Another Pair of Socorro Obituaries

Although they have the same last name as me, Juan Jose Baca, Jr., and his brothers and sisters are not directly related to me. Rather they are distant cousins of mine through my mother's family. Juan Jose was the grandson of my 4th great grandmother, Maria Guadalupe Torres. Guadalupe Torres married two men: Francisco Antonio Garcia, who was my 4th great grandfather, and Pedro Antonio Baca, who was Juan Jose, Jr.'s grandfather. Therefore, Juan Jose Baca, Jr., is my half 1st cousin, 3 times removed. He and my 2nd great grandmother Maria Guadalupe Padilla, (not to be confused with the previously mentioned Maria Guadalupe Torres, who was her grandmother) would have been half 1st cousins.

Confused? I know, it's hard for me to keep it all staight, too. If you want to read more about this family, check out my previous post "Some Notes on my March 21st NMGS Presentation", or read my article "Maria Guadalupe Torres: One Woman's Life in Nineteenth Century Socorro" in the June 2009 New Mexico Genealogist. If you wish to order a copy of that issue, click on this link.

I found two obituaries for Juan Jose Baca, Jr. in the Albuquerque Special Collection Library's computer databases. Both were published in the Albuquerque Journal.

The first obituary can be found on page 10 of the 17 June 1941 Albuquerque Journal. The obituary says that Juan Jose died on Sunday in El Paso, TX. I checked the date of the week calculator on Ancestry Search, (link) and found that June 17th fell on a Tuesday that year. Therefore, his death occured two days before, which would make his date of death as June 15th.

The obituary notes that he was survived by five brothers, but lists only three: Emilio M, Felipe N., J.N. Baca and Lucas Baca. This corresponds to the information I already have on the brothers: J.N. would be Juan Nepomuceno, while the fifth brother may be Solomon.

The record also shows that Juan Jose was survived by three sisters: Mrs. Antonio Otero, Mrs. Jim Romero, and Mrs. A. A. Romero. None of their first names are noted. From other sources, I have the names of five of his sisters: Guadalupe, Dominica, Maria Isabela, Angelina, and Pabla. I know that Guadalupe married Edward Fortune in 1887, so she appears not to be one of the living sisters listed. I don't know who the other sisters married, so at this time I can't match them to the names listed in the obituary.

Neither this obituary, nor the next, mention that Juan Jose had a wife or children.

According to his obituaries, Juan Jose was a World War I veteran, and a member of the Benavides Grande Post No. 82, a chapter of the American Legion.

On the same page as this obituary are two other obituaries: one for Francis Willis Marks, and the other for Dionocio Aguilar Martinez.

Click on the image below to get a larger picture:

The second obituary, published on page 3 of the 18 June 1941 edition of the Albuquerque Journal, does not mention Juan Jose Baca, Jr.'s family. It does, however, mention a few Socorro residents, some of who I recognize.

Juan Jose's pall bearers were members of the Home Guard: Juan Castillo, John Matthews, Tom Olguin, Julius Frassinet, Paul A. Padilla, and Paul Burt. His escort were Capt. W.E. West, Lieut. Rafael Lopez, Y.G. Phillip, B. Baca, John Montoya, Hugh Fraser, George Downs, and Henry Del Curto. The mass was celebrated by Rev. R. M. Libertini.

On the same page as this obituary, you will find the obituaries for Dionicio Aguilar Martinez, Anglie GAllegos Mora, Mr. Kee Silson, and Mrs. Eunice L. Zehr.

Click on the image below to get a larger picture:

I've created a family group sheet for Juan Jose Justo Mariano Baca and Maria Francisca Miera, the parents of Juan Jose Baca, Jr. This chart includes J.J. Baca's siblings and himself. Click on this link to view it (you will need a copy of Adobe Acrobat Reader to view.)