Immigration records

["Erlinda Castanon-Long" <longsjourney@...>]

My gr-grandparents and grandparents and relatives came through 
Laredo Texas in March 1916. They went from Jerez Zacatecas to 
Aguacalientes to catch the train but the trains had been knocked out 
so they walked and road on to Monterrey.In the recording of my 
grandfathers sister she says her father held all the money for the 
group and she, her husband and baby got separated. At the border 
they charged $5.00 to delouse the group before they could cross so 
after her parents and the rest of the family got through, Paula her 
husband Donaciano and baby had no money pay for delousing so they 
walked up the road and crossed the river, they found the rest of 
their family waiting on Texas side of the boarder. Once in Texas 
they worked as sheepherders and farm laborers, they learned 
armadillo taste like chicken. They were in Texas throu 1917 saving 
money to move on. Paula said sometimes people would be nice to them 
letting them camp on their land and have water, other times they 
were "run off like dogs." During that time in Dilly Texas a Tornado 
hit catching my grpgrandmother Gertrudis Caldera in her tent.  They 
called it the day they saw her fly.  When the tent slammed back to 
earth she miscarried her baby but survived.  They moved on to New 
Mexico where they were miners for a while in Tyrone Co.where many 
people from Jerez were, Paula's father in Law, Cirilo de la Cueva, 
got a fever and died in Tyrone after 30 days so his wife and 
children chose to go back to Jerez. My grandfather got a job with 
the railroad and he and his wife and baby were sent to Idaho, they 
lived in a boxcar where their 16 month old son died. They said many 
people from Jerez went to work for the railroad. My gr-grandfather 
had been a merchant in Mexico so all this labor was very hard for 
him and he longed to settle down.  A friend, Ygnacio Mora, from 
Mexico who was in the Fresno area of California told them about 
opportunities to own land there. It was against the law to sell land 
to Mexicans they were told but a certain farmer would help Mexican 
families buy land through him.  My family went there but my 
grandfather moved to Stockton Ca. in 1920, a friend told him about 
jobs opening with the water co.. my grandfather worked for the water 
co for 54 years until he retired, the rest of the family stayed in 
Cutler, Orosi and Dinuba farming.  Gr-grandfather Vicente ran a 
corner store, poolhall/social hall and handball court until his 
later years.  Many families from Jerez settled in that part of the 
country, farming and doing manuel labor, they did what was necessary 
to survive and they did it with pride and a desire to make things 
better for their families. One of the things my gr-grandfather did 
was help people in Mexico with immigration papers since he could 
read and write, he did this for many years into the 1850's.

Linda in Everett