The twelve branches of the Rosalío Sáenz Family reunion are made up of the surviving offspring of Rosalío Sr., his first wife, Crispina Hernández, and his second wife, Petra Ramos.

Rosalío’s father was José Eugenio Sáenz (1830-1866) of Tamaulipas, Mexico. His mother was María Marcelina Tamayo (~1832-1876).

Entries from the 12th census (1900) of the United States, show that Rosalío was born in September of 1858, immigrated to the US (Texas) in 1876 (at age 18) from the border community of Mier, Tamaulipas. He was 41 years old at the time of the 1900 census.

The census also records that Rosalío had been in the United States for 24 years and was a naturalized citizen. His occupation is listed as a railroad worker. He could both read and write, but did not speak English.

Rosalío married Crispina Hernández sometime in 1884, between June of 1884 and January of 1885. Their first surviving child, Marcelina, was born in October of 1885.

Crispina (age 26) immigrated to the United States in May of 1884 with her 24 year old sister, C. Hernández, landing in New York, NY via Vera Cruz, Progresso, Havana. The passenger log shows that Crispina and her sister traveled in a cabin.

Rosalío and Crispina lived in the Hebbronville area on a ranch that Rosalío owned free and clear. There, Rosalío did ranch work and shepherding while Crispina cared for their children and home until her passing on June 28, 1896. She was 38 years old.

With Crispina, Rosalío had 5 surviving children:

• Marcelina (1885)
• José de la Luz (1888)
• Rosalío Jr. (1891)
• Eugenio (1892)
• Juan Crispin (1895)

After Crispina's death, Marcelina, the eldest and only daughter at age 11, took care of the family until Rosalío remarried. Rosalío married Petra Ramos in 1898. Soon thereafter, Rosalío and Petra moved to the nearby town of Alice, Texas to provide the children better schooling opportunities.

With Petra, Rosalío had 7 surviving children:

• José Gregorio (1901)
• Ramón (1903)
• Belia (1905)
• Gilbérto (1908)
• Santana (1912)
• María (1916)
• Dominga (1918)

1920 U.S. census with birth years of Rosalío and Petra's 7 surviving children

Petra's death certificate from Ancestry.com shows that she died on August 2, 1930 of tuberculosis. Rosalío died on August 9, 1930. A death certificate for Rosalío has not been located, so cause of death is unknown. Rosalío Sr. was 71 years old.

Information compiled from Ancestory.com and the Texas State Historical Association websites.

NOTE: Some birth years vary by a year in some censuses.