People - Latinas and Their Families: An Iowa Women's Archives Resource Guide

Collections

Aguilera, Maria Mercedes. Papers. 1950-2013. 2.5 linear inches. Maria Mercedes was born in Cook’s Point, a predominantly Mexican neighborhood in Davenport, Iowa in 1936. Her parents Manuela Garcia Sanchez and Joseph Mendez Garcia had settled in the area in the early 1930s. In 1973, IHC Farmall denied her employment, using her height as an excuse. She fought against discrimination and was eventually hired. The papers include correspondence, newspaper clippings, and photographs. See also her oral history in the Mujeres Latinas Oral History Project.

Cano Martínez, María. Papers. 1976-2017. 2.5 linear inches. María Cano Martínez was born in Hacienda de Botija in Guanajuato, Mexico in 1925. Her parents Magdaleno and María Rodríguez together with their children emigrated to the United States in 1926 and eventually settled in Iowa City, Iowa in 1928. Cano Martínez witnessed the language barriers her parents endured while seeking health care when she was younger which inspired her to help others. While working at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, she volunteered as an interpreter, and in 1975 became the head of the Department of Social Services which provided interpretation and translation services. The papers include newspaper clippings, a scrapbook relating to María Cano Martínez's life and work, and a family history memoir titled "Leno and María: A Success Story."

García, Inés. Papers. 1916-1999. 5 linear inches. Inés García was born in Fort Madison, Iowa in 1931. Her grandparents, Claro and María Sanchez Díaz, migrated to the U.S. and eventually settled in Iowa in the early twentieth century. Her parents and some extended family soon followed and moved to El Cometa, a predominantly Mexican neighborhood near the railroad tracks in Fort Madison. The papers include an oral history of Inés García conducted by her daughter Teresa García, personal correspondence, newspaper clippings, photographs, and a photo album.

Garnica, Modesta and Genaro. Papers. 1947-2004. 2.5 linear inches. Modesta López Garnica (1901-1974) and Genaro Garnica (1896-1973) were born in Mexico and married in 1915. By 1918 they had immigrated to Kansas, where their eight children were born. They eventually moved to Davenport, Iowa. The papers include family photographs, correspondence, and other documents relating to the family's history.

Gomez Savala, Otilia (Tillie). Papers. 1937-2014. Digital materials. Gomez Savala was born in 1937 in Davenport, Iowa to Mexican immigrant parents Luz Salazar Gomez and Peter Gomez. Her father worked for the Rock Island Railroad and the family lived in Cook’s Point, a predominantly Mexican neighborhood in Davenport, Iowa. The Otilia Gomez Savala papers are available in the Iowa Digital Library. See also her oral history interview in the Mujeres Latinas Oral History Interview Project.

Guzman, Irene and José. Papers. 1963-2007. 5 linear inches. Irene Guzman was born in Oklahoma City, in 1943. José Guzman was born in Kennedy, Texas in 1940. They married in 1961 and had three children. They were involved in the Migrant Action Program (MAP) in Mason City, Iowa. José worked as an outreach worker and organizer for MAP and Irene worked as a caseworker for the Iowa Department of Human Services. The collection is comprised of photographs and slides detailing their work with MAP. See also their oral history interview in the Mujeres Latinas Oral History Project.

Herrera, Basilisa. Papers. 1924-2003. 5 linear inches. Basilia Torres Herrera was born in León Guanajuato, Mexico in 1889. Her family emigrated to North Dakota and later settled in Bettendorf, Iowa. She married Primitivo Herrera and had five children, whom she had to raise on her own after her husband died in an accident at the Davenport foundry. The papers include an oral history interview, photographs, and various materials related to the descendants of Basilisa and Primitivo Herrera.

López, Antonia and Federico. Papers. 1927-1983. 2.5 linear inches. Mexican couple from the state of Guanajuato who settled in Iowa in the 1910s. They lived in Cook’s Point, a predominantly Mexican neighborhood in Davenport, Iowa, from the 1930s to 1952. The papers include biographical documents, personal correspondence with relatives in Mexico, and photographs.

Macías, Manuel and David. Papers. 1890-1972. 2.5 linear inches. The Macías brothers were born in Zacatecas, Mexico. In 1914, David Macias emigrated to the United States and eventually settled in Bettendorf, Iowa where he started working at the Bettendorf Car Company. His brother, Manuel Macías soon followed with his wife Guadalupe Pérez. During World War I, the brothers helped recruit Mexican workers to come work at the Bettendorf foundry. Manuel and David Macías were musicians who taught children and adults to play instruments and eventually formed a band in La Yarda, a Mexican barrio in Silvis, Illinois. David Macías also served as an interpreter in the surrounding communities. The papers are composed of biographical information, photographs, newspaper clippings, community newsletters, and ephemera which were comprised by Pete Macías, Manuel Macías' son. Also included is Pete Macías’s (Manuel Macías’ son) scrapbook of World War II where he served in the 7th and 1st Cavalry.

Martínez, Adella. Papers. 1921-2006. 2.5 linear inches. A former Cook’s Point barrio in Davenport, whose parents emigrated from Mexico to the United States in the early 1900s. The papers include biographical documents, personal correspondence, newspaper clippings, and photographs. Also, view her oral history interview for the Mujeres Latinas Oral History Project.

Muñoz, Sister Irene. Papers. 1973-2006. 0.25 linear inches. Chicana activist, nurse, and religious sister who worked closely with migrant workers in Iowa, especially in Muscatine. She joined the Congregation of Humility of Mary (CHM) in 1959. She was also part of the Muscatine Migrant Committee and played an essential part in establishing health clinics for migrant workers and their families. See also her oral history interview in the Mujeres Latinas Oral History Project.

Muñoz, Sister María Luisa (Molly). Papers. 1972-2006. 0.25 linear inches. Chicana activist, nurse, and religious sister who worked closely with migrant workers and their families in Muscatine, Iowa between the 1960s and 1980s. She worked as a nurse for the Muscatine Migrant Committee and played a crucial role in establishing health clinics for migrant workers and their families.

Plasencia, Ila. Papers. 1930-1991. 2.5 linear inches. Adelaita “Ila” Plasencia was born in 1927 in Iowa to Mexican parents Pablo Rodríguez and Pilar Medina. She served as the first president of the women’s League of United Latin Americans Citizens (LULAC) Council #308 of Des Moines, Iowa. The collection is composed of biographical information, correspondence, materials relating to her involvement in LULAC, and photographs.

Porrez Lozano, Alejandra (Hondo). Papers. 1929-2007. 2.5 linear inches. Born and raised in Fort Madison, Iowa to Mexican parents. She joined the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) Council #304 in 1976 and was a leader in the community. LULAC Council #304 was Iowa’s first chapter founded in 1957 in Fort Madison. The papers contain a detailed family tree, newspaper clippings, recipes, and photographs.

Ramirez, Merle. Papers. 5 linear inches. Ramirez was born in 1930 in Cook’s Point neighborhood in Davenport, Iowa. She worked in the welding department at J. I. Case Company in Bettendorf, Iowa where she held different leadership positions with the United Auto Workers (UAW), a local union. After retiring, she worked with the American Institute of Commerce (now Kaplan University) in Davenport, Iowa to develop programs with local school districts to encourage minority youth to pursue higher education. The papers include information regarding her involvement with the American Institute of Commerce education programs.

Rodriguez, Ernest. Papers. 1910-2022. 10 linear inches. Ernest Rodríguez was born and raised in Holy City, a predominantly Mexican settlement in Bettendorf, Iowa. His birth certificate indicates he was born in “Box Car #8” (Box 1). His mother was Muggie Belva Adams, an African American woman from Alabama, and his father was Norberto Rodriguez, an immigrant from Jalisco, Mexico. Rodriguez was involved in many organizations such as the Quad City Grape Boycott Committee, the Spanish Speaking Peoples Commission, the local American GI Forum, and the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) Council #10 in Davenport. Box 2 includes transcripts of oral histories conducted in the 1990s by Grace Núñez and Rodríguez, who interviewed first-generation Mexican immigrants from the Cook's Point and Holy City neighborhoods. The papers contain his writings and publications, including speeches, letters to the editor, histories, memoirs, essays on the Chicano movement, and more.

Rodriguez, Estefania Joyce. Papers. 1902-2008. 2.5 linear inches. Estefania Rodríguez was born in 1923 and raised in the predominantly Mexican settlement in Bettendorf, Iowa known as Holy City. Her mother was Muggie Belva Adams, an African American woman from Alabama, and her father was Norberto Rodriguez, an immigrant from Jalisco, Mexico. The bulk of the collection consists of over 150 family photographs taken in Alabama, Iowa (including some in Holy City), and Mexico.

Rundquist, María. Papers. 1959-2016. 7.5 linear inches. María Rundquist was born in Mérida, Yucatán, Mexico in 1951. She worked for el Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social (IMSS), where she met her husband who was an exchange medical student from the University of Iowa. In 1978 she married Dr. Rex Rundquist and moved to Ohio with her two small children from her previous marriage. They later moved to Sioux City in 1991. She was very involved with the local community, serving as the Commissioner for the Office of Latino Affairs (1993-1995), and was a member of the Sioux City Human Rights Commission. Box 2 includes her memoir titled “María” which details her life, migration experience, and community activism.

Terronez, Mary. Papers. 1926-2009. 5 linear inches. María Ramírez Terronez was born in San Luis Potosí, Mexico, in 1918 to Adelida Gutierrez Ramírez and Dionisio Ramírez. Her father was recruited to work for the Rock Island Railroad in Davenport, Iowa when she was four years old, and a year later her mother and siblings moved to Cook's Point in Davenport. In 1936 she married Felipe Bravo Terronez and had six children. Terronez was a community activist and leader that worked as an interpreter and liaison for Cook’s Points residents and the Spanish-speaking community. She worked with the Area Board of Migrants, the Muscatine Migrant Committee, and as a teacher’s aide for the Davenport Community School District. She was also involved with the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) Council #10, the Mexican American Committee on Education, and more. The papers include biographical information, correspondence, newspaper clippings, and photographs.

Vallejo Terronez, Florence. Papers. 1913-2006. 2.5 linear inches. Martina Morado together with her mother and brother moved to Horton, Kansas in 1910. She married Julio Vallejo, also from Mexico, in 1914, and together they had eleven children, including Florence who was born in Horton, Kansas in 1924. The papers include Martina’s memoir called “La Obra de Una Mama” detailing her life including her childhood, migration experiences, living in Horton, her marriage, the birth of each child, and their move to Des Moines, Iowa. Also included is the translation of Martina’s memoir by Florence Vallejo Terronez. As well as photographs, newspaper clippings, and crochet by Martina Morado.

Vargas, Lucy and Henry. Papers. 1930-2013. 2.5 linear inches. Lucy Juarez was born in Pemberton, Minnesota, in 1930 to Mexican immigrants Sara and José Juarez. They settled in Cook’s Point in Davenport, Iowa. Lucy and Henry eloped in 1949. In 1959 Henry Vargas was one of the founding members and the first elected president of the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) Council #10 in Davenport, Iowa. Under his term in LULAC #10, they fought against discrimination, picketed local establishments, and supported the national boycott of California table grapes in the 1960s. See also LULAC Council #10 records and their oral history interviews in the Mujeres Latinas Oral History Project.

Vasquez Gaines, Blanca. Papers. 1944-2009. 2.5 linear inches. Blanca Vasquez Aponte was born in Puerto Rico in 1919. In 1944, she joined the Women's Army Corps (WAC) during World War II. She trained at Fort Des Moines, Iowa, a WAC training school. She married Harold Gaines. The papers include newspaper clippings, photographs with detailed captions, and a memoir written by her brother-in-law, Ruben Gaines, on the history of Buxton, Iowa, a predominately African American coal mining town.

Vasquez Olvera, Mary. Papers. 1923-2003. 2.5 linear inches. Mary Vasquez Olvera was born in Fairport, Iowa in 1927 to Jesús (later known as Jenny) and José Vasquez who immigrated to the U.S. from Michoacán, Mexico, and met in Muscatine, Iowa. Mary’s family lived in Nahant, on the outskirts of Davenport, Iowa, in a converted boxcar near the railroad tracks and the city dump. When Mary was sixteen, she left school to work and help support her family. In 1948 she married Augustine Olvera and together they had four children. They helped found “Viva Kennedy” a club in Davenport, Iowa, and were active members of the American G.I. Forum during the late 1950s and 1960s. See also her oral history interview for the Mujeres Latinas Oral History Project.

Werner, Marta. Papers. 1892-1989. 5 linear feet. Marta Warner was born in 1906 in Aguascalientes, Mexico to María Concepción Morales and miner Frank Russell Brown, a U.S. citizen. The Browns moved to Fort Madison, Iowa during the Mexican Revolution. In 1931 she married Harold Theodore Werner and together had six children. Following her husband’s death in 1968, Werner became involved in community service, including groups and programs at the Iowa State Penitentiary in Fort Madison. Most of the papers are personal correspondence with persons who were incarcerated and their families.

West Liberty Latino History. Collection. 1938-2010. 5 linear inches. The papers are comprised of newspaper clippings, pamphlets, and related materials regarding immigration issues, raids, local cultural celebrations, and more about Latine/x communities in West Liberty, Columbus Junction, Marshalltown, Muscatine, and Postville, compiled by Ruben Galvan.