Video: Don Pedro Antonio Baca, Ep. 1 of "L&D in Small Town NM"

  

I began a new series on my "Socorro Genealogist" YouTube channel called, "Life and Death in Small Town New Mexico." 

This video is the first of a series of vignettes on people who lived in and surrounding Socorro, New Mexico. My first vignette is about Don Pedro Antonio Baca. I read from his obituary published in the November 12, 1887 “Socorro Bullion” newspaper. He was the husband of my 4th great grandmother Maria Guadalupe Torres, although he was not my direct ancestor. Maria Guadalupe’s first husband Francisco Antonio Garcia was my direct ancestor. This obituary gives a great insight into the history of the Socorro Land Grant, its founders, and late 19th century small town New Mexico history.

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Video: Life and Death in Small Town New Mexico (Socorro County Historical Society)

On July 19, 2025, I made a presentation for the Socorro County Historical Society titled "Life and Death in Small Town New Mexico". I recorded a video of the presentation and posted it on my "Socorro Genealogist" YouTube station.

In my talk, I profiled four Socorro County 19th Century residents. Eutimio Montoya was a staunch defender of the Socorro Land Grant, taking the U.S. Government to court to fight for the grantees' rights. His father Estanislao Montoya was a brigadier general in the New Mexico militia during the Civil War, a businessowner, and a politician. Samuel Zimmerly was a California Column Civil War soldier and prominent miller in Park City. Samuel's wife Maria Pabla Torres was a descendant of an old New Mexico Spanish family, who ran her husband's business after his death and whose children started six prominent families in Socorro County.

I had a great audience that asked good questions and provided stories of their own during the presentation. I shared binders and folders of genealogy with members of the audience, and a few audience members shared their family history with me, too.

I very much appreciate the reception I received from the Socorro County Historical Society and their members. For more information about the society, click on this link.

To view the video, click on this link