At some point, I need to begin sharing research into photographs I inhertited from my Grandfather Joaquin Gastelum Sanchez. I also did some research into his parents and siblings using ancestry.com. I’m still working on my father. Contact me on my linked facebook page if you recognize a face or have corrections or further information.
Sanchez and Laborin Families
My name is Paul Ernest Sanchez. I’m the son of Ernest Estrada Sanchez and Isabel Laborin. Born in Tucson and Agua Prieta in 1927, respectively, their Sanchez and Laborin families share a similar heritage beginning in Sonora, Mexico in the late 19th century and the Arizona Territory before Statehood in 1912.
Like many people, I know much about my parents’ lives, somewhat less about my grandparents, and very little about the generations that came before them. Family stories, photographs, documents, and memories are easily lost and often fade within just a few generations. I developed this website to share what I have: photos, stories and histories.
I inherited an album of my paternal Grandfather Joaquín’s WWI photos. He used the first Kodak pocket camera available in the early 20th century. At first, I thought these photos are too important to just let them vanish. Then I realized that for the first time in human history, we can save images and information from two generations past for future generations.
My Grandfather took this photo leaving France after the U.S helped defeat Germany in WWI in 1918-1919. Born in the Arizona territory in 1896, he joined the army in 1917 before he was of draft age. Just 5 years after Arizona and New Mexico became part of the United States of America.
