Asturian-American Migration Forum

I'm wondering if anyone has information on the Asturian community in Moundsville, West Virginia. I know my family had several connections to this community. I know that the "Posada" Gonzalez family lived there, Frank Vasquez, and also a family by the name of Ovies in the 1940s. Mr. Ovies was a distributor for Pepsi-Cola. I don't know much more.

I'm interested in what types of work did Spaniards did in Moundsville? How did the Moundsville experience different from that of Asturianus in company towns like Grasselli or Annmore? Were there a good number of Spaniards in Moundsville?

Any information, whether related directly to my questions or not, would be helpful. Thanks.

My great-grandparents settled in Moundsville to work in a smelter near there. My grandfather was raised there and I still have family up there. Our family names are Vallina, Garcia, and Alonso. There was a whole section of Moundsville that was only Spanish, and if you went there, you would hear little, if any, English spoken.

My Mother's Family settled in Moundsville, West Virginia may years ago. They came over to work the Smelter.

At the time they came over the owners of the Smelter built homes for the miners to live in. Everyone in ths Community spoke Spanish and they were close knit. That area was always called "The Farm". The Spanards, for the most part, had vegetable gardens in the back and they smoked their own chozos. They were built all the same and were rented for a small amount of money. My Mother's family name was Montes...Adeline and Adelino...I still have Montes family living there.

My Father's family also settled there and lived in those homes. When the Smelter closed it was very difficult for those people to get work.

Barbara and Xose,

Thanks for the added information on Moundsville.

I'll have to ask my father about the names you mention. While the marjority of my family lived in Harrison, County West Virginia, they did have connections in Moundsville. Do either of you know how Moundsville compared in size to the other Asturian settlements in Spelter or Anmoore?

Hi to all and especially Barbara Novellino, cousin.

Regarding families in Moundsville, WV:

My grandparents immigrated first to Clarksburg, WV and then to
Moundsville, WV, but I'm not sure when they moved.

This is what I know:
My grandfather was Adelino Montes and grandmother was Adelina
Montes.
My grandmother name was Fernandez, her father was Manuel Valdes.

Adelino Montes was born in Sama, Spain in 1878.
Adelina Montes was born in Lada, Spain in 1878 also.

My grandfather first went to Cuba to work, and came through Ellis Island
Oct. 12, 1907 on the SS Morro Castle.

My grandmother came through Ellis Island July 22, 1914.
She apparently came to Clarksburg peviously because when she came
through Ellis Island, my father, Manuel and his sister were with her and
they were born in Clarksburg. Also with her was his brother Julio who was
born in Lada Spain, 1905. They had a daughter born in Spain and I believe
died as a young child in Clarksburg and lost another son when he was small. They had one other daughter born in
Clarksburg, WV.


Adelina Montes also gave the name Valdez on the ship's manifest- I
am guessing her father's name possibly.

They lived at the "spanish farm" on Purdy Avenue until his death in
1943 at which time my aunt moved my grandmother to New York to be
with her. My grandfather worked at the smelter here along with the other
spaniards. He was a furnace man.

My father's last job was a guard at the WV Pennitentiary here in
Moundsville, WV. He died in 1955, having acute asthma.

Manuel Montes had four children: Thomas, who died last Feb, after many
years of illness.
Myself, Margaret, a brother and a sister, all living here at the current time.

My father's sister married Julius Garcia Alonso.
My father's brother, Julio, is deceased.

My grandfather according to the ships manifest was from Asturias and his
last place of residence on his petition for naturalization papers was
Puenta, Grande, Cuba.

I will try to get the other names of families at the "farm", some who
are still there I believe.
Margaret

The Ovies mentioned are relatives of mine. My mother speaks of visiting them as a child and enjoying...I think she said Royal Crown Cola, but I may be confused.

I can ask her for more details...Her father was Jose (Joe) Luis Ovies. The story has always been that the family was from near Aviles, but there is a photo of a house that has "Las Barzanas" written on the back -- we had always thought that to be the name of the house, but it may be a "poblacion" near Piedras Blancas in Castrillon.

Anyway, are there any questions you would like me to ask my mother?

Yes, Rebecca, it would be interesting to know more about the Ovies family.

Hi,

The Ovies family had a Pepsi Cola Bottling Company in Moundsville, West Virginia many years ago. I remember, as a child, going through there on a tour. My Uncle Julius Montes drove a truck for them at one time.

I don't know if any of them are still living. I thought that a few of the sisters moved to Florida, but I'm not sure. My Mother is turning 92 in July and I think some of them were about the same age.

Barbara Alonso Novellino

Hi:

IN ANSWER TO THE PEPSI COLA BOTTLING CO:

MY FATHER, MANUEL MONTES WORKED THERE WHEN I WAS A CHILD

IT WAS RUN BY JOE OVIES. THERE IS STILL SOME FAMILY HERE

ALTHOUGH HE IS DECEASED.

I BELIEVE SEVERAL SPANIARDS FROM THE "SPANISH FARM " DID WORK

THERE AT SOME TIME. JULIO MONTES WAS BROTHER TO MANUEL AND

THEIR MOTHER AND FATHER WERE FROM LADA AND SAMA SPAIN,

AS I HAVE STATED IN AN EARLIER MESSAGE.

MARGARET

Efectivamente, Las Barzanas es un pueblin de Piedras Blancas o mejor dicho una aldea ,como muchas aldeas o pueblinos como Naveces, Bayas ,Pillarno, San Martín de Laspra etc....

____________________________________
Translated by Bob

Actually, Las Barzanas is a little town in Piedras Blancas [Castrillon] or perhaps it would be better to call it a village, like many villages or small towns such as Naveces, Bayas, Pillarno, San Martin de Laspra, etc...

Thanks for the Las Barzanas clarification!

I spoke with my mother, who, as a child, visited Moundsville with her father, Jose Luis Ovies. (I'll go into more detail about my family in the Introductions section of the forum...)

She remembers that Uncle Nick (Ovies) was in charge of the Pepsi plant and owned a large craftsman-style home with a very big yard. My grandfather's aunt, Josefina Guardado, had a son named Jose Guardado, who worked for a while at the State Penitentiary.

My mother says that she and her brother were taken around the area in an airplane, much to the upset of her mother. She can't remember if Jose Guardado flew the plane or if it was someone else.

She also remembers (vaguely) that the Moundsville Ovies ran a sports league (football...either soccer (futbol) or American football?) for awhile.

She met a Carmina Ovies while visiting, but can't remember if she was the daughter or younger sister of Josefina...My mother says that by the time the family reached Moundsville on their annual trips, she would have been overwhelmed from meeting her mother's countless relatives in Ohio...plus, the Ovies spoke Spanish.

Hi Rebecca,

A person who could probably answer a lot of your questions about the Ovies family is my cousin Margaret...she posts on this website frequently and she still lives in Moundsville.

My Mother who was born and raised in Moundsville is living with me. She is now 92 years old and its difficult to get any information from her. However, hopefully this is correct. NIck Ovies owned the Pepsi Cola Bottling Company...he had four children...Pat, Carmina, Josefina and Joe. The only one left is Pat and she is living in Florida.

Jose Guordado's wife was a sister to Nick Ovies and they have two children Carmina and Jose who still live in Moundsville.

Thats about all she can remember. Barbara Alonso Novellino

Thank you, Barbara -- I'll pass the news on to my mother (living in Oregon without internet). That's fantastic. I'm at work, or I'd write more. Thanks again for the news. I've posted a big description of my family in the Introductions thread...

I've already posted this elsewhere, but I'll add it to this thread since it seems germane.

My grandfather, Victor Martínez Artime, was born at 3:00 a.m., January 25, 1894, in Salinas, Asturias. His father was José Martínez Alonso, a native of Muros de Nalón. He was 46 years old and living in Salinas when my grandfather was born. This means that he would have been born about 1848. His paternal grandfather was Gregorio Martínez, a native of Muros (de Nalón), who was a day laborer living in Salinas when my grandfather was born. My grandfather's paternal grandmother was Aurelia Alonso, a native of Muros, also a day laborer, and also living in Salinas when my grandfather was born

My grandfather's mother was Maria Artime Ovies, a native of Gozón (a district like Castrillón, not a town). She was 32 years old and living in Salinas when my grandfather was born (She would have been born about 1862.). Her father, Miguel Artime, was deceased at the time of my grandfather's birth, and a native of Gozón. Miguel was married to Florentina Ovies, who was also deceased at the time of my grandfather's birth, and who was also native of Gozón. Some of the death certificates I have suggest that the Gozón ancestors were from San Martín (Samartín in asturianu) de Podes.

The distance from Gozón and Salinas to your ancestor's towns is not far at all. Salinas to Barzanas is walking distance (well, I do walk quite a bit).

Bob Martinez

Just one question, is Moundsville a town where a great Indian monument is placed? A certain snake-shaped giant mound? Or am I wrong?
If so, it would be amazing, I was reading short ago about it in a book about pre-conquest America, and now here it comes again!
The world is not such a big place, after all.