Asturian-American Migration Forum

Dear Jomaguca:

My grandmother always told me she had 20 brothers and sisters. Some of my cousins think the number was closer to 18. Twenty-one or eighteen, it really does not matter, it is still a lot of children.

Unfortunately, many did not live to adulthood. By 1926, there were only 8 children living. My grandmother told me that many died as children from illnesses (perhaps they died from the 1918 Spanish Flu epidemic).

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[please do not laugh at my pathetic attempt to translate this message]

Estimado Jomaguca:

Mi abuela dijo que ella tenía veinte hermanos y hermanas. Mis otros primos pensaron que era solamente 18 niños. 21 or 18, no importa porque todavía era muchos niños.

Desafortunadamente, muchos no vivieron para ser adultos. En 1926, solamente ocho niños vivían. Mi abuela me había dicho que muchas hubieran muerto como niños de la enfermedad (posiblemente la gripe española en 1918).

Donna, el mensaje lo has traducido estupendamente ,te damos las gracias porqué tú fuiste la que nos informarte de toda la familia y de verdad deseamos qué encuentres a los demás primos ,un besin

While 18 or 21 children may have been quite uncommon, having large families was often the rule. Reasons may have included religious attitudes or restrictions, the need to have help with work at home, the need to guarantee security in old age, and a lack of effective family planning measures.

My grandparents had 8 children. One, the only girl in the family (Gloria), choked to death on a prune pit. They rushed her to medical help in Clarksburg by streetcar, the only mode of transportation available at that time. Not surprisingly, she was dead on arrival. The modern Heimlich technique would undoubtedly have saved her. She is buried in a cemetery near Spelter, West Virgina, with a statue of a lamb on her tombstone. My father sends money every year to have the grave tended. (I will take over this role when I have to, and hopefully one of my children will do so when I can no longer do it.)

Another child, Julio, died very young of unknown causes. No one in the family knows where he is buried. I'll make an another effort to track him down this year, so he is not lost to history. Of the other 6 children, all boys, the oldest (born in Asturias in 1913) died in 1968. Two others died within the last 5 years. The other three, two in their eighties and one in his seventies, are still going strong. My grandfather died at age 89. Considering the realities of early childhood death, hard and dangerous work and other adverse conditions, some of the old Asturians and their children were (and are) remarkably long lived.

Bob Martinez

Interesting on how many children in a family. My paternal grandmother was one of 14 or 18 kids. My uncles and I are trying to figure that one out. We wrote to a cousin in Madrid, and she came up with 14 names, so we hope to compare those names that a third cousin of mine, and a Forum member, Jim Muniz, is going to obtain from his mother. Jim and I share the same great-grandparents, Andres Gonzalez and Josifa Vega. Our guess is 14 lived and four may have died at birth or thereafter in Spain.

Bob, ask your father the name of the cemetry near Spelter. A lot of Spaniards from Spelter and surrounding area are buried in the Shinnston Masonic Cemetry on Route 19, Shinnston, WV. That's where my grandparents and parents are buried.

Ken

I recently found out that my family is from Gozón, Asturias, so it is very likely that there is some relation. I am going to travel there in July 2004 to meet a cousin and find out more about my family. My grandfather, José Artime (I don’t know the other last name yet) moved to Cuba with his wife Raimunda Vega in their early 20s. José Artime had three sons and a daughter (Bonifacio, Marcelino, José (Pepín), and Margarita. Marcelino (my father) and Pepín are deceased. My grandmother (Raimunda Vega) was also from Gozón.

I understand that the family does not live in Gozón anymore and moved to Avilés, which is close by. If anyone has any information about the Artime family in Gozón or where I could go to find out more information, please let me know. Thanks.

Marzo Artime

Hola Marzo,

The Artime ancestors in my family are also from Gozón, mostly from Samartín (San Martín) de Podes. My grandfather's mother was María Artime Ovies, a native of Gozón. She was 32 years old and living in Salinas when my grandfather was born in 1894. Her father, Miguel Artime, was deceased at the time of my grandfather's birth, and was also a native of Gozón. Miguel was married to Florentina Ovies.

Bob Martínez