Asturian-American Migration Forum

I've already posted this in the "Introductions" thread, and have been discussing things in the Moundsville topic in the "Immigrant Stories", but it would also make sense to post in this section.

Here are the details of my family...as near as my mother can tell them.

My grandfather was Jose Luis Ovies (born in St. Luis, Missouri in 1906). His parents came to America from near Aviles. They were Jose Ovies de Vega (born in Las Chabolas in 1874) and Josefa ("Nina") Garcia y Garcia (born in Las Barzanas in 1880).

Jose's brother, Nicanor Ovies, and his wife, Brida, also came to America.

(It gets tricky, due to the similarity of names -- on both sides of the family...)

Jose's parents were Jose Ovies and Josefa Vega y Inclan. Josefa probably died in Indiana or West Virginia in the mid 1920's. They had another son, Nicanor Ovies, who also came to America. He had a wife named Brida, and several children...Josefina Ovies (Guardado) and Joe -- who later ran the Pepsi plant (owned by his father) in Moundsville, W. Virginia. My mother remembers meeting a relative named Carmina, but is unsure whether she was Josefina's sister or daughter. Josefina's son, Jose Guardado, was a very nice, gentle man who worked at the state penitentiary and may have flown her around in a plane.

Josefa (Garcia y Garcia) was the daughter of Nicolas Garcia and Maria Garcia. Maria died young. Natalia Garcia (a sister...either Josefa's or Nicolas's or Maria's -- sorry, Mom, I'm getting lost, here -- and also a nun, so a Sister ) left her convent to raise Josefa.

(While visiting Spain in 1972, my mother (Alice) met two groups of relatives. She met two "mysterious aunts" in Madrid -- in an apartment near the Prado Retiro -- whom she thinks were sisters of Jose Ovies de Vega. She also met her father's cousin, Angel Garcia, and two of his daughters in Asturias. He had been "Colonel Jefe" in the Guardia Civil and retired to Galicia. He took them to Covadonga and various rivers -- Angel was an avid fisherman.)

Back to Jose and "Nina" Ovies. They ran a tavern and boarding house in St. Louis, Missouri. Later, when he started working for Federated metals, they moved to Indiana. In the 1950's, they lived in a hacienda in Nueva Rosita, Coahuila, Mexico -- he was still working for Federated Metals. Nina eventually spent more of her time in San Antonio, Texas. Their daughter, Anita, lived there. Jose died in San Antonio in 1957. Nina died in 1963.

Their son, Joe (my grandfather) met and married Alice Rose Henry while attending university in Ohio. My mother (one of four children) says that they had dreams of travel, but the Depression...and then War...prevented that. He worked for Ford Motors, living in New Jersey and then Michigan.

Is this helpful to anyone? Does anything sound familiar?

I would really love to reconnect the family wherever possible -- my grandmother, Alice Ovies, had been communicating with Carmen Ovies, but I believe that got lost when Alice passed away a few years ago.

I'm going to be visiting Asturias (unfortunately, only very briefly) in October -- I'm a compulsive photographer and love to share the results. My mother has a few old photographs...as soon as I can (which isn't really very soon at all) I'll scan them and get them to the site.

Rebecca, yo creo qué la mejor qué te puede ayudar sobre el apellido OVIES es mí prima Donna, también te puedo decir qué puede coincidir el apellido y no ser familia, pero el apellido OVIES no en demasiado corriente ,mi tatarabuela se llamaba MARIA ARTIMEZ OVIES ,era natural de San Martín de Podes concejo de Gozón.

-------------
translated by Art

Rebecca, I believe that the best person to help you with the last name OVIES is my cousin Donna [username: "Sweeney"]. I can also tell you that the last name can be the same even if the families aren't related. But the last name OVIES isn't very common. My great-great-grandmother was called MARIA ARTIMEZ OVIES and was a native of San Martín de podes, in the "county"of Gozón.

Hi Rebecca,

First of all sorry for my english. I hope you can understand it.

The origin of my family is in PERDONES, a small village close to the village of OVIES. Both are in the "concejo" of GOZON, in the northern part of Asturias.

On the begining of 1900´s (?), my grandparents come to live to Valliniello, (then near to Avilés, actually part of the town), where my father was born.

On the 60´s he get married with my mother and he come to live to Gijon, where they both died and where I, my wife, and my son, (yes: a 2 year old new Ovies!!!), actually were living.

Probably we are not exactly family, but i think the "original root" could be to be the same.

Anyway, if you need more info, please drop me a line.

Fernando