Happy Birthday Mom!

.
A shout out to my mother, Rosa Miriam Villalba, on her 74th birthday. The above photo was taken when she was 16.

Laredo Border Crossing 1943

.

.

Above is the documentation from a 1943 Laredo border crossing of Sixto Barrios & his granddaughters, Yolanda and Miriam, as he escorted the girls to their mother in San Francisco. It comes courtesy of Ancestry.com's new on-line collection of Mexico/US border crossings.

.

My best transcription:

.

TOP IMAGE (front of record):

.

Top Line: MANIFEST Port of Laredo May 28, 1943

.

Family Name: Barrios

Given Name: Sixto

Accompanied by: grand daughters
.
Yolanda and Miriam Villalba, both admitted Immigrant ?(c)

.

? No: None

Place and Date of birth: 1-2-1874

?: Act of 1924

(next blocks empty)

.

Place of birth: San Salvador, El Salvador

Age: 69 yrs

Sex: M

Married (letter M circled)

Occupation: Lawyer

?: Y

.

Language: Spanish

?: Latin America

Nationality: El Salvador

Last place of residence: San Salvador, El Salvador

.

Name of relative from where applicant came: Wife, Inez Monterosa Barrios, San Salvador, El Salvador

.

Every been to USA before: Yes [something unreadable]

Passage paid by: Self

.

Name of Relative or destination: Daughter, Rosa Barrios de Villalba, 684 Guerrero St, San Francisco, CA

.

Amount of money on person: $500.00

Ever been [unreadable] and deported or [barred] from admission: No

Purpose and duration of trip: Pleasure -- 6 months

.

[Unreadable] Tax Status: A

Height: 5 ft. [unreadable] in.

Complexion: Dark

Hair: Black

Eyes: Br

Defining Marks: ----

.

[unclear, something about immigration visa]: 982/5-A of 5/1943 re: adm. with Gratis Visa. ml.

.

[unreadable]: adm. 3(2)

Arrived by: Laredo Bridge

.

handwritten number on bottom of form: 35011

.

BOTTOM IMAGE (back of form):

.

Typed on side of image: Checked out at Laredo, Texas July 24, 1943 by J.J. Burke, Jr. 7/26/43 [unreadable]

.

Boxes at top of form empty. Under MEDICAL CERTIFICATE is handwritten "Fingerprints and Registry forms lifted"

.

Stamp at bottom right of top half:

Inspected and Passed

JAMES L. CRAWFORD

[title unreadable]

.

On bottom half, is REMARKS AND ENDORSEMENTS is handwritten:

Has diplomatic PP #19, issued by the Ministry of Foreign Relations in San Salvador, El Salvador, 4-6-43 (as Justice of the Supreme Court)

dated 4-17-43

Sec. 3(2) Diplomatic Visa #12, [Unreadable] Ligation, El Salvador, El Salvador

.

Signature of Applicant: Sixto Barrios

You Can't Believe Everything You Read...

It certainly was wonderful to find a news article about a relative, especially a nice one that talks about their achievements or good business doings. I'm thrilled to have the article.
.
However, a news story is just one piece of the puzzle, and often have "slants" -- stories edited or shaped by the writer's or paper's view. Add to that small misunderstandings that occur between people, especially when talking with an accent or a second language (like Emma undoubtedly was) and there will definitely be discrepancies or skewing of facts.
.
Looking at this story, we find a definite slant -- the focus is on what would be considered womanly: romance and looks. The main part of the story is talks about Emma's marital status, that she's heart free (she says -- is there doubt?), that she's good looking and got a lot of attention on the ship coming up, and that she's traveling alone (horrors! This was considered very brazen and dangerous in 1929). Her business acumen (while also very "modern" or unusual for 1929) is really downplayed or left to the end of the story. Basically, the Chronicle is putting a huge arrow over Emma's head and letting the boys know that there is a young, single heiress alone in S.F. and ready to be romanced. Think Paris Hilton, backdated and not so fancy-free and you'll see the press hasn't changed much.
.
Looking at the facts, we can find some other discrepancies:
A ship's list from the 5/3/1929 arrival of the Guatamala (I'll post this later) shows that Emma was traveling with Inez (her mother) and Arturo Barrios (her brother), so her travel was not as scandalous as it's made out to be. Plus, she is visiting with her sister (Rosa Josephina) and new niece, Carmen.
.
This was also not Emma's first time to San Francisco. She was on the Albert Vogler in the 11/5/06 post on the blog, "Passport Photo and Journey." This ship arrived in San Francisco on Sept. 9, 1927.
.
And in 1929, she had not inherited her estate from her father. My mother (Rosa Miriam)remembers her grandfather very well, and she was born in 1933! However, Emma was very involved in the Coffee Grower's Association in San Salvador (my mother remembers her taking them there and having ice cream in the cafeteria), so a business trip to a convention or meeting of importers is not out of the question.
.
I have no doubt that Emma was in her 20s during this visit. I do find it amusing, however, that she was 21 on the Vogler's passenger list in 1927, and she is 21 on the Guatemala's passenger list! I will be posting all the passenger lists for the Barrios/Villalba families in later posts.

Barrios Lineage by Grandma Rosie

.
.

The above note is actually a family tree written by my late grandmother, Rosa Barrio. I've transcribed from the top with my additions in brackets:

.

Cerbulo Araujo (Father)

[of] Encarnacion Araujo

[who married] Abel Barrios

[and they had]

Geraldo [Barrios, president of El Salvador, and]

Sixto Barrios (assinated (sic))

Abel Barrios

.

[Abel Barrios, son of Abel & Encarnacion, married]

Teresa Albarenja

[and they had]

Sixto

Gustavo

Merced

Teresa

Mina

.

Sixto Barrios [son of Abel and Teresa, married]

Inez Carrillo [previously listed as Ines Monterosa]

[and they were the parents of ]

Rosa

[along with other children]

.

Rosa Barrios [married]

Jorge Villalba

[and they were the parents of]

Mimi

[along with other children]

.

Mimi Villalba

[Mother of] Gina and Didi

.

My Family Tree

.

Who's Who -- Rosa & George Villabla's Family

. .
This is the last photo taken of Grandma Rosie with her children. I'd say this was from the late 70s or early 80s. Unfortunately do not have any pictures of my grandfather. From left to right:

Back Row: Lisa, Mimi and Georgie
Front Row: Yolanda, Rosa, Carmen

Who's who in the family:

Parents: Rosa Josephina Barrios (Grandma Rosie) & Jorge Villalba (George)

Children:

Carmen -- (b. 1928)
Louisa -- "Lisa" (b. 1930)
Emma Yolanda - "Yolanda" (b. 25 Apr 1931, d. 15 Aug 1993)
Rosa Miriam* -- "Mimi" (b. 1933)
George -- "Georgie" (b. 25 Jan 1939, d. 21 Sep 2005)

*For those of you wondering how I fit into all this, Mimi is my mom! And yes, she reads my blog. **shout out to mom!**