Meketa, Charles

Charles Meketa was born in Illinois in 1923 and died March 3, 2007. Charles was a pilot in Army Air Corps and later became a lieutenant in the Airforce. Jacqueline Dorgan Maketa (1926-1999) was born in Balboa, Panama and moved to New Mexico in 1932. Jacqueline was a member of the Southwest Writer's Guild and the recipient of many literary awards including the New Mexico Presswomen's Zia Award in 1995. The Meketas married in 1946 and lived in Los Alamos, Placitas and Albuquerque, New Mexico. They were an historian and public speaker duo who worked on many projects together. Their papers are tied closely to their research interests and publications which include: Medal of honor: Indian wars, 1865-1891, by Charles Meketa; One blanket and ten days ration: 1st Infantry New Mexico Volunteers in Arizona 1864-1866, by Charles and Jacqueline Meketa, 1980; From martyrs to murderers: The old Southwest's saints, sinners, and scalawags, by Jacqueline Dorgan Meketa, 1993; Legacy of honor: The life of Rafael Chacon, a nineteenth-century New Mexican, edited by Jacqueline Dorgan Meketa, c.1986; Louis Felsenthal: citizen-soldier of territorial New Mexico, by Jacqueline Dorgan Meketa, c.1982. Charles was interested primarily in frontier military history of New Mexico and Arizona in the 1860s. Jacqueline was interested in New Mexico historical biography, and wrote articles and short stories. They both assisted each other with research acquiring photocopies of documents, photos, and maps from archival resources in New Mexico and neighboring states, as well as from National Archives and Records Administration microfilm, and from personal visits to historic sites. Charles analyzed selected NARA microfilms, territorial documents and period newspapers for data on the military activities of various units and individual soldiers serving in New Mexico and Arizona.

From the description of Charles and Jacqueline Meketa papers, 1792-1994, (bulk 1860-1990). (University of New Mexico-Main Campus). WorldCat record id: 733778142

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