Most History - Family Photo Identify on Mystery Altar

Who donated the photographs is a mystery. The Norquests had donated to the museum before — Kelly’s combat boots and uniforms from when he was drafted are on display in the exhibits. To their knowledge, they had not donated that particular photograph.

The man in the photo looks directly into the camera, hair and mustache neatly combed, hands on his lap. Seated on a wicker chair, he wears a suit, his shoes worn with use but clean.

His gaze stopped Odilia “Odie” Peña Norquest in her tracks, right in the middle of the Museum of South Texas History in Edinburg.

“That’s my grandpa!” she recalled exclaiming. “How did this picture get here? Where’s my grandma?”

Odie and her husband, Carrol “Kelly” Norquest Jr., had been browsing the altars at the museum’s annual Día de los Muertos event Nov. 1, 2018. Odie liked looking at old photographs and was enjoying the framed pictures on the large altar in the center of the exhibit. The museum curated that particular altar, known as the Mystery Altar, to pay tribute to the unidentified people within a collection of photographs in the archives that did not have any stories or other information attached to them — not even names. The altar also served as a reminder of the importance to document family photos as a good preservation practice.

The photo that caught Odie’s eyes did have a name — and a story. Odie grew up seeing photographs from different eras of her grandparents, Teófilo Peña Reyna and María Peña Rodríguez, in one photo frame. The frame on the Mystery Altar did not show Odie’s grandmother. The museum found the pictures, but without any information, separately within the collections in 1990.

That day, Odie and Kelly notified a staff member at the museum, and the revelation that a photo on the Mystery Altar had been identified by a family member attracted attention. The revelation led the museum to add a plaque about Teófilo, explaining who he was and told part of his story — an unknown face in an unclaimed photo no longer.

Though Odie was familiar with her grandparents’ portraits, she had not personally known her grandparents. Odie’s father was 12 years old when his mother died, and his father died

shortly thereafter. Their family tree branches into the present — and future — through her children and grandchildren. Kelly had spoken with Odie’s father at length about her family story and became familiar with those historical details.

The roots of the family dig deep into the history of the Rio Grande Valley through the distribution of Spanish land grants and the Mexican Revolution of 1910.

The Colonial Viceroy in Mexico City granted the Peña family three porciones south of the Rio Grande along the San Juan river. The settlement that populated there, some 25 miles south of Ciudad Mier, was called Arcabuz — named for an arquebus firearm a Spanish soldier lost at the river’s waterfall crossing. The people there called Teófilo’s father the cacique de los rancheros, or chief of the ranchers. He also acted as a local judge under Mexican President Porfirio Díaz.

Teófilo inherited the title at his father’s death about 1910, a challenging time to have that position of power on the eve of the overthrow of Díaz.

On Nov. 20, 1910, Francisco Madero launched the Mexican Revolution. Madero charged Venustiano Carranza to oversee the revolution in Coahuila, Nuevo León and Tamaulipas. His followers, the Carrancistas seized control, disrupting Teófilo’s family life and the livelihood of other ranchers. The Carrancistas requisitioned livestock to feed the troops and over by Francisco Guajardo, Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer

time depleted herds of cattle, sheep and other livestock.

In 1913, Teófilo ran out of animals to give to the hungry Carrancistas. When they returned for more, Teófilo had nothing. They took him to the cemetery, hoping to change his mind in light of the dire change in scenery. When Teófilo said no again, a young officer intervened, vouching for Teófilo’s honesty to the colonel who demanded more livestock. The colonel showed compassion, but warned Teófilo that if he saw him again, he would kill him.

Teófilo fled for his life. He gathered valuables, which were given by his mother, and left his three small children in his wife’s care — Odie’s father had just been born. Teófilo crossed the Rio Grande and headed north, settling in Karnes City, Texas. There, he met a rancher who found Teófilo’s experience desirable, so they began working together.

Teófilo did not forget about the life he had left in Mexico — his own land and loved ones. He left Karnes City to head to Roma, Texas, sending for his uncles still living in Mexico to update him on the family situation. A family gathering determined that it was unsafe for Teófilo to return to his home, so they brought his wife and three children to live in Karnes City. Some years later, they moved west to Whitsett.

In the 1930s, the family returned to Arcabuz. The Mexican Revolution had divided the land among the people with an ejido system, and the family reapplied for a piece of their land. Sadly, Teófilo died of cancer soon after and did not enjoy his newly distributed land.

Odie’s father met and married her mother in Arcabuz and had eight daughters. In 1947, they moved north of the border to Monte Alto, Texas, when Odie was 3 years old.

The Norquests were able to help fill in the blanks when it came to Teófilo’s photo in the Mystery Altar, and now that piece of history is preserved — and the portraits properly saved in the archives.

Kelly and Odie urge people to document their family histories. Oral retellings can change over time, so a written record is better. Simply noting the names of people, the location and the date on the back of the photo does wonders in placing a picture in time.

MOSTHistory encourages the community to donate their family photos and stories. Each photo provides a peek into the past, captured for all time.

It is a legacy the Norquests are already seeing, as their family spends much time visiting the various exhibits at the museum.

“I enjoy watching our little grandkids taking so much interest,” Odie said.

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