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Pre-Historical Relationships Between the Mariana Islands and the Bonin Islands (Ogasawara)
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- Written by: Bernard Punzalan
As I continue my Chamorro genealogy journey researching the ancestry and descendants Maria Castro delos Santos and the Bonin Islands I came across more fascinating information and possibilities. There is archaeological evidence that strongly support some type of pre-historical relationship between the Mariana Islands and the Bonin Islands; long before any historical recordings of the sighting of the Bonin Islands or even discovery of the islands. Some of the archaeological evidence found were stone adzes that are very similar to those found in the Mariana Islands. Very few literatures would seem to posit credit to the Chamorro people for discovering the Bonin Islands.
Were the Chamorro people the first navigators to discover, visit or even settle in the Bonin (Ogasawara Islands)??? Hmmmm….
References:
Long, Daniel. 2007. English on the Bonin (Ogasawara) Islands. Durham, NC: Duke University Press
Oda, Shizuo. 1983. The Archaeology of the Ogasawara Islands. Asian Perspectives, XXIV (1), 111-138.
Database Update 24 November 2012
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- Written by: Bernard Punzalan
The database has been updated and has grown from 220,146 to 221,249 names.
1951: Isabel Borja Presentation School of Nursing SD
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- Written by: Bernard Punzalan
This photo appeared in the Aberdeen Daily News (South Dakota) on September 9, 1951, and featured the enrollment of Isabel Cruz Borja (sitting next to her father, Jesus C. Borja from Agana) into the Presentation School of Nursing in Aberdeen, SD. Isabel would later graduate from the nursing school in 1954 along with a couple other Chamorro women: Brigida Crisostomo (Barrigada) and Estella Duenas (Agana). Also, Isabel is the wife of the former Senator Francisco Rivera Santos and mother of the former Senator Francis Santos.
Pictured on the immediate left is Dr. Rosa Garrido Roberto Carter (1929-2010). She attended the Northern State Teachers College (NTSC) on a scholarship and had been a long time educator on Guam. Dr. Carter would later serve as the President of the University of Guam from 1977 to 1983. (http://guampedia.com/rosa-roberto-carter/)
Standing to the left of Isabel is Josefina Mesa, who also attended the NTSC on a scholarship and upon graduation, returned home to become a teacher. [I have no data at all on Josefina Mesa and would appreciate it if some might have additional information on her.]
1945: Gay Belles on Guam
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- Written by: Bernard Punzalan
This photo of Chamorro women seeped in the media between May and June 1945. According to the source of the article (Richmond Times Dispatch: June 2, 1945), the photo originated from the Leatherneck Magazine; a magazine for Marines.
Pictured are:
- Toni Terlaje, Agana Heights
- Irene Bordallo, Agana
- Victoria Leon Guerrero, Agana
- Josefa Ulloa, Talofofo
- Toni Martinez, Agana
- Elizabeth Perez, Agana Heights
1919: Attendees of the Agricultural & Mechanical College
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- Written by: Bernard Punzalan
On 27 October 1919, this photo of Jose Leon Guerrero Rios, Antonio Arriola Shimizu, Juan Rivera Rosario, Ramon Manalisay Sablan, and Antonio Ignacio Cruz appeared in the Tulsa World, Oklahoma media, “Five Boys from Island of Guam Become Students at A&M College to Teach Natives How to Farm.” Unfortunately, there was no article that accompanied the photo.
However, in a related article that appeared in the Oregonian on 9 November 1919, it explained that it took these guys quite a while to get to their destination: “Twenty-three days from San Francisco; seven days from Manila; six days from Japan,” to the Oklahoma Agricultural and Mechanical college. Their age range was from 16 to 19 years old. The schooling was a four-year course paid by the U.S., and upon completion they were to return back to Guam as teachers.
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