TREE TALK

  The story of Jose and Juliana Martin Crizador, and their immigration from the Azores to Oakland, CA via the Sandwich Islands as indentured servants.  Jose and Juliana Martin, circa 1899 29 Apr 1886, Jose and Juiliana  Cesar  Martins Crizidor departed Funchal, Madeira Island on the British steamship Amana for the Sandwich Islands.   The newlyweds were going on a honeymoon cruise to Hawaii, but not the way you think.  No, this trip came with heavy strings attached.   They had signed a years-long contract to work the cane fields on a plantation in Maui in exchange for passage to a new world and new opportunities.   The plantation owners needed workers to harvest and process the sugar cane of Hawaii.  In the Azores, they found a steady stream of men and women looking to escape their island solitude for new opportunities.  The Portuguese knew how to harvest the cane as this was Madeira’s primary crop,...

    Nina Stearns-Smith , 1927 Nina Stearns-Smith Banta(1910-2012), my grandmother, and I met periodically to share the latest news over coffee.  She knew I was interested in family history and loved to share stories and photos of our ancestors. One day I asked, “What was it like growing up in Colorado?”     Nina and Grandma Smith, 1913 “Hmmm,” she started. “Well, I was actually born in Denning, Arkansas, but my mother died when I was a baby.  After that, I lived with Grandma and Grandpa Smith until I was about four years old.”  As she began to tell the story, her eyes became distant and her voice softened, as I sensed her going back to that place and time.   "I had fun when I was with Grandma Smith.  They had a house in town and a farm where I would help feed the chickens.  I loved helping on the farm.           Then one day they took me to a faraway place, to see my father and his new wife. ...

TJ Banta, circa 1946 Theodore “TJ” Banta experienced profound loss and resilience by the time he married Verona Willard at the age of 27 in June 1906.   However, I did not realize the depth of his experience until making a surprise discovery while researching the “Find a Grave” database.   For context, Barbara and I were preparing for an extended research trip that included Ford County, Kansas.  I knew my maternal roots were deep in Kansas.  Bucklin, Kansas was where the Willard and Banta branches of my family tree came together with the marriage of TJ Banta and Verona Willard.  Their roots were so deep that their remains were brought from California back to Kansas to rest within the family plot at Bucklin.  Back to my surprise.  A “Find a Grave” search to see if other Banta relatives were buried in Ford County revealed two others: Birdie and Infant Son Banta.  They are buried in the same grave and share a headst...