Saturday, December 29, 2012

Our Juana Bojorques!

Maria Juana de Jesus Bojorques, the daughter of Juan Bojorques and Maria Ysidora Galindo, was born near the Twin Peaks and Uvas Reservoir area of present day Santa Clara County, CA. She was baptized at Mission Santa Clara, California during the Mission era under the Mexican Flag. Her mother had been born in 1816 under the Spanish Flag. Juana's grandmother was also born under the Spanish flag, near Mission Dolores in 1790, with her mother coming to California with the Anza Expedition of 1775-76. 

Juana married Jose Antonio Maria Castro at Mission Santa Clara on 17 Feb 1848 just two weeks after the signing of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo between Mexico and the United States. Her children were born under the America flag.

Juana and Antonio Maria were blessed with their first child, a tiny daughter born just two weeks after Juana's 16th birthday. In honor of Antonio Maria's mother, Maria Ynes Sepulveda, the baby girl was baptized at Mission Santa Clara with the name Maria Ynes Lucia Castro. Sadly, this first child lived only two months. Her heartbroken parents buried her at Mission Santa Clara in February 1849.

Juana and Antonio Maria became the parents of six more children with the 6th child being born two months after the sudden death of Antonio Maria. Juana was just 25 years old with five children under the age of 7, and a baby on the way. Juana did what most widows did at that time, she remarried quickly to provide for her children. By December, barely 6 months after the death of her husband she was the wife of Jesus Palomares, a native of Sonora, Mexico and the son of Concepcion Palomares and Dolores Buelna. 

The three children of Juana Bojorques and Jesus Palomares were baptized at Our Lady Help of Christians Catholic Church in Watsonville, Santa Cruz, CA. The first was baptized with the surname of Bojorques with his father's name listed as Jesus Buelna. Their second child, Maria Buelna was also listed as the child of Jesus Buelna and Juana Bojorques. At her Confirmation this same Maria Buelna would have her father's name listed as Antonio Buelna. The third child, Maria Flora was listed as the legitimate child of Jesus Palomares and Juana Bojorques. With the mother of Jesus Palomares having the name Buelna it is understandable how this name could be used in these entries. 

Nothing more is found in the records for Jesus Palomares or Buelna and within another year our Juana Bojorques is listed as the wife of Manuel Enriques, a sheep shearer from New Mexico. Juana and Manuel become the parents of 8 children and in 1874 move their large family... Juana's Castro children, her Palomares children, and their Enriques children... to Las Juntas in Fresno County, CA. Eventually they moved a few miles away to Firebaugh, Fresno County, CA where they lived out their lives. 

Descendants of many of Juana's 18 children continue to live in and around the Firebaugh area.

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