22 June 2008

Field Trip to the Sandoval County Historical Society

On Saturday, June 21, 2008, NMGS visited the Sandoval County Historical Society in Bernalillo, NM. This was the second time this year that we've traveled to another organization's site to have a meeting.

Our featured speaker was Bertille Baca, long-time resident of Pena Blanca, NM. She began her speech by giving us a history of the Baca family going back to Spain. She then discussed her own genealogy going back to Luis Maria Cabeza de Baca, a settler of the Las Vegas, NM area in the late 1700s. He and his large family of over 20 children later settled in Pena Blanca.

Bertille told stories of her youth in the 1930s and 40s. They were funny and entertaining. She offered audience members the chance to make copies of her handwritten stories. Members of the audience encouraged her to publish her stories so that future generations may enjoy.



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There were about 30 people who attended the meeting in Bernalillo on Saturday. About half were NMGS members, while the others were from SCHS. After Bertille's speech, Martha Liebert talked about other families of Sandoval County. She introduced a number of people in the audience who were descendants of prominent county families and encouraged all of us to talk to them about their families.


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The Sandoval County Historical Society holds their meetings in the DeLavy house in Bernalillo, NM. This museum/library houses hundreds of books, and contains a large photo archive. Many of the rooms are covered with poster boards that show the history of the county and the families that lived there. It is very impressive. One could spend days just looking at the boards themselves.

The DeLavy House is at 151 Edmund Rd., Bernalillo, NM. Follow this link, and click on "How to Find Us" to get detailed directions.

SCHS holds monthly meetings, except usually during the summer. These meetings include lectures, dramatizations and field trips. The next meeting will be on Sunday, July 13, 2008 at 2 PM, at which Benny Goodman's famous 1938 Carnegie Hall concert will be played on CD.

For more information about SCHS, check out their website at this link.

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