Martinez family in Mexico

The Martinez family donated many items to the Southeast Chicago Historical Museum. This photo shows Lucio Martinez visiting relatives in Mexico in 1945. Lucio was born in 1889 in Momax, Mexico and emigrated to the United States around World War I. His wife Pasquala Barrios Martinez was also from the Zacatecas region and crossed the border into the United States in 1923 with their oldest daughter Carmen who was then 2 years old. They lived on 108th and Torrence Ave in South Deering and attended Our Lady of Guadalupe and, later, St Kevin’s Church. Lucio worked at Wisconsin Steel. During World War II, Pasquala also worked at Carnegie-Illinois Steel -South Works. They had 4 other daughters and a son. After his wife died, Lucio would later retire to Momax, while his children and their families remained in the United States. During the 1970s, four of his daughters would visit the Momax village church to make a gift of a gold chalice in his name.