Page 66 of Kissing Kin
“Which were—”
“Land grants given to the heads of families to encourage immigration. Based on the date they arrived, family men got a league and a labor of land, or roughly 4,000 acres, while single men got about 1,500 acres, and second-class headrights received 640 acres.”
“That’s a lot of land.”
“It is today, but back then, land was dirt cheap.” Mamie smiled over her shoulder as she typed in an address and ran a search. “A Peter Pearson sold 640 acres to Isaac Turner, and he sold the land to Mateo Ramirez.”
“Mateo.” Repeating the name under my breath, I recalled Rosie’s story.
“You know the name?”
“I recognize it, but I doubt it’s the same man. What year did Ramirez buy the land?”
“Eighteen-forty-five.”
“No, the Mateo I’m thinking of wouldn’t have been born until the late 1870s.” Grimacing, I shook my head. “It couldn’t be the same person.”
“Possibly, it was the man’s father or grandfather…?”
“Maybe.” I brightened at the idea. “How long did the land stay in the Ramirez family?”
“Apparently it’s still in the family, though they sold off or bequeathed small parcels. Let me check.” Mamie scrolled through the pages. “Here’s another Mateo Ramirez.”
Could this be Marianna’s first love? “What’s the year?”
“Eighteen-ninety-eight.”
“Really? That’s the right timeframe.” I moved closer to read over Mamie’s shoulder. “Does it say anything else about him?”
“Only that he bought the land November first.”
I recalled Rosie’s timeline. “So, Marianna would’ve been married to Ramon.”
“Who’s Marianna?” Mamie half turned in her seat.
“Sorry…I was thinking aloud. She was Luke’s great-great-grandmother.” I glanced at the screen’s charts and tables. “Too bad this site only records statistics.”
“What do you mean?”
“Wish it showed family trees, as well—you know, who married who or when they were born or died.”
“A genealogy.” Mamie nodded as she opened another browser and typed in a link. “This site shows lineage-linked ancestor trees, so maybe you’ll find what you need here.”
A customer waved from the circulation desk.
“I have to check out his books.” Mamie jumped to her feet. “Have a seat and take your time searching.”
I typed in Mateo Ramirez, Marianna Rodriguez, Marianna Garcia, and Ramon Garcia but found no leads. A dead end…Giving up, I decided to search my family tree instead, starting with my grandmother, Milly Taylor.
The name showed up with a link.
Not believing my eyes, I reread it. I was an only child, and so was my mother. I thought we had a family shrub instead of a tree. Intrigued, I clicked the link. Sure enough. There’s my mother’s name listed beneath Milly’s.
Not only did the tree show the next generation and several previous generations that led back to Cadence and Ben, but it linked Milly to a second family tree through her marriage to a man named Matthew Taylor.
I wonder why Grandma never talked about her husband… I followed the tree back a generation to Matthew’s parents, Raymond Taylor and Sofia Ramirez. Ramirez? Could Sofia be related to Mateo? No, Ramirez is a common name, but Sophia’s name is highlighted.
I clicked the link, leading to a third chart of the Perez family. Sofia Ramirez was the daughter of Valentina (Tina) Isabella Perez and Mateo Ramirez.