Hello William!It is so nice to see someone else who has early Spanish Californiano roots!I loved your photos,it is such a treat to see them.We have a few but not many.I am a real new comer to this facebook like stuff but I will try and follow your postings.thank you for sharing

Yes, William, he is my ancestor. I have been struggling to research the Abraham branch that eventually moved to Erie, PA. One researcher suggested that that particular Abraham was illegitimate. My grandmother, Bessie, was born to that branch. She and my mother moved to Southern NJ, where I was born. I've been trying to find family members of that Tortellotte branch.

William,
Thank you for taking the time to respond. I have an H.O. Tourtellotte in Erie, PA who was my ggrandfather. I think he was, co-owner of a restaurant, but I know nothing else. My grandmother lost touch with him and her siblings when she married a man of whom H.O. did not approve. This is how I lost contact with those relatives. I plan to keep the information you sent in hopes of correlating it in some way.
Dorothy

Thanks, william but no . My Henry has a son James K born around
1853. He also has a son named Luther.

William,I got a question that has been eating at me for awhile.Why do you think there are not more people searching for there pre statehood California roots?I mean the Spanish/Mexican settlers had thousands of decendents yet look her on Genewise and even on the lists for Cal-Spanish and such.Few inquiry's,Groups like Los Californianos seem to struggle for new,younger,members.I was just wondering what someone else thought about this and thought I would ask you since we seem to be the lone rangers here!

You hit the nail on the head in some of your comments William! I have a cousin who will be 90 next month and she got into a shouting match with her neighbor over "not being Mexican!"He insisted she was and ashamed of it,her comeback was"My husband is Mexican,my children are half Mexican,but MY people have been here since before there was a Mexico!"My own father went through the same thing"you speak Spanish,but your not Mexican".They knew he was somehow different but could not put their finger on it.My generation,none of us speak Spanish,even those with Mexican mothers,because they were told it would make it harder for them to "get ahead" and learn English.Many of the next generation is Bi-lingual though.
When I first started researching my family history I went to the little town were my father was born and bought all the history books I could find on the area since I knew my family had been there for a generation or two at least.I read them and wondered,"where are the Mexican people?"!There was a paragraph saying not much was known about the early Spanish/Mexican family's in the town.When I finally met up with my cousins in the area and asked them about it because they have lived there their whole lives my cousin said"No one ever bothered to ask us."If you speak Spanish or look Mexican you are a immigrant no matter how untrue.

Thank you for your responce William. I grew up in so.California but my family is from back east. The Deans on my ex-husbands side I beleive were in Ohio at some point and then moved to Oregon. Great to meet you on here.

Hi William - Hope you know I was just kidding you. After you left for lunch, Lisa found a reference about Germans settling in Potter Co PA in 1855. They called their settlement Germania. Is that the one you were talking about? Like I said I will be glad to talk about anything with a Pennsylvania connection. And I do take suggestions.

Hi Cousin,
I will look for that group. Watching Premonition now, good so far, really have to pay attention. Hugz

Hey William,
Are you OK? Haven't seen you in a long while,,,

good to know you are ok, I don't go there much past 9 or 10 am same reasons. I miss you come in early and sat hi. some people think you are on vacation, I won't tell...

Hi William -- I miss you in Gen-Chat...come back, we all need your expertise, and it's just not the same without you. Hope you're doing well...and I hope it wasn't someone said that chased you away - that would a darn shame if that's what happened! It wasn't I may have said, even jokingly, was it? Sometimes my humor is not so humerous!