Distorted United States (New Mexican) History

The history of the country needs to be revised, especially New Mexican history. The New Mexico history available now takes too much sifting to come up with an accurate picture of events.

New Mexican History was written by the folks who lived it. What survives of New Mexican history was written by our forefathers. And I do not mean Benjamin Franklin or George Washington. I mean our ancestors like don Juan de Onate and Padre Jose Antonio Martin(ez).

All of this history was written down, not published so much, but it was written down for sure. There are no doubt some gaps, some of which came when the Indians drove the Spanish out of New Mexico in 1680 and destroyed everything they could get their hands on that was Spanish or had a Spanish tint to it. Not all things Spanish were destroyed, but most of the historical records that the Indians could get their hands on were destroyed. So there is a gap there.

And other destruction of historical records happened when the Americans got here and they destroyed as many records as they saw fit. Their objectives were numerous, primarily to destroy land records  so as to facilitate their take over of the state.

Both of these gaps in the historical record hurt the New Mexico history.

But even greater damage was done to New Mexican history by the early published documents, journals and books authored by a people who hated our New Mexican ancestors. They hated them personally, they hated them because of their religion, they hated them because of their racial makeup, they hated them because of their government, they hated them because New Mexicans possessed what they wanted and saw as theirs by right of conquest. Suffice it to say that they hated our ancestors and everything they stood for.

Today folks writing new documents and books on New Mexican history are battling this mountain of bad history left behind  by those folks who hated everything New Mexican other than the land. Current historians have to contend with what people have been taught since the Americans got here. We have all been taught this bogus distorted history of our ancestors.

There is no need to list the authors of this bogus history, suffice it to say that the authors are in the majority of those who wrote about New Mexico in the first century after the occupation by the Americans.

It is disheartening to read so much of these distortions. It illustrates the distaste and disgust these folks had for our New Mexican ancestors and the way they lived and what they stood for. And their works are still there and still available and still read and quoted and still used to make arguments. I know whereof I speak having paid good money and am currently the owner of many of these books and documents.

The only saving grace is the history being written now by folks with out the racial hatred who are aware of past errors that crept and colored previous writings.

New Mexicans Have Been Through This Before.......

Click on the image to make it larger

 

Used to be "Spanish surnamed".... before that it was either Spanish or Mexican. Then came "Chicano". I remember Reyes Lopez Tijerina calling us Indo Hispanos. Now "Hispanic".

 

Way in the past there was the term Genizaro for some of us. Mestiso has also been used for some others.

 

Back in the 1950's there were just us (Mexican or Spanish) and the Puerto Ricans in the United States. So it was easy to identify. We were one or the other. Now there are a whole slew of nations/peoples who are Hispanics of one hue or another.

 

The people associated with the founding of New Mexico by don Juan de Onate can best be described today as a mixture of Spanish and various Native American groups. This mixing occurred very early, don Juan de Onate's wife was Isabel de Tolosa Cortés de Moctezuma the granddaughter of Hernan Cortes and the great granddaughter of Aztec Emperor Moctuzuma.

 

In New Mexico proper between the time of the Onate entrada and the American Occupation of the area much mixing had gone on with the Indian tribes residing in the area. Not just the Pueblo's either. The Genizaros mentioned above were detribalized "Indios Barbaros" who had been taken into New Mexican Hispanic households and Christianized.

 

These Indios Barbaros were of the savage Indian nations. In particular Navajos, lots n lots of Navajos. Comanches too, lots of them. Apaches and Utas (Ute) also. Pawnees, Cheyenne and not a few Arapaho's. All of these were incorporated into the "New Mexican Hispanic" community. And this happened over a period of centuries.

 

So when I am asked the question "where did my ancestors come from" I tell them for the last 400 years + they have come from right here in New Mexico. Which used to be part of Mexico and before that it was part of the Spanish Empire. So I am a New Mexican, plain and simple.

Cloverine and Rosebud Salve

 

I used to go door to door selling these when I was a kid, 9 through about 12 in the late 1950's. Everyone in Rowe, New Mexico used both of these for everything. The Rosebud salve was called "Salvia Rosa" in our Spanglish, Cloverine was called Cloverine with the word being pronounced in Spanish rather than English. I would order them by the roll and pay up front and then sell them at the suggested price and keep the difference.

 

About anything I could do to earn a few quarters was attempted. Selling Clocverine, Rosebud Salve, the GRIT newspaper as well as delivering the Las Vegas Daily Optic. All were ordered and paid for up front and you kept the profits. The Optic was a daily and sold for $.10 and the GRIT was a weekly of nothing but good news, no bad news on there at all.

 

If the GRIT was all you read the world was a rosy place to live where everyone seemed to have a lot more money than we did. This was where the ads for selling Rosebud Salve and Clovering could be found.

Hangings And Lynchings In Las Vegas, New Mexico After The American Occupation

Hangings in New Mexico, before the American occupation, under Spanish and later Mexican control, while not unheard of, were not common, in fact you could say they were rare.

The  book El Paso Chronicles, A Record of Historical Events in El Paso, Texas written by Leon C. Metz and published by Mangan Books in El Paso, Texas  has a bit on some hangings on August 5, 1684. Ten Indians, mostly Mansos were hanged in El Paso del Norte in the mission plaza, at that time El Paso del Norte was part of New Mexico. They were hung for plotting against the Spanish and had confessed. Their bodies were left to hang from the gallows for several days as a warning to others.

When the Americans came hangings became a common occurrence, very common. Seems like the Las Vegas' (both East and West) were very violent towns on both sides of the law during this period. In reality there were many, many, more lynching than legal hangings.

Jerked to Jesus the lynching's were called.

There were only five (5) or maybe four (4) legal hangings in San Miguel County, all in Las Vegas, in the period 1847 - 1923 according to the book titled "Death on the Gallows, The Story of Legal Hangings in New Mexico" authored by West Gilbreath and published by High-Lonesome Books in Silver City, New Mexico.

These five (5) or four (4) were as follows;

1. Paula Angel, AKA Paula Martín -The case of Paula Angel, AKA Paula Martín is not totally clear, but it is well documented. She was hung on April 26, 1861. She was the first woman to be hung in the United States, though not the first one in New Mexico. One of my paternal ancestors was a namesake of Paula Martín, I have not been able to verify or disprove that it was the same Paula Martín that was hung. She lived in the same time period.
2. Roy French AKA Frank French - Hung on September 12, 1870 was an African American was convicted of murder.
3. Fredrick Falkner - He was hung on August 19, 1892 at 2:51 P.M. Convicted of the ax murder of James Lannon.
4. Herman "German" Maestas - German was a member of the notorious Vicente Silva gang. He was hung on May 25, 1894 for the murder of Pedro Romero who had married his "ex" wife Rosa Duran.
5. Julian Romero - He was hung on April 11, 1917 at 1:00 P.M. for the killing of Maria Varela. The sheriff of the County at the time was quoted as saying that Julian had died " as bravely as any criminal has faced his executioners".

The lynchings "Jerking's for Jesus" were more numerous than the legal hangings. One of many examples of the excesses of vigilantes can be found in the book "Las Vegas, New Mexico... The Town That Wouldn't Gamble" authored by Milton W. Callon and published by the Las Vegas Daily Optic. While technically not lynching's it comes close enough to be well documented.

On January 22, 1880 four Texans came into Las Vegas bent on a "wing-ding" and in the process killed the new Marshall of East Las Vegas. NOTE: Las Vegas at the time was two separate and different municipalities, East and West Las Vegas respectively.

Anyway the four Texans were captured in Mora on the 5th of February and transferred to the East Las Vegas jail. On the 7th of February a group of self proclaimed lawmen (vigilantes) formed to get them out of the jail and "Jerk them for Jesus". The vigilantes were amatures at hanging and before the neck tie party could be performed the vigilantes became impatient and shot the prisoners as they stood waiting their turn on the "old windmill" on the Plaza.

The book Death on the Gallows, The Story of Legal Hangings in New Mexico states that there were 10 lynching's in Las Vegas between 1851 and 1893 (42 years), not counting the 4 mentioned above since the men were shot and not technically lynched and it does not take into account 2 others lynched in San Miguel County outside of the city limits of Las Vegas. This is a much shorter period than that used for the legal hangings which is 76 years.

The above lynching's refer hangings by mobs of vigilantes of persons believed guilty of some crime or other. The numbers above do not reflect lynching's of people by "private" parties of which there was at least one. The book Vicente Silva, The Terror of Las Vegas, written my Carlos C. de Baca and published by Tate Publications documents one. The lynching of Patricio Maes by the Silva gang after the gang has "tried" Patricio for "betraying" the gang. He was found guilty and hung by being thrown from the bridge over the Gallinas River near the Plaza in Old Town (West Las Vegas). A rope around his neck and tied to the railing of the bridge.



 

Illiteracy, ignorance and stupidy, the differences...... Ignore at your own risk.

Illiteracy is the inability of individuals to read or write, the condition of being unable to read and write. Now a person can have comprehension problems and still be literate. We do not all comprehend the same when reading the same thing. Comprehension problems are not unusual, in fact quite common. Total illiteracy is rare today but it is still there in our society.

Ignorance really has nothing to do with the ability to read and/or write. A literate person can be as ignorant as an illiterate person, it all depends on the subject. I know almost nothing about geology, and a host of other subjects. I am ignorant of them, I have read an article here and there on the subject but remain ignorant on the matter. That is not unusual either, it is also very common. We are all ignorant of a lot of things. It is impossible to know something about everything, We are not Professor Irwin Cory who used to claim to be able to talk intelligently on any given subject for about 5 minutes. I saw him at a nightclub in Denver in the mid 60's. He was funny and sounded good to me.... Proving a point no less.

Stupidity is knowing a bit on a given subject and insist on being an expert or using the minute (adjective instead of a noun) amount of knowledge or information gleaned to draw complete erroneous conclusions. And if a person persists in this they expose their stupidity to a broader audience. This is not unusual either and we all need to keep this in mind. It reminds me of the old saying that it is better to have people think we are idiots than to open our mouths and prove it beyond all doubt.

Our New Mexican Ancestors

don Juan de Onate

Up the long trail from Mexico they came in 1598, four hundred and fifteen years ago this year. Being led by don Juan de Onate. They were carrying in their veins not just Old World Spain but the blood of Indian Mexico as well. They settled into the valleys and edges of the mountains and fashioned a new cultural identity from their struggles here in todays "Land of Enchantment"; they became NEW MEXICANS. These Hispanic pioneers became Nortenos, Nuevo Mejicanos!

Even though seldom mentioned in the books that present American history to schoolchildren their (our) story is as much a part of the North American colonial experience as that of the pilgrims who arrived later in 1520.

It has been a long time since then. It is good to see my fellow New Mexicans, not only still here, but a vibrant part of the leadership of the state. Our ancestors would be proud.

May They Rest In Peace

Loma Parda

A good article on Loma Parda here;

http://www.santafenewmexican.com/news/trail_dust/article_188090c0-290a-5983-bb8f-92d5360f539b.html

Check it out. Loma Parda is about 10 miled west of Watrous, New Mexico on the road to Mora.

Some Information On Crespin's From Chaperito, New Mexico

Modified Register for Juan Crespin

　

First Generation

1. Juan Crespin was born in New Mexico, his birthdate is unknown.
Juan married Josefa Ortega . Josefa was born in New Mexico, her birthdate is unknown
They had the following children:
+ 2 F i. Maria Petra Crespin was born on 14 Oct 1845 in New Mexico.
+ 3 M ii. Donaciano Crespin was born about 1850 in New Mexico. 
　

Second Generation

2. Maria Petra Crespin (Juan) was born on 14 Oct 1845 in San Miguel del Vado, New Mexico. She was christened on 26 Oct 1845 in San Miguel del Vado, New Mexico.
Maria married Anastacio Duran on 10 Jan 1859 in Anton Chico, New Mexico. Anastacio was born in New Mexico, his birthdate is unknown. 
They had the following children:
+ 4 M i. Narciso Duran was born on 29 Oct 1860 in New Mexico. He died on 29 Dec 1943.
5 F ii. Maria Felicitas Duran was born on 31 Mar 1862 in Anton Chico, New Mexico. She was christened on 2 Apr 1862 in Anton Chico, New Mexico.
6 M iii. Lucio Duran was born on 15 Dec 1863 in Anton Chico, New Mexico. He was christened on 22 Dec 1863 in Anton Chico, New Mexico. He died on 10 Jan 1961 in Los Angles, California.
7 M iv. Luis Duran was born in Chaperito, New Mexico, his actual birthdate is unknown but he was christened on 21 June 1868 in Anton Chico, New Mexico.
8 F v. Encarnacion Duran was born in 1878 in New Mexico.
3. Donaciano Crespin (Juan) was born in 1850 in Las Vegas, New Mexico. (Birthdate unknown).
Donaciano married (1) Maria Petra Roybal daughter of Gabriel Roybal and Viviana Baca on 22 Aug 1870 in Las Vegas, New Mexico. Maria was born on 24 Jan 1856 in San Jose, New Mexico. She was christened on 27 Jan 1856 in San Miguel del Vado, New Mexico.
They had the following children:
9 F i. Maria Juana Clotilde Crespin was christened on 10 Aug 1872 in Anton Chico, New Mexico.
+ 10 M ii. Jose Luis Crespin was born on 20 Jun 1876. He died in Sep 1969.
+ 11 M iii. Juan Pedro Celestino Crespin was born on 18 May 1880.
Donaciano married (2) Demesia Gallegos on 27 Aug 1894 in Chaperito, New Mexico. Demesia was born in New Mexico.
They had the following children:
12 M iv. Juan Crespin was born on 3 Oct 1895 in Chaperito, New Mexico. He died on 4 Oct 1895 in Chaperito, New Mexico. He was buried on 4 Oct 1895 in Chaperito, New Mexico.
　

Third Generation

4. Narciso Duran (Maria Petra Crespin, Juan) was born on 29 Oct 1860 in Anton Chico, New Mexico. He was christened on 30 Oct 1860 in Anton Chico, New Mexico. He died on 29 Dec 1943 in Chaperito, New Mexico.
Narciso married Genoveva Valdez . Genoveva was born in New Mexico.
They had the following children:
13 M i. Augustin Duran was born on 12 Mar 1891 in New Mexico. He died on 31 Jan 1981 in San Mateo, California.
Augustin married a woman by the name of Sarita (Last Name Unknown). Sarita was born about 1901 in New Mexico.
14 F ii. Teresa Duran was born on 15 Jan 1895 in Chaperito, New Mexico. She died on 13 Nov 1965 in El Paso, Texas. She was buried on 15 Nov 1965 in Mt. Carmel Cemetery, El Paso, Texas.
10. Jose Luis Crespin (Donaciano, Juan) was born on 20 Jun 1876 in San Jose, New Mexico. He was christened on 2 Jul 1876 in San Miguel, New Mexico. He died in Sep 1969 in Las Vegas, New Mexico.
Jose married Juana Garcia . Juana was born about 1878 in New Mexico.
They had the following children:
15 M i. Francisco Crespin was born about 1898 in New Mexico.
16 F ii. Leonarda Crespin was born about 1900 in New Mexico.
17 M iii. Felipe B Crespin was born on 27 Jul 1902 in New Mexico. He died in Aug 1987 in Las Vegas, New Mexico.
Felipe married a woman by the name of Crestina (Last Name Unknown). Crestina was born about 1904 in New Mexico.
18 F iv. Victoria Crespin was born about 1908 in New Mexico.
19 M v. Flavio Crespin was born about 1913 in New Mexico.
Flavio married a woman by the name of Annie (Last Name Unknown) . Annie was born about 1914 in New Mexico.
20 F vi. Josefa Crespin was born in 1917 in New Mexico.
11. Juan Pedro Celestino Crespin (Donaciano, Juan) was born on 18 May 1880 in San Jose, New Mexico. He was christened on 23 May 1880 in San Miguel, New Mexico.
Juan married Eufelia Montoya . Eufelia was born in New Mexico (Birthdate unknown). 
They had the following children:
21 F i. Petra Crespin was born about 1917 in New Mexico.

22 M ii. Donaciano Crespin was born about 1920 in New Mexico.

A Visit To Chaperito, New Mexico

Took a day trip to Chaperito, New Mexico with my nephew and his family this past week. After several previous attempts on my part I finally made it to the old ghost town on the Gallinas River.

My nephew's paternal ancestors came from and are buried there.

It looks like San Miguel County bladed the road. It is in way better condition than the last time I attempted the trip. Make sure you close all of the numerous gates you will encounter if you go.

Lots of folks descend from people who lived in Chaperito at one time or another during it's short existence as a village in New Mexico. It was around as a permanent place of habitation a little over 100 years and the last folks to live there left in the 1950's. Read all about it here;

http://www.newmexicohistory.org/filedetails_docs.php?fileID=24817

There were several such villages in Eastern New Mexico during that time. Most are gone now and the descendants of folks who once lived there make pilgrimages to get a look at the place where their ancestors once lived.

Quite a scenic and historical area below the cap rock, more scenic than above it anyway. This was a very dangerous place to live in the mid to late 1900's. Especially by today's standards. Roving bands of "Indios Salvages" would roam the area which was once part of their homeland. You never knew when they would show up and what type of reception they would get or give. Lots and lots of folks, Indians included, lost their lives there in battles with the Indians.

The old cemetery is full and a few ruins of peoples homes are still visible. Some of the buildings are remarkable examples of rock construction. Hard to imagine this was once a thriving vibrant community.