By Elizabeth Cortes, Advertising Major, Class of 2025

In 1927 30-year-old Maria Marquez, who resided in Juarez, Chihuahua, Mexico, a city that borders El Paso Texas, came to El Paso, Texas. There, she reunited with her partner Pablo Duenes, age 26, who had arrived in El Paso two years prior to join Mexican laborers in the U.S. When she finally joined Pablo, they got married in the U.S where it was reported in a newspaper marriage index in El Paso. From there, we know that Pablo came into the U.S in 1925, two years before Maria.

He worked in the U.S for two years which allowed him to accrue an income tax form that would let him bring the form to Juarez and use it to bring Maria into the U.S with him.

This is something that was very typical during the 1920s and 1930s, as mentioned in the book “Even the Women are Leaving” written by Larissa L. Veloz. In the book, Veloz mentions a family with a similar story to Maria; in which this woman, Ester, made the trek with her children from the border of Mexicali to the United States with her husband’s income tax form, a form often accepted at the border. (Veloz, pp. 63). Knowing this is what Maria had done as well helps us confirm that Pablo and her were a couple in Juarez and decide to migrate to the U.S before getting married, but to do that Pablo had to leave to the U.S first for work, which is what a lot of Mexican men did in that time.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The 1920s and 1930s was an important time for Mexican laborers in the U.S. The economy was growing a bit in the 1920s in the U.S and not as much in Mexico. During this time, Mexican workers were more sought after in the U.S for common labor; mainly in agriculture or railroads. In veloz’s book, she mentions, “A ban on Japanese immigration in 1907 and restrictions to European immigration in 1921-1924 created spaces for Mexican laborers who were recruited in Mexico and contracted from Texas. (Veloz, pp. 64). ”This gives more context as to why Maria and Pablo decided to come to the U.S during this time period, and what led to Pablo working in the U.S for a railroad company called Southern Pacific Railway Co.. Working for this railway company brought them to Lane County, as Pablo was working as a common laborer for Southern Pacific. The book “Mexicanos in Oregon” by Erlinda Gonzales-Berry and Marcela Mendoza, mentions that while most Mexican immigrants in Oregon were being hired in agriculture, a lot of railroad companies began hiring Mexicanos as well, starting before World War 1. It is also mentioned in Veloz’s book that “Migration and immigration north was now deeply tied to family reunification and poverty.” This gives a better idea as to why Mexicanos not only immigrated into the U.S, but why they chose to work in the U.S; a place where Mexicanos were being hired and offered more compared to Mexico at the time.

On April 30, 1930, Maria and Pablo were listed on the 1930 census for Lane County, where we know they lived in Oakridge.

Maria was one amongst 38 Mexican individuals on the census who were married, out of 143 Mexicanos identified.

This makes Maria and Pablo unique, not only as a newer married couple but because they are part of only a few married Mexicano couples in the area. At this time, they also did not have any children, a result of being recently married and moving from El Paso to Oakridge. Maria’s husband was one of 36 workers who were listed to work for Southern Pacific Railway Co., where plenty of other Mexicans were employed as well. This couple can help us understand the impact the railroad industry had on Lane County, and more specifically on Mexican laborers, which can be seen on the census sample, where 36 workers worked for Southern Pacific, and 77 worked for another private railway company not named on the census.

While there is no more exact documentation of Maria and Pablo living in the U.S after the 1930 census, some assumptions can be made on how their story went. It can be inferred that they continued to follow the path of the railroad companies’ construction path, possibly ending up in New Orleans, based on the history of the Southern Pacific Railway, which was a railroad that stretched from the Pacific Northwest, to Texas, and eventually New Orleans. There is a possibility that they also had children, and either brought them to wherever they went, or decided to stay in Oregon. This couple is only one of many stories of Mexican immigrants in Lane County, but the way in which they both planned to migrate to the U.S and how they crossed over is what gives us a better idea of what many other couples may have done in the same era to get to Lane County.

Bibliography

1930 Census. Ancestry Library, Year: 1930; Census Place: Oakridge, Lane, Oregon; Page: 6A; Enumeration District: 0094; FHL microfilm: 2341680

Gonzalez-Berry, Erlinda and Mendoza, Marcela. Mexicanos in Oregon. Oregon State University Press. January 2010. Chapter 1

Marriage Index. Ancestry Library and U.S Newspapers.com, El Paso Herald; Publication Date: 10/ Nov/ 1927; Publication Place: El Paso, Texas, USA; URL: https://www.newspapers.com/image/42875616/?article=9f83b9af-9843-4383-ba0d-cb68cf50c9e5/979cff8a-bdf0-4776-ab41-93c700947408&focus=0.33048546,0.8341126,0.44147357,0.9385279&xid=3398

Social Railway. Southern Pacific, https://socalrailway.org/collections/southern-pacific-railway/

U.S Border Crossing. Ancestry Library, Permanent and Statistical Manifests of Alien Arrivals at El Paso, Texas; NAI: 4644598; Record Group Title: Records of the Immigration and Naturalization Service, 1787-2004.; Record Group Number: 85; Microfilm Roll Number: 07

Veloz, Larissa L.. Even the Women are Leaving:Migrants Making Mexican America, 1890-1965. May 2023. Chapter 2