Publication Date
12-2009
Abstract
José María Flores arrived in El Paso, Texas in 1852. He was the son of Teresa Valdéz and José Nicolás Flores, members of early San Antonio, Texas families. On June 19, 1858, he married Margarita Stephenson Ascarate, the daughter of El Paso pioneers, Hugh Stephenson and Juana María Ascarate. José María and Margarita had six children: Hugo, Nicolás, Margarita, Luisa, Isabel and José Jesús. Most of these children married the children of other prominent El Paso families, including the Daguerres and the Samaniegos. Many descendants of José María and Margarita Flores held elected positions in the city governments of El Paso, Texas and Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua. José Jesús became the first elected mayor of Ciudad Juárez after the Madero Revolution. He married Josefina Samaniego Siqueiros, the daughter of Fernando Samaniego and Guadalupe Siqueiros. Josefina's mother, Guadalupe Siqueiros, was the sister of Jesusita Siqueiros, who married Simeon Hart, an important figure in El Paso history. It is through this connection that the Flores family claims relation to the Hart family. José J. and Josefina had six children: Fernando, Enrique F., José M., Carlos F., Maria Luisa and Ana Margarita. The Stephenson-Flores family papers are composed primarily of family photographs, correspondence, documents, and news clippings relating to family members.