The University of Iowa Libraries

Antonia Lopez was born on June 25, 1897 in the state of Guanajuato, Mexico. Her husband, Frederico Lopez, born on March 2, 1888, was also from Guanajuato. He left Mexico in 1906 in search of a better life in the United States and spent a few years working in Arizona before returning to Mexico. During the Mexican Revolution, Frederico Lopez returned to the United States to work as a railroad section hand and establish a home for his family in Iowa. The couple's first infant died in Mexico. Their second child, Francisco Lopez, was born in Iowa in 1926. He died at the age of ten months and was buried in the Greenwood Cemetery in Muscatine, Iowa. Antonia Lopez gave birth to their third child, Salvador Lopez, in Muscatine in 1928. The Lopez family lived in Cook's Point, a predominantly Mexican settlement in Davenport, from the 1930s until 1952.

The Antonia and Frederico Lopez papers date from 1927 to 1983 and measure 1.5 linear inches. The papers include biographical information, correspondence, photographs, and information about Cook's Point.
 
The biographical information folders contain legal documents, an employment card, Frederico Lopez's  naturalization certificate, and a baptism certificate. These folders also include information about Salvador Lopez's search for the grave site of his younger brother and a drawing of the Cook's Point community by Salvador Lopez, which lists the individuals who lived there.
 
The majority of the collection consists of correspondence in Spanish between Antonia and Frederico Lopez and their siblings in Mexico. The letters date from 1952 to1960 and discuss health, travel plans, and issues of naturalization.
 
Photographs of trips made by Salvador Lopez and his wife Joan Lopez into Mexico City are contained in the final folder. Some photographs record the construction project undertaken in the 1980s to extend the building of the Davenport League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) Council 10.

Alternate Extent Statement: Photographs in Box 1.

Access: The papers are open for research.

Use: Copyright held by the donor has been transferred to The University of Iowa.

Acquisition: The papers (donor no.1109) were donated by Salvador Lopez in 2009.

Preferred Citation: Antonia and Frederico Lopez papers, Iowa Women's Archives, The University of Iowa Libraries, Iowa City.

Repository:	Iowa Women's Archives
Address:	100 Main Library University of Iowa Libraries Iowa City, IA 52242
Phone:	319-335-5068
Curator:	Kären Mason
Email:	lib-women@uiowa.edu
Website:	http://www.lib.uiowa.edu/iwa

This collection is indexed under the following subject terms.

Personal Names:
Lopez, Frederico, 1888-
Lopez, Antonia, 1897-
Lopez, Salvador

Dates:
20th century

Topics:
Mexican American families
Mexican American women
Immigrant families
Immigrants
Emigration and immigration

Occupations:
Homemakers

Geographic Names:
Davenport (Iowa)
Guanajuato (Mexico : State)
Muscatine (Iowa)

Genre/Form of Materials:
Archives
Personal papers
Photographs

Browse:
Latinas and Their Families