Gabriel Rodriguez

We will start with Grampa Gabriel.

Through a lot of research, we found out that he was born in 1905 in Goliad, TX. Well, the town was eventually called Goliad, but he was born in a "mission" (an area around a mission or church that was a small town, like in the mexican movies) called "La Bahia del Mar". He was born March 25 to parents named Guadalupe Garcia and Eusebio Rodriguez. This was confirmed through records at Goliad courthouse by Gloria Candelaria (GC).

There was a story that Gabriel had been born to a Rubalcado family and raised by a Rodriguez family, and took their name. But it now seems it was the other way around. He was born a Rodriguez, and according to a story he told GC, his mother left with a man on a white horse, presumably his father, when he was a small child. He remembers her leaving, wearing bullet belts across her chest (like the Frito Bandito), and laughing as they rode off to fight with Pancho Villa. I will post his story to GC in a separate post.

Pancho Villa, for those who don't know, was a Mexican revolutionary general who ran around trying to help tumble the government and take from the rich to give to the poor. He was very popular as a legend in Mexico, and he had a lot of women in his ranks, called "solderas". They were mostly spouses to the soldiers and took care of cooking and camp duties, but many of them fought and were used as spies by Villa, who had no problem using women soldiers. He led revolutionary raids from 1910 to 1920.

If Gabriel's mother left to fight with Villa, it was likely at the time of the official revolution, in 1915. He would have been 10 years old. From oral history, we know he went to live in an orphanage, then with a Rubalcado family, with whom he grew up. There is a record of Gabriel Rubalcado, from 1920 Census, living in Dewitt County, TX (which is next to Goliad County). He lives with the family and is listed as "son". He was 14 in 1920 (sometimes the math doesn't add up, but if it is close it counts). There were 5 children in the household, including another son named "Alberto" who was also age 14. We do not know if he was a twin, or just a true Rubalcado son that was the same age. We also know he had a half-sister named "Remijia" from oral history.

We lose track of Gabriel's story about then, until he was married to Guadalupe Sanchez, mother of Joel and Joe Sanchez Rodriguez on March 12, 1927 (at age 22) in Cuero, TX, in Dewitt County. Joel was born July 29, 1931. Joe was born in 1927. We lose track of him again, until he is married to Naseria "Sallie" Flores in 1937, in Houston (according to oral history). We know he spent part of his time working as an unordained preacher for many years, going house to house in order to preach.

He and Sallie had 7 children together, Esther (b.1938), Angel (b.1939), Abel (b.1941), Eva (b.1944), Adam (b. 1945), Emma (b. ?), and Gabriel, Jr. (b. 1952). There is a story that Gabriel Jr was actually named Abrahm, but he went by J.R. Sallie and Gabriel lived a good part of their married lives in Simonton, TX and Brookshire, TX. Eventually, they separated and Gabriel moved to Houston. Sally raised the kids in Brookshire.

There is another gap in his story until about 1980 when he came to live with his son Angelo in Galveston, TX. He was getting too old to live alone. He lived with Angelo and his family until November 27, 1981, when he died the day after Thanksgiving. I remember that all his kids came over, and he celebrated with his entire family that year for the first time in a long time. He is buried in Fulshear cemetery.

What do YOU know or remember about Gabriel?