My grandmother was Maria Elena Encinas. Encinas are the name on my father’s death certificate, but on his death certificate the name of his mother is Encinas. I know my grandmother who went by the name of Helen and married a John Ramirez, had some sisters who lived in Fresno, CA. I believe two of her sisters names were Rose, and another Maria, I was very young, but want to say I remember her speaking of a brother, she called Bonnie?? I found a letter from Rose to Helen, and on the envelope the last name for Rose was Black. I believe this sister Rose married a man with the last name Black. I also found a letter with from Maria, her sister, who speaks of Rose and Mary, so maybe another sister is Mary. I am sure that I have many relatives still in Fresno, stemming from these ladies. More family names, such as Grandma Helen's seven kids which were her first son Joe Vasquez, children from second marriage to John F. Ramirez; kids were John F. Ramirez, Victor Ramirez, Louisa I. Ramirez, Ernest Ramirez, George Ramirez, and my father Abel M. Ramirez. Grandma Helen lived in Santa Maria, Lemoore, as I found in the 1920 and 1930 census. She lived in Los Angeles all my life and I was born in 154. I know that her son John Ramirez married and lived in Oklahoma for a while with his wife Eleanor. They had several kids, as did my own father Abel. Later, John and Eleanor moved to Californian and I remember them living in Pico Rivera, in Southern California, not to far form where I grown in Los Angeles, My aunt Louisa Ramirez, Castillo, also lived in Los Angele, and so did my Uncle Victor, and uncle Gorge. My Uncle Ernie Ramirez and half brother, my Uncle Joe Vasquez both lived in the Fresno area. I am not to sure where up north my Uncle Ernie live; it could have been Fresno, or somewhere near therr. I do remember that he had a daughter named Gloria. Or at least I remember Grandma telling me about her. For more details or a bunch of other names in this newly started family search e-mail me at
hertools@charter.net.
I am Roberta Ramirez, (married name Udin), daughter of Abel Marvel Ramirez, and granddaughter of Maria Elena (Aka. Grandma Helen Ramirez) I would love to be in contact with any cousins or aunts up north that I have never met. I am sure that any children from Joe Vasquez or his brother Ernest Ramirez would have living children in their fifties and sixties who would recognize some of these names or would have known some of these names, when they were young and growing up in or around Fresno. Ask you grandmothers or great grandmothers if they have heard of the beautiful sisters with the light gray or blue eyes, with the last name of Encinas who lived in Northern California, in the mid 1880’s till about the late 1970’s. Maybe your grandmother or great grandmother may be the granddaughter of one of the Encinas girl that I am looking for and who were related to my grandma Helen, who was born on 8/18/1888 and died in 1976. She had the most beautiful gray eyes, and all her seven kids I believe had the same. Oh just one more bit... My mother's name is Martha Ramirez. Her and my dad Abel had ten kids, who were all born and raised in Los Angeles. All the above information is just from my own memories and took me three minutes to write. I have many more memories and names for this family. I have just started this search recently.
Birdie Udin