Generations of American Me
Paternal Great Great Great Grandfather (left, Rev. Antonio Jose Rodriguez) and Great Great Grandfather (right, Benigno A. Rodriguez).
Picture taken 1925 or 1926
Part of an ongoing Family Research Project.
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In 1892, a young man by the name of José Rodriguez began a ministry among the Native American tribe known as the Utes. The Utes, of Ignacio, Colorado, would move back and forth between the mountains in the summer and the village of Ignacio during the winter months. Pastor Rodriguez would minister to the Utes during the winter months and the Spanish population during the summer months. In 1895, a Presbyterian Church was organized in Ignacio, made up of Native Americans and Spanish-speaking members. During his long ministry, Pastor Rodriguez introduced two Southern Ute Chieftains to the Lord, Severo Capote and Buckskin Charlie.
The story of how José Rodriguez came to know the Lord is interesting and worth telling. When he was a small boy in the neighborhood of Dixon, New Mexico, José learned from his father how to read and spell. As they herded sheep together on the stony hillside, they would chant the Spanish alphabet and print the letters with a charred stick on a smooth rock. One day some pages torn from a book fluttered across the sheep trail and José ran after them and picked them up. He and his father managed to fit them together and eventually read them. The story was a parable that Jesus had told, a story about a sower who had gone out to sow, letting the seed fall where it would. They read the story again and again until they knew it almost by heart.
When José was nine years old, his family moved into the San Luis Valley and settled about twenty-five miles from the village of Costilla. By this time, José had learned to write, as well as to read. He learned a smattering of English from buffalo hunters and traders when he joined them on expeditions to the east. He was, of course, a Roman Catholic, as was his whole family, and he had little to read except for Ripalda's Catechism and a few treatises cherished by the Church and by the Order of the Brotherhood of the Penitentes (Penitant Ones), an order in which he became a leader.
In 1875, James Roberts of Taos arrived in Costilla and preached a sermon. José did not hear it for he was away at his sheep camp, but he heard interesting reports about it. The next time Mr. Roberts came, José made sure he was notified and came to listen. By what seemed a strange coincidence, Mr. Roberts' sermon was based on the parable of the sower and the seed! After the service, José bought his first whole Bible, a tract about the gospels, a Shorter Catechism, and a copy of The Pilgrim's Progress. José continued his reading and study, which eventually led him to train for the ministry. He became a successful missionary, not only among his own people but also among the Ute Indians. Upon his death, on April 8, 1931, Pastor Rodriguez was eulogized by Chief Buckskin Charlie and referred to as "the Apostle to the Utes." Following the death of Pastor Rodriguez, the church experienced many changes. There were great years of fruitful harvest and there were periods of decline. The church transitioned from being a part of the United Presbyterian Church of America to its more current statement, Presbyterian Church USA.
From: www.ignaciocommunitychurch.com/our_history.html
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Uploaded on Jun 21, 2009
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Paternal Great Great Grandparents
Benigno A. Rodriguez and Sara C. Rodriguez with baby Salvador. Picture taken Auguest 1864. Baby four months old. Father, 25 years, Mother, 23 years.
Part of an ongoing Family Research Project.
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Uploaded on Jun 21, 2009
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Paternal Great Great Grandparents
Benigno A. Rodriguez and Sara C. Rodriguez. In their 60s about 1929-1930.
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Paternal Great Great Grandparents
Benigno A. Rodriguez and Sara C. Rodriguez with their following children. Antonio is missing, the oldest of the family. The following: Salvador, Juanita, Dora Mary, J. Solomon, Helen (youngest). Picture taken in 1904 or 1905
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Uploaded on Jun 21, 2009
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americanhomies.com Release 3.
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Uploaded on Jun 17, 2009
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