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Continued from:
4. Men Gutiérrez and Catalina Gutiérrez: Second-Great-Grandparents of Doña Beatriz de EstradaThe Jewish-converso Ancestry of Doña Beatriz de Estrada,
Wife of Don Francisco Vásquez de Coronado
José Antonio Esquibel
Copyright ã 1997 by José Antonio Esquibel
5. Don Juan Gutiérrez de la Caballería and Doña Mayor Flores de Guevara: Grandparents of Doña Beatriz de Estrada
From the sources consulted in this research, it is not certain which of the sons of Men Gutiérrez was the great-grandfather of doña Beatriz de Estrada. Nonetheless, her maternal grandfather was don Juan Gutiérrez de la Caballería, himself a known grandson of Men Gutiérrez. As a resident of the Villa de Almagro, don Juan was married to doña Mayor Flores de Guevara who was a member of the Díaz Franco family.41 According to testimony given in 1584-1585, doña Mayor’s father or brother, it was not certain, was a man named Pedro Díaz Franco. The Spanish Inquisition of Ciudad Real investigated a person of this name. Pablo de Herrera testified on July 10, 1513 that he and Pedro Díaz Franco had discussed ways of defending Converos before the court of the Inquisition.42
The Franco surname also appears in earlier Inquisition records of Ciudad Real between 1483-1485, and several Franco people were condemned.43 These records identify the Franco family as conversos who observed Jewish customs. On the other hand, descendants of the Díaz Franco family of the early sixteenth century were able to prove they were descended of an "old Christian" family.44
Don Juan Gutiérrez de la Caballería and doña Mayor Flores de Guevara were the parents of six known children:45
Another round of Inquisition trials held in Toledo affected the Villa de Almagro around 1513. It appears the descendants of the Gutiérrez family managed to avoid being denounced. As such, some of the family members may have kept their Jewish customs and ceremonies very well hidden. Others may have accepted the Catholic faith as their own, and thus were beyond suspicion about their religious sincerity. In either case, the fact that the Gutiérrez family remained in the Villa de Almagro and prospered after the difficult and dispiriting times of their family’s involvement with the Spanish Inquisition is a testament to their fortitude.
Many other Jewish-Converso families of the Ciudad Real-Villa de Almagro region were less fortunate. Those who fled were tried in absentia, condemned and burnt in effigy, and their property confiscated. Of those who remained, some reconciled themselves to the Church, others were imprisoned or burnt at the stake. Some of the family groups victimized by the Inquisition of Ciudad Real include:46
Ciudad-Díaz-González de Teva-Daza-Olivos; Díaz Doncel-González de Frexinal-de la Sierra-Alfonso-Plaza-Torres-Merlo; Carmona-Cavillo-Gómez; Fez-Gómez-Merzla- González-Falcón-Merlo-García de Carmona-Chillón-Ballesteros-Villareal-Rodríguez; Alonso-Zamora-Torres-Falcón-de la Torre-Prado-Coca-Gúzman; Olivos-González-Oliva-García de la Higuera-Díaz-Moya-Gutiérrez-Córdoba-López; Marín-López-Villarubia-González; López de Almodóvar-González-Haro-San Román-Aguilera; Plaza-Higuera-Villa-García; Franco-Bonilla-Díaz-González-Madrid
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2. Uncovering the Jewish-Converso Lineage of the Gutiérrez de la Caballería Family
3. Gonzalo Gutiérrez and Catalina Gutiérrez: Third-Great-Grandparents of Doña Beatriz de Estrada
4. Men Gutiérrez and Catalina Gutiérrez: Second-Great-Grandparents of Doña Beatriz de Estrada
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