SOZA FAMILY NEWSLETTER June 1, 1972

The dedication of the Jose Maria Sosa House as the "Casa del Gobernador" in downtown Tucson, by Mrs. Richard M. Nixon was an experience long to be remembered and cherished by those Sosa / Soza relatives present. We regret that time did not permit notifying everyone.

We have proposed and have tentatively reserved a room, to be designated as the "Jose Maria Sosa Room", for the purpose of displaying the Soza family genealogy, documents, photographs, and other related items of interest. We have been informed that it is the policy of the Tucson Heritage Foundation (THF), who is doing the actual restoration of the house, to ask any organization or group who wishes to have a room in the house, to donate $5,000.00 for its restoration.

Although the house was originally built by Jose Maria Sosa, only by donating $5,000.00 will our family receive the distinction and recognition that a "Jose Maria Sosa Room" would bring to our family.

Because I feel very strongly about what future generations of Sosa / Soza descendants will know about and think about their rich history and heritage, I am calling upon 700 Sosa / Soza families for donations to make the "Jose Maria Sosa Room" a reality.

We need 50 families to donate $100.00 each, or 100 families to donate $50.00 each, but donations of any size are welcome as we must meet the $5,000.00 requirement.

To the Sosa families receiving our correspondence for the first time, we must tell you that for the past 18 months I have been compiling a Sosa / Soza family genealogy, covering primarily the Arizona families descending from Second Ensign Jose Maria Sosa (1755-1811) Document facsimiles obtained through the courtesy of the Bancroft Library, Berkeley November 11, 1976 and donated to AHS. of the Tucson Presidio, and was a second corporal in 1778 and promoted to sergeant in 1782. A second Jose Maria Sosa was the Civil Administrator of the Tumacacori Mission in 1834-36. The third Jose Maria Sosa built the house now known as the "Casa del Gobernador" because Gov. John C. Fremont lived in the house in 1882.

All Sosa and Soza descendants are invited to send me their family tree as we want our work to be as complete as possible; plus we are anxious to trace our roots, if possible to Lt. Gov. Gaspar Castano de Sosa, Nuevo Leon, Nueva Espana (1590), and partner with Hernan Cortes in mining ventures in 1538-41.