By Esperanza Herrera-Moore, Family and Human Services Major, Class of 2026
The life that Anna and Frank lived was a unique one during this time. Anna was born in Guaymas, Guaymas Municipality, Sonora, Mexico, on June 3rd, 1898. She immigrated to the United States in 1911. She lived in Arizona, where she met her Husband Frank. The two got married at ages 18 and 21. Frank and Anna traveled from Arizona to Mexico for his work as a miner mechanic. They may have met through his work since he worked near her pueblo. They were living in Mexico during a rough political time. The political environment was fuelled by the beginning of World War I and created many different shifts throughout the country. They then moved to Los Angeles, California, where they had three children. The couple settled down in Oregon where Annie lived up to the age of 65 and their children built the foundation of their lives. They lived in a modest home deep in downtown Eugene. Anna was a housewife and Frank worked as a mechanic being the sole provider for his family until he and Anna split up.
Here is a family Photo of the Deardorff family, Anna Deardorff, and their children Frank Deerdorff, Edward Frank Deardorff, Frances Deardorff, Leanora Anita Deardorff (1920) accessed through Ancestory.com
Perception of Marriage
The larger story movements of the people of which this family is a part is the mining overload through Arizona and Mexico during this period. There was also a disconnection between white individuals and Mexicans because of the mining work each other was doing, so it was interesting that they would choose to get married during this time. It was also common for those who worked within Mexico just like Frank did, as a mine mechanic to have Mexican women. They tended to hold relationships with Mexican women while they were in Mexico doing their mining work while still holding a partner or wife in the United States. Knowing these attributes creates a more likely story for what this marriage was for the couple instead of what perception of marriage is for what it’s considered for in modern society.
Frank and Anna’s story is nothing but what would have been a “perfect marriage” During this period it was common for people to get married to build resources and wealth even common folk like Anna and Frank were known to do this because it was easier for families to have two partners than to try and build a life outside of the social norm of a couple. While I can’t say for certain that the reason why Frank and Anna got married was to gain these attributes of marriage it’s important to include what marriage meant to many of the individuals in society during this time. In 1937 there were very few opportunities for those in Mexico for economic growth but it would only cost them 25$ to get a rail ticket from Mexico to the Western United States like Nogales, Arizona that could lead them to new opportunities of wealth and success.
There were no encounters with law enforcement but from what I was able to find from a couple of articles Annie and Frank’s marriage had a couple of incidences. Franks sued Anna for divorce citing that she was both vulgar to him and the kids even staking that she would get rough with him. Something also important to note is that he stated another reason why she was a bad partner was that she did not have home-cooked meals for him when he got home from work and that he had to make it his priority so he and the children could be fed.
Men were seen as the heads of the household creating and the wives were just extensions. Labeling Anna as an aggressor created an uncommon shift dynamic for the nuclear family. She would have had no rights or power aside from her husband creating a scary situation for her to live in but they did ultimately get divorced. Anna stayed here in Lane County until she died from natural causes.
Family
It’s hard to state in statistics how many white individuals who married Mexicanos lived in Eugene during the 1940s, From the information I was able to gather from the 1940s census records 19 Mexicanos were living in Lane, county during this time and only 8 were married. Anna was one of the 8 Mexicanos who were married but im not positive that some of the eight weren’t married to other Mexicanos and were just in Lane County for work. Anna and her family were one of the first generations of mixed children. The way that the family was both unique and fit right in with the majority here in Lance County during the 1930s-1940s is the parent’s messy divorce that made it into the newspapers. They also lost their daughter while she was young and it was on Christmas day. Edward fought in the war to what I can only acceptably say to help honor America, adding another reason why I would consider this family idealistic to the socially acceptable American family.
Here is another lovely family photo of Anna Deardorff, her mother Lenora Dobel, and her half-brother Alfredo Castillo (1916) accessed through Ancestry.com
From just this one individual moving to the United States, Annie now has many great-great-grandchildren. Her legacy lives deep within the United States, and I’ve found ancestry in Florida, Nevada, California, and Oregon. Through my research into Annie, I learned she struggled to earn respect because of her race. She was painted as a bad wife and mother, even though later on, her children were buried close to her grave but not their fathers. It is also believed that her children continued to help support her financially after her divorce. Especially her son Edward who seemed to take on the role of her provider. The perception of what marriage can mean and stand for is also a way for men to have a deep hold on women and society’s perception of them. I believe that Anna loved her children and took deep pride in being their mother. Annie left a great legacy behind through her children.
Bibliography
Photo of Deardorff Family, Ancestry.Com
Photo of Dobel Family, Ancestry.Com
Benton-Cohen, “Katherine. Borderline Americans: Racial Division and Labor War in the Arizona Borderlands” (Function). Kindle Edition.
Coontz, Stephanie. “Marriage, a History: How Love Conquered Marriage” (p. 54). (Function). Kindle Edition.
“Veloz, Larisa L.. Even the Women Are Leaving: Migrants Making Mexican America”, 1890–1965 (p. 188). (Function). Kindle Edition.
“World War II Draft Cards Young Men.” Ancestry.Com. Ancestry.Com Operations, Inc, Accessed February 20, 2025. https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/2238/records/126564282.
“U.S., County Marriage Records, 1865-1972.” Ancestory.Com. Ancestry.Com Operations, Inc, Accessed February 20, 2025. https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/60873/records/900413373.
“Oregon, U.S., State Deaths, 1864-1971.” Ancestory.Com. Ancestry.Com Operations, Inc., Accessed February 20, 2025. https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/61675/records/681127.
“1940 United States Federal Census.” Ancestory.Com. Ancestry.Com Operations, Inc., Accessed February 20, 2025. https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/2442/records/64229998?tid=&pid=&queryId=8b85d21d-3071-4ed8-888c-fb31cd578847&_phsrc=sce340&_phstart=successSource.
