Black Sheep Story: Antonio Duran y Chaves

I love to read the diligencias matrimoniales (prenuptial investigation) of my ancestors. These records, as transcribed by Fray Angelico Chavez in his series "New Mexico Roots, Ltd." are a treasure trove of information. Not only can a researcher get marriage information that can not be found anywhere else, but sometimes one can get an interesting story or two. Such is the case for the prenuptial investigation of Antonio Duran y Chaves and his intended Juana Baca, that was conducted on 7 March 1718 in Bernalillo, New Mexico.

The first piece of information that I found interesting is that Juana Baca is listed as being of "unknown parentage". Through other sources, I know the situation of her birth: she was the illegitimate daughter of another Juana Baca. Although the record states that her parentage is unknown, it also mentions that Juana Baca (the younger) and her fiancee Antonio Duran y Chaves were related in the 3rd degree of consanguinity. How would they have known the two were related if her parents were unknown?

The story gets more interesting, though. It seems that Antonio Duran y Chaves had a little fling with one of Juana's unnamed relatives. He was seeking dispensation so that he could get married to Juana because he was related to Juana's cousin by the second degree of affinity, and also his own 4th degree of consanguinity.* Other reasons for the request: Juana was poor and feared for her reputation if her relatives were to die. Antonio was also charitable in taking her in, and was very fond of her. How sweet!

The couple was given their dispensation and were allowed to be married. However, Antonio was to pay penance for his sin. The groom's punishment for was to do manual labor at the church once a week for 4 months, beg alms for poor souls, donate 1,000 adobes each for the Albuquerque church and the Bernalillo cemetery, and personally make 100 adobes each for the Albuquerque and Bernalillo churches while working one whole week at each church. This punishment was to be warning to others who might commit the same sins as he.

Antonio Duran y Chaves and Juana Baca were my 6th great grandparents on my mother's side.

* Affinity means that he is related by marriage, or in this case intended marriage. Consanguinity means that he was related by blood. 2nd degree usually means 1st cousin, 3rd degree is often second cousin, and 4th degree is usually 3rd cousin. However, other relationships such as 1st cousin once removed, and second cousin once removed can be the basis for the 3rd and 4th degrees, respectively.

Sources:
Fray Angelico Chavez, New Mexico Roots, Ltd.: A Demographic Perspective from genealogical, historical and geographic data found in the Diligencias Matrimoniales or Pre-Nuptial Investigations (1678-1869) of the Archives of the Archdiocese of Santa Fe. (Santa Fe, New Mexico: typescript, 1982), volume 2, p. 305.

Fray Angelico Chavez, Origins of New Mexico Families: A Genealogy of the Spanish Colonial Period: Revised Edition (Santa Fe: Museum of New Meixco Press, 1992), Kindle Edition. (Kindle Locations 6151-6156).

Name Change: Jose Chaves to Jose Anastacio Chaves

Recently, I was searching for the ancestors of Anna Maria de Soledad Chaves, who, along with her husband, Jose (Lugardo) Padilla, appears to be one of the early settlers of the Socorro Land Grant. A Jose Padilla is listed in the 1818 Navajo military campaign donation list that I use as an early enumeration of Socorro. Jose Padilla is a common name, so it is difficult to figure out exactly who this person was. I chose an early settler, Jose Padilla who was married to Maria Soledad Chavez. This couple adopted a young Native American child or adult woman by the name of Maria Soledad Rosalia Padilla. Members of the Navajo tribe sold her to this couple, which means that she was basically their slave. We will never know whether she was treated as a member of their family, or just a servant. Stories differ as to how families treated their "adopted children". Once adopted and baptized in the Catholic Church, they were supposed to be raised as Christians. Of course, many families did the least they had to do to honor this pledge, while others felt it was their duty to treat adopted children as their own.

I could not find any other adopted or biological children for this couple.

I found a Tome marriage record for Jose Lugardo Padilla and Ana Maria de Soledad Chaves, on 3 June 1798. I believe this to be the same couple as Jose Padilla and Maria Soledad Chavez. He was the son of Juan Domingo Padilla and Juana Rita Baca; while she was the daughter of Jose Anastacio Chaves (deceased) and Juana Baca. All were from Belen. I found Jose Lugardo's parents' marriage record in Laguna, and was at least able to figure out the ancestry of his father, if not his mother. Ana Maria de Soledad's parents were a different story. Then I came across a record that I believe solved the mystery, and changed the name I had for one of my ancestors.

Since Chaves is the name found among the founders of Albuquerque, I decided to look at the index of the book "Aqui Se Comienza" - a book that I myself contributed two chapters to. The book outlines the descendants of 20+ families. The index showed that Jose Anastacio Chaves could be found on page 100 of the book. On that page, it indicated that Jose Anastacio Chavez and his mother Antonia Baca were godparents in the Isleta Church baptism of Tomas Gallegos. I checked the Isleta baptism and marriage book published by the New Mexico Genealogical Society and discovered this to be correct.

Jose Chaves, the son of Antonio Duran y Chaves and Antonia Baca, was married to Juana Maria Baca, the daughter of Diego Domingo Baca and Juana Duran y Chaves (yes, they were not-so-distant cousins.) Their marriage was in 1758. The baptismal record that showed godparents Jose Anastacio Chaves with his mother was in 1753. The fact that he was baptizing a child with his mother most likely indicates that he was at least an adolescent and probably unmarried. Therefore, I believe that Jose Chaves and Juana Maria Baca are the same couple as Jose Anastacio Chaves who was married to Juana Baca.

This means that their daughter, Anna Maria de Soledad Chaves, is the sister of Luis Maria Chaves, who was married to Maria Isabel Padilla. This couple is another of the families I've discerned to be founders of the Socorro Land Grant based on the 1818 enumeration. Luis Maria Chaves and Maria Isabel Padilla are my 4th great grandparents - ancestors of my maternal grandfather Santiago Baca. I now know my 4th great-grandfather by a different name.

Below is a chart that shows the relationship between Jose Anastacio Chaves and his 3rd great-grandson Santiago Baca.

Sources:
Lila Armijo Pfeufer, Margaret Leonard Windham, and Evelyn Lujan Baca, New Mexico Baptisms San Miguel de Socorro Church: 1821-1853 (Albuquerque: New Mexico Genealogical Society, 1998), p. 18.

Raymond P. Salas extractor and Margaret Leonard Windham compiler, New Mexico Marriages Churces of Immaculate Conception of Tome and Our Lady of Belen (Albuquerque: New Mexico Genealogical Society, 1994), p. 18.

"Microfilm # 16826: Laguna Baptisms, Marriages and Burials," database, FamilySearch (www.familysearch.org: accessed 26 August 2017), Marriage Record: Juan Domingo Padilla and Juana Rita, 9 April 1771, image # 141.

Gloria M. Valencia et. al., editors, Aqui Se Comienza: A Genealogical History of the Founding Families of La Villa de San Felipe de Alburquerque (Albuquerque: New Mexico Genealogical Society, 2007), p. 100.

Lila Armijo Pfeufer, Margaret L. Buxton transcribers, Margaret Leonard Windham, and Evelyn Lujan Baca compilers, New Mexico Marriages and Baptisms San Agustin de la Isleta Church: Marriages 1726 to 1846, Baptisms 1730 to 1776, 1829 to 1842 (Albuquerque: New Mexico Genealogical Society, 1996), p. 133.
 In a baptismal record for Thomas Gallegos (baptized 17 January 1753), the godparents are listed as Joseph Anastacio Chabes and his mother Dona Antonia Baca.

Lila Armijo Pfeufer, Margaret L. Buxton transcribers, Margaret Leonard Windham, and Evelyn Lujan Baca compilers, New Mexico Marriages and Baptisms San Agustin de la Isleta Church: Marriages 1726 to 1846, Baptisms 1730 to 1776, 1829 to 1842 (Albuquerque: New Mexico Genealogical Society, 1996), p. 11. 

A Few Coincidences: The Torres Family

Recently, I’ve been researching a particular Torres family in Socorro. Specifically, the descendants of Agustin Torres and Felipa Baca. Independently of these research needs, I purchased a book titled “Santa BarbaraCemetery: Albuquerque, New Mexico”.  At least I thought it was independent of those needs.

Today I was in the Albuquerque Genealogy Library where I came across the authors of the above-mentioned book. I told Cheril that I had purchased the book, and she went to the shelves and brought out a copy. We began going through it, when I remembered that there was a particular family that I found at the cemetery when I visited it last years.

Getudres Zimmerly, the sister of my great-grandfather Estevan Zimmerly (not to confused with Estevan’s daughter of the same name) was married to Herminio Torres, her first cousin. This couple is buried in the cemetery, although not together. However, Getrudes is buried next to her adult son Ernest Torres. We found the entries for this family in the book, and was I able to give Cheril and her co-author Nancy some more information about this family. I mentioned that I did not know if Ernest had been married or not, and Cheril suggested that I look up his death certificate and obituary on the genealogy library’s LAN system. Well, I found his death certificates and four separate obituaries. I now know his wife’s name was Suzanne, he had a daughter named Edna Lois Torres and that his three sisters were married to M.A. Pino, John F. Ulivari (Ulibarri) and J.R. DeArmond. Although I don’t know which sister goes with which husband, I at least have a few leads for the family.

Below are links to my Evernote captures of the four obituaries and death certificate:

·         Ernesto Torres obituaries

·         Ernest Torres’ death certificate

Here is also a short genealogy of the family:

·      The Family of Herminio Torres and Getrudes Zimmerly

Brothers Candelario Garcia and Juan Jose Baca

The 10 March 1900 issue of "The Chieftain" (Socorro, New Mexico), had the following notice:

Probate Clerk H. G. Baca has appointed Juan Jose Baca and Candelario Garcia administrators of the estate of their mother, Guadaloupe (sic) T. de Baca, recently deceased.

This short article demonstrates the merging of two Socorro Land Grant families with another early Socorro family.

Maria Guadalupe Torres was the daughter of Santiago Torres and Maria Barbara Ortiz were residents of Belen. Santiago was recorded in the 1818 enumeration of Belen residents who contributed to the military campaign against the Navajos. This Torres family moved to Socorro between 2 October 1820 and 3 February 1824 when two of their children were baptized - one of Belen; the other in Socorro. Therefore, they are not original Socorro Land Grantees, but rather an early Socorro family.

Maria Guadalupe Torres first married Francisco Antonio Garcia on 23 February 1825 in Socorro. Francisco Antonio Garcia was the son of Francisco Xavier Garcia Jurado, one of Socorro Land Grant founders (Francisco Antonio's mother Maria Josefa Sanchez may have died before his father came to Socorro.) Francisco Antonio Garcia and Maria Guadalupe Torres were the parents of the aforementioned Candelario Garcia. They were also the parents of Juana Maria Garcia, my 3rd great-grandmother.

After Francisco Xavier Garcia Jurado's death, Maria Guadalupe Torres married Pedro Antonio Baca. He was the son of Socorro founders Juan Dionisio Baca and Maria Rita Pino. Pedro Antonio Baca was the father of Juan Jose Baca.

Both the Garcia and Baca families were very important defenders of the Socorro Land Grant, as this historical piece and obituary attest. (Click on the links to read the articles.) Finding this notice which confirms the blended Garcia, Torres and Baca families is a good find.

Sources:
The Chieftain. (Socorro, N.M.) 1890-1901, March 10, 1900, Image 1.

Persistent link: http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn92070454/1900-03-10/ed-1/seq-1/

 

Robert J. C. Baca, "Early Settlers of the Socorro Land Grant: An 1818 List: Part I," New Mexico Genealogist, vol. 50 (September 2011): p. 117.

Robert J. C. Baca, "Maria Guadalupe Torres: One Woman's Life in Nineteenth Century Socorro", New Mexico Genealogist, 48 (June 2009), 78-85.

 

Manuel Baca and the Socorro Land Grant

In late 1692 or early 1693, Manuel Baca and his family were enumerated in San Lorenzo, a community less than two leagues from El Paso:

Sixteenth household, three sons, three daughters

Manuel Baca, married to Maria de Salazar, with three sons and three daughters named Antonio, nine; Diego, one; Gregorio Baca, three; Maria, thirteen; Josefa, seven; Bernadina, five. He states that he is ready and equipped to carry out his majesty's orders, being given the aid necessary to enter and settle the Kingdom of New Mexico.

Source: John L. Kessell Rick Hendricks and Meredith Dodge, editors, To the Royal Crown Restored: The Journals of Don Diego de Vargas, New Mexico 1692-1694 (Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 1995), p. 53.

They were ready to help with the re-conquest and re-settlement of New Mexico by Spain, twelve years after the Pueblo Indians had chased away the Spanish from the colony.

Manuel Baca and Maria de Salazar were progenitors of many of the Baca families in New Mexico. They were also ancestors of many of a few of the founders of the Socorro Land Grant.

Of the families I identified as early settlers of Socorro based on an 1818 list of contributors to a Navajo war campaign, 10 people (including a couple) are descendants of Manuel Baca and Maria de Salazar:

Dionosio Antonio Baca (married to Ana Maria Sanchez)

-                   Dionosio Antonio Baca, Juan Francisco Baca, Juan Antonio Baca, Manuel Baca.

Lorenzo Tiburcio Padilla (married to Maria Josefa Montoya)

-                      Luis Tiburcio Padilla, Juan Domingo Padilla, Isabel Baca, Josefa Baca, Manuel Baca

Felipe Padilla (married to Maria Ysabel Silva)

-                      Felipe Padilla, Juan Domingo Padilla, Isabel Baca, Josefa Baca, Manuel Baca

Pedro Antonio Silva (married to Barbara Polonia Trujillo)

-                      Pedro Antonio Silva, Maria Febronia Baca, Diego Domingo Baca, Josefa Baca, Manuel Baca

Jose Antonio Baca (married to Maria Manuela Barreras)

-                      Jose Antonio Baca, Dionisio Antonio Baca, Juan Francisco Baca, Juan Antonio Baca, Manuel Baca

Maria Rafaela Baca (married to Anselmo Tafoya)

-                       Maria Rafaela Baca, Dionisio Antonio Baca, Juan Francisco Baca, Juan Antonio Baca, Manuel Baca

Diego Antonio Abeyta (married to Ana Maria Jacinta Montoya)

-                       Diego Antonio Abeyta, Maria Antonia Gallegos, Juana Maria Baca, Cristobal Baca, Manuel Baca

Jose Rafael Abeyta (married to Narcisa Padilla)

-                        Jose Rafael Abeyta, Maria Antonia Gallegos, Juana Maria Baca, Cristobal Baca, Manuel Baca

Maria Juliana Silva (married to Juan Antonio Trujillo)

-                        Maria Juliana Silva, Pedro Antonio Silva, Maria Febronia Baca, Diego Domingo Baca, Josefa Baca, Manuel Baca.

Maria Ysabel Silva (married to Felipe Padilla)

-                         Maria Ysabel Silva, Francisco Casmiro Isidoro Silva, Maria Febronia Baca, Diego Domingo Baca, Josefa Baca, Manuel Baca.

Ancestry for each person is shown below their name (example: Maria Ysabel Silva, is the daughter of Francisco Casmiro Isidro Silva, who is the son of Maria Febronia Baca, etc.) I can supply source information upon request.
   






 

Clementa Baca Abeyta - Free mini PDF book

As I'm preparing to begin publishing books, I've been practicing on formatting them in my genealogy database. As such, I've created a free mini PDF book that you may download for free. It is copyrighted, so please do not copy it for financial gain.

The subject of the book is a woman by the name of Clementa Baca Abeyta. She was married to Desiderio Abeyta in 1848 Socorro and had at least 4 children. They family lived in Socorro and La Parida in the middle of the 19th century.

Clementa Baca happened to be my 2nd great-grandfather Jose Crespin Torres' first cousin. Although I have not yet identified their grandfather Santiago Torres as a founder of Socorro, he was an early settler of the town.

Enjoy the book and feel free to comment and send me information that may help me with my research.

Free "Clementa Baca Abeyta" PDF book (click here!)

The Jose Antonio Padilla family and the Sevilleta Land Grant

About 20 miles north of Socorro is a community known as La Joya. This area, also known as La Joya de Sevilleta, was part of the Sevilleta Land Grant, which was resettled in 1810, a few years before the Socorro Land Grant. As one of the land grants close to Socorro, I've done a little (very little) research on the area.

Recently, I happened upon a certain Padilla family that lived in La Joya in the early part of the 19th century. Since I identified a couple of Padilla men in the 1818 list of Socorro residents, and I myself am descended from Padilla families, I figured that it was important to try to find a connection between the family of Jose Antonio Padilla of La Joya and these particular families. Unfortunately, I have not found the connection since I can only go as far as Jose Antonio Padilla himself. Therefore, I ask for my readers' help in this matter.

Below is a family group sheet for Jose Antonio Padilla:



Below is a descendant chart for Jose Antonio Padilla going forward three generations.

Descendants of Jose Antonio Padilla

For more information about La Joya and the Sevillita Land Grant, check out these sources:

J.J. Bowden's "The Sevileta Grant"

Teresa Ramirez Alief Jose Gonzales and Patrica Black Esterly, New Mexico Censuses of 1833 and 1845: Socorro and Surrounding Communities of the Rio Abajo (Albuquerque: New Mexico Genealogical Society, 1994), p.xiii. Available for purchase from the New Mexico Genealogical Society's website.