Dear nw_whiskers:
Finally I got home, so I can write a little more. First I want to ask if my Great Grandfather had more sisters and brothers. I have just the names I provided on the thread about Helena. If so, did they stay in Scotland or migrated to another countries? I will be very grateful for any info you can provide. And now, here comes the story about our family that I know. First I want to share with you what I know about Alexander Ogilvie and his brothers in Mexico, perhaps you know a little more that we can use to complete the story. About George and Norman I know nothing. I don`t know what happened to George, I mean, we are the only Stevenson living in Durango, so either he had no sons, or probably his family migrated from here after he passed away. About Edward, there is a kind of family legend around him. As you already know, Edward died very young in Real de Catorce. At that time, Real de Catorce was a booming, and very rich, mining town. The family story says that Edward got killed during a shootout at a bar. Fernando told me that he went to Real de Catorce looking for his grave, and he couldn't find it. Apparently, Norman took Edward to San Luis and buried him there. As far as I know, Alexander Ogilvie lived for a while in San Luis and El Paso. Living in San Luis makes sense to me, because of the booming mining industry at that time. Perhaps Alexander chose to move to another another place and Normand decided to stay.
Alexander lived two different eras in Mexico. When he and his brothers arrived, Mexico was under rule of a dictator, Porfirio Diaz. Diaz liked europeans so much that he tried to attract investment and labor force into Mexico, obviously gave them a lot of benefits. Mines were built, the railroad, industry... And all of that was possile with the intervention of europeans. I think Mexico looked to the outside world like a land of opportunities. So I have another question for you, how was Scotland at the end of the 19th century? Why did they choose to leave their country and come to Mexico? I think I have an idea why they chose to come here, but I dont have an idea of why they chose to leave. At this time, Alexander married Catalina Torrijos, my Great Grandmother. There is another family story about how they met. Supposedly they met at the main square. Back on those days, if you wanted to meet someone, you took a walk on the main square. Women walked one way, and the men came from the opposite, so they could look at each other. I know Alexander worked on an iron mine here in Durango. A few years ago someone showed me and old record from the municipal archive. It was a complain of a neighbor because Alexander used dynamite very close to his home and he felt the explosion. The complain came from someone living near "El cerro de Mercado", a hill full of iron with a mine that its still operational these days.
I don't know precisely how many sons and daughters had Alexander Ogilvie with Catalina. I have some names, Alejandro Ogilvie (b. 1910 - d. 1966, my Grandfather), Roberto Ogilvie (b. 1916 - d. 2012), Catalina, Alicia (d. 2006-2007) and Leonor. On further posts I will write a little bit about them.
My best,
Alex