Santos Sánchez was born 1 November 1905 and died 24 April 1950. I don’t know much about him, nor do I have any photos of him as an adult.
I’m not sure how, but apparently he’d get stuck in Ciudad Juárez and my grandmother would have to help get him across the border back to El Paso. I’m assuming he was drunk. My mother says she remembers him being passed out on the kitchen floor, and her grandmother sweeping around him.
Since I only have these pictures of him as a child, that’s how I see him, as a child, in my head. It makes his short life seem that much sadder.
I just recently came across a document from the San Francisco Coroner’s Office. Basically, Santos died downtown, in a doorway on Natomas St. His blood alcohol level was .414% and his liver was shot. He didn’t have any ID on him and was listed as “John Doe #12.” Somehow, the family learned he was in the morgue and my grandmother went down to identify the body on April 28, 4 days after his death (and that’s the day my grandmother actually died, but in 2003.) How sad that they didn’t know where he was for those days.
The coroner’s report says there was a picture. I’ve emailed to see if there’s any way to get a copy. I have no idea what Santos looked like as an adult and I’m curious.
[You’ll see his address is 822 Chenery. The house has 4 bedrooms. Nana, Johnny and my mom Lilia slept in one bedroom. Santos had a small room, maybe actually a closet kind of thing. Antonio (Nana’s husband) had his own bedroom. Jesusita and her husband Eduardo shared a bedroom with 6 kids: Enedina, Olga, Maria, Eddie, Orlando and I’m missing a daughter. The last bedroom was for my grandmother when she came over. I guess Nana insisted she have her own room since she was paying most of the bills.]
Anyway, all very sad. Interestingly, my mom was 7 when her uncle died. I was also 7 when Johnny died, whom I considered my uncle. The two are buried together in Colma, both tragically gone before their time due to acute alcoholism.
Genealogy isn’t always pretty. Family history isn’t always pretty either. But knowing is important.
Sánchez Castañeda Family 