Asturian-American Migration Forum

My name is Joyanne Gonzalez and I grew up in Niagara Falls NY, daughter of Nicanor Gonzalez and granddaughter of Encarnacion (Carrill) and Belarmino Gonzalez. I am still information-gathering but I believe they immigrated in 1916 with 2 children Angelo age 5 and Oviedo (Olvido, Veda) age 8.

I am related by marriage to the Barbao family; Olvido married Benbenido. My father Nicanor was born in W. Va. in 1920 but the town is unclear. His birth certificate says Anamoriah but my cousin says it is Anmoore. Can anyone clear this up? All the Spanish people called my dad 'Zip'.

My grandfather worked in Cuba for a few years before he sent for his family in Asturias. There have been posts from jbarbo and Mike Barbao. Since I have spoken with my cousin Sharon (Barbao) Griffee I know that we are distantly related.

I know many other Spanish families in Niagara Falls who have similar backgrounds, but none is able to help me. If there is anyone out there that can give me information, I would be most grateful.
Saludos

Welcome, Joyanne!

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Hi, Joyanne. I too grew up in Niagara Falls. My dad was born in Spelter WV (also called Zeizing after the zinc plant there), not too far from Annmoore. I''m not familiar with any of the names you mentioned. Were there nicknames as well? My Dad's name was Isaac, but he was universally called by his nickname, Jack, after the boxer Jack Dempsey. Apparently he liked to fight when he was a kid, and with six brothers to back him up, seldom lost. If you fought one brother you fought them all, one at a time, over a few weeks. One of the nicknames I remember is "Quack" for Xuacu.

Thanks for the info. Re: names, we associated with a lot of people named Martinez. Consuela and Ricardo Martinez were best friends with my grandparents. They had 3 children: Tino, Margie and Esther. Also the Joe Martinez family. he is a retired physiotherapist. My father and his best friend Ernesto Rodriguez had nicknames: Zip and Perk. Ernie had two brothers Albert and "Spick" (don't remember his real name). Ernie married Dolores Pena.

There were a lot of Gonzalez family members in Niagara Falls in the 50's. My grandmother, whom they called Cantera, adopted 3 boys who immigrated with their parents from Asturias, but were left orphans when their parents died in Pennsylvania. They already carried the name of Gonzalez. They were Charlie, Leo and Henry. I vaguely remember the name Quack. I will ask my mother.

Not only were there many Asturianus in Niagara Falls, but also those from Andalucia and Extremadura. My maternal grandfather was from Quintana de la Serena Badajoz, and I have successfully found his family.

My maternal grandmother tells a fascinating story about being courted. Three Spanish boys took a liking to her and her two sisters. They used to serenade them with Spanish songs and guitar music. The three sisters eventually married the 3. Her sister Irene married Hernan Martinez, her sister Anna married David Romero and she married Benito Sanabria Martin.

In the 50's and 60's there was a Spanish priest who ministered to the community. He was Father Antonio Rodriguez. We also had Spanish picnics every year where they could all meet and commiserate. The things I remember most are the food, the music and arguments about who had the 'purest' Spanish blood and tongue!

I have a picture of my father in 1937 captioned 'Los Milicianos", consisting of all the young Spanish men whose family opposed Franco. My father was 17 in the picture. I will post it as soon as I can get it on a disc.

Luckily my mother is still living so if anyone has other names to share I can ask her. She still has a good memory.

Can anyone clear up my mystery about my father's birthplace? His birth certificate says Annamoriah, W. Va. but my cousin swears it is Anmoore. There are others who say it is Monkey Hollow, but I can only find that in Pennsylvania.

Thank you for your patience with this very long post! Any and all info will be appreciated.
Joyanne

Here's another link

http://www.wvdhhr.org/bph/hsc/vital/birthcert.asp

The physiotherapist was no relation to my family, but I remember him.

Thanks to my distant relative jbarbo, details have been found:
Belarmino "Bill" Gonzales born 1888 in Mieres
Encarnacion Carril Gonzales born 1893 Mieres
Belarmino immigrated in 1911, worked in Cuba before W. Va.; came with his brothers Bernardo and Nicanor
Encarnacion immigrated 1916 with 2 children and her sister Esmerelda.
Last name spelling changed; some used z at the end and others an s.
If anyone has contact information of family members in Mieres, I would be grateful

Monkey Hollow was just outside of Anmoore. I'll have to ask my mom, but I think it was the the east.