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!