SOZA FAMILY NEWSLETTER Vol, 1, No. 2 May 31, 1993

Greetings again, and thanks for the responses to Issue No. 1.
Several events have occurred and new information has been obtained, consequently, it was deem prudent to disseminate the information while it is still fresh.

JAMES E. OFFICER AWARD
was sponsored by the Soza Family Reunion Committee at the April Arizona Historical Convention at Bullhead City, Arizona. The award was established with great sincerity and with deep appreciation for Dr. James E. Officer appearance as guest speaker at the 1990 Soza Family Reunion. He is the author of the book: Hispanic Arizona 1536-1856, University of Arizona Press.

In the Convention's Hispanic Arizona session, the best paper was submitted by Patricia Herring, Tucson, writing on "General Jose C. Urrea, 1797-1849, Tucsonese Preclaro, Illustrious Tucsonan". She was presented with a $300.00 check.

A second paper: "Governor Gandara's Campaign To End The Papago was offered by Bill Hoy, Bowie, AZ, while a third paper: "The Missionaries of San Xavier del Bac" by Mark David Duplissis, Tempe, was offered for consideration, but was not read.

In another session, Scott Solliday, Tempe presented: The Journey to Rio Salado; Hispanic Pioneers in Central Arizona". This paper is important to the Extended Soza, Sosa Families as it contains references to Antonio, Juan, Placido, and Nicolas Soza, and the Sotelo family in Tempe.

Scott Solliday, curator of the Tempe Historical Museum, located the marriage record for Juan Soza and Jesus Sotelo. The Florence, Arizona Catholic Church entry reads: Juan Soza, son of Calistro Sosa and Paulina Rodriguez, married Jesus Sotelo, daughter of Tiburcio Sotelo and Manuela Sanchez, on July 19, 1873.

Descendants of Juan Soza and Jesus Sotelo should note this information as is taken directly from church records.

The enclosed Soza genealogical research notes were compiled by Scott Solliday, who created a database of over 100 hispanic families that settled in central Arizona.

ALFEREZ JOSE MARIA SOSA
Our ancestor, was born c. 1746 at Jecori, Sonora, Nueva Espana (Mexico), and Father Juan Nentvig's RUDO ENSAYO, written in 1764, established the site between Cumpas and Moctezuma (formerly Oposura). Cumpas can be reached via Douglas , then south about 100 miles.

SOSA-CARRILLO-FREMONT-MUSEUM
is the new name for the previously named John Charles Fremont House / Casa del Gobernador. The name change resulted from action taken on September 11, 1992 by the State Board of Directors of the AHS.

A new historic marker will be prepared and the "proposed" text reads:

"This properly originally belonged to the pioneering Sosa family. In 1878, Manuela Sosa and husband Michael McKenna sold part of it to Jesus Suarez, wife of prominent businessman Leopoldo Carrillo, who built this Sonoran-style house in 1880. In 1881, Territorial Governor John C. Fremont rented the dwelling. His daughter, Elizabeth lived here for above six months. Carrillo descendants occupied the house until 1968, when it became part of the new Convention Center. The THF saved and restored the structure which is listed in the National Register of Historic Places."

The Soza Room remains intact and contains important family memorabilia. When you visit there, be sure and identify yourself as a family member.

NEWSLETTER DONORS
Have been very generous and made possible this and a future mailing possible. We are pleased to acknowledge the following person, for their generosity:

Henry V. Soza Carlos V. Soza Robert L. Soza
Soza Trucking Sandra Couch Joe H. Rodriguez
Ben M. Soza Cornelio Soza Dollie L. Halbrook
Vivian Nickell Roy Sosa Josephine Cronin
Susie S. Lee Elsa McWilliams Tillie Yanez Franco

To control cost, only one newsletter per address in being sent. Please make copies and send to other members of your family.

HISPANIC HOMESTEADERS
The San Pedro River Valley was the subject of a recent research project by this writer. Official homestead records were examined for the period 1870-1908, and covers the area between Winkleman and Tombstone.

The paper needs additional research and refinement before it can see the light of day. If you have documented information on this subject, please send me a note. Very importantly, if you lived in the San Pedro River Valley, send me your remembrances or stories that may have been told you by your parents or grandparents. Sincere and best wishes to all and special thanks to our donors.

ADDENDUM - SOZA - Research by Scott Solliday
"The Soza (Sosa) family is one of the oldest Hispanic families in northern Sonora and Arizona. In 1598, there were two prominent Sosa families with Don Juan de Onate in New Mexico colonization. See Historia de la Nueva Mexico, 1610 by Gaspar Perez De Villagra. Translated and Edited by Miguel Encinas, Alfred Rodriguez, and Joseph P. Sanchez. University of New Mexico Press, Albuquerque 1992. The earliest written reference to the family was on 17 November 1706, when Nicolasa Sosa, a widow and her daughter, Francisca Sosa were married in a double wedding to Juan Gonzalez de Zamora, a widower, and his son, Miguel Gonzalez de Zamora. The ceremony was performed by Father Eusebio Kino at the home of Captain Pedro de Peralta at San Juan Basochuca, thirty miles northeast of Arizpe. By the 1740's there were several Sosa's living at Guevavi Mission. The following entries were listed on the mission register.

1745 Andres and Gertrudis de Soza, brother and sister, were living at Guevavi.
1745 Juanita Rita Sosa, daughter of Joseph Ignacio Sosa and Maria Esmerencia, was baptized.
1745 Manuela de Sosa (an Apache, apparently adopted) was living at Guevavi.
1747 Don Manuel de Sosa married Maria Nicolasa Gomez de Silva.
1748 Don Manuel de Sosa died on 20 January 1748.
1750 Nicolas Joseph de Sossa married Carmen de Luque.

In 1774, Jose Maria Sosa, a 28 year old presidio soldier arrived at Tubac; two 41 years later, he helped establish the new presidio at Tucson, Jose Maria Sosa was born about 1747 at Tecori, and was listed as being "Spanish". By 1786, he had reached the rank of Alferez or second Ensign, and by 1797, Don Jose Maria Sosa was retired and living in Tucson with his wife Dona Rita Espinosa. He died about 1810. His descendants would later be among the first families to settle central Arizona.

There was also Manuel Vicente de Sosa, a soldier in the Tucson garrison, 1778-83. He is listed in the 1797 census of Tucson as Vicente Sosa, with his wife, Manuela Chamorro. Others listed as living in Tucson at the time include Eugenio Sosa, Rosa Sosa, and Mariana Sosa. About 1820, Gertrudis Sosa married Jose Antonio Orozco at Tumacacori Mission.

Jose Maria Sosa's son Jose Maria Sosa II, became civil administrator of the Tumacacori Mission land about 1831. About 1836, he received the Torreon Land Grant, located between Tubac and Tumacacori. One of his sons, Manuel Sosa, was the first justice of peace Tubac, and also served as a scout for the U.S. ARMY. When Manuel was killed in an Apache raid in 1850, his widow, Luisa Campa, married his brother, Calistro, according to Mexican custom. Calistro sold the grant in 1853 and moved with his wife and their sons Placido, Antonio, and Juan to Rillito, then to Tanque Verde, and eventually to the San Pedro Valley. Soon after the family filed for homestead land, Placido and Juan sold their interest to Antonio, who married Jesus Moreno and raised fourteen children on their ranch. Antonio Soza later built an adobe church, La Capilla de San Antonio de Padua de Lisboa, and a school, and hired a teacher to instruct the children of the settlement. Community became ... Redington. 0 Redington was founded by the Redfield brothers, and initially chose the name Redfield. To meet postal requirements, and qualify for post office designation, the name Reddington was selected.

Juan Soza moved from the San Pedro Valley to the Tempe area in 1871 and settled in the village of San Pablo, on the south side of Tempe Butte. He was born at the convent in Tucson on 24 November 1851. he had worked for the government as an Indian scout, carried mail on horseback on the Tempe-Tucson route, and drove a stage coach between Tempe and Prescott.

He and his brother, Placido Soza, worked for Charles Hayden, extending Hayden Canal from the old Kirkland-McKinney ditch, building the mill and ferry, and clearing farm land. Juan Soza went back to Tucson for a while, and apparently to Florence. An entry in the Florence church register reads: Juan Soza, son Calistro Sosa and Paulina Rodriguez, married Jesus Sotelo , daughter of Tiburcio Sotelo and Manuela Sanchez, on July 19, 1873."

Juan and Jesus Maria Sotelo Soza moved to Tempe in 1873. He had rights to free irrigation water for the work he had done on the Tempe canal, and started a farm on eighty aces west of Hayden's Ferry. He later moved to his mother-in-law's land, at the southeast corner of what is now University and Rural. He became an influential leader in the Hispanic community, and served three terms as deputy sheriff under Carl Hayden. Juan died on 5 February 1915.

Little is known about Juan Soza's children. Jose Maria Soza owned and operated a hay baling machine. Juan S Soza, (Jr.) lived on South Rural Road most of his life, and worked as a teamster, hauling supplies by wagon to dam construction sites on the upper Salt River. Jose Soza and Manuel Soza were officers of the Liga Protectora Latina, an important mutualista, mutual aid society, from 1915-1918.