An important Marín breakthrough for the Chávez and Stoltz families I had previously detailed some of my ongoing research on my paternal grandmother Consuelo Marín (Chávez) Stoltz (21 Dec 1904-29 Sep 1969) and her mother, Simona Balderas Marín Chávez (1 Dec 1881-2 Oct 1960)1 Until now I had been stymied in discovering any birth records for my grandmother in Zaragosa, Coahuila, or for her other… Read More
Breaking Down the Balderas Brick Wall For some time I had been stymied in tracking the ancestry of my paternal grandmother Consuelo Chávez Stoltz (1904-1969). Part of this is due to the fact that her father, Carlos Marín [UPDATE: His name was not Carlos, but Mercedes], is said to have abandoned Consuelo, her older sister Aurora (1903-1979), younger brother Carlos (1906-1994)… Read More
Ciudad Juárez, ca 1905 From the California Historical Society Collection, about the time of the 1904 birth of my grandmother Consuelo Marin (Chavez) Stoltz in Chihuahua.… Read More
The Stoltz Blues Chasers In response to the posted photo of my grandaunt Maybelle Stoltz Chavez’ El Paso band, her daughter my cousin Margie, points out: Both my Mom and her cousin, Juanito Lujan, were members of the band called The Stoltz Blues Chasers. Richard, Arlene and I remember that band being mentioned by Mom years ago… We did… Read More
Maybelle’s Knighthawks [Update: The name of the group was Stoltz Blues Chasers. No one seems to know where the Nighthawks name came from.] How can this photo not make your weekend just a little better? This is my grandaunt Maybelle Margarete Stoltz with Maybelle’s Nighthawks, according to family lore the first band in El Paso led by… Read More
El Paso’s Oldest Bowler Plans for 91st Birthday 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