Hello all!
 
I want to introduce myself to your group.  My name is Rosalinda Ruiz, 
and I've been working on my family tree for some time.  After 
interviewing my grandparents about their ancestors, I never really 
believed I would make any connections to more distant ancestors.  
Then I discovered three things in the period of six months last year 
(and this is truly inspirational for those who think discovering 
their family genealogy may never happen).  First, last April,  I 
visited www.rootsweb.com and typed in some family names.  I had done 
this periodically in the past, with no success.  However, I decided 
to try again, and I found a message that matched my BANUELOS family 
information!  The ancestor names and locations matched perfectly, so 
I emailed the person mentioned.  I found my second cousin once 
removed!  We shared information, and were finally able to meet last 
summer.  We also determined that we had met previously, in March of 
last year, when I took a group of students from Southern California 
to visit UC Davis, which is near Sacramento.  He was a part of a 
presentation to my students.  At the time we didn't know we were 
related, but by sheer coincidence we discovered our connection.  
Every time I share that story it gives me goose bumps.  One ancestor 
we share is Claro BANUELOS, who once owned the RANCHOS LAS BOCAS and 
RANCHO DE LAS PENAS outside of Huejucar, Jalisco.  My cousin has a 
copy of the deed of sale.  I believe Claro's parents are Jesus 
BANUELOS and Josefa  DEL REAL.  Claro married Vicenta HARO.
 
The second wonderful thing was visiting the www.familysearch.org 
website.  I had tried searching on there before, with very little 
success.  But, I tried again, and there were many of my ancestors and 
relatives.  My paternal grandmother was born a SANDOVAL in Totatiche, 
Jalisco, and left when she was about 11.  She gave me names of her 
grandparents, but didn't know anybody before that.  She said, "I 
think ROJAS was a name of our ancestors, but I can't remember."  
After searching on the website, names began to match.  My great-
grandfather is on the website, along with his parents' names, which 
matched what my grandmother remembered.  My great-uncle, her older 
brother, then remembered that Urbano SANDOVAL, my great-great-
grandfather, was from Huejucar, Jalisco.  I haven't found Urbano's 
ancestors yet.  However, while my SANDOVAL line is still a mystery, I 
did connect with my grandmother's mother's family, the URENAS of 
Totatiche, Jalisco.  I was able to trace the famIly as far back as 
Don Fernando Silvestre de URENA.  Other ancestor last names include 
PONCE, PEREZ, GRANO, TOSTADO, COVARRUBIAS (COBARRUBIAS), DE ROJAS (DE 
ROXAS), CARLOS DE GODOY, GONZALES, ROBLES, DURAN, SOTO,  HARO, and 
CORDOVA.  My URENA family also intermarried heavily into the VALDES 
family of Totatiche.  I was shocked when I realized my grandmother's 
hazy memory of the ROJAS name was correct.  She knew more than she 
realized!
 
The third and last wonderful experience was the fourth cousin once 
removed I met at a family wedding.  I had never met her before, but 
she has become a main source of information for me.  Her mother still 
lives in Totatiche, and when I told her of the plans my parents and I 
had for visiting Totatiche last summer, she asked us to visit her 
mother.  She also allowed me to borrow a VALDES family genealogy book 
compiled by the town's "historian," a VALDES.  With her help, I was 
able to discover that I am related to the first Archbishop of 
Acapulco.  My family and I visited Totatiche, Huejucar, and the 
RANCHO LAS BOCAS last summer.  The most touching moment came when my 
maternal grandmother, granddaughter to Don Claro BANUELOS, found the 
BANUELOS home, a small, old and not very distinguished home.  She 
realized, however, that the home was most likely the site of her 
mother's birth-- my great-grandmother described a specific tree that 
she remembered as a young child, and it still stands today.  We also 
visited Totatiche, where I uncovered another astonishing relationship-
- I'm related to a saint!  San Cristobal MAGALLANES is my fourth 
cousin, four times removed.  
 
I would like to say that I was not able to compile the family 
genealogy all on my own.  I have just put the names all in one 
place.  However, my experiences have given me a deep appreciation for 
those relatives and people, who by simply contributing some names, 
have allowed me to extend my family tree to over 10,000 people.  The 
internet was a mother lode of genealogical information, and made my 
job easier.  Of course, I'm not finished yet.  I haven't found 
everyone.  I still need to get the microfilm rolls through the LDS 
Family History Center so I can add more of my relatives to my 
database.  I'm also hoping to find cousins through this group.  So, 
if your family hails from Huejucar, RANCHO LAS BOCAS, or Totatiche or 
from the surrounding area, let me know.  I'm also trying to connect 
with my SANDOVAL and HARO relatives.
 
Thanks for reading this long email!
 
Rosalinda
 
 
PS-- I just wanted to add some good news-- through this group I've 
already connected with a couple of cousins-- thanks Joseph for this 
great group!!