The Peña-Lara Story: Revisited

By Christopher G. Peña

After discovering additional information pertaining to his paternal side of the family, author Christopher G. Pea revised his original book to provide the reader with a richly detailed account of each member of the Pea-Lara family, along with their respective spouses.
Both highly informative and engaging, The Pea-Lara Story: Revisited retraces the familys roots that began in New Spain (Mexico), including the military exploits of the familys patriarch, Lt. Col. Jos Emeterio Pozas, who served under Spain and Mexico. In addition, the story includes an account of the familys life in Monterrey, Nuevo Len, Mexico, the Pea-Laras forced evacuation of the city during the height of the 1910-1920 Mexican Revolution, the familys assimilation into the United States, including the military service of six of the Pea-Lara sons during the Second World War and, finally, the familys postwar years. It is a family chronicle that includes almost two centuries of history telling.
The Pena-Lara Story: Revisited provides the reader with a wealth of new and detailed information about the familys origins, some of which was recently discovered during an exhaustive search through Mexican Civil and Church archival records, as well as many United States civil and religious documents. This information now enlightens and contradicts long-held beliefs about the origins and lives of the Pea-Lara lineage.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: Feb 13, 2014
• ISBN: 9781491863411

Christopher G. Peña

CHRISTOPHER G. PEÑA is a retired Associate Professor of Nursing with a Bachelor’s degree in History. Though a registered nurse by profession, Peña is an avid reader of American Civil War history, and is the author of four books and countless articles that chronicle the war in Louisiana, his native state. Peña’s interest in history eventually drew him to his paternal roots in Mexico and the events that eventually lead to the family’s relocation to the United States. Peña lives in Knoxville, Tennessee, with his wife, Linda.

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© 2014 by Christopher G. Peña. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

Published by AuthorHouse 02/07/2014

ISBN: 978-1-4918-6342-8 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4918-6303-9 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-4918-6341-1 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2014902474

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

The author can be contacted at his home address:

6005 Newington Lane

Knoxville, Tennessee 37912

Cover

Cuauhtémoc Brewery, ca. 1910, Colección Histórica FEMSA

Cristóbal M. Peña and María del Refugio Peña Lara, Christopher G. Peña Collection, Knoxville, TN

Panoramic Photograph: City of Laredo, Texas and Nuevo Laredo, Mexico, 1920, Library of Congress

Cover Design: Pamela P. Smith, Knoxville, Tennessee

Contents

Acknowledgments

Introduction

Book I Peña-Lara Connection

1. Pozas-Lara Family: The Long Road to Monterrey

2. Cristóbal Peña: Growing Up and Marriage

Book II Abridged History Of The Mexican Revolution

1. Prelude to the Revolution

2. The Mexican Revolution of 1910-1920

Book III Monterrey, Mexico 1910-1915

1. Cuauhtémoc Brewery and the Peña-Lara Connection: November 1910-April 1914

2. Peña-Lara Saga: May 1914-June 1915

Book IV Living In The United States 1915-1946

1. Living North of the Border

2. Military History of the Peña-Lara Sons during the Second World War

Book V The Post-War Years

1. Humberto

2. Mario

3. Eddie-Ricky

4. Ferdie-Javier-Gene

5. Grace

6. Tétol-Pita

7. Appendix A The Peña-Lara Roots (1776-1908)

15. Appendix B Peña-Lara Family Tree (1908-2013)

2. Appendix C Iwo Jima Letter: By Edward P. Lara Lalo

References

For Roberto

Acknowledgments

In 2010 when I first published my family history, Adopted Land, Beloved Land: The Peña-Lara Story, I thought I had written the definitive account of my paternal roots. Then I received an email on Friday, October 14, 2011, from a never-before-heard-of cousin, Roberto Pozas de la Vega, who lives in Monterrey, Nuevo León, Mexico. It turns out his great grandfather and my great grandmother were brother and sister; therefore, we shared a common ancestry. José Emeterio Pozas, our great, great grandfather, was the Pozas that I mentioned in my original book. It turns out he was a much larger figure than what I was initially lead to believe and his demise was nothing like I had earlier recorded. Roberto’s tireless efforts at gathering information relevant to the Pozas’s side of the family ultimately lead to my decision to rewrite the opening chapter of the book, as well as to insert a great deal more new information discovered about the family. The results cumulated in my newest book: The Peña-Lara Story: Revisited. I could never have succeeded in this endeavor without the aid and encouragement of Roberto. I am eternally grateful.

A special thanks to my youngest brother, Gerald Peña, Slidell, Louisiana, for discovering research materials online related to our great, great grandfather’s military exploits during the early 1840s; Gordon Ennis Jr., Santa Rosa, California, for sharing family stories about his late father-in-law, Eugene Peña; and the following people for sharing new information about family members: Arturo Pena, Center Point, Texas; Ernesto Peña, Dallas, Texas; Nelda Peña, Houston, Texas; Bokenfohr Donald Buck Kearns and Marie Kearns, Thibodaux, Louisiana; Edward Lara Jr. and Peggy Lara, Houston, Texas; Evangelina G. Nina Peña, Spring, Texas; Fernando Peña, Aguascalientes, Aguascalientes, Mexico; Gloria Lara Benkendorf, Huntley, Illinois; Mary Francis Butcher Doris, Katy, Texas; Martha J. Peña and Monica Peña, Mexico City, Mexico; Richard Rich Lara Jr., Park City, Illinois; and Roberta Knauf Bischoffer, Fox Lake, Illinois. I would especially like to thank Ellen Keith, Chicago History Museum Research Center for providing information about Vine Gardens, a club and restaurant in Chicago, and Lucy Cortinas, secretary, San Agustín Cathedral, Laredo, Texas, for assisting in the collation of church documents pertaining to the family. I’m especially indebted to José Peña, Monterrey, Nuevo León, Mexico, for his assistance in translating Spanish-written family baptismal records I sent him. Many thanks to Margie R. Ibarra, Webb County Clerk, Nidia Benavides, Deputy Clerk, and the staff of the Webb County Clerk’s office, Laredo, Texas, for their assistance in obtaining requested birth certificates for family members. Thanks to DeeDee Denise DiBenedetto, Private Investigator, St. Amant, La., for obtaining information I sought. Thank you, Gloria Borum, Knoxville, Tennessee, for proofreading my manuscript. Thank you, Fernando Casasús, historian, Monterrey, Nuevo León, Mexico, for your assistance in researching and discovering long sought after family-related documents. And finally, I am especially indebted to Luis Felipe Quirós Sada, Public Relations FEMSA and Roberto Lara Durán, Analyst and Administrator Colección Histórica FEMSA, Monterrey, Nuevo León, Mexico, for granting me permission to duplicate the photos of the Cuauhtémoc Brewery and the city of Monterrey that appear in this book.

I would be remiss if I did not publicly thank again those people for their assistance in gathering information so vitally important to the original book. It goes without saying that my late father, Humberto G. Peña, was a primary source of information and without his keen memory regarding events in the distant past I would not have been able to fully chronicle his family’s history. In addition, I am eternally grateful to the late Grace Peña Butcher Dolce and her late husband John J. Dolce; my late cousin, Mario Alejandro Peña; Adriana Peña, Houston, Texas; Javier Peña Jr., Laredo Texas, Roberto Beto Peña, Laredo Texas; and Travis Peña, Dallas, Texas.

I would like to thank my oldest daughter, Pamela P. Smith, Knoxville, Tennessee, for assisting me with photo and map insertions and for redesigning the book cover. And finally, a special thanks goes to my best friend and wife, Linda, for allowing me the time to pursue this project.

Christopher G. Peña

January 16, 2014

Introduction

When my father, Humberto Gabriel Peña, exited the bus at the outskirts of San Antonio, Texas, on Wednesday, October 10, 1945, it had been over three years since he had seen his parents. It was the beginning of a glorious day for him. Dressed in the standard army khaki uniform and carrying only a duffel bag containing an extra set of clothing, my father was honorably discharged from the Army earlier that day. After volunteering for the U.S. Army Air Corps in August 1942, he landed in North Africa in June 1943 and participated in the Sicily and Italy Campaigns, along with servicing aircraft that aided the Allies in their invasion of southern France in August 1944. On September 16, 1945, with the war now over, he boarded a troop transport at the port of Naples, Italy, for the long sea voyage back to the states.

Arriving in New York City on October 3, the military transferred him to a departure camp in New Jersey where he eventually boarded one of many Pullman trains the federal government had secured for transporting returning troops home. After three days of travel, my father’s train finally reached his destination—San Antonio. While temporarily housed at Fort Sam Houston, a military base located on the eastern edge of the city, my father patiently waited several days for his discharge orders to be processed, occasionally taking a bus to the downtown district to share a beer with an army buddy or two. When notified of his official discharge on October 10 at 3:20 p.m., my father soon discovered that the bus traveling to his hometown of Laredo had departed several hours earlier. The next bus was not scheduled to leave San Antonio until five that afternoon. Eager to see his parents and not wanting to delay his departure any longer, my father decided to set out for home by other means.

After jumping aboard one of the city buses that traveled to the south end of Nogalitos Street, my father got off the bus, crossed the street, and walked south along the Old Laredo Highway—Texas State Highway 81. Along the roadway, he stuck out his thumb, hoping to catch a ride. Within minutes, a couple stopped their vehicle, asked him where he was going, and then offered him a ride. Fortunately for my father, the couple was also heading to Laredo and took him to the front steps of his parents’ house at 409 San Bernardo Avenue.

When he arrived home three hours later, his parents, sister, Graciela, one of his brothers, Javier, and his wife, Evangelina or Nina, along with their first two children, greeted him warmly. Everyone was pleased to see him, but none more so than his mother, María del Refugio Peña Lara. (Her maiden name Lara followed, not preceded, her husband’s name, as was customary in Hispanic unions.) María was called Cukita by her elders and peers, but was affectionately called Pita by her children and grandchildren. This nickname came about because one of her sons, Mario, could not pronounce mamacita (mommy) as a young child, and instead said mamapita.

Pita broke down in tears upon seeing her youngest son return safely from the war. It was a glorious reunion for everyone; my father was now home. He had survived the bloodiest war in world history. Over 50 million people perished in the fight and hundreds of millions of others suffered incalculable horrors during the long and bitter struggle.

For Pita and her husband, Cristóbal Matías Peña, the long nightmare of worry was almost over. Six of their seven sons served in the United States military during the war, though one son only briefly. My father was the first of four sons to return home from overseas duties. Among the five sons who continuously served, Fernando, the oldest, was the only Peña stationed in the states after volunteering for military service. Fortunately, all of the boys survived the war and went on to lead productive lives in various parts of the country. Only Mario returned to his parents’ native country, where he initially worked in Mexico City for the DuPont Company.

It was 1945 and, for Cristóbal and his family, which included his wife of thirty-seven years, seven sons, and a daughter, the war’s end marked yet another milestone in the family’s remarkable history of surviving a plethora of adversities. The family’s troubles began in Mexico years earlier. Cristóbal and María managed to escape the jaws of death during the turbulent years of the Mexican Revolution of 1910-1920. By means of bribery or good fortune, the Peña couple, with their first four children, the youngest only weeks old, escaped the war-ravaged city of Monterrey in 1915 and relocated to Laredo. Like so many other Mexicans during that time, the Peñas became one of thousands of refugee families who sought safe haven in the United States. The violence and uncertainties within their native land forced them to relocate across the Rio Grande.

Once in the United States, Cristóbal quickly conformed to the American culture, though he never lost sight of his heritage. The family grew, my father being among four additional children. All of the Peña children assimilated into the American way of life by learning to read, write, and speak English, while retaining or learning Spanish as well. All attended high school, with four of the children graduating from college. They all married, raised families, and paid their fair share of taxes from the good fortunes earned as productive American citizens. They had a zest for life and were never afraid of hard work if it provided a better life for them and their families.

When called upon to serve during World War II, the Peña sons did so without question, native land or not. They were among the estimated 350,000 Hispanic men who faithfully served in the United States military out of a Mexican-American male population (all ages) of 1.4 million. Obviously, this number was a significant proportion of the Hispanic population during the war years.

The Peña-Lara chronicle illustrates how our nation ultimately welcomes different cultures and blends those ethnicities into a melting pot society, which is so characteristic of and unique to this country. It is a national asset that strengthens the greatness and cultural richness of our land.

BOOK I

PEÑA-LARA CONNECTION

Book I

Peña-Lara Connection

1. Pozas-Lara Family:

The Long Road to Monterrey

The maternal lineage of my grandmother, María del Refugio Peña Lara (Pita), dates back to at least the mid-1770s when her great grandparents, José Casiano Benito Canales Garza (born April 9, 1776) and María de África García Yglesias (born December 19, 1784) married on November 19, 1800 at San Juan Bautista in Lampazos, Nuevo León, Mexico. Their union produced fourteen children over a twenty-five year period, with their first child born in 1802. Pita’s maternal grandmother, María de Jesús Canales Yglesias, the couple’s eleventh child and fourth girl, was born on January 26, 1820 in Lampazos. She eventually chose a career soldier as her husband, José Emeterio Pozas. Thirty-six years her senior, Pozas was born on March 3, 1784 in Real de Catorce, San Luis Potosi.

José Emeterio Pozas was the son of José Rafael de Pozas and María Tomasa Zúñiga. His parents, both of Spanish descent, married on April 24, 1781 at the Church of Santa Isabel in Armadillo de los Infantes, San Luis Potosi. How many, if any, additional children they had is not known. Nevertheless, José Emeterio was a child they could be proud of. Over the course of his adult life, Pozas had a long and distinguished military career serving in both the Spanish and Mexican armies. According to family lore, Pozas’s military career started in 1798 when he was only fourteen years old. How true that was and in what capacity he served at such a young age is anyone’s guess. Soldiering or not, by 1810 he had taken on a wife, María Prudencia Alexa, an Indian girl by all accounts who, on September 24, 1810 bore him a son, José Rafael Pozas Alexa. The Indian child was born in the village of La Redonda, San Luis Potosi, and baptized four days later at the Church of Santa Isabel in Armadillo de los Infantes.

The oldest known evidence of José Emeterio’s military service dates to the Mexican War of Independence (1810-1821). Initially part of the Royalist Army, he fought for Spain against the insurgents and participated in the Battle of Villa de Carbón (February 21, 1814). As a member of the Dragons of San Carlos from San Luis Potosi, Pozas singlehandedly captured the regimental colors from his opposing enemy—the Chapa Regiment—killing their color guard in the process. The Dragons endured the battle without the loss of a single man and killed at least eighteen of their enemy (though there were many other casualties). They captured twenty-one rifles, two cannons, a war chest, and a regimental flag. Pozas’s heroism was first reported by his commanding officer, Captain Juan Galopante, whose report was later forwarded to Félix María Calleja del Rey, the Viceroy (governor) of New Spain (Mexico).

By the time Mexico broke free of Spain in 1821, Pozas was a member of the Mexican army. It is likely that Pozas served in Santa Anna’s 1836 Texas campaign and fought at the Battle of the Alamo (February 22 - March 6, 1836). Rosa Rosita Pozas, a granddaughter of Pozas, often spoke of José Emeterio’s participation in the battle and recalled seeing his name in Mexican documents or articles written about the Alamo.

By 1842, Pozas had been promoted to captain and served in Brigadier General Adrian Woll’s expedition into Texas. A Frenchman named Woll, serving in the Mexican army, was ordered to capture San Antonio, which at the time was the westernmost outpost in the Republic of Texas. After the town’s capture, he was to reconnoiter eastward toward the Guadalupe River as far south as Gonzales, to determine the intent of the Texas army. His raid into Texas was to last no more than one month. Despite Texas winning its independence from Mexico after the defeat of Santa Anna’s army at the Battle of San Jacinto (April 21, 1836), both nations clashed over their respective borders. The Republic of Texas claimed the Rio Grande River, Mexico, and the Neches River. As a result, there were many clashes between Mexico and Texas, and later with the United States between 1836 and 1848. The ensuing Mexican War (1846-1848) forever settled the borderline dispute in Texas’s favor.

After Woll captured San Antonio in September and briefly held the town, Pozas was given command of a contingent of soldiers who escorted a number of Texas prisoners, mostly civilians, back to Mexico. They were eventually released seven months later. One of the Texas captives, Judge Anderson Hutchinson of the 4th Judicial District, had nothing but contempt for Pozas, calling him an ignorant man at the start of his long trek toward the interior of Mexico. On the other hand, General Woll praised his subordinate officer when he wrote about his military exploits into Texas, Pozas’s participation, and his subsequent prisoner-assignment following the capture of San Antonio.

During the Mexican War, Pozas served as a squadron commander with the rank of lieutenant colonel during the Battle of Contreras near Mexico City (August 19-20, 1847) and, in 1850, was cited as a Defender of the Fatherland and decorated for his service during that battle.

Beginning in early November 1848 and lasting into December, a flurry of civilian and military communications indicated that a band of Texian thieves, numbering between 100 and 200, were wreaking havoc in villages across northern Mexico adjacent to Texas. These Texians had served as volunteer soldiers during the Mexican War, but had long ago been discharged from United States military service. In addition, it appeared that the Texians were in league with Santa Anna, an Indian war chief of the Penateka band of the Comanche Indians, along with at least 150 of his warriors. In particular, the town of Lampazos appeared to be in the bull’s-eye of the Texian and Indian invasion. The mayor of Lampazos, Manuel M. Perez, along with the governor of the State of Nuevo León, José María Paras, wanted immediate military action to crush these bandits.

Lt. Col. Pozas, commanding a portion of the 8th Cavalry Corps, was immediately dispatched to Lampazos to shore up defenses in the town and to repel any such advances in Northern Mexico made by these uninvited raiders. What became of these Texian and Indian bandits is not exactly known. Some of the Texians were routed by U.S. troops stationed across the border from Mier, Tamaulipas. Others who arrived near Lampazos quickly discovered that Pozas had made the town impregnable to attack and decided retreating back to Texas was the better part of valor. For his efforts in defending Lampazos, its mayor and townspeople were forever indebted to Pozas.

The Indian chieftain, Santa Anna, eventually gave up his pursuit of Mexican treasure as well and crossed back into Texas. He died in December 1849 when a cholera epidemic swept through his village, but the Indians continued to harass northern settlements in Mexico for years to come.

Though nothing is known for sure, Pozas likely lost his first wife and child to disease or to some other tragic set of circumstances. When that loss occurred is not known, but by late—1849, while still stationed in Lampazos, he became engaged to María de Jesús Canales, who lived in town and clearly knew about his military service since his arrival in the area the year before. Perhaps seeking permission, Pozas informed the military inspector of the region of his plans to marry. It appears that his request was granted with one odd stipulation. On December 18, 1849, Pozas penned a note to the inspector informing him who his future in-laws were. Why such a request? That answer is lost to history, as well of the date of their marriage.

The two were married most likely in late-1849 or early-1850 in Lampazos. By 1855, military duties took Pozas and his bride to Zacatecas. There, at the age of seventy-one, he became a father once again. His child, María del Refugio Refugio Pozas Canales, Pita’s mother, was born in either September or October of that year. The couple’s second and final child, José Pozas Canales, was born in Monterrey, Nuevo León, on March 18, 1857.

Between the births of his two later children, Lt. Col. Pozas participated in the 1856 Puebla Campaign. The clergy in Puebla went into rebellion after the first of the Liberal Reform Laws was passed in 1855. The Juárez Law, named after Benito Juárez, restricted the Church’s privileges, specifically its legal authority over the state. That measure made civil law supreme over the Church, much to the consternation of Archbishop Lázaro de la Garza in Mexico City who condemned it. The law eventually triggered the short-lived rebellion in Puebla. Pozas’s role during the uprising is not known.

Pozas went on to serve during the War of the Reform (1857-1860), but in what capacity is another mystery. He died on June 27, 1858 at the age of seventy-four of a chest wound sustained during battle. Pozas was buried in Lampazos, Nuevo León, probably near the location of his last combat clash. For his many long years of military service to Mexico, María de Jesús was awarded a widow’s pension, but she had to wait until February 1, 1876 to collect it. Her pension amounted to 376 pesos and 20 centavos.

By 1863, María de Jesús Pozas Canales had presumably remarried, though it is not known for sure. If she did remarry, her new husband—whose surname began with de C.—managed a hacienda, presumably near Lampazos. Distant relatives living in Mexico recalled years later the existence of such a person and his occupation. The couple had no children of their own, and it appeared that de C. lovingly raised his two young stepchildren as his own.

During the Franco Mexican War (1862-1867), while living in Lampazos, María de Jesús was among a group of ladies from the town who raised money for hospital relief for Puebla. The town had been the site of a decisive battle fought between the French and Mexican armies, concluding with a short-lived victory for Mexico on May 5, 1862. Hospitals had been set up in town to care for large numbers of wounded soldiers who had fought at Puebla.

The Pozas children would have stayed with their mother and stepfather in the Lampazos region but for one unfortunate set of circumstances that befell de C. According to family lore, one day while supervising workers, de C. noticed in the far distance a band of Indians on horseback approaching his workplace. What tribe these Indians belonged to and why they were venturing toward the hacienda he managed (food, plunder, or both) is lost to history. According to stories told to my grandmother by her mother, when de C. saw the Indians looming in the distance, he immediately sensed the imminent danger posed to his family and quickly ordered María de Jesús and the children to hide along the edge of a pond located near the property. His family masked their presence among a cluster of large leafy elephant-ear plants that were indigenous to the region and then fell silent. Pozas’ daughter, Refugio, witnessed what transpired next.

Once the Indian party arrived at their destination, Refugio saw her stepfather conversing with them, although she could not hear the conversation. The distance between her and her stepfather was too great to discern any details about the conversation he was having with the Indians. If there was any semblance of civility or negotiations between the two parties, it quickly disintegrated into chaos. Refugio later told her daughter, my grandmother, that she saw her stepfather murdered, then scalped by the Indians, along with the other field hands. Despite the carnage, her mother, who also witnessed the murders, kept her emotions in check, continued to hold the children close in hand, and remained silent and motionless near the water’s edge until the band of Indian marauders left the vicinity. For María de Jesús and the children, it was a hellish situation.

The story of de C.’s murder has been passed down by family members with the understanding that the person killed by Indians was José Emeterio Pozas. My father’s generation had no knowledge of his 1858 death and María de Jesús’s subsequent marriage to or living arrangements with de C. At the time of her father’s death, Refugio was only three