Sentenciado A Hacer Adobes Or Sentenced To Make Adobes

Imagine being sentenced to "make adobes". That is exactly what happened to Antonio de Chavez a native of New Mexico and the widower of dona Maria Magdelena Montano in 1718.

The information cited in this post is gleaned from pages 305 and 306 of the document/publication "New Mexico Roots Ltd." written by Fray Anjelico Chavez.

Antonio was the son of Captian don Fernando Duran y Chavez and dona Lucia Hurtado. He was getting ready to marry dona Antonia Baca who was 15 years of age and from Bernalillo.

Antonio de Chavez requested a marriage dispensantion from the 3rd degree of consanguinity and the 2nd degree of affinity from illict coupla with the brides relative, later found to be related to him in the 4th degree. Reasons given for the dispensations were that the bride was very poor and in danger of losing her honor if her relatives died. The paudity of equal status in this "miserable kingdom" and the groom's own clarity for helping her besides his fondness.

The dispensation was granted with penalties, the groom had to labor manually one day a week for 4 months at the parish church and beg for alms for the poor souls. He had to donate 1,000 adobes for the Albuquerque church and the same for Bernalillo cemetary and he had to personally make 100 adobes for the Albuquerque Church and and 100 for the one in Bernalillo. He had to work personally for one whole week at each place so that others will be deterred from similar commissions.

The witnesses to this penality were the Albuquerque notary Juan de Dios Martin, Francisco Xavier Benavides , Sebastian Antonio Maldonado. Also withesses were the Bernalillo notary Jose de Quintana, Cristobal Arellano and Diego Montoya.

The pair were married on the 23rd of March of 1718 with the nuptial blessings being on April 24th of the same year.  The witnesses to the marriage and the nuptial blessings were don Miguel de San Juan, Isabel Montoya and Ignacio de Aragon.

Los Padrinos

My birth padrino and madrina were my mother's oldest brother Jose Benavidez and his wife Francisca Ortega. My first name at birth was my paternal grandfathers first name, Preciliano. That was it, no middle name. As it was told to me, at the baptismal the priest insisted I needed to have have a Christian name to go along with Preciliano, somehow the name Joseph came up. My padrino Jose probably did not mind and neither did my father as that was his fathers first name. So I ended up Preciliano Joseph instead of like my paternal grandfather, Jose Preciliano. Everyone must have been satisfied and that is what ended up on my baptismal certificate.

My padrino Jose was later to kill his ex wife Francisca in a domestic dispute gone bad. Francisca was a special friend of my mother's and she asked her nephew and their son, Damian, to be my conformation padrino. For some reason or other he ended up in the Navy and unable to be my sponsor at the confirmation ceromony. My mother then asked a distant relative who lived near by to be my padrino, he was Telesfor Archuleta.

My mother, Maria del Refugio Benavidez and Telesfor Archuleta were 1st cousins 3 times removed. Telesfor Archuleta and his wife Teresa Montoya lived across the railroad tracks from my grandparents. They had always been very close and I spent a lot of time at their house being spoiled by both of them. I used to end up at their house "con cara de hambre", as my mother used to say, and mention a particular food and it would appear at the following meal which I was expected to partake in. Cold water, tortillas, biscochitos, sopa and panocha were mine for the asking there. So when my mother suggested my "tio Telesfor" as my padrino for my conformation I jumped at the opportunity. And as such "tia Terisita" became my madrina. In reality, in my case, there was no madrina for the confirmation ritual, just a padrino.

By the time I got married, where there would normally be another set of padrinos, I had left the church and ended up with witnesses picked up at the presiding judge's office in Brighton, Colorado.

Long Day Trip over 5 Mountain Passes

Took a long day trip on the 4th. Went from Raton to Cimarron to Angel Fire to Taos to Tres Piedras to Tierra Amirilla to Cebolla to Canjilon to Chama to Antonito, CO to Alamosa, CO to Walsenburg and back to Raton. 421 miles total. Went to a funeral at Cebolla of a friend then back via Alamosa. We left at 6:00 AM, at the funeral 10:30 to 1:30 PM and then drove back and were home by 6:00 PM.

Dry, very dry everywhere.

Went over a total of 5 mountain passes in New Mexico and Colorado, Palo Flechado Pass, Brazos Pass, Cumbres Pass, La Veta Pass and Raton Pass all in one day on this trip.

What Would Have Been the Result if New Mexicans had Resisted the American Invasion in August of 1846

New Mexican Governor Manuel Armijo

Think about it a bit. Make some calculated guesses as to what would have happened during and after the resistance if New Mexicans under governor Manuel Armijo had made an all out effort to resist the invasion by the Americans led by General Stephen Watts Kearny at the head of the American Army of the West. I am going to tell you that the result would have been a rout for the New Mexican defenders and a disaster for the survivors that would have remained as well as the rest of New Mexicans.

Other considerations for governor Armijo was the fact that there were a large number of Americans spies as well as pro American New Mexicans in the province. There was a lack, amongst New Mexicans, of guns, ammunition, food, discipline, drilled militia and  finances to sustain a long drawn out war. Also, they could not count on Mexico City for reinforcements. All of this was known to governor Manuel Armijo and to Stephen Watts Kearny.

Governor Manuel Armijo also knew what Kearny had. How many horses, how many men and most important how many arms, and artillery. Armijo knew what the Americans could throw at the New Mexicans. It was a foregone conclusion to Armijo and to Kearny what would happen should New Mexicans resist the invasion.

A good portion of New Mexican men of fighting age would die in the effort. Armijo knew that and there is no doubt he took that into consideration. And we need to take into consideration the population of New Mexico at the time. It was about 40,000 Hispanic and probably not more than 10,000 Pueblo Indians. The non Pueblo Indians could not be counted as allies of the Hispanos or the Pueblos. Make an educated guess that out of 50,000 New Mexicans present 50% were women, 10% of the men would not be to participate because of advanced age and another 10% unable because they were too young and you get the picture. There would be fewer than 15,000 able bodied men capable of participating in a resistance to the American invaders.

Imagine an all out war in the defence of New Mexico with what we know. New Mexican male numbers would be reduced by 5,000 to 8,000 before they capitulated. The effect would have been a disaster to the province, a disaster to the Pueblo's and a disaster to Hispanic New Mexicans. The population of New Mexico would be changed forever. The people would be changed forever.

Governor Armijo knew that. He probably saved more New Mexican lives with the decision not to oppose the invasion than any other person, past or present.

Americans in New Mexico of the period were in reality spies, they had been carrying news back to the "states" of New Mexican strengths and weakness for over a quarter century. Americans were well aware that New Mexico and the northern part of Mexico were undefended and ripe for American expansionism.

Mi Sobrina, Cinco Generaciones de Antepadados

Click on the image to make it larger.

 

The chart illustrates that the parents of Ursula Martinez have not been identified so far. Additional research is required to identify them.

More History of the Rowe, NM Area

The information below is from a pamphlet titled "Pecos, National Historical Park" published by the US Park Service.

With the coming of the Atchison Topeka, and Santa Fe Railroad in 1880, New Mexico truly entered the United States. Passing within a mile of Pecos Pueblo, the transcontinental line followed the same ancient route over the divide, hauling in thousands of cattle and hauling out tons of ore bearing precious metals that had eluded Spanish treasure seekers. The railroad also brought scores of American settlers, who laid their views of land ownership, government and culture over those of the area's Hispanics.

To exploit the tourist trade made possible by this influx, rodeo producer Tex Austin established a dude and cattle ranch in 1926. Dubbing his operation "Forked Lightning Ranch," Austin acquired 5,500 acres surrounding Pecos Pueblo in dealings both legitimate and shady. He converted the remains of the Kozlowski's Stage Stop into his ranch headquarters and hired John Gaw Meem - now famous for his "Pueblo Revival" style of architecture - to design and build the main ranch house on a bluff above the Pecos River.

Following Austin's loss of the Forked Lightning Ranch in bankruptcy, Texas oilman E.E. "Buddy" Fogelson purchased it in 1939. Ten years later, Fogelson married actress Greer Garson. Summering in the ranch house, they experimented raising Santa Gertrudis cattle at high altitude. The Fogelsons fell in love with the valley and their conservation work paved the way for the creation of the Pecos National Historical Park.

The AT&SF Railroad Comes To Rowe, NM In The Summer Of 1880

Must have been an exciting day. Never before had something like this happened.

Rowe was also a "brand new" town. The current residents having moved here from Las Ruedas and Los Trigos which were communities on the Pecos River and part of the Los Trigos Land Grant. Before the Atcheson Topeka and Santa Fe (AT&SF) Railroad there was no Rowe, New Mexico.

Folks moved here from the river communities for jobs on the railroad. There was money to be made making railroad ties. This was the primary occupation up and down the communities adjacent to the railroad tracks during that period.

The AT&SF was a part of the community for close to 100 years. Today all that remains is an Amtrak Train once a day in each direction. The AT&SF was bought out by Burlington Northern RR who used the tracks for a few years until the mid 2000's when it stopped using the tracks.

Soon, there will be no more trains through Rowe. The reason for it's original residents having moved here will now be gone. A lot of descendants of the original settlers still live in Rowe.

Las Ruedas, New Mexico

Most of the early day settlers of Rowe, New Mexico moved to the area where Rowe is today in the 1870's and 1880's from the Pecos River village of Las Ruedas.

Some good news in the 10th Anniversary Report for 2012 of the publication "New Mexico Land Conservancy, Honoring New Mexico's Land Heritage."

There is an article there titled "Jewel of the Pecos: Forked Lightning Ranch" which states in part " In 2000, actress Jane Fonda purchased the 2,400 acres that remained of the original ranch and in 2010, she decided to work with the NMLC to protect most of the ranch with conservation easements. These easements  not only conserve the prime riparian habitat along three miles of the upper Pecos River and surrounding watershed, but they also buffer the adjacent Pecos National Historic Park and the Santa Fe National Forest. The ranch also contains several old homesteads, including ruins of an old church and cemetery - remnants of a time when the Pecos River was a sustaining force for families that settled the area.

The "old homesteads, church and cemetery" mentioned in the article is the old village of Las Ruedas, the village of my maternal ancestors.

See additional information on Las Ruedas here;

http://nuevomejicano.blogspot.com/2009/08/1860-las-ruedas-new-mexico.html

and here;

http://nuevomejicano.blogspot.com/2011/02/more-on-las-ruedad-new-mexico.html

There is a certain comfort in knowing that the village will not be plowed under for some horse barns or some other buildings. My maternal great grandmother, Mariana Duran, the wife of Juan de Jesus Archuleta was the last person buried in that cemetery. Her body was transported back there from Rowe where she died in the 1920's.

This weblog contains several posts on Las Ruedas. Utilize the search option to find the posts in question.

Trinidad Ortiz, First Wife Of Thomas Tucker

Trinidad Ortiz was born Maria Trinidad Ortiz on June the 4th of 1844 and baptized on the 7th of June in 1844 in Santa Fe, New Mexico, the daughter of Jose Antonio Ortiz and Ysabel Pacheco, her padrinos were Jesus Romero and Ygnacia Ortiz. She was the eighth of nine children born to the couple. She was born 2 years prior to the American occupation of New Mexico but in all reality probably had no memories of the time prior to the American presence.

We know that about 1862 at the age of 18 she gave birth to a son out of wedlock. The son was named Samuel Ortiz.

Later, sometime in 1865, she ended up with Thomas Tucker, born circa 1837 in Pennsylvania, the publisher of the Santa Fe New Mexican newspaper. Their first three children were born prior to the marriage which occurred in the Catholic Church in Santa Fe on the 13th of October of 1870 The marriage occurred almost a whole month after the birth of their third child, Adelaida, on the 15th of September of 1870.

In the 1880 U.S. Federal Census Samuel Ortiz is listed as a printer and the step son of Thomas Tucker a publisher and living in the same house with Trinidad and the rest of the family. Samuel's father is not named but is listed as having being born in New Mexico as compared to his step father, Thomas Tucker, who is listed as having been born in Pennsylvania.

Over the years Trinidad was to have six additional children with Thomas Tucker. The last of these, Sara Isabel Tucker, was born September 22, 1893.

Some thing happened to the marriage of Trinidad Ortiz and Tomas Tucker between the birth of their last daughter, Sarah Isabel in 1893 and the time records show Thomas Tucker was living with another woman, Adela Martinez, in 1897.

What happened we can only guess at. But there must have been a divorce or more than likely an annulment of the marriage sometime between 1893 and when Thomas married for a second time on the 28th of February of 1902. The Catholic priest would not have married Thomas a second time to Adela had there not been a death or a an annulment.

This was a time of cultural conflict in New Mexico, the Americans had been here since 1846, or about 20 years before Trinidad and Thomas ended up together. She was not the first Hispanic woman to end up with an American, married or otherwise. but it was still a rare event.

Trinidad Tucker is listed as a widow in the 1910 U.S. Federal Census and is still enumerated in the 1930 Census. She was burried on the 13th of August of 1933 at the age of 89 in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

Thomas Tucker And His Two Wives

Wealthy financier William Henry Manderfield and partner Thomas Tucker bought the printing plant and The Santa Fe Republican newspaper, changing its name to The New Mexican, and later published The Daily New Mexican.

By 1864, Thomas Tucker was listed as co-owner. Under Manderfield, the newspaper was lively, political and opinionated.

On February 6, 1876 six day old Ignacia Archuleta who was born on January 31, 1876, the daughter of Juan de Jesus Archuleta and Mariana Duran, was baptized in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Her baptismal padrinos were Thomas Tucker and his wife Trinidad Ortiz. Ignacia was my maternal grandmother and hense the interest on my part.

Thomas Tucker was listed as a publisher in the 1880 U.S. Federal Census, he was born in Pennsylvania. He was also listed as a New Mexico Volunteer in the 1860's.

In 1881, Manderfield and Tucker left the paper and E.B. Purcell of Manhattan, Kan., became the owner.

Tomas Tucker and the woman he was later to marry, Trinidad Ortiz lived together and had three children sans the benefit of a Catholic marriage. They were finally married on the 13th of October in 1870 and were still married on October 8, 1893 when their daughter Sara Isabel was being baptized.

It appears that Tomas was living with Adela Martinez, also without the benefit of a Catholic marriage, as  by 1897 he and Adela Martinez were the proud parents of Rogerio C. Tucker born on February 25, 1898.

Trinidad Ortiz was baptized on the 7th of June in 1844 and died at age 89 and was buried on August 13, 1933, so something happened (a divorce, an annulment?) to their marriage between the date Sarah Isabel was born to Trinidad in 1893 and the date Rogerio was born to Adela in 1898.


Later yet, the 28th of February in 1902 to be exact, Thomas Tucker was married again, this time to Adela Martinez. Of this marriage Father Joseph Hintzen noted "Because they were on their deathbed, in order to receive the sacraments, I married Thomas M. Tucker, from Santa Fe with Adela Martinez, from Santa Fe. The witnesses were Julian Vigil and Francisca Mares."

As for his second marriage, better late than never as the old saying goes.