For some time I had been stymied in tracking the ancestry of my paternal grandmother Consuelo Chávez Stoltz (1904-1969). Part of this is due to the fact that her father, Carlos Marín [UPDATE: His name was not Carlos, but Mercedes], is said to have abandoned Consuelo, her older sister Aurora (1903-1979), younger brother Carlos (1906-1994)… Read More


A description of the Civil War unit of my great-great-grandfather Peter Stoltz, from Minnesota in Three Centuries, 1655-1908: 1858 by Lucius Frederick Hubbard, William Pitt Murray, James Heaton Baker, Warren Upham, Return Ira Holcombe, Frank R. Holmes, 1908, Free Press Printing Company, Mankato, Minnesota. The last troops raised in Minnesota for service in the Civil… Read More


From the California Historical Society Collection, about the time of the 1904 birth of my grandmother Consuelo Marin (Chavez) Stoltz in Chihuahua.… Read More


My fourth grand-uncle Josef Stoltz, together with a group of German immigrants who served in the Civil War, set up a cemetery and constructed the first Catholic church in Wright County, Minnesota. As far as I can tell, the bell they bought still rings from the third Church of St. Peter in Delano, Minnesota. I’ve… Read More


Our family reunion in El Paso will come only days before the 150th anniversary of the enlistment of my great-great-grandfather Peter Stoltz in the Union Army. On 21 September 1864, Peter enlisted as a musician in Company B, First Regiment, Minnesota Heavy Artillery. He may have enlisted as a musician because he was too short… Read More


In recounting the various jobs of my great-grandfather Louis Stoltz, I have been looking for images of the various places he worked. I was able to find a vintage 1950s postcard of the location of the El Paso Billiard Club,317 E. Mills Ave., where he was manager in 1940. The club was located in the… Read More


In response to the posted photo of my grandaunt Maybelle Stoltz Chavez’ El Paso band, her daughter my cousin Margie, points out: Both my Mom and her cousin, Juanito Lujan, were members of the band called The Stoltz Blues Chasers. Richard, Arlene and I remember that band being mentioned by Mom years ago… We did… Read More


My great-grandfather Louis Stoltz had quite a life. There was that whole hobo riding the rails thing from North Dakota to the end of the line, El Paso. Then there was that living out of the lyrics of the song El Paso: Out in the West Texas town of El Paso I fell in love… Read More


Boat House, Westlake Park, Los Angeles

Sometime before 1920, Charles and Louis Gustave Stoltz, the two oldest sons of Ludwig “Louis” and Apolonia Luján Stoltz, decided to venture out from El Paso as their father had left North Dakota to find a new life. They arrived in the promised land of Los Angeles and apparently quickly found work. It was, after… Read More


June marked the 10th anniversary of my ordination as a deacon for the Archdiocese of Los Angeles. The Sacrament of Holy Orders is passed on in direct line, from the Twelve Apostles, according to ancient Christian belief. It was only after the Council of Trent (1545-1563) that certain sacramental records were ordered to be maintained.… Read More