By Cora Santa Cruz-Broderson
Special to The PREVIEW
Hooting and hollering, the seven men, members of Pancho Villa’s revolutionary movement, rode on horses into Jose Santa Cruz’s ranch, demanding Jose appear before them.
Jose’s son, sensing trouble, pleaded with his father to remain indoors. His father assured his family he was able to handle the situation. Stepping outside, Jose felt the lasso tighten around his neck. He was beaten and hung from a nearby tree.
The description of this incident was found in the 1912 civil records of Sonora, Mexico, during Eric Broderson’s research of the Santa Cruz family history.
On Aug. 24, at the Archuleta County Genealogical Society annual fair, Eric Broderson will lead a workshop on Hispanic research, reviewing available Spanish colonial (New Spain) records and Mexico records after the Spanish Colonial period ended.
Doors open at 8:30 a.m. and the genealogy fair begins at 9 with guest speaker Ric Morgan and a discussion of DNA and how it relates to genealogy. The afternoon schedule — 12:30-3 p.m. — will be divided into two sessions. The second session includes the Hispanic Research workshop.
A free lunch will be served from noon to 12:30.
The public is invited to attend the event at the United Community Methodist Church on Lewis Street. The Archuleta County Genealogical Society is eager to help folks learn how to utilize various resources to develop their family ancestry.
For more information, call 903-2818 or e-mail ARCOGenSoc@yahoo.com.
