Westward
Did your family emigrate to the East coast and then follow the ever westward expansion into "The West"?
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William S Dean
- Male
- Santa Ana, California
- United States
- Blog Posts (25)
- Discussions (12)
- Events
- Groups (19)
- Photos (50)
- Photo Albums (2)
- Videos (1)
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Profile Information
- What surnames are you interested in researching?
- Most of the early Spanish/Hispanic families in California, plus many families in England, Ireland, Scotland, and France who immigrated to the United States, from early 1600s to 1870.
- What countries and other locations are you interested in researching?
- United States, England, Ireland, Scotland, France, Catalonia, Spain, Mexico
- What is your level of genealogy knowledge?
- Advanced Family History Researcher
- If you are a genealogy expert, what are your specialties?
- Specialize in early California, early eastern US colonies, and the "westward expansion".
A little about me...
As well as being a genealogist (which also implies being an amateur historian), I connect to "the past" through historical re-enacting. Since I am a descendant of many early Californio families (those that came to California before the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo (Tratado de Guadalupe Hidalgo of 1848) -- when historically attired and visiting historical sites, it's sometimes an eerie feeling to wonder if I am the ghost of my ancestor or whether they are peering out from the past at me. The experience is unique and actually pleasant, not frightening.
Along with my younger sister, I reenact the periods from the Renaissance to the Victorian.
Along with my younger sister, I reenact the periods from the Renaissance to the Victorian.
William S Dean's Photos
William S Dean's Videos
William S Dean's Blog
New link - New information access
Posted on September 27, 2010 at 9:48am 0 Comments 0 Likes
Have you heard of issuu.com yet? This is an interesting resource in several ways. For one thing, you can access the latest genealogy magazines at Issuu. As we all know slick magazines abound for all types of subjects, including genealogy and history. But why pay the huge cover prices when you can access them free on-line and (if you register for free) even download the magazines as PDFs. Issuu is what digital publishing is all about. If you register, you can even create and upload your own… Continue
Maybe the Pinta..yes, THAT Pinta...
Posted on September 18, 2010 at 10:55am 3 Comments 0 Likes
It's funny. Sometimes we neglect tracing back one of our ancestors because...well, because there's so much material about other ancestor lines or we think a particular line is so exciting and interesting. Lately, I've been re-tracing my footsteps to my great great grandmother, Maria Josefa Bermudez (1826-1880). She married into the Yorba family in 1842 in San Juan Capistrano. I had done sketchy research into the Bermudez line in California, but wanted to start seeing where and who they were… Continue
Musings Before and After "the facts" Part One - Before...
Posted on September 16, 2010 at 11:24am 1 Comment 0 Likes
All things considered, many genealogists never get to visit significant geological "roots". Imagine going to the place where some of your ancestors first set foot on "the new homeland". That's what awaits me September 20-21 in San Diego, California. In 1769, California was still "terra incognito" to the Spanish who "owned" it. Isolated points along the coastline had been roughly mapped, but nothing was known. There were no settlements, no waiting stockpiles of supplies, no allies. That is the… Continue
History Street Cred
Posted on September 10, 2010 at 2:10pm 0 Comments 0 Likes
My historical "street cred" is strong in California. My ancestors were among the first Spanish/Mexican settlers in my home state of California, so you may be able to understand both my interest and my quest to always "know more" since my "roots" are so deep in California history. Many of the following ancestors' sons also served at California Presidios, gained grants to rancho lands; many of their daughters married into the same or other Spanish/Californio families.
Many of these men… Continue
Many of these men… Continue
Generations of "the girls"
Posted on September 9, 2010 at 1:43pm 1 Comment 0 Likes
Sometimes it's interesting to put the photographs together and see the resemblances and differences. These are photos of "the girls" of my family.
Great niece, Victoria (2010):
Great niece, Victoria (2010):
Her grandmother, my baby sister, Maggie (about 1956):…
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i miss in chat . you were so informative and gave out good info
Sorry I am just answering your message now, I did not realize I had a message because I have not visited this website since probably when I created a profile. In regards to your question, I do not have any significant family history information on Valdez. I know I can probably obtain some but I have not had the opprotunity to do so. My paternal grandmother is Gloria (Valdez) Esquivel. She was born in Mexico in 1930 to Francisco Valdez and Virginia Moreno. She had ten siblings, not sure how many are still living. Anyway if you have anything that might help please send me a message. My email address is eesquivel9@verizon.net.
Sincerely,
Elena.
Are you OK? Haven't seen you in a long while,,,
I will look for that group. Watching Premonition now, good so far, really have to pay attention. Hugz
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.
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