-
Period: to
The Migration to Magnolia Park
-
The Ramirez Family
RAMÍREZ – A third generation “Tejano,” Elias Ramírez, made his mark in Magnolia Park in the early 1900’s. He was a respected Civic Leader and became the first president of the Sociedad Mutalista Benito Juárez. From the Ramírez family would come the First Hispanic Senator from Harris County; an HISD Trustee; An Army Brigadier General and Commandant of Texas A & M Corps. of Cadets; and a P.O.W. Military Hero. -
The Vela-Garza-García Family
Petra and Anastacio Garza (pictured center) left Mexico for Lockhart, TX in the early 1900’s and worked as sharecroppers before settling in Magnolia Park where Petra would be one of the first Latinas to purchase property on Avenue F. -
The Pérez-Rodríguez Family
Cecilio Pérez, (pictured with grandson, Richard Olivarez and his daughter Vera) came to Magnolia Park in early 1900’s from Real de Catorce, MX and established himself as a successful business man in the early days. He had five sons and one daughter. -
The Aguilar Garza Family
The Aguilar Garza Family has its roots in Durango, MX and the Rio Grande Valley, but most made their way to Magnolia Park post Mexican Revolution to find job opportunities. Felipe Aguilar arrived first and found work digging ditches for 25 cents an hour. Of his five children, Domitila (pictured) stood out. When she, a noted seamstress at the Alice Dress Company. -
The Pancho Gabino Hernandez Family
Fleeing the Mexican Revolution, would be a smart move for Francisco “Pancho” Gabino Hernández who arrived in Magnolia at the turn of the 20th century. He started as a door-to-door salesman but soon established the Alamo Furniture Co. and soon earned the nickname “Pancho del Alamo.” By the mid 1900’s, his family would be working for him. Relying on the “Golden Rule,” Pancho del Alamo would become very prosperous and a leader of the Latino Business community. -
The Espinosa Family
Mariano and Tomasita Espinosa arrived in Magnolia Park in 1902. Mariano would find work on the Southern Pacific Railroads while Tomasita, with many mouths to feed, would survive their meager existence living in box cars along the railroads of Magnolia Park. Her other refuge was in the newly established Immaculate Heart of Mary Church. Religion and the church became a way of life. For son Rudy, (top 2nd from left), a devout altar boy, service in WWII would set his path to become a Master Tailor. -
The Flores Family
FLÓRES – Antonio Flóres was “one of the few” Mexicans in Magnolia Park in 1906. He brought from his hometown of Monterrey, México, a sense of wanting to accomplish something. Soon after his arrival he would help establish the civic group “Los Hacheros” or Woodmen of the World. Campo Navidad would be a helping hand to other Mexicans arriving during and after the Mexican Revolution. -
The Gaitán Family
Pablo and Victoria Gaitán (pictured) made their way to Magnolia Park from San Luís Potosí, SLP, MX in 1909, right before the outbreak of the Mexican Revolution. Starting a new life in Texas meant a lot of struggle as seasonal laborers in “las piscas” all over Texas and Illinois. -
The De La Portilla - Martínez Family
Hailing mostly from Spain and México, the de la Portilla-Martínez family was forced into Texas by the Mexican Revolution. At the turn of the 19th century, before the family would make its mark on their new home of Magnolia Park, ancestor Felipe Roque de la Portilla, a captain of the Spanish Army made his mark in central Texas where he is named in a commemorative monument for the establishment of San Marcos. -
The Villagómez Family
Ramón Villagómez travelled with his bride-to-be, Delfina, from Morelia, México to escape the Mexican Revolution. Along the way, a precious family heirloom would become the centerpiece of their enduring love. In the early days, there was great struggle to survive. From living out of box cars along the railroads of Magnolia Park to their present homestead. -
The Ante
ANTE – In 1911, Tomás Ante, born in México in 1890, first came to Texas where he met his lovely bride Julia Vásquez before establishing and raising 11 children together in what was then called Harrisburg. Tomás is fondly remembered by his sons Eddie and Robert as “always helping people” and having “a lot of comadres and compadres.” -
The Treviño-Postel Family
Isabel Gómez Postel, pictured as a school teacher in 1906, would marry Alejandro Postel in Matamoros, Tamaulipas, MX and travel to Texas in 1913, shortly after the Mexican Revolution broke out. They moved to Magnolia Park to find work. Daughter, Adelina Postel Treviño, would make her life here with her children, Hilda Rose, Benita, Gilbert, and Olivia and when her husband, Hector, died at the age of 49, she became a young widow and had to find work during the Great Depression. -
The Ybarra Family
Abraham and Rumalda Ybarra, from Castaños, Coahuíla, MX, were the original family members who arrived in Magnolia Park in 1915. Ranchers, (pictured with 6 of 14 children) they had Isidro the first born in the USA and raised cattle and a lot of farm animals first in Bryan, TX and then Magnolia Park. -
The Navarro Family
NAVARRO – Gabriel C. Navarro arrived in Magnolia Park from Mexico in 1919, following the tumultuous Mexican Revolution. He and his wife, Maria Gutierrez, established themselves here and raised 8 children. Raúl Navarro, who spent a lifelong career in the printing business in the East End. He was ordained Deacon in the Catholic Church and was very involved in the Texas Silver Hair Legislature. -
The Romo Family
The Romo Familly came to Magnolia Park after the Mexican Revolution in 1919. Patriarch Julian Romo established himself as a successful business man, one of the first in Magnolia Park, with the Romo Grocery Store on 76th Street. He would become a big community leader and everybody’s “Padrino” and helped those less fortunate during tough times. -
The Chairez Family
Feliciano and Petra Chairez would flee Pancho Villa’s revolution and arrive in Magnolia Park in the early 1920’s. They escaped because the “Federales” who stopped them saw the family’s horse blanket had the “right colors” according to relative María de Jesus. By covered wagon, they made it to San Antonio and then to Magnolia Park where history would be made. Son Francisco Chairez (pictured top 2nd from left) would become the first Latino to graduate, through scholarships, from Rice University. -
The Seguín Family
Descendants of Juan Seguín, one of the defenders of the Alamo, and “Alcalde” of San Antonio, settled in Magnolia Park in 1920’s. Pablo Ramírez and María Seguín (pictured, and Juan Seguín’s great granddaughter) had no children together but raised her children Lillie Seguín and Roy Luna (great great grandchildren of Juan Seguín) in Magnolia Park. -
The Anastacio Garza-Martínez Family
Anastacio and Petra Garza rolled into Texas from Mier, Tamaulipas, MX by covered wagon during the Frontier days of the 1890’s- pre-Mexican Revolution. They made their way to Magnolia Park arriving in the late 1920’s. -
The Dominguez Family
DOMÍNGUEZ – Born in 1908 in Galeana, México, Juan Domínguez, made his way to Houston’s Magnolia Park to find new opportunity when his father would not allow him to go to College. Almost a century later, he would become a noted community leader that set the tone for his own sons, including one John Domínguez, Jr and his wife Frances and their children. -
The Torres Delgado Family
Mariano Torres escaped the Mexican Revolution on his way to San Antonio, TX and then became a laborer in the cotton fields of Lockhart before moving his family to Magnolia Park in the early 1920’s. Son Juan Torres was born there in 1914 and married Carmen . His brother Victoriano (pictured, 1923), also a Tejano, would marry Nestora Rodríguez from San Pedro, Coahuíla, MX. Both would become entrepreneurs and raised their families in Magnolia Park. -
The Munguía-Cantú-Rivera Families
The Munguía-Cantú-Rivera families were inter-related and made up some of the first Latino entrepreneurs in Houston and Magnolia Park. All told, they established the iconic businesses including the Alamo Furniture Company; the Munguía Furniture Company; the Azteca Theater and La Moderna Grocery Store. -
The Gonzlez Familty
GONZÁLEZ – One of Magnolia Parks’ First Families of restaurateurs, the José González family, would establish itself way before the success of El Jardín Restaurant. José was a very gifted tile mason before his new career. Considered a very distinguished man, José would bring people together with his style, talents and sense of community. Daughter, Dr. Laura Murillo, remembers her father as a man “who saw no barriers, no obstacles.” -
The Córdova Family
Born in Piedras Negras, Mexico in 1915, Gilberto Córdova (pictured) came to Texas at the age of 7 looking for work. In 1922 after marrying his wife Guadalupe, of Sugar Land, he convinced his beloved sister to join him and his family to move to Magnolia Park where he would hold a city job and Gulfgate Mall most of his life. -
The José “Joe” Martínez Family
Félix Martínez and wife Zapopán, (pictured center) crossed the Mexico-Texas border at the turn of the last century and settled in Lockhart, TX before making their way to Magnolia Park in1925. Félix found work at the docks at the Houston Compress where he worked and raised his family. The Martínez Family was a big, close-knit family with eight daughters and one son. -
The Gilberto Sánchez Family
Gilberto Sánchez (pictured as a boy) was born in 1905 in San Antonio, TX and as a young man moved his family to and settled in Magnolia Park in 1926. He was a self-educated salesman who rose to be District Manager of the Woodman of the World (Los Hacheros) Life Insurance organization. -
The Alonzo Family
Frank and Ventura Alonzo met in Magnolia Park in the early 1900’s and would together produce a long line of musicians. Lending their voices and talents to their own band “Alonzo y Sus Rancheros,” they would popularize the Mexican Big Band or “orquesta” sound from Magnolia Park to many points beyond in the 1930’s and 1940’s. -
The Postel Family
The Postel Family has its origins in Mexico from where Martín and Maria Postel left in 1906 to come to Texas. Arturo García Postel, (pictured bottom middle) was born in Victoria, TX in 1906 before moving to Magnolia Park to find job opportunities. Son Adolph, Sr. (top far right) remembers a simple life , Model T’s and Model A’s in the 1930’s in Magnolia Park. -
The Partida Family
PARTIDA – Seeing FDR in Magnolia Park in 1936 and his grandfather, Elias Ramírez, at work in the community, got Frank Partida started in politics at a very early age. The Partida family has, for generations, been at the forefront of many of Magnolia Park’s greatest moments in history. -
The Rudy Vara Family
Dedicated service to community was Rudy Vara Sr.’s trademark from the time he arrived in Magnolia Park from San Antonio. After meeting his future wife, Alice Rivera, at the famous Quiosco in 1940, the pair would together become noted leaders in their barrio. Rudy was one the last of the true “vaqueros” forging trails on his mount to the Houston Livestock Show. -
The Reyna Family
Mary Reyna, (pictured top-middle) was the daughter of María and Gerónimo Torres, who left Piedras Negras, MX to escape the Revolution around 1911. Early vaudevillians or entertainers, they would make their way to San Antonio where daughter Mary met her future husband, Joe Reyna, (pictured top row, second from left) before their big move to Magnolia Park.
