| Notes |
- Left a young single mother with an infant to raise, Miss Libia Solis Zelaya, grew up to become a nurse and successful business owner in San Jose, Costa Rica. According to her direct descendant, Alfredo Delcarmen Solis Fonseca of San Jose, Costa Rica, Libia became "the owner of a sewing workshop where [which] made shirts and pajamas for some important stores in San José as Narciso Esquivel y El Siglo Nuevo. " But before she turned twenty years old, the beautiful teenager, Libia Solis Zelaya (born 1898), had captured the heart of a slightly older American born international businessman, Francis James Gest (born 1891), who had removed to Costa Rica in Feb. 1914 from Manila, Philippine Islands (where his GEST parents had lived, settling there about Jan. 1904, ten years earlier). An attractive single young man, Francis J. Gest had been born in Fairhaven in Washington state, USA. Since Wikipedia informs us that Fairhaven became merged into the city Bellingham, WA in 1903, Francis's birth predates this boundary change. Francis worked in Costa Rica as an accountant for a tobacco company, British-American Tobacco Co. Ltd/Republic Tobacco (New York Office, 511 Fifth Ave, NYC, a New Jersey Corporation.) But in December 1919, Francis left Costa Rica permanently for Sao Paulo, Brazil where he commenced a new job as Assistant to the General Manager, American International Steel Corp. As Alfredo Delcarmen Solis Fonseca writes in his white paper, entitled "Francis James Gest in Costa Rica", dated 25 Oct 2017: "He [Francis] worked in Brazil for Maizena Brasil S.A. address Rua Libere Badare, 30-5º Andar. Caixa Postal 297 Sao Paulo, Brasil."
Unfortunately, Francis J. Gest's untimely professional job transfer in 1919, disrupted Libia's heartfelt teenage romance which had blossomed over five years, 1914-1919 between Francis and his long-time sweetheart. Like many men of that era (and others of today), Francis moved on to an even higher paying job, while Libia remained behind to dutifully raise their beloved son, with no child support assistance... As descendant, Alfredo wrote: "When Libia was pregnant and had her son in 1919, was a very difficult time, in a very tiny and conservative city as San José the life of a single mother was not easy. Even with all difficulties she went forward with the upbringing and education of her son, without any help of Francis."
Libia Solis Zelaya and Francis J. Gest had one son together: Fernando Solis [Gest], born 1919. Fortunately Fernando was prolific, and grew the international Gest/Solis/Zelaya family in Costa Rica to include: two sons and three daughters as well as issue of these five children.
In Latter Day Saints (LDS) FamilySearch (2008) an IGI individual record existed entitled "Fernando Solis or Gest” with birth given as 20 Oct 1919, Goicoechea Canton, San Jose, Costa Rica, and death given as 26 Oct. 1968. The father named here: Francisco Gest. The mother named here: Libia Solis Zelaya. Batch Number: 7600001, Sheet 55, Source Call No.: 1058308, Film. Since Libia’s son, Fernando was born on 20 August 1919, as per Alfredo, a few months prior to this IGI date, it is believed that the IGI October date refers to his Christening/Baptism, but this writer has not seen the original IGI film. Francisco must have been Francis J. Gest’s nickname while abroad. I also note that on the 2 Sept 2007 version of Michael (Van Wicklen) Wolfe's 2 page (2007) chart entitled "Gest Families of Chester Co. PA and OH", the date of birth given for Libia is a few months later [2 June 1898]; perhaps this was a baptismal date instead? [bio by findagraver, DBardes, October 2018]
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1898 - 1971 (73 years)
