This work follows on the heels of three other volumes ⁷ and is intended to bring closure to this writer's familial research project that began very innocently in 1965. In the years that followed, much has been discovered and learned about the origin of the Sosa, Soza families.⁸

In the years since 1965, massive volumes of information has been accumulated; establishing and corroborating the Antonio Campa Soza family's roots in Sonora, Nueva España, and then into southern Arizona.

The Sosa surname appears in the New World as early as 1530 in Mexico City, as shown in NEW WORLD ODYSSEY,⁹ then northward into New Mexico, Texas and Sonora in 1726 at the Fronteras Presidio.¹⁰ This volume traces the arrival and subsequent northward migration of Sosa surnamed families from 1530 through 1726. While this research was beneficial and fruitful, to date, no direct familial relation has been found connecting those earlier Sosa arrivals and the Arizona branches.

The reader will experience and savor parts of American history; encompassing the major and climactic events that affected the history, geography, life and times of Antonio's family, to wit:

United States and Mexican War of 1846-1848
Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo of 1848
Gadsden Purchase of 1854-56
Civil War of 1861-1865
Homestead Act of May 20, 1862
Territory of New Mexico & Arizona
Territory of Arizona 1863
Arizona Statehood

It is further hoped that the reader will accept this effort as a tribute to those brave and valiant pioneers that have gone on before. Homage is paid to the countless men, women and children, who at constant peril to their person and property, travelled across the Sonoran Arizona desert, on foot, on horseback or by wagon train, to conquer, settle and develop a hostile frontier.

They originally came with the sword and the cross. They stayed and sought to tame the land, raise families, cattle and crops. They endured the harshness of the land and the scarcity of water. They experienced changes in customs, government, language and sovereignty. They encountered, endured, and survived.

The legacy that those forbearers left for those that followed, is a stoic, but strong indomitable spirit of perseverance. For the countless descendants of Alferez José Maria Sosa and Doña Rita Espinosa, may these words add knowledge and luster to their ancestry and lineage. May it bring honor to, and pride in their two and half century New World odyssey.

Continue with: Dedication and Memoria