Jimenez Family Papers
Call Number
Date
Creator
Extent
Language of Materials
Abstract
The Jimenez Family is a family based in New York with ancestral roots in the United States, Spain, and the Dominican Republic. Michael "Mike" Angelo Jimenez (also known as Miguel Angel Jimenez Tejeda, abbreviated as MAJ) was born in the United States, and moved to Spain in 1934 with his family. He served in the Spanish Army, and later the International Brigades during the Spanish Civil War. He was incarcerated in forced labor and prisoner of war camps (Camp of Septfonds, Le Barcares, Gurs) until he escaped and returned to the United States in 1940. He served in the United States Army and the Office of Strategic Services (OSS). Mike later organized and worked with the United Electrical, Radio, and Machine Workers of America (UE) and the International Association of Machinists (IAM) in upstate New York, during which he negotiated the reorganization of UE locals into the IAM. He later left the IAM due to political persecution. Mary Rachel (Walton) Jimenez (abbreviated as MRW or MWJ) was an artist, art educator, and activist. She studied at the Art Student League, and was a member of the Vagabond Puppeteers Troupe, who performed in solidarity with the Dairy Farmers Union during their 1939 strike. During World War II, Mary worked in the shipyards of Chester, Pennsylvania as a welder, and was an active member of the International Union of Marine and Shipbuilding Workers of America. The Jimenez Family Papers (dated 1934-2007) consists of materials created and collected by members of the Jimenez Family, with particular emphasis on Michael "Mike" Angelo Jimenez and Mary Walton and the ways their lives intersected around political activities. The collection documents Mike's participation in the Spanish Army and later the International Brigades, including a diary from his crossing of the Pyrenees in February 1939. Other materials include photographs and records of him being imprisoned in French camps for combatants, and the family's efforts to safely transport Mike and his siblings to the United States. The collection also includes materials documenting Mike's advocacy within the United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of America (UE) and the International Association of Machinists (IAM) in upstate New York, as well as his departure from the IAM as a result of the political repression and persecution of radical and leftist individuals during the mid-20th century. Mary's records demonstrate her life as an accomplished artist and her radical politics. Letters by Mary during World War II, during which she worked in the shipyards in Chester, Pennsylvania and was active in the International Union of Marine and Shipbuilding Workers of America, provides a critical perspective of a woman working (and organizing) within the union, and documents efforts for organizing between Black and white workers across the shipyard. Family photographs and the correspondence between Mike and Mary during World War II further documents their personal lives. While much of the collection concerns Mike and Mary's lives, the collection also includes materials documenting Manuel Jimenez Romance (Mike's father) during the Spanish Civil War through letters to friends and family, photographs, and research files.
Historical Note
The Jimenez Family is a family based in New York with ancestral roots in the United States, Spain, and the Dominican Republic.
Michael "Mike" Angelo Jimenez (also known as Miguel Angel Jimenez Tejeda, abbreviated as MAJ) was born in the United States, and moved to Spain in 1934 with his family. He served in the Spanish Army, and later the International Brigades during the Spanish Civil War. He was incarcerated in forced labor and prisoner of war camps (Camp of Septfonds, Le Barcares, Gurs) until he escaped and returned to the United States in 1940. He served in the United States Army and the Office of Strategic Services (OSS). Mike later organized and worked with the United Electrical, Radio, and Machine Workers of America (UE) and the International Association of Machinists (IAM) in upstate New York, during which he negotiated the reorganization of UE locals into the IAM. He later left the IAM due to political persecution.
Mary Rachel (Walton) Jimenez (abbreviated as MRW or MWJ) was an artist, art educator, and activist. She studied at the Art Student League, and was a member of the Vagabond Puppeteers Troupe, who performed in solidarity with the Dairy Farmers Union during their 1939 strike. During World War II, Mary worked in the shipyards of Chester, Pennsylvania as a welder, and was an active member of the International Union of Marine and Shipbuilding Workers of America.
Other members of the Jimenez Family represented in the collection include: Rose [Foster Avery] Walton, Mary's mother (RFW)
Manuel Jimenez Romance, Michael's father. The last name is in Spanish form of father's last name followed by mother's last name (MJR). Manuel was a member of the Unión General de Trabajadores (UGT, General Union of Workers) trade union in Spain, and during the Spanish Civil War, was forced with one son, Daniel, into a refugee camp for non-combatants in France in 1939.
Herminia Tejeda Jimenez, Michael's mother. The last name is in American form: first name, maiden name, married name. Herminia's mother's name is unverified so originally known as Herminia Tejeda. However in some documents known as Herminia Tejeda Troncoso (HTJ)
Manuel Jimenez Tejeda (also known as James or Jim Jimenez Tejeda), Michael's brother. The last name is in Spanish form of father's last name followed by mother's last name. (MJT)
Antonio Daniel Jimenez Tejeda (also known as Daniel or Danny Jimenez Tejeda). Michael's brother. The last name is in Spanish form of father's last name followed by mother's last name. (AJT)
José Jimenez Tejeda (also known as Joseph or Joe Jimenez Tejeda). Michael's brother. The last name is in Spanish form of father's last name followed by mother's last name. (JJT)
Juan Isidro Jimenez Tejeda (also known as John or Johnny Jimenez Tejeda). Michael's brother. The last name is in Spanish form of father's last name followed by mother's last name (JIJT)
Delores Jimenez Tejeda (also known as Delores or Lola Jimenez Tejeda). Michael's sister. The last name is in Spanish form of father's last name followed by mother's last name. Later Delores Gleaton (DJG) (DJT)
Fernando Jimenez Tejeda (also known as Fernando or Nando Jimenez Tejeda). Michael's brother. The last name is in Spanish form of father's last name followed by mother's last name. (FJT)
Arrangement
This collection has not been arranged by an archivist. The materials are arranged chronologically in the order in which they were received from the donor.
Scope and Contents
The Jimenez Family Papers (dated 1934-2007) consists of materials created and collected by members of the Jimenez Family, with particular emphasis on Michael "Mike" Angelo Jimenez and Mary Rachel (Walton) Jimenez, and the ways their lives intersected around political activities. The collection documents Mike's participation in the Spanish Army and later the International Brigades, including a diary from his crossing of the Pyrenees in February 1939. Other materials include photographs and records of him being imprisoned in French camps for combatants, and the family's efforts to safely transport Mike and his siblings to the United States. The collection also includes materials documenting Mike's advocacy within the United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of America (UE) and the International Association of Machinists (IAM) in upstate New York, as well as his departure from the IAM as a result of the political repression and persecution of radical and leftist individuals during the mid-20th century. Mary's records demonstrate her life as an accomplished artist and her radical politics. Letters by Mary during World War II, during which she worked in the shipyards in Chester, Pennsylvania and was active in the International Union of Marine and Shipbuilding Workers of America, provides a critical perspective of a woman working and organizing within the union, and documents efforts for organizing between Black and white workers across the shipyard. Family photographs and the correspondence between Mike and Mary during World War II further documents their personal lives. While much of the collection concerns Mike and Mary's lives, the collection also includes materials documenting Manuel Jimenez Romance (Mike's father) during the Spanish Civil War through letters to friends and family, photographs, and research files.
Subjects
Donors
Conditions Governing Access
Materials are open without restrictions.
Conditions Governing Use
This collection is protected by copyright and/or related rights. You are free to use materials in the collection in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s).
Preferred Citation
Identification of item, date; Jimenez Family Papers; TAM 838; box number; folder number or item identifier; Tamiment Library/Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives, New York University.
Location of Materials
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Donated by Mona Jimenez, the daughter of Mike and Mary Jimenez, in June 2024; the accession number associated with this gift is 2024.038.
Appraisal
The following materials were excluded from the collection and remain with the Jiménez Family: select letters from Mary Jiménez, pre-Spain Jiménez family records, and records such as passports, birth certificates, and marriage certificates.
Other Finding Aids
Many letters have been individually summarized by the donor; this description is available through the collection file by request.
About this Guide
Processing Information
At the time of accessioning materials were rehoused in archival boxes, maintaining the order established by the donor and retaining original folders. Materials were described on the collection-level with a folder-level, with the majority of this information created and supplied by the donor. Mike and Mary numbered their own correspondence, although in some cases letters are unnumbered or individual pages are assigned a letter.
Terminology for the facilities where Spanish Republicans were detained or incarcerated in 1939 varies, and conditions between specific sites differed. The terms used in the archival description and inventory attempt to accurately describe the specific conditions and context, and respect the donor's right to describe their family's experiences in their own words. To further contextualize this terminology, after the division of France by Nazi Germany in 1940, concentration camps used to incarcerate Spanish Republican refugees were also used to imprison Jews, Sinti and Roma, individuals with disabilities, and LGBTQ+ individuals, during which time original prisoners continued to perform forced labor.
In February 2025, a typos in the the entity record for Michael was corrected, and the archival description in the Abstract and Historical Note were adjusted to include the name of a third prisoner of war camp, and more accurately reflect the family's ancestry.
