Background Information Beyond Origins of New Mexico Families
A website maintained by José Antonio Esquibel
Home Page ˝ DMs of Durango Start Page
Information Extracted from the
DMs of the Archives of the
Archdiocese of Durango
A microfilm project of the Rio Grande Historical Collections
New Mexico State University Library
The compilation of New Mexico DMs from Durango by John B. Colligan goes beyond the basic index as catalogued by Fray Angélico Chávez for the DMs of the Archdiocese of Santa Fe. Colligan provides a detailed synopsis of the pre-nuptial documents, allowing readers a glimpse into the personal lives of the prospective brides and grooms of New Mexico's Spanish colonial era. In addition, many records contain valuable genealogical data for couples related by consanguinity and affinity such as this family tree:
Tronco
Dn Thomé Dominguez
Dn Thomé Dominguez
Hermanos Grado 1 Dn Franco DominguezDn Fran co Xavier Chaves
Primos carnales Grado 2 Da Estefania Dominguez(hijo bastardo) (hija legitima)
Dn Mathiana Chaves
Primos Segundos Grado 3 Dn Franco de BacaDn Joachin Garcia de Villegas
Primos Terceros Grado 4 Da Maria Josefa de Baca(AHAD-92, f. 115-30: Joaquín García Villegas and María Josefa de Baca, Parral, 9 January-14 February 1781; Hendricks and Colligan, New Mexico Prenuptial Investigations From the Archivos Históricos del Arzobisbado de Durango, 1760-1799: 64-5.)
Hendricks and Colligan have extracted DMs relating to New Mexico families living in various communities such as Parral, Chihuahua, El Paso, San Elceario, Presidio of El Carrizal, San Antonio de Senecú, Belen, Isleta, Albuquerque, Santa Cruz de la Cañada, San Juan de los Caballeros, Nambé, San Ildefonso, Taos, and most importantly Santa Fe. Very few DMs exist for Santa Fe couples in the Archives of the Archdiocese of Santa Fe. The Santa Fe DMs extracted by Hendricks and Colligan are extremely valuable.
In addition to records of couple requesting dispensation due to consanguinity and affinity, there are numerous records for soldiers who were natives of other places within the Spanish realms who sought to marry local women. These records add to an understanding of the origins of numerous families established in the El Paso region during the colonial era.
Check out these other pages for more information—
Volume I, 1760-1799: New Mexico Prenuptial Investigations From the Archivos Historicos del Arzobispado de Durango, Rick Hendricks, ed., John B. Colligan, compiler, forward by Thomas J. Steele, S.J. (Rio Grande Historical Collections, New Mexico State University Library, 1996, 166pp.
