Sunday, April 27, 2014

Who is this adorable girl named Cuba?


It's funny how we are drawn to certain people. I have many pictures of people I don't know anything about and yet Cuba has called out to me. I'm sure her name has a lot to do with my curiosity as I think its sounds exotic and it isn't a common name.



I have a few pictures of Cuba. On the front of the photo above in my dads handwriting is: Friend of Dads  Cuba.



I also have this picture of Cuba and my grandfather (Francis Harold Saunders). On the back of the photo is written: Cuba & Doc. This was also written in my dads handwriting.


My thinking went something like this. This is a friend of my grandfathers and they know each other well enough for a picture to be taken of them then they were small. My grandfather was born on Roberts Island so she must be from this area. I hunted around the census records checking out neighbors in the area with no results.

So move forward in time and I'm looking up relatives in Vallecito and what do I find but the following.
  
1910 Census: Cuba M Saunders
1900 Census: Mildred C Saunders
Cuba was my Grandfathers 1st Cousin. They shared the same Grandfather Moses Saunders.  She was born and raised in Vallecito. I did a little more digging and was able to connect with Cuba's grandsons wife. She confirmed Cuba and Mildred are one and the same. Cuba is a nickname. She will always be Cuba to me!  
There are several pictures of Cuba/Mildred in the book Vallecito History mentioned a few posts back.

No better lesson learned then by first hand experience. Never assume anything when doing research. Always rely on a consensus of information to lead you in the right direction. 

Thanks for sharing your time with me!

6 comments:

  1. Susan, she is adorable! So glad you were able to figure out the connection!

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  2. Cuba is so cute! Congrats on finding out how she is connected to your family!

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  3. The name would have caught my attention also. I just love unusual names and know that there just has to be a story behind it. Good job on digger deeper to learn more about your family!

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  4. Susan,

    I want to let you know that your blog post is listed in today's Fab Finds post at http://janasgenealogyandfamilyhistory.blogspot.com/2014/05/follow-friday-fab-finds-for-may-2-2014.html

    Have a fantastic weekend!

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  5. Great detective work Susan. Unusual names do help when tracking ancestors don't day. It's luck she used it on the census!

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  6. Thanks to everyone for all the support!

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