Looking For My Roots

This Mother’s Day, I am spending time organizing old family photos and digitizing Sony microcassette recordings of interviews I made with my mother and other family members in 1996 and 1997.

My mom passed away on January 5, 2008. I think of her every day. I was blessed to have her as my mother, and I am also grateful that she gave me three wonderful siblings. Her love, voice, stories, and example continue to live in all of us.

As I listen to these old recordings, they remind me how precious family memories are. A person’s voice, laugh, stories, expressions, and memories are gifts that no one can replace once they are gone.

If you are fortunate enough to still have your mother, grandmother, aunt, or another beloved elder in your life, take time to record them. Use your phone to make a simple audio or video recording. Ask them about their childhood, their parents, their favorite memories, the places they lived, the food they cooked, the songs they loved, and the lessons they want future generations to remember.

You do not need fancy equipment. You only need a quiet moment, a few thoughtful questions, and the willingness to listen.

One day, those recordings may become one of the most treasured gifts your family owns. They are more than memories. They are a legacy.

This Mother’s Day, I honor my mother by preserving her voice, her stories, and the family history she helped me understand.

1946 – Photo at the Fiestas Patronales in Rincon

Below is Mom in about 1946; her photo was taken at a Fiesta Patronales in Rincón.

1950 US Census – Barrio Cruz, Rincón, Puerto Rico

In the 1950 U.S. census (see https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:6F6C-QG2K?lang=en), Aurora Valentín Ramos was living in Barrio Cruces/Cruz, Rincón, Puerto Rico, with her parents and siblings. The household was enumerated on 10 April 1950 in Enumeration District 32-6, page 21, line 29.

Her father, Tomás Valentín Méndez, was listed as a 56-year-old married white male, born about 1894 in Rincón. He worked as an agricultor in the finca frutas menores industry. Her mother, Monserrate Ramos Muñoz, age 40, was also born in Rincón. Monserrate worked at home making or embroidering cloth gloves, recorded as hacer guantes in the bordado de guantes de tela en el hogar industry. During the last week of March 1950, she worked 20 hours.

1956 – Working in the Garment District in New York City

The following image shows my mom, who is in the middle back, sewing in a factory in the Garment District of New York City in 1956. In the 1950s, she earned $26/week ($24 after taxes) as a seamstress. She paid her brother $10/week for lodging.