My mother was nine years old when her brother Gabriel Brambila died tragically. Gabriel was born March 17, 1883 in Ameca, Jal, Mexico at 8:30 p.m. Gabriel's father Felipe Neri Brambila was a circuit judge. His mother was Florencia Contreras de Brambila. Gabriel was the second child after Jose Miguel. My mother never talked about his childhood because Gabriel was twenty one years old when my mother was born. Nevertheless, his tragic death must have left a yearning for keeping in contact with Gabriel's widow and his children.
Gabriel became a locomotive engineer during the turbulent years of the Mexican revolution. My mother tells me that it was not unusual for trains to operate without lights as to avoid robberies and sabotage. On the night on September 23, 1913, Gabriel was ordered to operate a train with the head light turned off. According to my grandfather's unpublished book, Gabriel's train collided with another train in a place called Los Ranchos, located between Chihuahua and El Doro. He died instantly. His widow Josefina Garcia relocated to Laredo, Texas with two small children named Luis and Maria Guadalupe. My grandfather lost contact with the family.
My mother heard that Gabriel's widow had moved to the United States. When my mother immigrated to the United States, she asked me to inquire with the US Census Bureau as to Gabriel's family whereabouts. I was unsuccessful.
I conducted an internet search recently. I searched for the name Gabriel Brambila. The search yielded an obituary of Maria Guadalupe Salinas, daughter of Gabriel Brambila. Maria Guadalupe Salinas, according to the Corpus Christi Caller Times' obituary, was the daughter of Gabriel Brambila and Josefina Garcia. According to the obituary dated Friday October 8, 1999, Mrs. Salinas was born December 12, 1909. I speculate that she must have been four years old at the time of her father's death.
I have discovered new information lately. A friend provided me with a copy of the marriage certificate of Gabriel and Josefina. The original is written in Spanish, so I translated the document to English.
In the margin, the Spanish word Presentacion means introduction. So this is an introduction of Gabriel Brambila and Josefina Garcia.
Act 491. This act is being written in the city of Monterrey on first November, 1908. The judge states: I am a judge of the second civil court. At seven o’clock in the evening I was summoned to 85 Guillermo Paredes Street by the interested parties. Appearing before me is Gabriel Brambila and Josefina Garcia, who are celibate. Gabriel is 25 years old. He is a mechanic. He was born in Ameca, Jalisco. He now resides in Dona Cecilia, Tamaulipas (Now Ciudad Madero, Tamaulipas. My parentheses). He is the legitimate son of attorney at law Felipe N. Brambila and Florencia Contreras.
The latter (Josefina) is seventeen years old. She was born in Linares, Nuevo Leon and she resides in this community. She is the legitimate daughter of Luis Antonio Garcia (deceased) and Tranquilina Ramirez
The bride and groom expressed the desire to contract matrimony according to established laws. It is understood that since Josefina is a minor, her mother gave permission for her to marry Gabriel.
Witnesses. For Gabriel Brambila: Ramon Dias and Manuel Reyes. For Josefina: Ramon Perez and Luis de la Rosa. I am unable to make sense of the last sentence.
This document is signed by Judge Jose A. Alatorrre, Gabriel Brambila and Josefina Garcia Ramirez.
A wonderful thing happened on March 7, 2018. I was able to connect with Gabriel Brambila III through social media. Gabriel (aka Gabe) is the great grandson of Gabriel Brambila, who was born in 1913. We compared notes throughout 2018. Then, the most wonderful thing happened. Gabe and his family visited us on August 9, 2018. Gabe was accompanied by his mom and dad (Gabriel and Francisca) his brother Hector, and Gabe's nephew Aiden. This family reunion means so much to me. It was a fantastic reunion.
Gabriel became a locomotive engineer during the turbulent years of the Mexican revolution. My mother tells me that it was not unusual for trains to operate without lights as to avoid robberies and sabotage. On the night on September 23, 1913, Gabriel was ordered to operate a train with the head light turned off. According to my grandfather's unpublished book, Gabriel's train collided with another train in a place called Los Ranchos, located between Chihuahua and El Doro. He died instantly. His widow Josefina Garcia relocated to Laredo, Texas with two small children named Luis and Maria Guadalupe. My grandfather lost contact with the family.
My mother heard that Gabriel's widow had moved to the United States. When my mother immigrated to the United States, she asked me to inquire with the US Census Bureau as to Gabriel's family whereabouts. I was unsuccessful.
I conducted an internet search recently. I searched for the name Gabriel Brambila. The search yielded an obituary of Maria Guadalupe Salinas, daughter of Gabriel Brambila. Maria Guadalupe Salinas, according to the Corpus Christi Caller Times' obituary, was the daughter of Gabriel Brambila and Josefina Garcia. According to the obituary dated Friday October 8, 1999, Mrs. Salinas was born December 12, 1909. I speculate that she must have been four years old at the time of her father's death.
I have discovered new information lately. A friend provided me with a copy of the marriage certificate of Gabriel and Josefina. The original is written in Spanish, so I translated the document to English.
In the margin, the Spanish word Presentacion means introduction. So this is an introduction of Gabriel Brambila and Josefina Garcia.
Act 491. This act is being written in the city of Monterrey on first November, 1908. The judge states: I am a judge of the second civil court. At seven o’clock in the evening I was summoned to 85 Guillermo Paredes Street by the interested parties. Appearing before me is Gabriel Brambila and Josefina Garcia, who are celibate. Gabriel is 25 years old. He is a mechanic. He was born in Ameca, Jalisco. He now resides in Dona Cecilia, Tamaulipas (Now Ciudad Madero, Tamaulipas. My parentheses). He is the legitimate son of attorney at law Felipe N. Brambila and Florencia Contreras.
The latter (Josefina) is seventeen years old. She was born in Linares, Nuevo Leon and she resides in this community. She is the legitimate daughter of Luis Antonio Garcia (deceased) and Tranquilina Ramirez
The bride and groom expressed the desire to contract matrimony according to established laws. It is understood that since Josefina is a minor, her mother gave permission for her to marry Gabriel.
Witnesses. For Gabriel Brambila: Ramon Dias and Manuel Reyes. For Josefina: Ramon Perez and Luis de la Rosa. I am unable to make sense of the last sentence.
This document is signed by Judge Jose A. Alatorrre, Gabriel Brambila and Josefina Garcia Ramirez.
A wonderful thing happened on March 7, 2018. I was able to connect with Gabriel Brambila III through social media. Gabriel (aka Gabe) is the great grandson of Gabriel Brambila, who was born in 1913. We compared notes throughout 2018. Then, the most wonderful thing happened. Gabe and his family visited us on August 9, 2018. Gabe was accompanied by his mom and dad (Gabriel and Francisca) his brother Hector, and Gabe's nephew Aiden. This family reunion means so much to me. It was a fantastic reunion.
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