Draft: Ancestor # 2 Apolonio Trejo

Apolonio Trejo, my paternal great grandfather, was born and raised in the Tarimoro region of Guanajuato.  His baptism record states that he was baptized with the name Jose Apolonio de Jesus Trejo Lara on April 10, 1874, at San Miguel Arcangel in Tarimoro.  He was born in Encinal, a very small rancho in the municipality of Tarimoro.  His parents are listed as Pedro Trejo (25) and Crispina Lara (22). 

The 1883 padron of Tarimoro list Apolonio living with his immediate family in Barajas, a small rancho near Huapango.   Also listed in the padron living with the family is Rafael Trejo, his grandfather. 

                                                

Apolonio has been an important name in the Trejo family, along with Guadalupe, over the last four generations.  Guadalupe Trejo named his first son after his father, and my father named his oldest son after his oldest brother.  I don’t foresee any more Trejos named Apolonio, at least not in the US. 

On April 3, 1894, he married Refugio Arroyo in the San Miguel Arcangel church in Tarimoro.  He is listed as a 20 year old laborer from Huapango.  Refugio Arroyo is listed as a 17 year old bachelorette from Tarimoro. I imagine the wedding would have been a relatively simple affair by today standards.

Based on the records I have found online and the names provided to me by my father, Apolonio and Refugio had eight children together: Encarnacion (1897), Mercedes (1900), Guadalupe (1901), Ascencion (1905), Soledad (1913), Concepcion, Juliana, and Modesto (I have been unable to locate records for the last three children).  Apolonio’s occupation was likely related to agriculture and his income comparable to a lot of folks in town.   His home in Huapango, a really small & rural community, was likely a simple structure made out of bricks. 

I do not have any second-hand accounts about Apolonio, however I do have one unfortunate story.   I was told that he was taken from his home during the Mexican revolution, and along with his younger brother Crispin, killed in Salvatierra.   His death had something to do with supporting rebels against the government during the time of the Mexican revolution.   The story goes that his brother was killed first and he died from sight of his fallen brother.

The record about his death states that he was killed by a firing squad in Salvatierra on May 29, 1916.  His brother’s record also states that he met the same fate.  His body was not returned to Tarimoro, but he received his final sacraments at San Miguel Arcangel.  From what I gather, his burial site is unknown, somewhere in Salvatierra.