Greetings!

I have been fighting a sinus infection the last few weeks. Being here in Oklahoma in May is trying on my poor head. Cottonwood seeds float around like little flying saucers of allergen doom. I love it here, but May does have its downside. That, and the traditional spring storms with their meso-cyclones (tornadoes) is always fun and exciting!

But you are here for other reasons. First of all, I have delayed in sharing this a bit too long. I have been in contact with my Gil Samaniego cousins in Mexicali. If you remember they are Margarita Valenzuela’s descendants. They have been so kind in their friendship to me. One cousin sent me this wonderful photograph.

Mexicali, 1935. Photo courtesy of T. Gil Samaniego.

This is Jose Florencio “Lencho” Valenzuela and his lovely bride Concepción “Concha” Abril. He was from Margarita’s third marriage. He did not take his father’s last name. They were married in 1935. They lived in Mexicali. Lencho is my grandfather’s first cousin. What a lovely treasure. They had quite a few children, most who live in Mexicali.

Let’s see…what else? Last year I was bored and doodling and testing my memory. I managed to put a family tree together that seemed to get most of the families on it.

Genealogy nerd doodles.

I think this could be helpful for those that might wander onto this site looking for a more collected framework. These are names I can definitively say have documentation to back up the theory of my branches. There are many other “side” friends and family theories that I have. But until I can prove it, they are all just theories.

I am outlining two new blogs in regards to my grandfather Albert. One will be about his third wife, Sara Higuera. I want to give her familial background a fuller picture for her grandchildren who may or may not know much about their past. The second will be more of Albert’s business and career dealings. I am kind of partial to him, so I want to give him the fullest picture I can. Haha!

I am in touch with another family historian who is working on the HIguera tree. Just when I think I have a good basic idea of Sara’s story, I’m told that Sara was married before my grandfather. WHAT?? So I go looking around and find this:

Fengel – Higuera wedding license announcement. Santa Cruz Sentinel, Jan 3, 1934.

Neat! But there is a bit more to the Fengel story, so that will probably add-on a few more weeks of correspondence. It’s a never-ending spiral of information!

I’m off to continue researching. If you find you have any questions, please feel free to ask. Send me a message. I really enjoy reuniting family with family that isn’t even mine. 🙂