Thanks to an Angel

When we met Jim at the Santa Clara Library he didn’t talk much. He just went to work quietly…tenderly opening old file folders full of yellowed newspaper clippings and leaflets.  Knocking on the door of St. Joseph’s Cathedral. Plowing through dingy films of beautifully scripted latin baptismal records made nearly 150 years ago. He headed to History San Jose archive with names and birthdates of our long lost familia Maltos in hand. And he got results!

Jim Riley became our genealogy angel. Having pushed up against the brick wall for a couple of months Jim’s contribution to our search felt like a kind of divine intervention. He found stuff! Cool stuff. Facts that connected us to a real time and place. A flesh and blood mining community in the hills of New Almaden.

We were delighted to learn that our abuelo, Juan Maltos, was a member of the New Almaden Brass Band. That’s him about age 18 right smack in the middle of this portrait Linda and I are calling “The Boys in the Band.” 

Jim had advised us to “go lateral” in our search for family. Now we definitely had somewhere to go with the names of Juan’s band mates.  The names Paredes, Gonzales, Martines, Mercado all began popping up in census records, over and over.  Certain names persisted over time and geography first in Santa Clara county, then later in Calaveras county.  We are grateful to discover the neighbors, godparents, and close friends of the family. And, an extra bonus has been meeting the “owners” of family trees who also know these folks and sharing information and stories with them. 

Source: Santa Clara City Library Genealogy Collection, Mary Hanel Librarian, Jim Riley, genealogist.