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Inés García papers

 Collection
Identifier: IWA0467

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Scope and Contents

The Inés García papers date from 1916 to 1999 and measure 5 linear inches. The papers include an oral history interview with Inés García conducted by her daughter, Teresa García, in 1999 at her home in Fort Madison, Iowa, a 1916 copy of the legend of La Llorona (The Weeping Woman), and family photographs and postcards. Also included is a transcript of the oral history interview with Inés García conducted by her daughter, Teresa García.

The photo album dates from 1921 to 1978 and contains newspaper clippings, photographs, postcards, funeral programs, a civil registration written in Spanish, and a receipt for a burial monument. The newspaper clippings provide insight into Mexican American life in Fort Madison and include a number of obituaries. The family photographs depict home and work life in the first half of the twentieth century. Some of the postcards include written correspondence.

Inés García's Holy Communion certificate from Sacred Heart Church in Fort Madison is shelved in the map case.

Dates

  • Creation: 1916-1999

Creator

Conditions Governing Access

The papers are open for research.

Conditions Governing Use

Copyright held by the donor has been transferred to the University of Iowa.

However, copyright status for some collection materials may be unknown. Transmission or reproduction of materials protected by U.S. Copyright Law (Title 17, U.S.C.) beyond that allowed by fair use requires the written permission of the copyright owner. Works not in the public domain cannot be commercially exploited without permission of the copyright owners. Responsibility and potential liability based on copyright infringement for any use rests exclusively and solely with the user. Users must properly acknowledge the Iowa Women’s Archives, The University of Iowa Libraries, as the source of the material. For further information, visit https://www.lib.uiowa.edu/sc/services/rights/

Biographical / Historical

Inés Puga García was born in Fort Madison, Iowa, in 1931 to Josefa and Lucio Puga. Garcia's grandparents, Claro and María Sanchez Diaz, emigrated with their family from Cerrito Del Agua in the state of Zacatecas, Mexico, arriving in Oklahoma on December 7, 1917. Her mother, Josefa Diaz, and aunt, Romana Diaz, arrived in Fort Madison in May 1919. There the Diaz family lived in the Mexican settlement known as El Cometa, a boxcar community whose residents worked for the Santa Fe Railroad. In 1926, a flood destroyed El Cometa and the family moved to another neighborhood known as La Yarda.

From the time she was two weeks old, Inés Puga was raised by her padrinos, or godparents, Asensión Morales and Romana Diaz Morales, who was her mother's sister. Inés Puga graduated from Fort Madison's Catholic Central High School in 1949; she was among the first generation of her family to graduate from high school and was one of the only Mexican students at the private high school. In 1951, Inés Puga married Vernave García and the couple raised six children. Following her husband's death in 1971, Inés García worked in a variety of manufacturing and service sector jobs to support her children.

Extent

5.00 linear inches

Photographs in boxes 1 and 2. boxes

Language of Materials

English

Abstract

Mexican American whose family migrated to the U.S., and eventually to Iowa, in the early twentieth century.

Method of Acquisition

The papers (donor no. 690 and 999) were donated by Teresa Garcia and Ines Garcia in 1999 and subsequent years.

Existence and Location of Originals

Mujeres Latinas Digital Collection: https://digital.lib.uiowa.edu/islandora/object/ui%3Alatinas

Related Materials

Mujeres Latinas Oral History Project: Inés García Oral History Interview, 2005 (IWA).

Author
Christine Mastalio, 2010.
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin

Repository Details

Part of the Iowa Women's Archives Repository

Contact:
100 Main Library
University of Iowa Libraries
Iowa City IA 52242 IaU
319-335-5068
319-335-5900 (Fax)