In Search of Secondary Sources

Hi Everyone! I feel like all I've been doing this week is reading, online as well as books, articles, you name it. But this has resulted in a better grasp on the subject of my blog.

My interest in Maria Luisa Peralta has taken me in many directions. This quote written by Rosaura Sanchez and Beatrice Pita in their book, Conflict of Interest: the letters of Maria Amparo Ruiz de Burton, really describes my journey so far, they write,"archival research is itself a painstaking task; it is slow detective-like work, where one finding opens up new avenues of investigation often ending in archival deadends. Following up on different leads can become a daunting task, and establishing parameters is only possible after a critical mass of material has been gathered. (xv)" That about sums it up! I've been searching for valuable secondary sources and surprisingly I have found many I think can be helpful in one way or another.

So allow me to share with you my adventures as of late then I'll tell you what my subject is developing into. Last week, I searched for Maria Luisa Peralta and found that Oakland has a historical site for the Peralta family. It's great! So my sweet husband suggested we go check it out. Isn't he wonderful?! On Saturday afternoon, we got in the car and drove to Oakland. I believe that I found alot of useful information there. It was interseting to me that they had so many pictures and information on Maria's brothers and her father but nothing on her mother, sisters or her. Only their names and birth dates, no picture. Not one. Holly Alonso, historian and director of the historical site, put together an altar on Maria's mother's behalf. She has found or hasn't that nothing is said about them in the history books, only that they existed. Now I should add though that some of her nieces are mentioned, there is even a beautiful portrait of them. I believe its because they grew up in that house. Alonso wrote a poem (that is mounted on the wall next to the altar) addressing the silence of history on the Peralta women. You can take a look for yourself at http://www.slideshare.net/peraltahacienda/peralta-family-tree-qa-book slide down to page nine. I've also posted my pictures of the house, the portrait and other things.

I believe I can use Alonso's poem as a secondary source. Now, as far as other sources, I went to the Pleasanton Library and checked out Testimonios: Early California through the Eyes of Women, 1815 - 1848 by Rose Marie Beebe and Robert M. Senkewicz. These oral histories were collected by Hubert Howe Bancroft sometime in 1874 with the intent to document a thorough history of California while some of the old Californios yet lived. He hired the help of Henry Cerruti, Thomas Savage, Vicente P. Gomez and others to travel from home to home asking particular questions of the men who were part of California's history. What he hadn't counted on or even took an interest in were the 13 women who spoke in place of their deceased husbands.

Beebe and Senkewicz, have translated the Spanish documents into English for us to read and understand history through the eyes of these 13 women. They had quite a challenge in doing so being that some of the histories were written in English. Why is that a problem? Well, the women spoke Spanish but Cerruti wrote their words in English because that was easier for him. But as we know much is lost in translation. Therefore, they translated everything back to Spanish then to English again producing a more clear translation. They have attempted to present a work that gives the reader the story the women intended to relate.

Other sources I'm looking at:
Telling identities: the Californios testimonios by Rosaura Sanchez
Conflicts of Interest: the letters if Maria Amparo Ruiz de Burton by Rosaura Sanchez and Beatrice Pita
http://history.sandiego.edu/gen/projects/women/1Title.html

All of these sources deal in some form with Spanish-Mexican women of the early-to-mid nineteenth century. What I hope to find is a voice for the women of this time. What was life like for the Californio women? What were the societal expectations of women in those times? The history of the Peralta women might be silent but what I'm discovering is that there are many stories out there.

So, what's on the Internet?

Okay, I spent some time surfing the internet, as we say, looking for some info on immigration in the Bay Area. but I think Professor Ivey is right, I need to choose a group to focus on because there's too much out there and I need to be more specific. So I thought I'd start by taking a trip to see Diane at the Hayward Historical Society to see what she had on the subject.

Hayward Historical Society. On the corner of Main St and C St. http://haywardareahistory.org

She's great she showed me what she had and we talked about other options. I told her that I was also considering researching Guillermo Castro's wife, Maria Luisa Peralta. You see that's my mother's maiden name. Yeah, I'm also a Peralta! So, I figured it might be interesting to see what life was like for the Peralta's in alta California versus the Peralta's of Costa Rica. The only picture of Guillermo is the one we've all seen in the book.

Painting of Guillermo Castro from the Hayward Historical Area Museum Collection. 79.033.1527. http://www.haywardareahistory.org/

I haven't found a picture of Maria Luisa but was able to find of picture of her father. I also found her geneology. Diane and I talked about focsuing my blog on the life of a Spanish Californio(not misspelled, that's what the early Spanish families were called, The Californios) woman. What her life might have been like. So, I'll keep you posted on my ever changing blog. Now, how do I make my blog title work with this story? Hmmm...

Coming To America

• At the age of 2, I immigrated from Costa Rica, Central America to the United States with my mother and four siblings. My father had immigrated 6 months before us. Our family settled in San Jose, California. We came to the States with the idea of living here 3 years then returning to Costa Rica, I guess that plan didn't work out because it's been 46 years and I'm still here! Hah!
  
  Hi, I'm Milly Eastburn. I'm beginning this blog with the express purpose of examing immigration: past and present in the Bay Area, California. This is an ongoing research for a history class at CSU East Bay in Hayward, CA. The class is entitled History of The San Francisco Bay Area. My professor has challenged me to look at the city of Hayward and its surrounding areas rather than all of the Bay Area. Thus, I would like to exam the condition of the immigrant to this area. What do I mean by that? Well, I'm an immigrant and can relate to the hardships and challenges unique to this group of people. So, my thoughts at this point are to look at these areas and other characteristics common to all immigrants. I plan to review ports of entry, reasons for leaving home countries and the different groups of people that settled this area, such as the Spanish, Portuguese(who as it seems are quite a large group of people here), Japanese, Mexicans(were they immigrants since they were already here?), Blacks and other peoples. At some point, I may focus on a specific ethnic group, part of town or challenge to better present my research.
  
  It's my argument that we are all immigrants. If not personally then someone at some point in our family history immigrated to this great country. Therefore, we can or should be able to relate to one another on an equal plane.