Rosa Maria (Cruz) Saunders (1896 - 1977)

Born 6 Jul 1896 in Long Beach, Los Angeles Co., California, USA

Ancestors

Descendants

Died 25 Apr 1977 at age 80 in San Diego, California, USA

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Biography

Rosa Maria Cruz was born July 6, 1896 in Long Beach, California. Her father, Jose Martin Cruz, was 41, and her mother, Mauricia Verdugo, was 30. She is found as a resident at the Los Angeles Orphan Asylum in the 1910 Census at age 14 (with her younger sister, Florence); and was in San Diego by 1911 living with her older brother, Marshall Cruz. She appears to have married four or five times and had three daughters. Her first husband was Reginaldo Palomares Vejar (her 2nd Cousin 1X removed; his father Ramon Vejar & her Grandfather Joaquin Verdugo were 1st Cousins) with whom she had 2 daughters, Josephine Henriette Vejar and Regina "Reggie" Teresa Marcelline Vejar. With her 2nd husband, Vernon Kemp, she had daughter Helen Marie Kemp. She died April 25, 1977 in San Diego, California at the age of 80, and was buried at Fort Rosecrans National Cemetary, in San Diego, California along with her husband Woodard "Red" Saunders.

In a column outlining her life when she was 79 years old, Rosa Maria Cruz claimed Mission Indian and Spanish descent. She claimed (it seems mistakenly) that Maria Eulalia Perez (1766-1878…1C7XR) was her 5th Great Grandmother. Rosa stated that the Verdugo family came from Majorca, Spain and were landowners in Pasadena and of Rancho Los Cerritos in Long Beach. Rancho Los Cerritos was a part of the original Rancho Los Nietos and was held by Maria Manuela Antonia Perez y Nieto (1791-aft.1835…1C6XR) and her husband Juan Ygnacio Guillermo de Cota (1768–1844…5GGU). Juan Ygnacio Guillermo de Cota’s marriage to Maria Manuela Antonia Perez y Nieto was his second. He had been previously married to Maria Manuela de Jesus Lisalde (1777-1803…2C5XR), the daughter of Maria Tomasa Lopez (1756–1778…1C6XR) and Pedro Antonio Lisalde.

Rosa Maria Cruz bought a house in San Diego at 1942 Thomas Street in 1929 and lived there until 1974 when she moved to De Anza Trailer Park on Mission Bay. Rose recounts fishing in Mission Bay with her family using chicken wire during the Depression. She tells that she, two sisters and her mother, Maria Mauricia Faviana Verdugo (1863-1941…2GGM), were involved in the founding of St. Briget’s Catholic Church in Pacific Beach. There was no Catholic Church previously and they sold Spanish dinners to raise funds to build the church. Her nephew, Richard Severn Rash (1921-1988…1C2XR), the son of her sister Florence, was the first altar boy at St. Briget’s and her mother Mauricia Verdugo passed away before the church was completed.

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Sources

1. ↑ First-hand information as remembered by Troy Dockins, Thursday, May 7, 2015. Replace this citation if there is another source.

1. SS Death Index Number: 570-16-9748; Issue State: California; Issue Date: Before 1951

2. Ancestry.com. U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2015.

3. California Census: Year: 1900; Census Place: Long Beach, Los Angeles, California; Roll: T623_91; Page: 8B; Enumeration District: 109.

4. Arizona, County Marriage Records, 1865-1972