From this Valley They Say You Are Going May 7, 2012 | Eric Stoltz | 1 Comment From this valley they say you are going. We will miss your bright eyes and sweet smile, For they say you are taking the sunshine That has brightened our pathway a while. So come sit by my side if you love me. Do not hasten to bid me adieu. Just remember the Red River Valley,… Read More
The Forgotten Twins May 6, 2012 | Eric Stoltz | 2 Comments We all knew about the eight children my great-grandparents Ludwig Josef “Louis” Stolz (1866-1958) and Apolonia Luján (1872-1929) raised in El Paso. One of these children, Louis Gustave Stoltz, died in 1928 at the age of 30. The other seven are the progenitors of the California and Texas branch of the Stoltz family, while my… Read More
A Gravestone in Maine October 21, 2011 | Eric Stoltz | 1 Comment In the spirit of Halloween, when traditionally styled gravestones are popping up on lawns everywhere, I offer the real thing. Through the magic of findagrave.com, which contains some 65 million cemetery records, I found today photographs of headstones of several early Maine relatives, including the gravestone of my 4th great-grandparents James Dunham (1758-1829) and Elizabeth… Read More
A Cousin’s Heritage, on the Quarter October 16, 2011 | Eric Stoltz | 5 Comments Isaac Dunham was the first keeper of the lighthouse at Pemaquid Point, Maine, near Bristol in Lincoln County. After many catastrophic shipwrecks at that place, an act of May 18, 1826 provided $4,000 for the construction of the lighthouse. The lighthouse went into service on November 29, 1827 with Isaac, my first cousin five times… Read More
La Baby Dávila de Cuernavaca June 29, 2011 | Eric Stoltz | 12 Comments My second cousin once removed, Enriqueta “Quetita” Dávila, is the daughter of José María Dávila (1897-?) and Enriqueta “Queta” Goldbaum (1900-?). I have written previously about her mother, who is my first cousin twice removed. I discovered this delightful article by Rafael Benabib about Quetita in the August 16, 2009 issue of El Diaro de… Read More
A Surprising Baptismal Record March 5, 2011 | Eric Stoltz | 1 Comment My second great-grandfather Fernando Alvarado married María Eugenia Trinidad Tamayo probably sometime around 1840 in Sinaloa. Recently I received the 1822 baptismal record for Maria Eugenia Trinidad from San Pedro de Chametla in Sinaloa. The record clearly states that she was “mulata,” meaning one of her parents was black. Here’s what the record says: María… Read More
Ending a Great War February 9, 2011 | Eric Stoltz | 1 Comment As has been noted elsewhere on this blog, my great-great-grandfather Seth Dunham came to California from Maine during the Gold Rush. His parents, James Dunham (b. abt 1788 in Orland, Hancock, Maine) and Elizabeth “Betsy” Gilpatrick (b. 27 May 1795 In Orland) had 10 other children besides Seth. So while I’ve paid much attention to… Read More
El Paso’s Oldest Bowler Plans for 91st Birthday January 26, 2011 | Eric Stoltz | 3 Comments The following article from the El Paso Times of March 16, 1957 is a profile of my great-grandfather Ludwig “Louis” Stoltz, born 18 May 1866 in Delano, Wright, Minnesota. He was the son of Peter Stoltz (1836-1921) and Apollonia Stricker (1831-1896). Louis was the first generation of his family born in the United States; his… Read More
A Sailor Who Served under Captain Sparrow January 16, 2011 | Eric Stoltz | 3 Comments He was not a pirate under Captain Jack Sparrow, but he did sail the seas and served under a another Captain Sparrow, for a very different cause. My fourth great-grandfather James Dunham was born 12 Sep 1758 in Plympton, Plymouth, Massachusetts, the son of Cornelius Dunham (1716-1766) and Patience Barrows (1724-1807). James was a sailor,… Read More
A "godly & well esteemed Deacon" July 6, 2010 | Eric Stoltz | 6 Comments The earliest Dunham ancestor to come to North America was John Dunham, a Separatist who fled religious persecution in England by first emigrating to Leiden, Holland, and then to Plymouth Colony. He was my ninth great-grandfather. He was born in 1589; a record exists that year on 8 February of his baptism at the Church… Read More