Reynalda Carreño Mondragón moved with her parents, Jesús and Angelina from Congregación de las Canoas Guanajuato, Mexico at ten months old to Chicago, Illinois and then to Kenosha, Wisconsin when she was seven years old. She attended University of Wisconsin-Madison and received a Bachelor of Science degree in English and Spanish in 1948. She received her Masters of Arts degree in Spanish in 1949. She married Calixto "Nacho" Mondragón on July 1, 1950 in Racine, Wisconsin. Nacho and his brother Andres worked as braceros (Mexican laborers who were allowed into the US for a limited time as seasonal agricultural workers during World War II) beginning in 1945. Nacho had a two-year contract, working in Michigan and California. He then moved to Wisconsin in 1947, where he met Reynalda ("Reyna"). Reyna went on to have a lengthy teaching career in the Milwaukee and Kenosha public school system and became a translator of children's books with Western Publishing Company. She also became a court interpreter for Racine, Kenosha, and Walworth Counties. Subsequent members of her family have also attended UW-Madison, including her daughter, Cristina Mondragón.
The collection contains correspondence, identity documents, and photographs of both Reynalda and Nacho's families. Below is a list of family members whose names appear in the collection. It is not a comprehensive list of family members.
Carreño Side
Jesús Erasto Carreño Rodriguez
Born July 26, 1903, Rincón de Tamayo, Guanajuato, Mexico
(listed as Erasto Carreño Rodriguez in Guanajuato, Mexico, Civil Registration Birth Record 1862-1929)
Household members (per Guanajuato Mexico Civil Registration Births 1862-1929): Erasto Carreño, Maximina Rodriguez, José Maria Carreño
Father- José Maria Carreño
Mother- Maximina Rodriguez
US Chicago and North Western Railroad Employment Records 1935-1970: Father José Carreño. Mother Mansinina Rodrigary. Child Jesús Erasto Carreño. Household members: Jesús Erasto Carreño, Mansinina Rodrigary, José Carreño
Border Crossing From Mexico to US-June 3, 1925, Laredo Texas USA
Border Crossing From Mexico to US-June 5, 1925, Laredo Texas USA
Border Crossing From Mexico to US-March 27, 1926, Laredo Texas USA Departure Contact Francisco Melesio
Border Crossing From Mexico to US-March 27, 1928, Laredo Texas USA
Border Crossing From Mexico to US-January 6, 1942, Laredo Texas USA- Departure Contact Wife Angelina Carreño
Angelina Rodriguez de Carreño
Born May 30, 1905, Las Canoas, Guanajuato, Mexico
Father- Librado Rodriguez
Mother- Ricarda Jimenez
Border Crossing January 20, 1927, age 21, Laredo Texas USA
Border Crossing January 5, 1942, Laredo Texas USA with Reynalda Carreño, Jesús Carreño. Departure Contact Brother in law Ambrosio Arreguin
Died December 4, 1973, Racine, WI, USA at age 68 years
Children with Angelina Rodriguez de Carreño
Reynalda Carreño
Born November 11, 1925, Las Canoas, Guanajuato, Mexico
Died December 28, 2002
Rachel Carreño
Born March 31, 1928, Chicago, Cook County, Illinois
Died August 19, 2015
Ruben Carreño
Born August 11, 1930 in Chicago, Cook County, Illinois, USA
Died August 2, 2018
Abel Ricardo Carreño
Born August 10, 1933 in Chicago, Cook County, Illinois, USA
Jesse Carreño
Born May 28, 1936 in Kenosha, WI, USA
Died June 13, 2001, Racine, Wisconsin USA
Mondragón Side
Juan and Mikaela Mondragón
child: Calixto Mondragón
child: Andres Mondragón
Calixto married Reynalda Carreño on July 1, 1950 in Racine, Wisconsin
child: Cristina Reynalda Carreño
child: Michael Mondragón
child: James Mondragón
