Note: Before the Family History Expo in November, The Star asked readers to submit family names to see what could be found on newspapers.com. We spent 30 minutes on some of them to see what we could find.
Debra Sutherland Motzkin had a good start on her family history. She knew of Florencio Sotomayor, an ancestor on her mother’s side who homesteaded in this area. She also knew about her paternal great-grandfather William Henry Sutherland, who was born in Maine but made his way to Southern Arizona by way of Minnesota.
William Henry Sutherland was a cattle rancher, prospector and ran a stage line for a time. Early in his Arizona days, he was often called “Idaho Bill.” Sutherland died April 23, 1925, after having been ill for several years. He left behind a son, William Ray Sutherland, and his wife Matilda, according to obituaries printed in the Arizona Daily Star.
Matilda, who died Feb. 9, 1932, was the daughter of Tucson pioneer James S. Douglas.
William Ray Sutherland, Our subject’s grandfather, was also a rancher and died in 1960. He was survived by four children, including William R., probably the father of Debra Sutherland Motzkin. This is likely because of an obituary for his wife, Alice, naming Motzkin as a daughter, indicates she died in 2015.
Alice Sotomayor Sutherland was the daughter of Amelia and Florencio Sotomayor, another pioneering couple in Tucson. Alice was interviewed for an extensive article in the Arizona Daily Star in 2004 about the family homestead near Oracle Jaynes Station making way for housing. This homestead had begun with Alice’s grandfather Florencio and his brother, Manuel.
Florencio, Alice’s grandfather, died after being thrown by his horse, the family home burned down and eventually Sutherland’s father Florencio Jr., moved his family into Barrio Hollywood. His mother Antonia had sold the farm.
Obituaries of Florencio Sotomayor and of the Sutherlands offer other names to search for next.
