Document text
N
Bright Lynn
Las Vegas
Date: Nov. 28, 198
Words: 10/a..4b-dp 4.•
Fubject: Biography
Source of information:
Guadalupe Lupita Gallegos,
Mary Elbe C. De Baca
DEC 5 1938
THE BIOGRAPHY OF GUADALUPE LUPITA GALLEGOS
Note: --Mrs. Gallegos has been too ill lately to talk very
long at a time. Consequently, I have asked her granddaughter,
Mary Elba C. De Baca, to get the remainder of the story of
her life a little bit at a time and, in turn, tell it to me.
After living in Panuelitas where they had the store
Grandmother and her husband moved to Los Alamos where they
lived on a farm owned by her mother. After living there
for about three months Grandfather came home one day look-
ing very eleased with himself, "Guess what," he said, "I've
bought e saw mill at Menuelitas about five miles from where
we lived before." And so Grandmother packed up and they
moved back to Manuelitas.
Grandfather became resteless before long and went away.
Grendmother was left alone with two Indian comeanions, Matia
end Sabina. She bays that they were forced to work very hard.
They arose at four thirty every morning end prepared break-
fast for the peons who eerked at the saw mill and seent the
rest of the day doing housework and other duties. She rem-
embers an4 old man, Juan Antonio, who was an idiot. He would
iit on her doorstep from early morning untie late at night.
This old men had a' brother who was a very popular person and
e smart politician and Juan Antonio would follow him every-
ehere on the dayt that he was not sitting on her doorstep.
Grandmother remembers also that the penitentes would
ptss by her house on their way to the morada, singing, sing-
2
ing all the way. There was no other road and she used to
see them punish themselves as they p,Id by her house.
At night she got a horrible cre eeling as they sang
their sad melancholy songs,:
At the end of three years Grandfather returned home
from his roaming and they moved to San Ilario where they
bought a large store. Grandfather went to Kansas and bought
tw: thousand dollars worth of fine stock. Fine stuff that
the poor laboring people of the community couldn't afford
to buy. As a result the store was not very successful.
They lived at San Ilario for fur years. Four years
was a long time for Grandfather to live in any one place
and his restless nature got the better of him. He wrote
to Grandmother from Carrieito to tell her that he had found
a beautiful place he wanted to buy. He told her to pack
everything and come. She did end there they lived in a
little shack until their home was built. Carrizito was a
beautiful place but the nearest neighbors lived six miles
away. During the day Grandmother was left alone with a
little girl, the daughter of a neighbor. At night the owls
would hoot and the little girl would say, "Those are witches."
Before long her husband tired of the new home and
decided to move to El Pajarito. Here they built a lovely
two story home. For three years she lived there while her
husband contnued to travel. She disliked El Pejarito very
much. It was a hot desert land with not a single tree.
Maria dnd Sabine joined her here and two days before Christ-
mas she received a letter from her husband telling her to
come to Las Vegas. He had bought a home there. On Christ-
mas day they arrived at Las Vegas. Grandfather had bought
a house on Grand Avenue and there they lived for three years.
Ageen he was struck with the wanderlust and so they moved
to Los Alamos to her father's plate. They lived there for
awhile and they they moved to San Ilario.
They had been in San Ilario only a short time when
Grandfather received word that his mother had died. Im-
mediately he left for Los Alamos and sold Grandmother's
mother's rich farm at thirty-five dollars an acre. With
this money he peyed for his mother's funeral expenses.
This is how he did it: He told Grandmother to sign two
papers and thus without her knowledge gained the right to
sell tho farm. Perhaps you wonder how Grandmother could
have been so dumb. Well, she only twelve years old when
sne married and as her husband was so much older than she
was she was supposed to obey him as one would obey a god.
The second per was a note for ten thousand dollars
to be paid to him. He then advised Grandmother to tell
her parents that she had signed the papers. She told them
but they loved her so much because she was their only child
that they would not go against her wishes and did nothing
abeut it.
Grandfather was supporting all of his brothers and
sisters nnd all of their children on Grandmother' money.
Grandmother couldn't possibly protest for in those days a
wife must obey her husband in all things without question.
4
Now Grandfather had a wicked brother, Isidore Gallegos,
who was as clever and sly as a fox. This man swindled his
brother, his relatives, and everyone he could swindle. Now
my Grandmother's aunt Juanita and her uncle Rumaldo wore very
vealthy. They had no children of their own and so they
brought up mother and a nephew, Felipe, whose mother had
died when he was a baby.
They treated the boy like a prince. They were giving
him an excellent education and loved him as if he had been
their own son. Uncle Isidore probably thought to himself,
"If I can only make trouble and cause Felipe's father to
take him back Aunt Juanita will take one of my children and
bring him up." The wicked fellow then want down to Felipe's
father who was an extremely dumb man and said, "Why don't
you ask Aunt Juanita to give you back your son. He'll now
be able to help you a lot for he's growing big." Thus he
convinced the dumb man and both went b Aunt Juanita.
Aunt Juanita, a spunky woman, said, "You shall not take
Felipe away from me. Take it to court if you wish but
nothing can persuade me to give up Felipe."
"Let him go, Aunt," said the tactful Isidore, "now
you may have whic ever of my sons you want."
Aunt Juanita who knew his character well enough saw
through his little scheme and said, "Although yours may be
blonde not one of them will compare with Felipe's little
finger'?' Now great grandmother owned ten thousand head of
sheep. Grandfather sold them at six dollars a head, making
Grandmother, of course, sign a bill of sale.
5
Her parents were very angry but they swallowed every-
thing for their daughter's sake. They would do anything
to erevent a scandal in the family and besides they hated
to hurt their only daughter. At San Ilario my great or
great, great grandfather owned the Bell Ranch. His name
was Ilario Gonzales. Grandfather, finding himself in need
of money, sold the ranch without great grandfather's knowl-
edge. Great grandfather was very old and when the officers
went to foreclose on the ranch the old man was grief-
stricken and died shortly after.
Grandmother's money and all of her property were
gradually being wasted by grandfather. Several years after
he sold the Bell Ranch my father's father, Manuel C. De
Baca, a lawyer, came over to my Grandmother's mother to
ask if she wanted him to sell her beautiful farms for her
at a considerable sum. She consented and when my grand-
father Baca want to sell them he fould that they had been
sold already.
When Grandfather finished with most of his wife's money
he started in on her wealthy relatives. Grandmother's
favorite aunt, Nanita Lousianita, lived with Grandmother's
parents and she owned one thousand sheep. Grandfather sold
them. He sold her ranches and everything he could get hold
of.
Now my grandrerents had farm and a thousand head of
A
cattle at Cabra Springs. Grandfather made Grandmother sign
paper giving him the right to sell them. He gave the
paper to his brother but died before he could sell it.
6
When my Grandmother's people went to see about the
farm and cattle Grandfather's br:Aher had already taken
possessioL of them.
Now when Uncl Rumaldo, who had brought up Felipe
my mother, died it was discovered that Isidore had
tricked him into making out the insurance in his name.
When Aunt Juanita went for the insurance she was informed
that uncle Isidore had already collected it.
As usual Grandfather was wandering over the country
somewhere. Grandmother came to Las Vegas to visit and
happened to stop at the mailman's home. There her last
baby, who is now Sister M. Dolores at St. Anthony's Mercy
Hospital at Pocatetlo, Idaho, was born.
When her baby was two months old her husband finally
came home. She says that the day before he arrived she
felt a terrible sadness creep over her as if something
awful were going to he-men. Grandfather came home and be-
fore long had a heart attack and died. When he died he
owed a thousan dollars at the bank and Grandmother's father
paid it.
The wicked trouble maker, Isidore, went to tR bang.
and told them that his brother owed a thousand dollars
and advised them to go collect from his widow for she was
very wealthy. The officers went to Grandmother's home with
Isidore as witness. Great Grandfather knew that he had paid
the debt and finally, after looking all ovc:r, he found the
receipt and the 11:.nk sent its apology. Aunt Juanita saw
red and she gave Isidore a Aece of her mind,
Grandfather left nothing for Lupita but her children
to sup,)ort. Waldo Spiess, Grandmother's lawyer, told her
to file suit on the bank; that she could get plenty out
of them, but she wouldn't.
You may wonder why Grandmother's peeple stood for
everything for they were good and noble and honest and they
thought everyone was like themselves. Grandmother had
lots of spunk in after years but then she never dared raise
her voice against hr husband. Her parents would do nothing
to him for fear of hurting their adored daughter.
(To be concluded)