My Zosa

An 1803 Ojinaga census of Presidio del Norte lists retired soldier Mateo Zosa and his wife Bentura Castillo.  Their daughter Diega, born in 1806, married Tiburcio Lujan, the father of my great-grandfather, Hilario—of “La India in the Cave”.

One of their sons, Quirino, married Bentura Lujan, and they went on to have fourteen children.  A son Dolores, married Gertrudis Galindo and they had thirteen children.  Pharmacist Roberto Zosa, of Alpine, Texas, is of that line.  Another son: Juan married Gabina Tercero and they have a son, “Blaz”.  Blaz married Vicenta Tabares.  Therein lies my story.

When I was well into my research I kept running into baptisms occurring in “La Haciendita”.  Eventually, they became so numerous that I came to think of it as “HacienDOTA”, not the diminutive “Haciendita”.   It would take another trip to Ojinaga to uncover the story of the many baptisms there.

During the early 1900s, Vicenta Tabares gained a reputation as the best midwife around.  Expectant mothers by the dozens crossed the river to give birth in Haciendita, which is on the USA side of the Border.

The story goes that during Mexico’s Revolution of 1810, many of Ojinaga’s refugee expectant mothers gave birth at Haciendita.  I later learned that Vicenta was very good about registering births that she attended.  Registration copies are easily obtainable at the Marfa, Texas Court House.

I later interviewed an elderly “primita” who told of having to flee across the river “con Tio Blaz” (“with uncle Blaz”) at Haciendita, when Mexican Revolution Battles took place.

“Pancho Villa’s men came to take my father to safety” she stated.  “Because he was “Commisario and the enemy might kill him”.  “They took Papa away first, then us”.

“Papa” was Juan Lujan, the brother of my grandfather Esteban.