comments will not be posted immediately. However, I will post and try to answer any relevant comments to this article.

How to Complete Pedigree Charts and Family Group Records

You may find free Pedigree Charts and Family Group sheets at http://byubroadcasting.org/ancestors/charts/. Once you have printed out these forms, please use the "back" button on your browser to return to this page.

THE PEDIGREE CHART

A Pedigree Chart is a form that shows a person's direct ancestors. The standard chart shows five generations.To complete this form, write down your name (or the person you are researching) on line No. 1. Put down the person's birth date, place of birth, marriage date (if applicable,) place of marriage, death date (if applicable,) and place of death.

List the person's parents on lines # 2 & 3. Line # 2 will be the father; line # 3 will be the mother. Then continue to list the grandparents, great-grandparents and 2nd great-grandparents.

Each person on the list is connected to his or her parents by a line. The father is always the name on top; the mother the name on the bottom. A simple rule to remember is that a the number on the chart for a person's father is double that person's number; the number on the chart for a person's mother is double the person's number plus one.

You can use more than one chart to list additional generations. For example, lets say you create a chart and label it chart # 1. You can show the extend generations of person no. 16 by putting him on chart #2 as person no. 1 and referencing that "person # 1 is no. 16 on chart no. 1."

THE FAMILY GROUP RECORD

Another form is the Family Group Record which shows a couple and their children. This is self explanitory. Complete the information for the father, mother, their parents and their children in the applicable places.