Benito Rodriguez was a merchant seaman who worked his way frorn La Corufia to Havana to San Francisco. A professional photo of him taken in a San Francisco studio is inscribed to his father, Jacobo, September 1909, "San Pedro". This provides a clue to his arrival in the United States. Another clue is the 1920 census in which it states he arrived in 1907. Census information for 1930 indicates he arrived in 1919. Oops! We know that's not right. NOTE: One needs to be wary of Census information: errors abound. Josa Rodriguez received his Certificate of Naturalization 15 May 1915, in San Francisco, copy on file. 2 Family records. Marriage License and Certificate, City and County of San Francisco. The certificate states they were married in the Spanish Church: witnesses were Rita's brother Francisco and sister Francisca who lived at 916 Vallejo. The rnarriage date is 27 August 1911. Rita's birth certificate indicates a birthdate of 31 August 1889. Rita's age on the marriage certificate (20) is in conflict with the math. In all public documents and on most farnily papers Rita's surname, Riveiro, is misspelled. The correct spelling is taken from correspondence between her relatives in Spain and Mary Jane Porter Perna (Rita's granddaughter). 3 Copy of applicable pages of the Rodriguez family medical book on file; handwriting is that of Joseph Rodriguez. The address is 664 Green Street, San Francisco. 4 Sardine industry information taken from: "Final Cannery Row Cultural Resources Survey, City of Monterey:30, Architecturd Resources Group, Architects, Planners & Conservators, /nc., March 2001. 5 Undated handwritten document in author's collection; handwriting is that of Frank Rodriguez, the author's father. 6 The house is described in the National Register of Historic Places, Section 8:5, as 'a stoutly built three room plastered house in fair condition, and a cement floored shed in fair shape". The build date range is extrapolated from Sanborn Maps, Monterey Public Library, SAN Reel 37:1905 & 1912 maps as well as Monterey County Recorder Deed Book 1 16:122-123, Mary J. Nelson to Monterey City, Drainage Easement, 23 March 1910. See also Peninsula Directory 1 916-1917: 20, Monterey Library; 917.9476, DIRE CA RM. 7 At the Spanish descendants (of early Monterey) gathering hosted by the Monterey Library Foundation in 2014 the author learned that most of those present did not speak Spanish. The guests' Spanish parents were children or grandchildren of immigrants who believed in assirnilation. Although not a universal experience, for this group of descendants the mantra of their parents/grandparents appeared to have been, 'We're American; we'llspeak English '. During this festive event guests meandered among the stacks of the Monterey Library sharing their history. Most considered thernselves unfortunate they had not been taught their parents' mother-tongue. My grandmother, for instance, never learned English. Rita's first grandchildren, the author the first - born in 1941 on her youngest Rodriguez uncle's birthday - communicated with her with smiles, gestures, hugs, and a few words. By the time the youngest came along, 1955, there was a better grasp of English, albeit, broken English. 8 Copy of original document in author's possession. , OCR Text: Benito Rodriguez was a merchant seaman who worked his way frorn La Corufia to Havana to San Francisco. A professional photo of him taken in a San Francisco studio is inscribed to his father, Jacobo, September 1909, "San Pedro". This provides a clue to his arrival in the United States. Another clue is the 1920 census in which it states he arrived in 1907. Census information for 1930 indicates he arrived in 1919. Oops! We know that's not right. NOTE: One needs to be wary of Census information: errors abound. Josa Rodriguez received his Certificate of Naturalization 15 May 1915, in San Francisco, copy on file. 2 Family records. Marriage License and Certificate, City and County of San Francisco. The certificate states they were married in the Spanish Church: witnesses were Rita's brother Francisco and sister Francisca who lived at 916 Vallejo. The rnarriage date is 27 August 1911. Rita's birth certificate indicates a birthdate of 31 August 1889. Rita's age on the marriage certificate (20) is in conflict with the math. In all public documents and on most farnily papers Rita's surname, Riveiro, is misspelled. The correct spelling is taken from correspondence between her relatives in Spain and Mary Jane Porter Perna (Rita's granddaughter). 3 Copy of applicable pages of the Rodriguez family medical book on file; handwriting is that of Joseph Rodriguez. The address is 664 Green Street, San Francisco. 4 Sardine industry information taken from: "Final Cannery Row Cultural Resources Survey, City of Monterey:30, Architecturd Resources Group, Architects, Planners & Conservators, /nc., March 2001. 5 Undated handwritten document in author's collection; handwriting is that of Frank Rodriguez, the author's father. 6 The house is described in the National Register of Historic Places, Section 8:5, as 'a stoutly built three room plastered house in fair condition, and a cement floored shed in fair shape". The build date range is extrapolated from Sanborn Maps, Monterey Public Library, SAN Reel 37:1905 & 1912 maps as well as Monterey County Recorder Deed Book 1 16:122-123, Mary J. Nelson to Monterey City, Drainage Easement, 23 March 1910. See also Peninsula Directory 1 916-1917: 20, Monterey Library; 917.9476, DIRE CA RM. 7 At the Spanish descendants (of early Monterey) gathering hosted by the Monterey Library Foundation in 2014 the author learned that most of those present did not speak Spanish. The guests' Spanish parents were children or grandchildren of immigrants who believed in assirnilation. Although not a universal experience, for this group of descendants the mantra of their parents/grandparents appeared to have been, 'We're American; we'llspeak English '. During this festive event guests meandered among the stacks of the Monterey Library sharing their history. Most considered thernselves unfortunate they had not been taught their parents' mother-tongue. My grandmother, for instance, never learned English. Rita's first grandchildren, the author the first - born in 1941 on her youngest Rodriguez uncle's birthday - communicated with her with smiles, gestures, hugs, and a few words. By the time the youngest came along, 1955, there was a better grasp of English, albeit, broken English. 8 Copy of original document in author's possession. , Heritage Society of Pacific Grove,Historical Collections,Names of People about town,Q through R File names,Rodrigues,RODRIGUES_009.pdf,RODRIGUES_009.pdf 1 Page 1, Tags: RODRIGUES_009.PDF, RODRIGUES_009.pdf 1 Page 1