#52Ancestors: My Great-Grandmother Victoria Jimenez

My third week in Amy Johnson Crow’s “52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks” family history blogging challenge.

The challenge: have one blog post each week devoted to a specific ancestor. It could be a story, a biography, a photograph, an outline of a research problem — anything that focuses on one ancestor.

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This week’s ancestor is my great-grandmother Victoria Jimenez (b. ca. 1891), who I believe is the mother of my lost grandmother Rosie Salas (b. ca. 1923). I do not yet have a birth certificate or baptism certificate that officially documents the connection, but I have a very strong hunch and the beginnings of a biographical profile, pieced together from U.S. Census records. And daughter Rosie lists a Victoria Jimenez and Estevan Salas, both from New Mexico, as her parants on her marriage records to my grandfather.

My first clue to this connection, and of Victoria’s name, came from the family’s 1940 U.S. Census record showing Victoria living in Coachella (Riverside County), California with her three children Rosie Salas, Richard Coleman, and David Coleman. Victoria is listed as the head of household, widowed, 48 years old, born about 1892, born in New Mexico, and lived in Phoenex, Arizona in 1935.

The 1930 U.S. Census shows Victoria living in Orme (Maricopa County), Arizona with her three children Rosie Salas, Richard Coleman (head of household), David Coleman, and three of David’s juvenile cousins. Victoria is listed as widowed, 39 years old, born about 1891, and born in New Mexico.

A 1921 Phoenix (Maricopa County), Arizona city directory records Victoria living in that city with her still-alive husband Esteban Salas.

Victoria and her husband Estevan Salas show up together on the 1920 U.S. Census, living in Deming (Luna County), New Mexico with Victoria’s sons Richard and David from a previous marriage. Their daughter Rosie is not born yet. Victoria is described as 29 years old, and born about 1891 in New Mexico.

When the 1910 U.S. Census was recorded, Victoria was living in Mogollon, Socorro County (became Catron County in 1921), New Mexico with her previous husband David Coleman, her husband’s father, and her husband’s older brother. Their boys were not yet born. Victoria was described as 19 years old, and born about 1891 in New Mexico.

This week I found Victoria and husband David Coleman on BYU-Idaho’s Western States Marriage Record Index. They were married 11 November 1909 in Silver City (Grand County), New Mexico. Both list Silver City as their residence.

And although I don’t have a husband or child’s name to cross check against, I think I found Victoria on the 1900 Census living in San Juan (Grand County), New Mexico. She seems the right age (10 years old, born February 1890), still shows New Mexico as the birthplace, and the residence is in the same county where she married David Coleman in 1909. If this is the same Victoria, her parents are Francisco and Clara Jimenes. Siblings living here include brother Ramon (age 18), sister Albina (16), sister Petra (12), and sister Antonia (8).

I need to obtain the actual documents to investigate a bit further, but the California Death Index shows a Victoriana Coleman/Jimenez, born about 1890 in New Mexico. If this is my Victoria, she died 22 August 1940 (just a few months after the 1940 Census) in Los Angeles (Los Angeles County), California. This is almost two years before her daughter Rosie’s marriage to my grandfather. And if this is my Victoria, she was buried at Artesia Cemetery in Cerritos (Los Angeles County, California).