Being a regular guy is part of family history

Great grandfather Elias Villarreal standing in front of a happy crescent moon in 1912.

In the ongoing search for details on my family history, I have come up with one common thread — my family on both sides have been poor laborers for generations.

For five years, I have been digging through passport documents, census records, phone directories, and birth notices. I’ve found interesting names like Zenon and Maximo. The journey has been exciting and frustrating. You see…