The Socorro Genealogist YouTube Channel

Last year I launched my new YouTube Channel "The Socorro Genealogist". The purpose of this video blog is to teach genealogical research methods and give tips, as well as present some of my family tree research.

My most recent video is titled "New Mexican Genetic Genealogy, Part I: How I found my parents in my own DNA". In that video, I use a new feature from Ancestry.com that splits a person's DNA so that they can see how they inherited their genes seperately from each of their parents. I compare my DNA with that of my relatives in order to identify which side belongs to which parent. The feature is not able to identify which parent you inherit specific genes from; it just divides the genes into two parts, representing both parents.

I will be exploring DNA again in future videos as well looking at other types of genealogical research.

Please visit my video blog series at this link. When you are there, please subscribe and "like" my videos. I will be posting more video blogs in the weeks and months to come.

My Maternal Grandparents and Their Businesses

With the release of the 1950 Census today, I've already found a few interesting facts about my ancestors. I knew that my maternal grandparents, Santiago and Paulita (Zimmerly) Baca, owned a number of businesses. I didn't realize that they would have indicated in the census that they operated the businesses separately.

Both are listed as self-employed. My grandfather Santiago is listed as working in his retail grocery store, while my grandmother Paulita (or Pablita) is listed as working in her retail appearal store. Santiago worked 54 hours in the previous week; my hard-working grandmother worked 57 hours.

My mother, uncle and aunt are also listed in the household. My mother was listed as 14 years old, although she was actually 15 years old going on 16 (August.) 

Interestingly enough, my father Robert "Bobby" Baca worked in my maternal grandparents' grocery store. I believe he was working there at the time of the census, since he is listed as a employed as a grocery clerk. His father Robert, was working as a postal clerk for the U.S. Postal Service. Elder Robert worked 40 hours in the previous week, while his son worked only 17 - assumedly because he was still going to school.

One last thing: my parents both had the surname "Baca" but were not closely related through the Baca line.

Sources:

1950 U.S. Census, Socorro County, New Mexico, population schedule, Socorro, enumeration district (ED) 28-2, sheets 2 & 3, dwelling # 24, Santiago Baca; digital images, National Archives (1950census.archives.gov : accessed 1 April 2022).

1950 U.S. Census, Socorro County, New Mexico, population schedule, Socorro, enumeration district (ED) 28-1, pp. 32-33, dwelling # 227, Robert Baca; digital images, National Archives (1950census.archives.gov : accessed 1 April 2022).