Amadeo was born on 24 June 1893. He was the third son of Juan N. Mestas and Feliciana Arellano.
He married Maria Antonia Valdez
(born 13 May 1895) on 22 November 1915. Antonia is the daughter
of Doroteo Valdez and Josefa Montoya. Amadeo and Antonia raised
their kids in the El Coyote valley, building an adobe home in the 1920's
approximately one mile north of the town of Lucero (previously called El Coyote until the year 1900).
In the 1950's they moved to Commerce City, Colorado in the Denver Metro area
where most of their children now lived. They lived a very loving and family-oriented
life. They cared very much for their children and grandchildren.
Both Amadeo and Antonia are buried in the Highland cemetery (north end) at 104th and I-25 in
Northglenn, Colorado. As you enter the North entrance, you veer right (heading SW). Park immediately on the right side of the road.
To the NW you should see a statue. Take approximately 20 steps due North (or NW) you should be close. For those with GPS receivers, go to N39° 53.979 W104° 59.166
Amadeo and Antonia had 10 children:
Eloy Rubel (buried to the left of his grandpa Juan), Teresa (who died of diphtheria), and Rebecca all died young. It's possible that one of these children as well as Martha and Art are in this Lucero school picture that is from the early 1930's.
These children grew up in El Coyote, and some more are depicted in this
In Coyote, I found Valdez, Doroteo J. age 49 and Josefita M. age 39. A 21 year
marriage was indicated with 11 births and 5 still alive. Children shown were:
Begnino (m) age 26, Antonia (f) age 15, Samuel J. (m) age 9, Florinda (f) age
6, and Cruz J. (m) age 2.
Note: My belief is that Juan and Josefa's mothers were sisters, making them cousins.
Their children (Amadeo and Antonia) were second cousins. This is based on both Stanley
Lucero's research of his family (Fresquez) and information found on www.familysearch.org
showing the children of Jose and Teodora Silva. It is only a theory/strong possibility for now,
I'm hoping to look through film number 016860 and 016862 which have the baptismal,
marriage, and death records of the San Antonio Church in Penasco. Another microfilm that
I'm interested in viewing is film # 1036795 Item 8. This one has Rayado, Colfax Co., NM
vital records, which may list Juan N. and Feliciana's marriage, which should have occurred in the mid 1870s. On any of these microfilmed
records may be parent information that will tie up a lot of loose ends, and help complete
our family tree (see below).
If anyone wishes to add history or comments, please e-mail old photos (scanned)
or stories. I will be glad to add anything you send to these web pages.
You can e-mail me
at home.
Or, feel free to snail mail a photo of a child or grandchild of
Amadeo and Antonia, and I'll be glad to scan it, load it to this web site,
and return it to you as quick as I can. Send photos and/or stories to:
Eloy Rubel, Martha, Teresa, Arthur, Rebecca, Eloy,
Viola, Angie, Mabel, and
James.
Again, click on a particular name to go to their web page.
I can't give out birth dates yet, because my aunts will give me a premature death date. Note:
Both Amadeo and Antonia were very old when they did finally have children. :-)
Lucero school picture from the early 1940's. Right click on the image to download the big picture, which you can save to your own computer.
Viola is shown at the window, and her brother Eloy is to the right. Angie is on the far left, and Mabel is on the far right.
Also their cousin Hector Montoya is the small child at the bottom, just left of center.
Flamina Casias is at the upper left of the picture.
Amadeo A. Maestas
Amadeo's parents are Juan N. Mestas and Feliciana Arellano. Amadeo was raised in the El Coyote
valley and is identified as a sheep herder according to census records.
Antonia Valdez
Antonia's parents are
Doroteo Valdez and Josefa Montoya.
Doroteo who died in 1945 is buried on a south-west hillside in Ojo Feliz, New Mexico; and Josefa
(who lived with Amadeo and Antonia the last 10 years of her life) is buried in
Denver. Doroteo's parents are Jose Manuel Estavan Valdez and Maria Encaranacion
Naranjo. Josefa's parents are Antonio Montoya and Soledad Casias. Soledad is
buried in a cemetery about a mile to the East of Lucero (and about a quarter
mile to the North
from the road where you come upon the first abandoned homestead). It is said
that the adobe home on the other side of the Coyote Creek (at the foot of the
mountain) was that of Antonio and Soledad.
1910 Census
In Lucero, I found Maestas, Juan N. age 61 and wife Margarita age 45. The census
indicated this was the second marriage for each of them. 7 children were born
and 4 were still living, and this information referred to the children as being from Feliciana.
Amadeo age 16 was living at home and New Mexico was listed as the
birthplace for self, father, and mother for each of the family members.
Great Grandson of Juan or should that be
Juan's great grandson and maybe even Amadeo's great grandson (well, at least ahead of Justin) ;o)
13007 Clayton Ct.
Thornton, CO 80241-2010Pictures of Amadeo and Antonia's Children
|
|
 |
| |
| Cristobal Clemente Mestas | ||||||
| Francisco Mestas b. 13 Jun 1802 | ||||||
| Maria Eulalia Gonzalez | ||||||
| Jose Luciano Mestas b. 5 July 1828 d. bef Sep 1849 | ||||||
| Antonio Martin | ||||||
| Maria de Jesus Martines | ||||||
| Dolores Armenta | ||||||
| Juan N. MESTAS | ||||||
| Juan Andres Casillas | ||||||
| Jose Antonio Casillas | ||||||
| Maria Manuela Romero | ||||||
| Maria de la Luz Casias or Casillas | ||||||
| Jose Mariano Silva | ||||||
| Maria Teodora de Esquipulas Silva | ||||||
| Maria Manuela Martin | ||||||
| Amadeo A. MAESTAS | ||||||
| Jose de Gracia ARILLANO b. 1844 | ||||||
| Feliciana ARELLANO | ||||||
| Maria de J. CRUZ b. 1854 | ||||||
| Jose Manuel Estaban VALDEZ | ||||||
| Jose Doroteo VALDEZ | ||||||
| Maria Encarnicion NARANJO | ||||||
| Antonia VALDEZ | ||||||
| Jose Domingo MONTOYA | ||||||
| Juan Antonio Rodrigo MONTOYA b. approx. 1832 | ||||||
| Maria de la Cruz MARTINEZ | ||||||
| Josefa MONTOYA | ||||||
| Bernando Casillas | ||||||
| Juan Andres Casillas | ||||||
| Rosa Lujan | ||||||
| Jose Antonio CASIAS | ||||||
| Maria Manuela Romero | ||||||
| Soledad CASIAS or Casillas b. 1840 | ||||||
| Jose Mariano Silva | ||||||
| Teodorita (Maria Tiodora) SILVA | ||||||
| Maria Manuela Martin |
Note: Throughout the years 2001 through 2005, the old adobe house of Amadeo Maestas and Antonia Valdez (one mile North of Lucero) is being restored to honor their memory, and maintain a part of family history. Please feel free to stop by and say hi while this work continues. Most of the work is currently being done by their grandson Larry, but daughter Viola is pitching in as much as she can. Other brothers and sisters, and even brother-in-law Dave have helped out over the years as well as Viola's husband Clarence.
A web page has been developed to provide some history, and to show what Lucero and the El Coyote valley look like today. Feel free to view this web page, and visit your ancestor's homeland some day.
Here is a picture of the family in 1953, standing in front of Clarence and Vi's new house at 1150 Yuba Street, Aurora, CO
Copyright 2007, the content on these webpages are personal, and are only to be used by family members for personal genealogy purposes.
