James Sylvester Mooney was born on Oct. 4, 1885, in Collinwood, Cuyahoga County, Ohio. He was a graduate of West Point. He served in the U.S. Army from 1916 until his retirement in 1957. Mooney was a Calvary officer in the 2nd and seventh Cavalry during the Mexican revolution, and Adjustment General at Ft Bliss. He served in the Philippines and as Adjustment General for the island of Corregidor, which is located in Manila Bay, Philippines, before World War 11. Mr. Mooney was also an attorney and owned a farm in Ysleta.
For many years the Mooney family employed my great-grandfather, Manuel Casillas as a tenant farmer. My grandmother, Conchita Fernandez grew up on the ranch. It might have been on Socorro Road near the old ysleta cemetery . My grandfather, Manuel came to El Paso in 1901 from Encarnacion De Diaz, Jalisco, Mexico. He worked at the El Paso Smelter and later as a laborer on a farm in Val Vedre and as a gardener. He married Avelina Sanchez and had 11 children.
The Mooney’s sold the ranch and my great-grandfather and his sons worked as laborers in home construction by the 1940s. Mr. Mooney’s wife, Marie, was the daughter of Charles Longuemere and she was born in Socorro, Mexico. Charles was a professor at the college of the mines (UTEP) and ran “Bullion” a mining industry magazine which had offices in Socorro and El Paso. The Longuemere family were also farmers. The Mooney’s had two children, James L. and Dr. Patrica A. Mooney, both decreased. Patricia was a Sun Carnival Princess and James L., like his father, had a long career in the military.
El Paso Historical Society Volunteer,
Joseph Longo
