Saturday, August 16, 2008

Copies of 1981 family history book located, are for sale

A single box containing copies of "Valencia County, New Mexico," a history of the families of the county, has been located and the book is available for sale.

The book was printed in 1981 as one of the first projects undertaken the Valencia County Historical Society.

"It tells of each individual family — it's a great reference guide for Valencia County residents," said Maggie Espinosa McDonald, president of the society. "It's also great for genealogy."

Because so many people had been seeking copies of the book — considered a classic by many local residents — McDonald said the society has decided to offer them for sale at a cost of $80 since they are so rare.

"Only 1,000 books were printed in the first place," she said. "We found a box of books upstairs at the Harvey House that we didn't know we had.

"After this, there will be no more books. In a sense, these are collector's items," she said.

Families from the county wrote their own histories and included them in the volume with photos, some dating back more than a century.

The book is available at the Harvey House Museum in Belen.

Also available there is "Valencia County: A Pictorial History" by McDonald and Richard Melzer. The two are longtime educators and historians specializing in the area.

The picture book contains more than 100 photos divided into categories of transportation, family life, religion, school, famous people.

"Captions put the photos in context. There's text with each chapter to further elaborate on the subject," McDonald said.

Supply of the book is also limited; the authors have donated all proceeds of sales to the historical society.

Photos were donated to the society by local citizens "so it's a community effort," McDonald continued.

"It's a great Christmas gift. We had people telling us when the book came out that we ruined their Christmas because the old folks wouldn't come to dinner because they wanted to read the book and look at the pictures," she said.

She said the society is always interested in other photos that show how life was once lived here. To share them with the group, call McDonald at 864-3612.

The Harvey House Museum is located at 104 N. First St. in Belen. It can be reached at 861-0581.

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