Talk:Mona Darkfeather
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Mestizos are, by definition, half Native American. She may have lied about being a Blackfoot, but she still had native blood. Edits to come, after I get off work :p Simoes 14:35, 21 September 2005 (UTC)
Mona Darkfeather was not Mestizo. I apologize if I have confused people. I called her Spanish/Mexican the same way I would call an Italian immigrant to the U.S. an Italian/American. Her grandfather was William Workman who emigrated from England and settled in the then Mexican territory of Califonia. He became a Mexican citizen. He married Nicolasa Urioste, a Spaniard living in the Mexican territory of Califonia. Their son, Joseph Workman, (Mona Darkfeather's father) was therefore half English and half Spanish. Joseph married an English woman, Josephine Belt, making Mona Darkfeather 3/4 English and 1/4 Spanish. Ted Wilkes 20:44, 21 September 2005 (UTC)
Seeing this interesting article prompted me to start a Molly Spotted Elk article which maybe you'd be interested in.Notjim 22:25, 21 September 2005 (UTC)
A few corrections: William Workman first settled in Missouri and from there came down to the area around Taos, New Mexico. It was here that he met his wife Nicolasa. We think she might have been a native of the Pueblo there although Basque is also an option. It was in New Mexico that William became a Mexican citizen. His son, Joseph, was also born there. With his business partner, John Rowland, W. Workman led the first party of settlers overland to Southern California. There is some evidence that their party arrived before the Bidwell party (which history records as the first party to CA of settlers), they almost certainly arrived at their destination of Los Angeles before the Bidwell party finished their drive in Northern CA.
Mona's real name was Josephine, named after her Mother, Josephine Belt. J. Belt was the daughter of George Belt, third alcalde of Stockton, who arrived in CA as part of Stevenson's Regiment of New York Volunteers. He was Scottish in Ancestry. His wife, Josephine's mother, was from Chile and probably part of a large Chilean contingent that came to California for the gold rush even before east coast Americans showed up (the news reached Chile before it reached the east coast).
We have been unable to find any record of a marriage to Artie Ortego although a number of websites make this claim. Seems to be just a case of repeating from another site. Josephine outlived all her siblings and, in the end, was placed under guardianship by the L.A. courts. The guardianship company removed her from her home and placed her into a convalescent hospital where she died a relatively short time later. They then buried her in an unmarked grave in Holy Cross Cemetery. We don't know, at this time, what became of all her property (her house, for instance) and possessions. a great grand nephew, 11/04/2005.
