Beyond Origins of
A website maintained by José Antonio
Esquibel
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Beyond ONMF Volume 7
Contents: Abreu—Promising Lead ,Afán de Ribera, Anaya
Almazán—Promising
Lead, Aragón,
Arellano—Promising
Lead,
Archibeque, Armijo, Bazán-Ledesma—Promising Lead, Bustamante—Promising Lead, De las Casas, Espinosa, Gallegos, Jorge de Vera,
Ledesma-Cruz—Promising
Lead, Leyva,
López del Castillo, Lucero, Luera—Promising Lead, Molina-Medina—Promising Lead, Madrid, Mizquia—Promising Lead, Morquecho—Promising Lead, Romo—Promising Lead, Ruiz de Aguilar—Promising Lead, Sáez—Promising Lead, Salas, Sosa Albornoz,
Zaldívar y Sosa
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ANAYA
ALMAZÁN—Promising Lead
There is a baptismal record dated
Researcher: Charles
Martínez y Vigil
Sources: LDS Family
Search (LDS web-based data search: www.familysearch.com). This information
should not be considered confirmed and is only presented to assist interested
researchers in locating original records that should be consulted. The original
records can be consulted by viewing microfilm copies available through any
![]()
ABREU—Promising
Lead
Researcher: Charles
Martínez y Vigil
Sources: LDS Family
Search (LDS web-based data search: www.familysearch.com). This information
should not be considered confirmed and is only presented to assist interested
researchers in locating original records that should be consulted. The original
records can be consulted by viewing microfilm copies available through any
![]()
AFÁN de RIBERA
In Origins of New
Mexico Families, Fray Angélico Chávez identified Francisco Afán
de Ribera
as most likely being the same person as Francisco de Betanzos who came from Mexico City
to New Mexico in 1694 (ONMF: 148, 266). Following this lead, Francisco Afán
de Ribera and
his early descendants in
The last will and
testament of Francisco Afán de Ribera has been preserved in the Archivo Histórico de
Parral (
Francisco
Afán de Ribera
made his will and died in
In his will, Francisco Afán
de Ribera
identified himself as a native of Mexico City and a vecino of the
Villaneuva de Santa Cruz, New Mexico, and a legitimate son of "Juan de Rivera Y de Josepha de el
Castillo."
This couple married in the Sagrario chapel of the Catedral de México on
Juan de ribera
con Josepha
del Castillo
velaronsse
los Contenidos en
esta
ss<an>ta’’ Yg<lesi>a’ en 21 de feb<rer>o’
de
1672
En
sinco dias
mil y
seiscientos y setenta y dos
años
con licencia
nero
de depose por palabra de
presente
que hisieron ver-
dadero
matrimonio a Juan
de
Ribera,
morisco, con Josepha
Castillo,
española, siendo testi-
gos Alonso Saldaña y Fran-
cisco de Sandobal
Fr<ay>
Diego de villegas [rubrica]
According to this
record, Juan de Ribera was a morisco, an individual who was three-quarters
Caucasian and one-quarter African, as clearly defined in the casta
system of his time period. Josepha del Castillo was identified as española. Because
of Juan
de Ribera's
mixed ancestry, the marriage of this couple was recorded in the book of castas
of the cathedral. The witnesses to the union were Alonso Saldaña and Francisco de
Sandoval.
The presiding priest was Fray Diego de Villegas.
It is not clear
from the contents of the will when Francisco Afán de Ribera came to New Mexico. Could
he has posed as a son of Andrés de Betanzos, and thus arrived in New Mexico in 1693, or did he come to New
Mexico at a later date, perhaps as a merchant? These questions remain
unanswered at this time.
Francisco
Afán de Ribera
named as his heirs his three daughters and one son: Nicolasa del
Castillo, Josefa del
Castillo, María del
Castillo,
and Francisco Xavier del Castillo. Immediately it is clear that the children
of Afán de Ribera adopted the surname of their paternal grandmother. He
decalred that all his belongings were to be equally divided among each of his
heirs. No mention is made of the mother or mothers of these children. He asked
to buried in the Church of Santa Cruz and named Captian don Ignacio de Roybal
as the executor of his estate.
Francisco
Afán de Ribera
left a large amount of personal goods, which identify him as a person of means
and a merchant. A summary of his last testament appears below in this this
section, along with a link to the transcription of the testament.
Researcher: Robert D.
Martínez
Summary by José
Antonio Esquibel
Sources: Archivo
Histórico de Parral, Roll 1725C, Fr. 1893 – 1899; Asunción Cathedral,
________________________________________________________________
AFÁN de RIBERA (continued)
The last will and testament of Francisco Afán de
Ribera located by Robert D.
Martínez among the collection of the Archivo Histórico de Parral is an official
copy of the original that was forwarded from
Following the request was an official copy of the will of Francisco Afán
de Ribera. The will was dated Septembr 4, 1721, and the witnesses to this will
were Fray Manuel de Sopeña, of the Santa Cruz Parish, and Miguel de Quintana, a
vecino of Santa Cruz de la Cañada. This information clearly indicates
that the will was written in New Mexico, apparently in Sanat Cruz. Francisco
Afán de Ribera beagn his will traditionally in the name of the Almighty God,
Father, Son and Holy Spirit, and in the name of the Virgin Mary, San Miguel
Arcangel, San Juan Bautista, San Pablo, San Pedro, San Francisco, San José, and
all the saints of the heavenly court. He next declared that he was a ntive of
the City of Mexico and a vecino of the Villa Nueva de Santa Cruz, New
Mexico, the legitimate son of Juan de Rivera and Josepha del Castillo. Being of
sound mind and judgment he dictated his last will and testament stating he
believed in everything the Holy Mother Roman Catholic Church believed and lived
and died in the faith and belief as a Catholic Christian, commanding his soul
to God who created it and redeemed it with his precious blood and commanding
his body to the ground from which it was formed.
In the next section of his will Afán de Ribera asked that when he died he
desired to be buried in the parish church of the Villa Nueva de Santa Cruz, and
the customary requests for the burial were to be aid from his goods. The first
items he declared as his belongs were rawhides and elkskin hides worth the
amount of 2,430 pesos (approximately $73,000 in modern monetary terms) as
accounted for in his book of accounts. He next declared the 17 mules he owned
and described them, and he owned eleven saddle rigs for the mules, including
blankets and lasos. He next declared some saddles, an harquebus, clothing made
from English cloth (paño de Ynglaterra), a silver plate, spoon and fine
china, and a locket of silver. He also owned an iron brand for branding his
mules, a cart for two teams of oxen. He next mentioned he owned a rancho that
he bought from Joaquín de Atienza, as attested to by the royal bill of sale.
The next possession he accounted for was hi mirror with a gold frame.
Afán de Ribera proudly stated that the only person that he owned
anything, both in New Mexico and outside New Mexico, was don Ignacio de Roybal,
as would be shown in his personal book of accounts.
His bed and white clothing and the decorations of his house were to be
given to his daughters and son. He then ordered that 100 pesos be separated
from his estate for two poor and needed young women (unnamed), and asked for
fifty masses to be said for the souls in purgatory and the rest to pay for his
funeral expenses.
Afán de Ribera then named his heirs as Nicolasa del Castillo, Josefa del
Castillo, María del Castillo, and Francisco Xavier del Castillo. Among whom he
wished to divide his estate in equal parts, except for the rancho and the
ox-cart. He named the executor of his estate as don Ignacio de Roybal,
declaring he had no other testament nor codicil. The witnesses to the will were
Santa Cruz de la Cañada residents Fray Manuel de Sopeña and Miguel de Quintana.
Afán de Ribera signed his name.
Following the copy of the will is a statement of authenticity of the
contents that had been copied to be sent to Chihuahua confirming that it was an
exact transcription of the last will and testament of Francisco Afán de Ribera
and is dated Agust 11, 1725. Witnesses in Santa Fe testifying to this fact were
Miguel José de la Vega y Coca, José Manuel Jiltomé, and Miguel José Laso de la
Vega y Vique. Officials in Chihuahua confirmed receipt of the will on September
18, 1725.
The transcription of the will of Francisco Afán de Ribera can be
read here.
Researcher: Robert D.
Martínez
Summary by José
Antonio Esquibel
Source: Archivo
Histórico de Parral, Roll 1725C, frs. 1893-99.
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ARAGÓN
New genealogical
research by José Antonio Esquibel into the maternal ancestry of Ignacio de
Aragón
(ONMF: 127-128), progenitor of the Aragón family of New Mexico, was recently
presented at the Annual Conference of the Genealogical Society of Hispanic
America. Ignacio de Aragón was a son of Juan de Aragón and Mencia de las
Ruelas Galindo
(SRNM: 106-108). The Galindo
family has its origins in Sevilla, Spain, while the Ruelas family can be traced
to the mid-1500s in Puebla de los Ángeles, New Spain. This research adds the
names of eight immediate ancestors of Ignacio de Aragón and includes family
surnames such as Calderón,
Carmona, Dávila, Salguero, and Zúñiga.
An article titled
"The Ancestry of Ignacio de Aragón" has been written and will be
published in the Summer 2001 issue of El Farolito (Vol. 3, No. 2),
quarterly journal of the Olibama López Tushar Hispanic Legacy Research Center
(OLTHLRC). The article provides transcriptions of original marriage records
that clearly documents the information used to compile the Galindo-de la
Ruelas
genealogy and the article will be illustrated with a genealogical chart showing
related family members.
Single issues of El
Farolito, can be purchased for $6.00, or four issues a year can be obtained
through OLTHLRC membership of $20.00 per year. Send check or money order with
single-issue request or request for membership to OLTHLRC, MSC 237, 6637 W.
Colfax Ave., Lakewood, Colorado 80214-1896.
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ARELLANO—Promising
Lead
There is a marriage record for Nicolás de Arellano
and Leonor Hernandes (aka Fernández
Becerra), the parents of Cristóbal de Arellano
(ONMF: 133), dated
Researcher: Charles
Martínez y Vigil
Sources: LDS Family
Search (LDS web-based data search: www.familysearch.com). This information
should not be considered confirmed and is only presented to assist interested
researchers in locating original records that should be consulted. The original
records can be consulted by viewing microfilm copies available through any
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ARCHIBEQUE
The ancestry of Juan de
Archibeque
(aka Jean L'Archeveque, ONMF: 129) was traced several generations into France
by Paul Trujillo. His findings were published in Herencia (Vol. 3,
January 1995, Issue 1), the quarterly journal of the New Mexico Genealogical
Research Center (HGRC) of New Mexico, in an article titled "Los Franceses
of Seventeenth Century New Mexico: Jean L'Archeveque, Jaques Grolet, and Pierre
Meusnier." The valuable genealogical information in this article is a must
for any descendant of Juan de Archibeque. Information is provided on his paternal and maternal
ancestry, and is based on sacramental records of marriage and baptism. Back
issues of Herencia can be ordered through the HGRC web site. Detailed
historical information about Jean L'Archeveque, Jacques Grolet, and Pierre Muesnier can be read in The
Spanish Recolonization of New Mexico by José Antonio Esquibel and John B.
Colligan.
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The March 2001
issue of the New Mexico Genealogist (NMG) contains an article with a faulty
lineage of the Armijo
family, which purports to trace the family to Puebla de los Ángeles in New
Spain and to Sevilla and Madrid in Spain. Unfortunately, this lineage promises
to take a place next to other common errors in New Mexico Spanish Colonial
genealogical research.
There is yet no
positive evidence that names the parents of Joseph de Armijo, the husband of Catalina Duran (ONMF: 136). Joseph and Catalina were the progenitors of the
Armijo family of New Mexico. The
lineage published in the March 2001 issues of the New Mexico Genealogist (NMG)
and compiled by Angelo Cervantes claims that Joseph de Armijo was a son of Antonio de
Armijo and Damiana de
Violante. This
information should not be accepted as fact.
We know from
various primary documents that the Armijo family of New Mexico came from Zacatecas
among the colonists recruited by Juan Páez Hurtado (ONMF: 136; Colligan, The
Páez Hurtado Expedition: 40-41, 92-93). To date no marriage record or
pre-nuptial investigation record has been located for Joseph de Armijo and Catalina Durán, thus the parents of this
couple remain unknown. In addition, without the marriage record of this couple,
it cannot be substantiated that this Joseph de Armijo is the same person as the Joseph de Armijo (native of Zacatecas) who
married Antonia Hernández in Mexico City (md.
The lineage
presented in the March 2001 issue of the NMG requires additional consideration and
research before being accepted as fact. In particular, there is the fact that
the members of the Armijo
family of New Mexico were consistently referred to as mestizos. As such,
we would expect to find Indian ancestry that is not accounted for in the faulty
Armijo lineage presented by Angelo Cervantes. At the very least, he should have
noted that the lineage was a promising lead instead of presenting his
information as a proven lineage. This type of irresponsible presentation of
genealogical information only serves to create confusion among people searching
for their ancestors, and damages the credibility of sound New Mexico
genealogical research.
Comments of José
Antonio Esquibel
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BAZÁN-LEDESMA—Promising
Lead
There is a marriage record for Ygnacio Bazán
(ONMF: 146) and his first wife, María Ygnacia Ledesma,
dated August 24, 1788, Asunción Church (Catedral de México), Mexico City. The original
records will very likely contain the names of their parents, or these names may
have been recorded in the corresponding banns of matrimony book (información matrimonial). Apparently, a
researcher extracted and submitted the names of the parents of María Ygnacia Ledesma, who are identified as José Ledesma
and Barbara Ariza.
José Ledesma and Barbara Ariza were married June 14, 1742, Santa Vera Cruz Church,
Mexico City. Barbara Ariza
was christened Barbara Marzela
on Februray 25, 1725 (born February 18th), Asunción Church (Catedral
de México), daughter of Pedro de Urbina and Getrudis de
Ariza.
Researcher: Charles
Martínez y Vigil
Sources: LDS Family
Search (LDS web-based data search: www.familysearch.com). This information
should not be considered confirmed and is only presented to assist interested
researchers in locating original records that should be consulted. The original
records can be consulted by viewing microfilm copies available through any LDS
Family History Center. Researchers who follow-up on these leads are encouraged
to share their findings by posting transcriptions, translations and precise
source citation on the BONMF web site.
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BUSTAMNTE —Promising Lead
As indicated by
Fray Angélico Chávez, the Bustamante family of New Mexico was apparently
related to don Juan Domingo de Bustamante, Governor of New Mexico from
1722-1731 (ONMF: 150). It is known that don Bernrado de Bustamante y Tagle and
José de Bustamante y Tagle both left descendents in New Mexico (ONMF: 150-151).
The exact relation ship between these three men has yet to be clearly
determined. Chávez suggested that don Bernardo de Bustamante y Tagle may have been
a brother of nephew of Governor Bustamante, and he identified José de
Bustamante y Tagle as a native of Aranda de Duero, Spain, and a son of Juan
Antonio de Bustamante y Tagle and María Antonia Bracho Bustamante.
Recent information
extracted by Joe Puerta from a book titled Escudos de Cantábria provides
some very promising leads regarding the genealogy and ancestry of the
Bustamante family of New Mexico. Governor don Juan Domingo de Bustamante had
been a vecino (tax-paying citizen) of Puente San Miguel (previously
known as Barcena de la Puente) in the Cantábria region of Spain where he
founded a small chapel or sanctuary called Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe which
cost the amount of 10,000 pesos. In the clef of the entry arch of this chapel
there is a small coat of arms divided into fourths, most likely representing
the family shield of don Juan Domingo de Bustamante. The first fourth of the
shield has an image of a tower. The second fourth of the shield has the image
of three lilies. The third fourth of the shield has the image of a tree. The
last part of the shield has thirteen disks, which represents the specific coat
of arms of the Pérez de Bustamante family. In 1769, the patron of this chapel
was don Rodrigo Antonio de Tagle Bustamante, very likely a descendant of don
Juan Domingo.
Originally, the
Bustamente family used the extended surname of Pérez de Bustamante, but in time
this fell from use. This is seen in the genealogy of don Juan Domingo de
Bustamante who was a son of don Antonio Pérez de Buatamante and doña Josepha de
Tagle y Villegas, vecinos of Villapresente, she being a member of the House of
Sánchez de Tagle of Villapresente. Although it appears that don Antonio and
doña Josepha could be the parents or grandparents of don Bernardo de Bustamante
y Tagle and José de Bustamante y Tagle, there is evidence of other
Bustamente-Tagle unions. According to the information found in Escudos de
Cantábria, don Anotnio and doña Josepha had two other sons and a daughter.
One son was don Francisco Antonio de Bustamante, Oider de la Real Audiencia
de México. The other son is not named but was identified as the vicario
general of the Bishopric of Durango. This Vicar General was apparently don
José de Buastamante who represented the Bishop of Durango as the Vicar of Santa
fe from 1733 - 1736 (ONMF: 151). The daughter was doña Rosa de Pérez de
Villegas was was married in 1705 with don Francisco Antonio de Tagle
Bustamante, a son of don Francisco Ambrosio de Tagle Bustamante and doña Juana
de Velarde (vecinos of Vispieres).
Don Antonio Pérez
de Bustamante was a son of don Francisco Pérez de Bustamante and doña María
Gutiérrez de la Iglesia, she being a member of the House of Gutiérrez de la
Iglesia in Valles.
Don Francisco
Pérez de Bustamante (II) was a son of another man also named don Francisco
Pérez de Bustamante (I) whose wife was doña Juliana González de la Sierra
Valverde.
Don Francisco
Pérez de Bustamante (I) was a son of don Toribio Pérez de Bustamante and doña
María Velarde, she being a member of the House of Roecin de Abajo.
Don Toribio Pérez
de Bustamante was a son of don Diego Pérez de Bustamante and doña Elena Sánchez
de Tagle, she being a member of the house of her surname. In 1649, don Toribio
Pérez de Bustamante, who identified himself as a descendant of the House of de
la Cueva in Quevada, receive certification for a coat of arms described in
Spanish as follows: de azur, torre de oro pasada de gules sobre un risco
natural, y al pie de ella una gruta, y a su puerta dos o tres cabezas de moros
con turbantes de plata y gules (blue background, a tower in gold, red
pathway over a natural cliff, and at the foot of the cliff a grotto, and the at
the doors two or three heads of moors with turbans in silver and red).
The above
information offers a very promising lead and narrows the search for the roots
of the Bustamante family to the region of Cantábria in Spain. However,
additional research is needed to confirm the connection of don Bernardo de
Buastamante y Tagle and José de Bustamante y Tagle to the family of don Juan
Domingo de Bustamante.
Other
Bustamante-Tagle unions in the area of Villapresente include:
Researcher: Joe
Puerta
Summary and supplemental
research by José Antonio Esquibel
Source: Carmen
Gonzalez Echegaray, Escudos de Cantábria, Tomo II: Las Asturias de
Santillana, 211, 227-228, 256-257, 268.
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De las CASAS
Bernabé
de las Casas
enlisted as a soldier in the army of don Juan de Oñate in 1597, giving his age
as 25 in January 1598 and declaring he was a native of the Tenerife in the
Canary Islands and a son of Miguel de la Casas. From other records we learn that his
mother was María López. Bernabé de las Casas distinguished himself in the colonization of New
Mexico and earned the rank of captain. He was one of the soldiers who escape
the attack of the Acoma Indians in January 1599.
After the death of
fellow soldier and colonist don Alonso de Sosa Albornoz, Casas married his widow, doña Beatriz Navarro, daughter of Juan Navarro and María Rodríguez
Castaño de Sosa.
Leaving New Mexico in October 1602, Casas and Navarro made their way to Saltillo where her father
had successfully established himself as a rancher.
By 1604, Bernabé de las
Casas was the
administrator for the Hacienda de Santa Ana which had been left to doña Beatriz Navarro and her two sister by
their father, Juan Navarro.
Casas acquired and operated a
wheat mill in the area of Saltillo and ran a train of wagons to Zacatecas,
transporting grain and ore. In 1608, Casas was elected as alcalde ordinario of
Saltillo and served as Teniente de Alcade Mayor from 1609-1610. By 1615, Bernabé de las
Casas had
discovered silver in the Valle de Salinas in Nuevo León, and had an ore
smelting mill constructed on his Estancia de Salinas to process the silver ore.
By the 1620s, Bernabé de las
Casas was a
vecino of Neuvo León where he owned property, including the silver mine of San
Nicolás de Tolentino. In 1626 he was alcalde ordinario of Monterrey and
then was alcalde mayor of the town from 1627 through 1630.
Bernabé
de las Casas
and doña Beatriz Navarro were the parents of five children:
1. Bernabé de las
Casas.
2. Marcos de las
Casas
married with Getrudis de la Vega. This couple had four known children: Juan de las
Casas, María de las
Casas, Margarita de las
Casas, and
Mencia
de las Casas.
3. Beatriz de las
Casas married
with Diego de Villarreal. This couple had seven known children: 1) Sargento
Mayor Diego de Villarreal who married four times (i. María de la
Garza; ii.
Inés
de Rentería;
iii. Tomasa Flores; and iv. Mariana Cortinas); 2) Capitán Juan Bautista de
Villarreal
who married Luisa de la Garza; 3) Capitán Bernabe de Villarreal who married Isabel dela
Garza; 4)
Capitán Juan de Villarreal who married Juana de la Garza García; 5) Francisco de
Villarreal
who married Ursula de Isaguirre Urrutia; 6) Capitán Cristóbal de Villarreal who married first with Micaela de
Treviño Rentería
and second with Aldonza (Ildefonsa) Martínez Guajardo; and 7) Luisa de las
Casas who
married Alonso Rodríguez de Carvajal.
4. Doña Juliana de las
Casas married
with don Diego Fernández de Montemayor.
5. Doña María de las
Casas
married with don Juan Alonso Lobo Guerrero, native of Córdoba, Spain, and a son of don Juan Lobo
Guerrero
and doña Juana Fernández de Córdoba. Doña María de las Casas and don Juan Lobo
Guerrero were
the parents of seven children: 1) don Luis de Córdoba; 2) don Juan Lobo
Guerrero;
3) doña María Lobo Guerrero; 4) doña Margarita Lobo Guerrero married; 5) don Fernando Lobo
Guerrero;
6) don Antonio Lobo Guerrero; and 7) don José Lobo Guerrero.
Bernabé de las Casas established himself as a successful miner and
rancher and became one of the most prominent and influential men of Nuevo León.
At the time of his death in 1632 he held extensive properties which he divided
amongst his five adult children. The lands of Icamole and San José de la Popa,
today in the area of the town of García, Nuevo León, went to his two sons, Bernabé and Marcos. Both of these sons also
received shares of the mines of Nuestra Señora del Rosario. The hacienda of San
Francisco de las Cañas, today the villa of Mina, Nuevo León, as well as a share
in the mines of San Nicolás de Tolentino, were given to doña María de las
Casas. Doña Beatriz de las
Casas
inherited the haciendas of Magdalena and Nuestra Señora de Eguía, and share in
the mines of Nuestra Señora del Rosario. The hacienda of Chipinque, today the
villa of Carmen, Nuevo León, was inherited by doña Juliana de las
Casas, who
also inherited her father's encomienda of the Cacuilipalina Indians.
Researcher: José Antonio Exquibel
Sources: José Cuello, Dissertation: "Saltillo in the
Seventeenth Century: Local Society on the Northern Mexican Frontier,"
University of Berkeley, 1981: 139-143; Raul J. Guerra Jr.; Nadine M. Vásquez,
and Baldomero Vela, Jr., Index to the Marriage Investigations of the Diocese
of Guadalajara: Provinces of Coahuila, Nuevo León, Nuevo Santander and Texas,
Volume 1: 1653-1750, privately published, Edinburg, Texas; Municipal
Archives of Saltillo: Ramo Civil, Volumen 79.Exp. 2, fol 35 a 39 (Testimonio de
doña María de las Casas); Israel Cavazos Garza, Diccionario Biográfico de
Nuevo León, Tomo I, A-L, Universidad Autonoma de Nuevo León, Capilla
Alfonsina Bibleoteca Universitaria, Monterrey, México, 1984: 87; Israel Cavazos
Garza, Calálogo y síntesis de los protocolos del archivo municipal de
Monterrey, 1599-1700, Publicaciones del Instituto Technologico y de
Estudios Superiores de Monterrey, Monterrey, Nuevo León, 1966: 267.
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ESPINOSA
Nicolás
de Espinosa
(ONMF: 172), apparently the progenitor of the Espinosa family of Northern New
Mexico, was a native of the Villa de los Lagos in Nueva Galicia. A pre-nuptial
investigation record dated 1697, Santa Cruz, identifies his parents as José Gómez and María de
Espinosa.
In 1695, at age 22, Nicolás de Espinosa had enlisted as one of the settlers of
New Mexico recruited in Zacatecas by Captain Juan Páez Hurtado. Although listed as having
come with a brother and sister, he testified in 1697 that he had enlisted alone
(Colligan, Páez Hurtado Expedition: 53) . In this year he gave his age
as 24.
Nicolas
de Espinosa
was among the original settlers of La Villa Nueva de Santa Cruz, founded in April
1695. In 1697, he married Josefa de la Cruz, a 24 year-old native of San Luís Potosí
and a widow of Laureano Gómez. Nicolás
and Josefa had at least one known
child, Juana de Mata Espinosa, who was married with José Antonio
Cortés,
from whom the numerous members of the Cortés family of New Mexico descend.
The direct
paternal lineage of Nicolás de Espinosa was traced to the mid-1500s by Ophelia Márquez who
made was able to tie into research that was conducted and published by Mariano
González Leal:
Generation
1: Captain
Juan
Gómez de Portugal.
He had a son named Juan de Portugal, who follows.
Generation
2: Juan de Portugal, a founder of the Villa de
Santa María de los Lagos, Nueva Galicia, on March 30, 1563. He married Catalina López, listed as a widow in the
1610 census of the Villa de los Lagos (modern-day town of Lagos de Moreno,
Mexico). They were the parents of Diego Gómez de Portugal, who follows.
Generation
3: Diego Gómez de
Portugal, md.
January 8, 1590, Villa de Santa María de los Lagos, Nueva Galicia, to María García de
Arrona,
possibly related to one of the founders of Lagos, Juan de Arrona. Theye were the parents of
Pedro
Gómez de Portugal,
who follows.
Generation
4: Pedro Gómez de
Portugal
married June 18, 1613, Villa de Santa María de los Lagos, Nueva Galicia, with Isabel Ortiz
Parada
(she may have been related Diego Ortiz Saavedra y Parada, Alcalde Ordinario of
Lagos in 1609). This couple was enumerated in the 1669 census of Lagos. They
were the parents of five known children: 1) Ysabel Gómez Ortiz, bt. October 30, 1616,
Villa de Santa María de los Lagos; 2) José Gómez, who follows; 3) Juan Gómez Ortiz, bt. January 2, 1635,
Villa de Santa María de los Lagos; 4) Luisa Gómez Ortiz, bt. February 23, 1637,
Villa de Santa María de los Lagos; 5) Pedro Gómez Ortiz, bt. April 13, 1639, Villa
de Santa María de los Lagos.
Generation
5: José Gómez, md. July 2, 1664, Villa
de Santa María de los Lagos, Nueva Galicia, to María de
Espinosa,
native of the Villa de Santa María de los Lagos, Nueva Galicia, daughter of Francisco de
Espinosa
and María de Salazar, both deceased at the time of their daughter's
marriage. José
and María were the parents of Nicolás de
Espinosa, who
follows.
Generation
6: Nicolás de
Espinosa,
b.ca. 1673, Villa de los Lagos, Nueva Galicia; md. 1697, Santa Cruz, New
Mexico, with Josefa de la Cruz, b.ca. 1673, San Luis de Potosí, Nueva España. They were the
parents of Juana de Mata Espinosa, who follows.
Generation
7: Juana de Mata
Espinosa,
b.ca. 1702, New Mexico, md. 1720, Santa Cruz, New Mexico, with José Antonio
Cortés, b.ca.
1694, son of José Cortés del Castillo and María de Carvajal (SRNM: 177). They were the
parents of Pedro Cortés (aka Pedro Cortés Espinosa), who had two known wives (María Chaves and Juana González y
Gamboa),
leaving known children by his second wife, and descendancy in New Mexico.
Researchers: Ophelia Márquez and Mariana González Leal
Sources: Mariano González Leal, Retoños de España en la Nueva
Galicia, Tomo I, 25; Ophelia Márquez, "Lineage of Nicolás Espinosa:
Santa María de los Lagos, Nueva Galicia to New Mexico," in Somos Primos,
a publication of the Society of Hispanic Historical and Ancestral Research,
Vol. 4, No.2, October 1993. SRNM: José Antonio Esquibel and John B. Colligan, The
Spanish Recolonization of New Mexico: An Account of the Families Recruited in
Mexico City in 1693, Hispanic Genealogical Research Center of New Mexico,
Albuquerque, 1999.
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GALLEGOS
Diego Gallegos, the father of José Gallegos
(ONMF: 31), made his will at San José del Parral on June 27, 1657. In this will
he declared he was a native of La Ciudad
de Guadiana (Durango), the legitimate son of Luis Gallegos and Pasquala de Ruada
(instead of Rueda, as previously documented), both deceased
and who were residents of Guadiana. He further stated, “I declare that I am
married and veiled according to the order of Our Holy Mother Church with Catalina de Rivera,
my legitimate wife, and during our marriage we have had and procreated four
legitimate children named Ygnacio, Diego, Joseph, y María, our legitimate children who are alive.”
This information
confirms the names of the siblings of José Gallegos, one of the progenitors
of the Gallegos
family of New Mexico. Curiously, Antonio Gallegos (ONMF: 31), identified
as a brother of José by Chávez, is not named
as a child of Diego Gallegos
and Catalina de Rivera. It could be that he
was not yet born and that Catalina was pregnant at the time her husband made
his will. Another possibility is that Antonio was a natural son of Diego Gallegos. Chávez original source that
identified José and Antonio as brothers is deserving of another close look.
Chávez cited B.N.M., leg. 2, pt. 3, ff. 356.
Researcher: Robert
Martínez
Narrative Summary:
José Antonio Esquibel
Source: Archivo
Histórico del Parral, Reel 1656B, Frame
642
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JORGE de VERA
Fray Angélico
Chávez logically concluded that the Jorge de Vera family of seventeenth century
New Mexico was established from a union of Manuel Jorge and a women of the Vera-Ortiz family, thus explaining
the family name of Antonio Jorge de Vera (ONMF: 51). Evidence from the last will and
testament of Manuel Jorge,
the elder, clearly substantiate that the Jorge de vera family was established
by the union of Manuel Jorge Álvarez and Ana de Vera Delgado.
The evidence for the origins of the Jorge de Vera family and the correct family genealogy was first published by Jerry Mandel in 1995 in an issue Herencia (Quarterly Journal of the Hispanic Genealogical Research Center of New Mexico), Vol. 3, Issue 3, July 1995: 31, but this evidence has been overlooked by researcher. More recently, Gilbert T. Maldonado has published on article on the same topic, "Origins of Manuel Jorge from His Last Will and Testament," in Herencia (Quarterly Journal of the Hispanic Genealogical Research Center of New Mexico), Vol. 10, Issue 1, January 2002: 31-44, and presents a translation of the primary source documentation, the last will and testament of Manuel Jorge Álvarez, recorded