Juan's Parents--Another Generation Found!

So, it has unfortunately but quite literally been years since I last posted information on this blog. Recently, however, I visited the Family History Library in Salt Lake City and found a book that I have had a hint might provide important information for some time. The title is "New Mexico Mining Fatalities and Accidents: 1894-1925," and it was written, abstracted, and compiled by Karen Stein Daniel. The publisher was the New Mexico Genealogical Society in 2001.

My grandmother Frances's (Juan and Porfiria's youngest daughter/child) medical record documents provided a small hint that I had been unaware of. She stated that her father had been killed in a mining accident. I hoped against hope that this book would contain what I was looking for.

I quickly located the book and used the index to find all of the listings for Perea. The second entry, on page 66, revealed the exact information that I was looking for . . . voilà! Listed by the accident date and death date, it shows:


25 Nov/02 Dec 1922 - JUAN PEREA, age 54 yrs. (born in Algodones, NM), occupation miner, married with five children. Died in hospital in Albuquerque from effects of burns. Wife PORFIRIA PERES [sic]. Father, JUAN PEREA. Mother, FRANSISCITA MIERA. Buried in Madrid, NM. [Death certificate # 905 (1922), microfilm 2032885, Bernalillo Co., NM]

Page 76 also includes the following:

25 Nov 1923 - JUAN PEREA, occupation miner. Severely burned. Sent to St. Joseph Hospital at Albuquerque, but died. Victims killed by a body of gas igniting and exploding.
No. 4 Anthracite Mine, Santa Fe Co., NM

There is, of course, a year disparity in the two dates, but it is clearly the information I have been hunting for for some time.

I'm pleased as can be and thought I would share. I will use this to spur some more research and will post additional information as I find it.

Juan Perea & Porfiria Salazar Perea Picture

Undated photo. This is the only photograph I have of my great-grandparents.

Juan & Porfiria Perea Family Group Sheet

[Note that this is a work in progress. While I am quite certain that each family member was born in New Mexico, the counties listed should be considered suspect, pending further research. Additionally, all other dates (apart from those related to Frances) may be considered a simple melding of census and other publicly available records.]

1870 US Census

If the 1880 Census record, showing Juan Perea in Atrisco, Bernalillo, New Mexico is the one that we are looking for, then this 1870 record correlates.

1880 US Census

These two census records for 1880, and the one for 1870 are purely speculative on my part. Because these Censuses used a Soundex, they were a little easier to work with. These records are an exhaustive list of all of the "Juan Perea's" who were enumerated in these years, and who's birthday's were within a 20 year range of what my grandfather's would have been.

This first record shows a 13 year old Juan Perea, working as a bartender's servant in Cerrillos, Santa Fe, New Mexico.



This latter record shows an 11 year old Juan Perea, son of Manuel and Gertrudis Perea, living in Ranchos de Atrisco, Bernalillo, New Mexico.

1900 US Census

These are from the 1900 Census (I have yet to find anything in the 1910 or 1920 Census records). This is the earliest record where I am certain that I have found my great-grandparents, Juan and Porfiria Perea.

[Note that the top image is a photo of the top of the document, giving the locale details (Algodones, Bernalillo, New Mexico), the bottom image is a closeup detail of the bottom of the page, giving my family's information.]

1930 US Census

This is the 1930 Census record in Cerrillos, Santa Fe, New Mexico. It shows my grandmother Frances, her first husband Joe Longacre, their first daughter Josephine, and that my great-grandmother, Porfiria Perea was living with them. (Note: They are the third family down.)

Just a Start

This will be a little place for me to post research information discovered in my quest to find out about the ancestry of my great grandparents, Juan Perea and Porfiria Salazar Perea. Please feel free to post anything that you find!