In my history quest, the names have been many and varied. It took a while, but I finally located the newspaper article in 1882 announcing the first marriage of Miguela Bottger. She called herself a number of things, but back then Albuquerque consisted only of Old Town and a very young New Town when the railroad arrived. Everyone knew who she was, right? Her mother was Gertrudes Garcia, who married someone named Baca, and then she became a widow and reverted to her maiden name, as was the custom. Her daughter was Miguela Baca. When Gertrudes married Tom Post, Miguela apparently called herself Miguela Post.
Here’s the article from the Albuquerque Morning Journal, March 25, 1882, p. 4. Unfortunately, some of the text on the microfilm is illegible.
“The marriage of Max Stein and Miss M. Post occurred at the residence of the bride’s parents last evening. All [xxxxxx] invited guests of the bride and groom. [xxxxx] In common with the [xxx] friends of the young couple, the Journal extends congratulations.”
I think we can fill in the missing words and phrases since it was a very short article. Back then, weddings were smaller and simpler, sometimes in church but usually at home. The newspaper announcements didn’t go into great detail about who the bridesmaids were and what the bride’s dress looked like.
I feel like I’ve pretty much exhausted the research on Miguela Bottger, having found the records of her three marriages, her obituary, and a few other news articles. She was born around 1868, long before New Mexico statehood. I have been unsuccessful finding her as a child in the 1870 Census. She married William G. Young in 1891 and I’m still doing research on him. She married Charles Bottger in 1897. It’s a fascinating story, pieces of which her descendants didn’t know.
