Jose Antonio Esquibel's Blog, page 5

Founding Mothers of Albuquerque

Are you descended of a “founding mother” of the Villa de Alburquerque? You can read a list of these founding mothers in my Summer 2006 “Parientes” column published in “La Herencia: Preserving Our Past – Promoting Our Future,” Vol. 50, Summer 2006. Go to page 40 when you link to the magazine at http://www.scribd.com/doc/22675638/La.... In the same issue, you can also read a brief article about Fray Angélico Chávez by Kathryn M. Córdova on page 27, which has a picture of him as a young priest.

I wrote the article on the founding mothers of Albuquerque in preparation for the publication of the book, "Aquí se comienza: A Genealogical History of the Founding Families of the Villa de San Felipe de Alburquerque" (Albuquerque: New Mexico Genealogical Society, 2007). Read more about this book, or place an order at http://www.nmgs.org/AbqFF.htm.

My involvement with the Alburquerque founders project began in February 2004 when I shared some genealogical information on about Baltasar Romero and Francisco Xavier Benavides with the project leader, Gloria Valencia y Valdez. I offered my assistance with reviewing some of the more challenging family genealogies that were compiled for the proposed book.

In September 2004, I volunteered to write the historical narrativeon Baltasar Romero and Francisca de Góngora and completed the compilation of the genealogy of their immediate descendants. The book outline called for a conclusion with the working title of “Alliance Through Marriage and Compadrazgo,” which I was asked to write and accepted the task in April 2005.

Gloria started work on a chapter titled “Possible Founders” and I assisted by adding some additional historical information from various sources. We also collaborated on compiling the “Eras of New Mexico History.” 2005 was a very busy year for the Alburquerque founders project and much credit goes Gloria for keeping things moving along, despite various delays in getting all of the written material finalized and edited.

In February 2006, I was invited to be a co-editor of the book, “Aquí se comienza” and I accepted the responsibility. The other co-editors were Gloria, Robert D. Martínez, and Francisco Sisneros. The rest of 2006 was an extremely busy year for me, throughout which I worked in the evenings as late as midnight and 1:00am on a regularly basis helping with the reading and editing of the narratives and genealogical compilations. The other editors were busy as well.

In the draft of the table of content for “Aquí se comienza” from October 2006, the “Alliances” chapter was listed as the conclusion, but a decision an editorial decision was made to move the “Alliances” piece toward the front of the book, and thus a new conclusion was needed. I hustled to completed a new conclusion, which was written by November 16, 2006 with the title “A Measure of Fortitude and Determination,” reflecting on the fact that many of the families that founded Alburquerque had roots in the area stretching back in to the 1600s.

Soon after I completed the new conclusion, the hard drive of my 1999 computer crashed in late November 2006. Most fortunately, all my files were rescued and I was able to replace my hard drive. Although I had some files backed up on CD-ROM, I went out and purchased an external drive with 1TB of storage as an extra measure of caution.

Final editing of the book material took another two months, and then the final manuscript was shipped in early February 2007 for printing. The books were received by the New Mexico Genealogical Society by March 1, 2007, in time for the book signing event that took place on March 10, 2007, in Botts Hall of the Genealogy and Special Collections Library in Albuquerque.

It’s an honor to be associated with the completion of the book on the Alburquerque founding families. Each of the contributors and the editors did outstanding work in preparing a unique volume of New Mexico genealogy, the only book dedicated to the founders of one of New Mexico main towns of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries.

PBS Show and the Martín Serrano Lineage

I received an e-mail message from Titi Yu, a producer of the new PBS show “Finding Your Roots” with Henry Louis Gates, Jr.: http://www.pbs.org/wnet/finding-your-.... The show first airs on March 25th and takes “viewers along for the journey with one celebrity pair bound together by an intimate, sometimes hidden link, treks through layers of ancestral history, uncovers secrets and surprises of their family trees and shares life-altering discoveries.”

One of the celebrities that will be featured has roots in 17th century New Mexico, in particular a lineage tracing back to the Martin Serrano family. Ms Yu was looking for verification of parts of Martin Serrano lineage that was compiled by her team of consultants from some of my research. She was also interested in any copies of original documents.

I sent her my comprehensive history and genealogy of the Martin Serrano, originally published in ‘El Farolito,” Spring-Winter 2008, Vol. 11, Nos. 2-4 (journal of the Olibama López Tushar Hispanic Legacy Research Center, www.hispaniclegacy.org) as well as several digital images of some original some primary records.

It will be interesting to learn who the celebrity is with deep New Mexico roots and to watch the episode in which the Martin Serrano lineage is featured.

“Finding Your Roots” airs March 25–May 20th at 8:00pm ET/6:00pm MT on your local PBS channel.

20 Years as a Published Author

March 2012 marks 20 years for me as a published author, and it all started with the publication of my comprehensive genealogical account of the Esquibel family of New Mexico in the March 1992 issue of “The New Mexico Genealogist.” Andrés Segura, who was then the editor of “The New Mexico Genealogist,” accepted the first article in my series on the Esquibel family genealogy, which after two decades is still the standard reference for anyone researching an Esquibel line of the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. Francisco Sisneros expanded the Esquibel family research with his compilation and publication of the “Esquibel Families of the Rio Abajo” (See ‘Herencia,” Vol. 3, Issue 1, January 1995), and I added more with the “Esquibel Families of Nineteenth-Century New Mexico” (“Herencia,” Vol. 2, Issue 4, October 1994) and “The Ancestry of Buenaventura de Esquibel, ca. 1570-1684 (“Herencia,” Vol. 4, Issue 2, April 1996; and “Herencia,” Vol. 4, Issue 3, July 1996).

It’s been a rewarding journey of discovery, uncovering numerous archival records and contributing to a greater understanding of the genealogy and history of Hispano families with deep roots in New Mexico. My passion for genealogical and historical research led me to sharing my findings in a variety of print forms, which now includes four co-authored books, contributions to five anthologies, and 145 published articles and counting.

My interest in my family genealogy was sparked by information in the wedding book of my parents, which contains the names of their parents, grandparents and great-grandparents. I remember reading those names when I was a child. When I reached my mid-twenties I became intrigued by the family names and wanted to learn more about my immediate antecedents and trace their family lines.

I began my genealogical research in 1985, already with family names back to my second great-grandparents. Before I consulted any records I read the relevant sections of “The Handybook of Genealogists.” I gathered what information I could obtain from immediate family members, resulting in an early and big breakthrough on my mother’s side of the family due to some legal papers of my maternal grandfather that named him as an heir of José Vásquez Borrego, an eighteenth century land baron of what is today south Texas.

My father’s family is from New Mexico with roots in Las Vegas, the Mora Valley, Taos, Santa Bárbara-Peñasco, Embudo, Abiquiu, La Canoa (modern-day area of Velarde), Santa Cruz de la Cañada, Bernalillo, and of course Santa Fe. Family names on my father’s side include: Andrada, Ebel, Ruiz, Velásquez, Mestas, López, Martínez (Martín Serrano), Gurulé, Borrego (Vásquez Borrego), Varela, Quintana, Romero, Bustos, Alire, Solano, Armenta, Gallegos, Baca, Trujillo, and González, among many others.

My mother’s family is from Laredo and Benavides, Texas, with deep roots in Laredo and the northeastern states of Mexico (Tamaulipas, Nuevo León, and Coahuila) and communities such as Mier, Revilla, Marín, Sabinas Hidalgo, Cadereyta,Monterrey, and Saltillo. This side of the family has a long history of cattle ranching extending from the 1850s back to the late 1500s. Some of the surnames on this side of the family include: Canales, Dovalina, Vidaurre, Vásquez Borrego, Sánchez de la Barrera, de la Garza. Treviño, Hinojosa, Montemayor, Villarreal, Longoria, González Hidalgo, González de Ochoa, de las Casas, and Zaldívar.

I combined my study of genealogy with the reading of history of New Mexico, south Texas, and northeastern Mexico. My studies included books written in English and Spanish. I consulted microfilm of various primary records, mainly church records of sacraments and extracted a large amount of information on the genealogy both sides of my family

As I uncovered my family roots, looking at all possible lineages, not just by direct paternal line, and went further back in time with each proceeding generation, it didn’t take long to realize that “my” ancestors were ancestors of many other people as well. I decided to share my findings, and made the extra effort to provide source citations.

Fray Angélico Chávez’s “Origins of New Mexico Families” continues to be pivotal in my research, serving as a springboard for expanding on his genealogical compilations. Two other important influences were Rudolfo “Rudy” Anaya, under who I studied creative writing for several years at the University of New Mexico, and Sabine Ulibarrí, professor of Spanish literature. Both are well-respected authors. Although I original intended to write fiction, my interest in genealogy and history led me into non-fiction.

The field of genealogy is still impaired by a lack of credibility because so much information is shared and published without sources. I made a conscious effort to help raise the level of credibility of genealogy research by consulting primary records and being meticulous with regard to source citations.

I’ve also combined history and genealogy in my writings in order to give context to both. Genealogy is much richer when we understand the historical context in which our ancestors lived and shaped their society. History is enhanced by understanding social and familial relationships of the people who influenced the events of their times.

Over the course of the past twenty years, I’ve uncovered and published new historical and genealogical information on probably over 100 Hispano families of the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries. I currently have a backlog of material, including unpublished essays and two books in the works, as well as several articles.

I’ve also had the privilege and honor to collaborate with some of the most prominent southwest genealogists, historians, art historians, archeologists, professors, artists, and authors. I look forward to what the future brings and hope to continue making contributions to the history of New Mexico and northeastern Mexico and the genealogy of the families of those regions.

Check in on this blog site every so often to stay informed about upcoming works.

New Book: “The Spanish Colonial Settlement Landscapes of New Mexico, 1598-1680”

If you have traced your ancestry to 17th-century New Mexico and/or have an interest in the history of that era, you don’t want to miss an exciting new book by Elinore M. Barrett, Ph.D., that presents information on where Spanish residents of New Mexico lived during the first eight decades of the 1600s.

Although the Villa de Santa Fe was the only official town and served as the capital of New Mexico, Spanish citizens lived in various regions from Taos in the North to the area of the Pueblo of Senecú, south of modern-day Socorro, NM. Barrett draws from numerous sources to give the best description to date of the settlement landscape of 17th-century New Mexico, which was dotted by estancias, haciendas and large land holdings, mostly along the Rio Grande Valley.

The chapters of the book are divided in the various jurisdictions of 17th-century New Mexico and each chapter identifies the various residents of the jurisdictions as uncovered from consulting a variety of published and archival sources.

The book just became available this month from the University of New Mexico Press and can be ordered directly from UNM Press or from Amazon.com or barnesandnoble.com. You may also be able to consult a copy of the book at a local library or through Inter-library loan.

Elinore Barrett is a professor emerita of geography at the University of New Mexico Press. I was introduced to her by a mutual friend and colleague, Cordelia “Dedie” Snow. I had the privilege of sharing some of my research with Elinore, which she graciously utilized in preparing her book.

I started my research of Inquisition records of New Mexico in 1995 and by 1999 I have several notebooks of extracted information from which I compiled several lists, including the names, locations and of estancias and haciendas, as well as a list of residents of the Villa de Santa Fe between 1610-1630 and 1659-1663.

As Elinore drafted each chapter of her book, she would send me her drafts for review and I would pass along additional information from my research for her to incorporate. I also wrote a couple of essays, one on the development of estancias in New Mexico and another on the settlement patterns of the area of La Cañada and the area between San Juan Pueblo and Santa Clara Pueblo.

I’m looking forward to reading the final version of Elinore’s book. So few books have been written in the past six decades about the history of 17th century New Mexico. I’m confident Elinore’s book will become a standard reference for historical and genealogical research.

Here is part of the catalogue description of the book:

”Despite scarcity of documentation, Barrett has pulled together the disparate material available from collections of published documents as well as genealogical and archaeological findings to craft a fine-grained analysis of the location of Spanish landholdings in the context of the natural environment. Her study also includes discussion of the demographic dynamics of the period, the founding and settling of Santa Fe, and the activities of Spanish civil and religious establishments related to land, labor and tribute. Barrett’s work adds a much-needed dimension to colonial studies of this period.”

Article on Josefa de Pas Bustillos y Ontiveros

I'm updating my bibliography, which I haven't done since January 2007. I kept it current when I had the 'Beyond Origins of New Mexico Families" Web site. I'm tracking down everything I have had published in the past six years and locating the articles that are available on the Internet. Check out Part 1 of my article on the remarkable Josefa Antonia de Pas Bustillos y Ontiveros, the founder of the Bustos family of New Mexico (and one of my dad's ancestors) published in 'The New Mexico Genealogist in 1998: http://www.nmgs.org/artesquibel.htm.

This article is based on a paper I presented at the 1996 annual conference of the Historical Society of New Mexico held in my dad’s home town of Las Vegas, NM. Josefa de Pas Bustillos y Ontiveros (born circa 1684-1685, Mexico City) was a founding mother of New Mexico having come from Mexico City to New Mexico in 1694 in the household of her uncle, Juan de Pas Bustillos, also known as Juan de Bustos.

Josefa and her uncle were among the original founder of the Villa de Santa Cruz de la Cañada, now part of the City of Española. Juan de Bustos later moved to Santa Fe where he worked as a teacher in Santa Fe in the early 1700s.

Josefa was a rather determined woman who never married but had as many as five natural children and was apparently a foster mother to several “children of the church,” that is children born out of wed lock whom she raised. She resided in the area of Santa Crus de la Cañada and some of her sons became landowners along the Chama River toward Abiquiu.

What made Josefa remarkable was her that she leveraged her social status as a “settlers of this kingdom [of New Mexico] as granted by the royal crown of Spain and presided over a large extended family in her long life, ensuring that her children married well and also acquire land. Her own natural children went by various surnames: Bustillos, Bustos, Ontiveros, González, González de la Rosa, and de la Rosa.

At the time of her death on December 1772 at about age 88, she had been a resident of Santa Cruz de la Cañada for nearly seven decades and had as many as 70 descendants.

It was at the 1996 annual conference of the Historical Society of New Mexico that I was introduced to and made the acquaintance of Concha Ortiz y Pino, the matriarch of the Ortiz y Pino family of New Mexico until her death at age 94 in 2004. Concha’s has a remarkable history of her own, having been elected as the third women to serve in the New Mexico State legislature in 1936 (my own grandmother’s first cousin, Fidelia “Faye” Lucero having been the first in the 1930-31 legislative session).

If you like to read about women’s history in New Mexico, I recommend the book “Concha Ortiz y Pino: Matriarch of a 300-Year-Old New Mexico Legacy,” by Kathryn M. Córdova (A La Herencia Publication: Gran Via Incorporated, Santa Fe, 2004). I complied the Pino family and Ortiz y Pino family genealogy charts found on pages 188 and 189 of the book.

Appreciation of Pre-order Sales of Domínguez de Mendoza Book

Thanks to those of you who have placed pre-orders of the Domínguez de Mendoza book. UNM Press is printing 500 copies of the book and already there are 143 books on pre-order.

The book is on schedule for release in mid-May 2012.

For those of you with an interest in the history and genealogy of Spanish families of 17th-century, New Mexico, you'll find plenty of new details in the Domínguez de Mendoza book. Here are a couple of examples.

One of the supplemental documents in the book is the translation of a rare record I uncovered concerning the services and merits of Don Diego de Guadalajara, including the name of his father and his father's place of origin. Don Diego is a common ancestor for many people with roots in New Mexico through his daughter, doña Jacinta de Guadalajara y Quiros, who married Felipe Romero.

The book also includes historical and genealogical information on the ancestry of Álvaro de Paredes, the husband of doña Damiana Domínguez de Mendoza. Álvaro and doña Damiana were the parents of María de Paredes who married Felipe de Montoya, common ancestors for many people who trace their roots back to 17th century New Mexico. There is a collection of private letters of Álvaro’s grandfather that are preserved in an archive in Spain. A summary of this information is given in the text of the book, and detailed genealogical information and sources are in the notes.

Spread the word to anyone who you think will have an interest in this kind of information.

Marc Simmons Comments on the History of the Domínguez de Mendoza Book

In his February 3, 2012 ‘Trail Dust' column, published in ‘The Santa Fe New Mexican,’ Marc Simons recounts the lengthy history of the research and preparation of the forthcoming book on Juan Domínguez de Mendoza: http://www.santafenewmexican.com/loca...

I feel quite honored and very privileged to be associated with Scholes, Adams, and Simmons, all well-respected scholars of New Mexico history, and pleased in helping bring the Domínguez de Mendoza book into publication after the passing of 82 years since the military service records of Juan Domínguez de Mendoza were discovered by Scholes in Spain.

On the Web page of ‘The Santa Fe New Mexican’ you can enter the phrase ‘Trail Dust” in the search box and find links to more of Marc Simmon’s historical articles published in his ‘Trail Dust’ column.

Oakah Jones on Genealogists, Historians and Historical Sources of New Mexico

I had the opportunity to meet the well-respected historian Oakah L Jones, Jr. in the early 1990s at an annual conference of the Historical Society of New Mexico and we immediately hit it off well. Professor Jones, as he was more frequently referred to, authored several important books on the history of Spain’s northern American frontier region, including “Nueva Vizcaya: Heartland of the Spanish Frontier” (Albuquerque: UNM Press, 1988) and “Los Paisanos: Spanish Settlers on the Northern Frontier of New Mexico” (Norman, University of Oklahoma Press 1979 and reprinted 1996). I highly recommend both, especially “Los Paisanos,” most of which can be read on Google Books.

Professor Jones maintained and expressed an appreciation of the work of genealogists and of historians who studied people of New Mexico’s past. Read his brief article titled “Genealogists, Historians and Historical Sources” online at http://www.nmgs.org/artoak.htm. He puts forth a case for the value of research conducted by genealogists and historians studying the people of New Mexico’s past. My friend and colleague the late John B. Colligan and I managed to get a couple of references by this esteemed historian in the article.

You’ll be shocked at the opening quote, which Jones goes on to dispute.

Professor Jones passed away in November 2010 in Colorado Springs. Read his obituary at http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/gaze....

The Palace of the Governor’s in the Seventeenth Century

Here’s an article of mine published in El Palacio that is available in PDF online titled “The Palace of the Governor’s in the Seventeenth Century” (http://www.elpalacio.org/placeseries/...).

The article is based on a collection of fragments of information I extracted from 17th-century New Mexico records concerning what was known as the “casas reales de palacio’ and is known today as the Palace of the Governors in Santa Fe.

You'll find a translation of a very rare personal letter written by Pedro Lucero de Godoy, the progenitor of the Lucero family of New Mexico.

The article also makes reference to these families of 17th-century New Mexico: Gómez Robledo, Durán, Martín Serrano, Anaya Almazán, Romero, and Lucero de Godoy.

El Palacio is the quarterly magazine of the Museum of New Mexico. You can read other featured articles at http://www.elpalacio.org/historyserie....

Enjoy!

Domínguez de Mendoza Book Going to Printer

The final edits to the Domínguez de Mendoza book are completed and it has been sent to the printer. There were some discrepancies between the titles of a few documents listed in the table of contents and those in the text, and the index required a few corrections. Thanks to the editorial staff of UNM Press for their diligent and meticulous editing.

The book is still anticipated to be available by May 2012.