Estepona imigrants in Hawaii (1911-1913): Caravaca - Infante family

 ENGLISH VERSION - GOOGLE TRANSLATE 

Starting in 1907, several campaigns to recruit farmers were carried out in Spain and Portugal, especially in Castilla, Extremadura and Andalusia (mainly Málaga and Granada), to work sugar cane in Hawaiian plantations.

Some 8,000 Spanish compatriots responded to these calls with the false promise of a substantial improvement in their living conditions. Part of the contingent was made up of families and citizens of Estepona.

Based on the records available, it is estimated that about 300 people left this town. Many of the participating families were closely related to each other, so we could say that they moved to Hawaii, or were constituted, thanks to the trip, authentic family clans. An example of this is the Aguilar - de Hoyos families, the Vílchez brothers, the Caravaca - Infante and the Caravaca - Vázquez families.

Most of the families participating in this migration ended up settling in California and integrating into North American society.

Part of the information collected about the Caravaca-Infante family is due to Mrs. Jacqueline Samsel, in her testimony included in the book by Francisco Javier Albertos “Spanish emigrants in Hawaii. Door to California. 1907-1913”, published by Amazon.

Without further ado, we proceed to develop the biographical reference of the Caravaca Infante.

On the first voyage of the steamship S.S. Willender, in 1911, departing from Gibraltar and bound for Honolulu, traveled to Hawaii by the family formed by Gonzalo Caravaca Jerez (Estepona, 6/12/1866 – San Francisco, 3/14/1948), 45 years old, and Concepción Infante Aragón, 35 years old, with their five children: Ana María (Ana), 15, Juan (John), 13, Concepción (Babe), 11, Lorenzo (Lawrence), 7, and Francisca (Francis), 2.

Gonzalo Caravaca Jerez y Concepción Infante Aragón con sus hijos: María Concepción, Lawrence (Lorenzo), Francisca (Francis), John (Juan) y Ana María. Fuente: Jacqueline Samsel

Extracto de la lista de pasajeros del S.S. Willesden. 1911. Fuente: Ancestry

Extracto de la lista de pasajeros del S.S. Willesden. 1911. Fuente: Ancestry

 Gonzalo Caravaca Jerez, born in Estepona on June 12, 1866, was the son of Lorenzo Caravaca (Carabaca) López and Ana Jerez (Gerez) Navarro, who got married in the Parish of Sta. Mª de los Remedios in Estepona on September 5, 1863.

Registro de matrimonio. AHME

Ana Jerez Navarro. Fuente: Jacqueline Samsel

          Concepción Infante Aragón, born in Estepona around 1871, was the daughter of Juan Infante Aragón, who married Concepción Aragón Jerez for the second time.

         According to the 1920 US Census, the family, married couple and four children, John, Concepcion, Lorenzo, and Francisca, lived at 34 Camp 45 in Honomu, Hawaii. The eldest daughter, Ana María, had married and lived with her husband and her children.

         On December 1, 1920, the entire Caravaca-Infante family, including son-in-law and grandchildren, set out for San Francisco aboard the S.S. Mauri. They reached port on December 7, 1920.

         From the 1930 US census we know that Gonzalo Caravaca was a widower (his wife died on November 27, 1929), he lived in San Francisco, on Madrid St, in Assembly district 23, in his own home, with his sons Juan (John ) and Lorenzo (Lawrence) and his daughter Francis.

Hoja del censo de EEUU de 1930. Fuente: Ancestry

Lawrence, John, Concepción y Francis. Fuente: Jacqueline Samsel

And from the 1940 census we know that Gonzalo Caravaca continued to live in the same home with his son John, his daughter-in-law Adela and a granddaughter, Marion. The census sheet is wrong because it lists John as son-in-law and Adela as daughter.

Hoja del censo de EEUU de 1940. Fuente: Ancestry.

         Gonzalo Caravaca Jerez died in San Francisco on March 14, 1948 and his remains rest, along with those of his wife, in the Colma Italian Cemetery, San Mateo County (CA).

Tumba de Gonzalo Caravaca y Concepción Infante. Foto: SFLondon. Fuente: Find a Grave.

Gonzalo Caravaca y Concepción Infante. Foto: Athanatos. Fuente: Find a Grave.

Ana María Caravaca Infante (Ana Infante) was born in Estepona on December 1, 1895 and at the age of 15 left for Hawaii on the SS Willesden with her family and the hope of achieving a better life in those distant lands. They arrived at her destination in December 1911 and worked in the sugar cane fields until they earned enough money to pay for tickets to San Francisco.

Ana married on December 18, 1915, in Papaikou (Hawaii), with Basilio Valerio, born on August 23, 1894 in Manila (Philippines) and, while they were in the islands, they had three children: Concepción, who died, with about 5 years old, on December 23, 1920, Mercedes and Thomas.

Ana María Caravaca Infante. Fuente: Jacqueline Samsel

The Valerio-Caravaca family, together with the Caravaca-Infante family, left for San Francisco on December 1, 1920, aboard the SS Maoui.

Basilio Valerio worked on the Southern Pacific Railroad and lived with his wife and his children in the Excelsior District. They had six other children: Concepción (Constance), John, Anita Ruth, Helen (who passed away at just one year old), Frank Gonzalo Valerio (father of Jacqueline Samsel) and Gloria Catalina.

Ana María Caravaca Infante con su hijo Frank Valerio en San Francisco CA. Fuente: Jacqueline Samsel

Fotos familiares con Frank Gonzalo Valerio. Fuente: Jacqueline Samsel

         Basilio Valerio died in San Francisco on January 2, 1947 and Ana on November 8, 1970 in San Mateo County, CA.

Juan Caravaca Infante (John Caravaca or John C. Infante) was born in Estepona on September 15, 1898 and when he applied for American nationalization, on March 17, 1927, he was not married. Later, he married on June 22, 1930, with Adela Crespo Piña, daughter of Casto Crespo Rico and Jerónima Piña Pérez, who traveled to Hawaii on the SS Harpalion. They came from the town of Monóvar (Alicante).

John Caravaca. Fuente: Jacqueline Samsel

Petición de nacionalización de Juan Caravaca Infante. Fuente: Ancestry

From the 1950 US census we know that John lived, with Adela and Marion, at 370 Pragne Street and his occupation was as a watchman, guard or watchman ("Watchman") at the Sugar Refinery.

John, Adela y Marion. Fuente: Jacqueline Samsel

John Caravaca Infante died on November 23, 1977 and his wife Adela died on March 1, 1978.

Tumba de John y Adela en el Cementerio Italiano de Colma. Foto: SFLondon. Fuente: Find a Grave.

María Concepción Caravaca Infante, born in Estepona on August 5, 1900, married in San Francisco on January 28, 1923, with Sebastián Aguilar de Hoyos, born in Estepona on March 26, 1889.

Sebastián Aguilar y Concepción Caravaca. Fuente: Joey V. Nardone

Sebastián Aguilar, Concepción Caravaca, Ana María Caravaca y John Caravaca. Fuente Jacqueline Samsel

Peticiones para la nacionalización de Sebastián Aguilar y Concepción Caravaca. Fuente: Ancestry

From naturalization applications and the 1930 US Census, we know that Concepción and Sebastián lived in Naples, 352, from San Francisco and had four children: Mary, 6, Lawrence, 3, Sebastian, 1, and Daniel , of months.

And in the 1940 census they appear with five children: Mary, Lawrence, James, Daniel and Elaine.

Sebastián Aguilar worked as a painter in the Railways and died on October 16, 1968; and María Concepción Caravaca Infante passed away on June 7, 1978 in San Mateo, CA. Her remains lie in Alta Mesa Memorial Park, Palo Alto, Santa Clara County, CA.

Tumba de Sebastián Aguilar y Concepción Caravaca. Foto: Mark Utley. Fuente: Find a Grave

From the declaration of intent we know that Lorenzo Caravaca Infante (Lawrence Infante Caravaca)

Lorenzo Caravaca Infante. Fuente: Jacqueline Samsel

was born in Estepona on April 19, 1905 and married on April 13, 1935, in San Francisco, with María Muñoz Cano (Mary Muñoz), born in Estepona on April 14, 1909, daughter of Diego Muñoz Díaz and Antonia Cano Pérez, who traveled to Hawaii on the same ship as the Caravaca-Infante family. They had a child.

Peticiones de nacionalización de Lorenzo Caravaca y María Muñoz Cano. Fuente: Ancestry

Lorenzo Caravaca Infante passed away in San Mateo, California, on December 7, 1994.

From the naturalization petition, we know that Francisca Caravaca Infante was born in Estepona on October 12, 1909. She married George Rodríguez in San Francisco on July 6, 1935.

Boda de Francisca y George. Fuente: Jacqueline Samsel.

They had a daughter, Frances, who was born in San Francisco on September 15, 1936.

Petición de naturalización de Francisca Caravaca Infante. Fuente: Ancestry

George Rodríguez died on October 18, 1949 and Francisca Caravaca Infante on January 9, 1997.

GRATITUDE:

To Ms. Jacqueline Samsel for her collaboration and her photographs.

NOTE:

Apart from the information provided by relatives and descendants, the documentary sources used for the development of the project are:

Albertos Carrasco, Francisco Javier. "Inmigrantes Españoles en Hawaii". Editorial Amazon.

Ancestry. Web para la elaboración de árboles genealógicos. (Los documentos que no tienen pie de foto están obtenidos de esta web)

 https://www.ancestry.com/

Archivo Histórico Municipal de Estepona. AHME.

Family Search. Web para la elaboración de árboles genealógicos. 

https://www.familysearch.org/eurona/feed/home 

Find a Grave. Recopilación de tumbas del mundo. 

https://es.findagrave.com/ 

Hawaiian Spaniards. Grupo de Facebook. 

https://www.facebook.com/HawaiianSpaniard/ 

ODT. Obituary Daily Times. 

https://sites.rootsweb.com/~obituary/using_db.html 

Pérez Martín, José. "Emigración Española a Hawái". Editorial Alhulia.