The first American-born Hispanic senator, Dionisio “Dennis” Chávez was born on April 8, 1888, in Los Chaves, New Mexico. Chávez’s family had lived in Los Chaves for generations. In fact, he always prided himself in saying he was “American before Plymouth Rock,” because he had ancestors that lived in the New World on a Spanish land grant in the 17th century. In 1895, Chávez’s father moved the family to Albuquerque for railroad work. Chávez attended school there until the 7th grade when he needed to take a job to help out the family. His first job was driving a grocery wagon at the age of 13. However, Chávez continued to learn by spending his evenings at the Albuquerque Public Library studying engineering as well as American history and politics. Chávez was eventually fired from his job at the grocery store for refusing to deliver groceries to strike breakers.