Voyage to California

Voyage #2: SS Siberia, 1909

This extended family of brothers and in-laws had worked together in the plantations of Hawaii until October 1909 when they once again boarded a ship, the S.S. Siberia, bound for San Francisco, California in October 1909.

Our grandparents left after 2 ½ years, they needed to stay for at least 18 months to pay off their passage to America. On Oct 22, 1909, our families boarded the S.S. Siberia which sailed to San Francisco, arriving on Oct 28, 1909. According to The Manifest, this included, Great Grandpa Antonio Ortega (42), ‘Josepha’ Ortega (44), Jose Ortega (20), Francisco Ortega (11), Juan A. Ortega (22), Guadalupe Ortega (21), Manuel (6 mo.), Francisco Cañada (44), and Maria C. Cañada (44).

California, 1909 to 1910 or 1911

Most of the early immigrants had planned to return to Spain at the end of the contract. Our family intended to head to California from the beginning. California was reported to have rolling hills, hot days and cool nights which were perfect for farming, lots of land and the climate was the same as their homeland.  When they arrived they found great fertile farm land with lots of water for irrigation, freedom from an oppressive government and Grandpa and his brothers would not be forced to serve in the military. With their history as qualified farmers, this was a land of great opportunity. In California, our family blended well with mainstream America.

Sometime between Uncle John’s birth in late 1910 and late 1911 they traveled to Mexico, again for employment on a plantation, only to return to California aboard the S. S. City of Sydney in December 1911.

to Mexico, briefly

Voyage # 3: To Mexico, 1911

Sometime before December 1911, Grandpa and Grandma moved their two sons, both sets of parents and Grandpa’s brothers from an unidentified city in California to Mexico. I have yet to locate records documenting their trip from California to Mexico. I believe it was aboard another vessel, but have not found record of border crossings from the US to Mexico, they may not even exist. We also do not know if the voyage was the end of 1910 or during 1911. We do know they boarded the ship back to California in Dec 1911.

According to conversations between Aunt Emma and Aunt Mary, everyone traveled to Mexico so that Grandpa Juan could be a foreman on some sort of plantation there. Perhaps it was a rubber or tobacco plantation. Aunt Mary thinks it was not a sugar plantation, but Cousin Tony does.

What information I do have about their trip from Mexico back to California was told to Aunt Mary by Aunt Emma when Mary was a small child (remember they are 18 ½ yrs apart).

Grandpa woke the family up during the night and all of our family members retuned to California. The story goes that they left because Poncho Villa went on a killing rampage to avenge his “wife’s” murder. But as his true and first wife (he had many) outlived Poncho, it is more likely that it was over the killing of his soladera.

History tells us of two instances that might fit our timeline. The first has would have to do with the women who served as soldiers. These women were called soladeras. Besides fighting alongside the men, these women served as cooks and nurses. During one of his battles, Poncho Villa discovered his own soladera or adelita, dead on the battlefield. I am not sure of the exact date, but it could have happened in late 1911.

The second possibility was when Mexican President Portillo Diaz fell from power in 1911. At this time Poncho Villa maneuvered to take control of the country. The U.S. President, Woodrow Wilson, refused to support Villa’s bid for power. In retaliation, Villa began killing Americans traveling on Mexican trains. 

It is likely that either one or even both of these events contributed to Poncho Villa’s rampage. What ever the reason, our family returned to California boarding the SS City of Sydney in Salina Cruz Mexico and sailed back to San Francisco.

Since Aunt Mary is quite sure it was a rubber or tobacco plantation, they were probably not working in Salina Cruz since Salina Cruz is known for its sugar plantations. Cousin Tony’s impression is that the place of employment was a sugar plantation.

This leaves me with a few questions, I would like to know if they traveled by ship and when. How did Grandpa found out about the job, what employment opportunities existed for the rest of the family?  I also seem to remember something about a train ride in the middle of the night, which leads me to wonder where this plantation was.

California, this time to stay

Voyage # 4: City of Sydney, 1911

The whole family boarded the SS City of Sydney possibly at Salina Cruz, in Oaxaca, Mexico. From my research, via microfilm and on Ancestry.com I have found the ship manifest for the SS City of Sydney which has provided us with the following information.

The City of Sydney left Ancom, Canal Zone, Panama on 9 Dec, 1911. Our family boarded in Salina Cruz on an unknown date. It headed up the California coast arriving in San Francisco on 3 Jan 1912; they departed the ship on 4 Jan, 1912.

Some of the passengers were identified as from New York, and the Panama Canal was not yet completed, so the ship may have originated in New York and sailed around Cape Horn or through the Straits of Magellan following a similar path as the SS Heliopolis, but this time heading for San Francisco.

According to the manifest for the SS City of Sydney, Great Grandpa Antonio Ortega was the only one who paid $20.00 for the voyage so it was possible that all three families made the voyage on the same $20.00.

Also according to the ship manifest each family had to identify their destination and the name and address of a family member or friend living in the USA. We also learn that they had previously lived in the United States for 5 years, making me think that they were in California for most of 1911 and were in Mexico for only a short time. Remember they didn’t arrive in San Francisco until October 28 1909.

Juan, Guadalupe, and Juan, Jr. (1 year 2 ½ months), were headed to San Francisco. They listed their friend, Juan Fatjo who lived in Santa Clara. Juan’s parents and brothers listed a cousin, Antonio Lopez, also of Santa Clara. Grandma’s parents along with Uncle Manuel (2 years 9 months), listed great grandfather Francisco’s brother, Fernando Cañada who lived on Telegraph Hill in San Francisco as their friend/relative.

It is most likely that Uncle Manuel was being held by Great Grandmother Maria Cañada when they registered, which would explain why he was listed after great-grandmother Maria as Manuel Cañada on the manifest and not with Juan and Guadalupe as Manuel Ortega.  From a handwritten note on the manifest, passenger #9 was held for medical observation and was admitted on Jan 26, 1912; passenger #9 was great-grandfather Francisco Cañada.

From Mexico back to San Francisco

of course the line is just to show how far south they went

Upon their return to California, Juan and Guadalupe settled in San Francisco along with Guadalupe’s parents.

Brothers Jose and Francisco with their parents, Antonio & Josefa, settled in Hayward. It was in Hayward that Joe and Frank fell in love, married, and raised their families.

The churches held the documents in those days, birth, baptismal, death and marriage certificates. They could tell the story for us.

Guadalupe and her Family

According to her birth certificate, Guadalupe was named Maria Cañada Ortega. She was born to Francisco Cañada Rizquez and Maria Del Carmen Ortega Ocaña Also, on the birth certificate, is the statement that her father ‘declared that the child would be given the name Maria Guadalupe’^.

According to Aunt Gladys’ records, Guadalupe was the only surviving child of 8. We do not know how old her siblings were when they died, nor where she fell in the birth order.

We know that Grandpa Juan already knew Grandma Guadalupe before the 1907 voyage, and that both families had planned the trip together. Was their marriage arranged? We may never know.

Marriage of Juan and Guadalupe

Guadalupe, John and his brother Francisco

This picture is from Uncle Julio’s collection

Both families lived in Pepeekeo, Hawaii when Juan and Guadalupe were married. They were married in Honomu, Hilo, Hawaii. The License was issued on June 4, 1908 and they were married on June 7.

Ortega Style gatherings

Our uncles welcomed any excuse to gather together.  Momma said that sometimes they would gather at Grandpa’s house after having eaten dinner with their own family 

1940 Family home at 1071 Key Avenue in San Francisco

Back:Vic, Del, Tony, Grandpa and Will in the very back
Front:Rich, Fritz, Gladys, Flo, Grandma, Mary
sitting on steps: Steve and Opal Baroni, family friends

Mary's 80th Birthday party June 2010

History of our Family Crest

History of our Family Crest 

 The Ortega Crest as we know it today has evolved from the official Ortega Crest used for centuries and designed by an heraldic artist using information found in the ancient heraldic archives. Uncle John had sent away for the official Ortega family crest from an advertisement he had seen. Aunt Gladys then asked Uncle John and Uncle Tib to adapt it into the crest we have today.

Uncle Tib drew the outside of the crest much the same as the “Official” crest, leaving the center of the crest empty. Aunt Gladys inserted a brief family history surrounded by the name and date of birth of each of the children of Juan and Guadalupe. You can see that Gladys used the date of birth for Mary as found in the records of the state of California, however, it has been corrected in the final version, as the Midwife that aided Guadalupe in the birth of her 13^th child, recorded the incorrect date.

 

The text in the center reads:  This Coat of Arms was designed to represent the family of Juan and Guadalupe Ortega.

  The shape and scroll is the original Coat of Arms that all Ortega’s are identified by.

  Juan was born in Martos, Jaen, Spain and Guadalupe was born in Torredonjimeno, Jaen, Spain.  They sailed with their families aboard the Ship SS Heliopolis which left Spain 10 March 1907 and arrived 26 April 1907 in Hilo, Hawaii.

  Married June 7, 1908 in Honolulu, Hawaii.  To this union were 14 children born, 12 boys, 2 girls whose names appear on the face.

                This final version, was digitized, and enhanced by Julianne Hoppen with minor corrections to the text.