More on New Mexican Slaves/Servants In The Spanish And Mexican Periods

A lot has been written on this subject, most of the writing has been very biased with authors allowing their personal, political and racial views creep into their writings. Add to this the obvious dislike of New Mexicans and the view one comes away with is distorted. Personal likes and dislikes should be left out of "history" books by "historians". Those personal views are best left to articles in magazines and web logs like this one.

Suffice it to say that the slave/servant institution did exist in the period in question in New Mexico. It seems like everyone living in the area was practicing it, New Mexicans, Indians as well as Americans living here at the time.

Some authors would have us believe that New Mexicans were the only ones doing this. That is not the case at all. Taking captives' was another part of warfare during the period. In new Mexico it seems every group, and I mean every group, was taking captives and using them as slaves/servants. The issue is complex and different than the institution of slavery in the southern states of the United States.

The links below are previous posts on here which alluded to captives/slaves/servants;

 http://nuevomejicano.blogspot.com/2008/08/indians-navajos-in-new-mexican.html

http://nuevomejicano.blogspot.com/2013/01/what-became-of-jose-gutierrez-navajo.html

http://nuevomejicano.blogspot.com/2007/03/jose-andres-martn-andele.html

http://nuevomejicano.blogspot.com/2009/09/cautivos-y-cautivas.html

http://nuevomejicano.blogspot.com/2008/01/comanche-raid-on-la-cienega-new-mexico.html

Now an educated guess on my part. I would venture that if your family has roots in New Mexico, that predates the invasion and annexation of the area by the Americans, you have captives in your background. Hispanic New Mexicans and Pueblo Indians would have Native American captives from one or more of the wild tribes who practiced warfare against New Mexico and its Hispanic or Pueblo Indian populations. The wild tribes of the area, Apache, Comanche, Pawnee, Navajo and Ute would have Hispanic and Pueblo Indian captives in their backgrounds.

The taking of captives in warfare predates the Spanish in the area now called New Mexico. The Spanish were also used to taking captives. To the Spanish, in those days, if you were not Spanish and a Catholic you were fair game in war. In all reality the Spanish needed no further reason for the practice. They thought they were saving your soul, and as such it was permissible.

La Vida Dura de Maria Manuela Antonia Leyba

Maria Manuela Antonia Leyba was born in Santa Fe December 26, 1788 the daughter of the soldier Salvador Leyba and his wife Maria Francisca Lobato. She was baptized three (3) days later on the 29th of December at the Parroquia de San Francisco de Asis Church by her padrino Alejandro Martín and madrina Teodora Marquez.


On December 21 1804, five (5)  days before he 16th birthdate, she married the soldier Ysidro Gutierrez at La Castrense, La Capilla de Nuestrs Senora de la Luz, the military chapel on the plaza in Santa Fe, the church having been named in honor of Our Lady of Light. The wedding party included witnesses Diego Padilla and Gregorio Escuerdo who were both associated some how with the church as both were witness' for many couples marrying during that period. As padrinos they had Miguel Tenorio and Gertrudis Tenorio. My guess is that Miguel and Gertrudis Tenorio were husband and wife and that Miguel was a soldier like Ysidro.

Ysidro and Maria Manuela had at least two (2)  children;

Jose Rafael Bartolo Gutierrez born in Santa Fe on August 20, 1806 and baptized 3 days later on August 26, 1806 at La Castrense, La Capilla de Nuestrs Senora de la Luz. The baptismal padrinos were Cresensio Bargas and Dorotea Bargas. Again I am guessing that the padrino and madrina were married and most likely Cresencio was a soldier like Ysidro.

Jose Rafael Bartolo Gutierres died as an infant barely eleven (11) months old on July of 1807 and was buried shortly there after on July 22, 1807.

Next, the by now very pregnant, Maria Manuela suffered another great loss, her husband Ysidro Gutierrez was killed by the Apaches en el Campo, "the field" on March 28, 1808 while on an expedition defending the area from Apache raiders. Maria Manuela did not even have the comfort of Ysidro receiving the sacraments, as his being killed in the field of battle far way from home precluded that. This dying with out being able to receive the sacraments were problems of the time and not unheard of, but very distressing for a Catholic wife at best.

On October 28, 1808, seven (7) months to the day after her husband was killed and again in Santa Fe, Maria Manuela had a second son and named him Rafael, in memory of his deceased brother. This naming children in honor of dead siblings was very common in colonial New Mexico. Rafael Gutierrez was baptized 3 days later on October 31, 1808 at La Castrense, La Capilla de Nuestrs Senora de la Luz by his padrino, a man named Jose Tafoya. Young Rafael did not have a madrina for some reason or another.

All of this happened to Maria Manuela before she reached her 20th birthday. She would celebrate her 20th birthdate as a widow and mother of her second son. It was probably not a date where there was any celebrating.

Life went on for Maria Manuela, she would have 3 additional children, all by unknown father(s). These children, two (2) sons and a daughter, were;

1. Juan Manuel Leyba born in Santa Fe April 19, 1811 and baptized two (2) days later at the Parroquia de San Francisco de Asis church by Pablo Baldez and Josefa Padilla.
2. Maria Manuela Leyba born in Santa Fe December31, 1812 and baptized a day later on January 1, 1813 at the Parroquia de San Francisco de Asis church by padrino Juan Diego Armijo and madrina Barbara Montoya.
3. On February 18, 1816 Maria Manuela gave birth to her last son, Salvador Josef Leyba who was baptized two (2) days later on the 20th at the Parroquia de San Francisco de Asis church by Manuela's sister Josefa Leyba. Josefa adopted Salvador Josef then and there. The adoption was probably prearranged.

Maria Manuela herself died in June of 1818 and was buried shortly afterwards on June 9, 1918. She was not yet 30 years of age. Maria Manuela had a very difficult life by any standards.

Had it not been for family she would not have survived to the ripe old age of 29.

NOTE: We do know that Rafael Gutierrez, the second son of Maria Manuela Antonia Leyba and Ysidro Gutierrez, survived. He was married to Josefa de Herrera, the daughter of Tomas de Herrera and Apolonia Garcia on December, 8 1834 in Santa Fe.

Merry Christmas From New Mexico

Click on the image to make it larger.

 

San Antonio Mountain on the right.

 

Merry Christmas to New Mexicans everywhere.

You Can Choose Your Friends, You Cannot Choose Your Relatives, Not Now, Not Ever

Friends are usually like us, at least we choose friends who do not upset us or our image of ourselves. But in all reality our relatives are not at all like that, not our relatives in the here and now and not our relatives in the past.

Some people, maybe most people, have an image of themselves based on the family that they know of, or the family they think they know of. Most people have a lot of misconceptions about family, the amount of these misconceptions is staggering when looked at. We seem to like holding on to the positive and eliminating or minimizing that which is not positive or is downright unsavory. Sort of a natural thing to do, probably imprinted in our DNA. However the picture that we end up with of ourselves and our family is distorted.

The opposite is sometimes also true, where the unsavory is known but the positive is not. The latter is not as common as the former, for obvious reasons.

Genealogical research in the age of the computer and the internet is shedding light on our ancestors, every ones ancestors and us too.  The light shed may be positive, negative or somewhere in between. Most folks come in contact with groups and/or entities over time that have a tendency to leave a trail. Some examples are marriage licenses issued by the states, divorces, births, deaths, court appearances, news articles in newspapers etc., etc. These types of records are usually public in nature and available if a person has the where with all to do the search.

Sometimes this information that is out there is sort of funny and sometimes it is sad or downright disturbing. A person has to learn to look at it, see how it has affected the current generation and then let it slide off of your back.

But most will continue with the image that they have concocted of themselves and pass this on as fact. It is no wonder so many folks are confused. Some of this concocted history is due to it being passed down but more often than not it is intentional. An effort on the part of many to hide by outright lies and/or omissions.

Some folks have gone to extreme measures to do this. Examples are Mormons trying to connect the Native Americans to the "lost tribes of Israel", some New Mexicans trying to prove by dubious methods a "Jewish connection" prior to the early 1800's. Other New Mexicans insisting on "pure Spanish blood", others adding Indian ancestry. Some non New Mexicans go to great lengths adding "Noble Red Man" image of their families. The examples are many and well documented.

The Amtrak Through Rowe, New Mexico

The Amtrak through Rowe.

Click on the link, Make sure the speakers are on. Short but nice.

FAKE New Mexico History!!!!

There is one whole bunch of fake New Mexico history. A whole bunch. Most historical writers writing in the period when Americans started showing up in New Mexico (about 1810) to New Mexico statehood (1912) had a lot of incorrect information in their writings. This incorrect information was intentional due to American racism, dislike of New Mexicans etc., and/or  unintentional out of plain old American ignorance. But there is so damn much of it. New Mexican historical figures are discounted, disparaged or just plain ignored. And these "historians" were not all from the United States, some were our own people writing out of ignorance of their own history.

To illustrate this just think back to the books and movies of the period being discussed here. How many of these where the story is in New Mexico and there are no New Mexican Hispanos, none. It is as if we did not exist. This case is the same with New Mexican historians. Most all of them prior to the very last part of the last century or right now.

Why is that you ask? Why is my cutoff the last few years of the 20th century? I will tell you why. There are 2, 3, 4 or more major reasons why.

1. The internet age. Information can and is shared easily. Before this internet age all I could do was fume and rage when I read some historical garbage. That my friends is no longer the case. This weblog being a case in point.
2. New Mexicans are now doing their own research and can see for themselves the lies and distortions of our history by people, who for the most part despised us. We cannot avoid seeing this if you look around.
3. "Historians" of previous times did not anticipate people in the future (us) being able to do this type of research. They did not anticipate that their lies would be exposed. That is not to say that some of these "historians" did not believe the story line they were publishing.
4. Another reason is that historical documents written in Spanish and unavailable to earlier "historians" are being translated by a cadre of dedicated scholars working day and night. The original of these scholars was Fray Anjelico Chavez. New Mexicans owe him and current scholars a huge debt of gratitude.

Here is a good article that illustrates the ignorance and or racism of these early "historians". A good concise read. Click on the high lighted link below:

Office of the New Mexico Stat Historian

UPDATE: The Lynching Of Frank "El Navajo" Tafoya In Las Vegas New Mexico.

Click on the image to make it larger. It is the actual image of the hanging.

 

Update; I want to thank Richard A. Garcia for information on the where abouts of the image. Refer to the comments below. To view  the original image click on the highlighted name below:

 

Frank "El Navajo" Tafoya

Frank "El Navajo" Tafoya was lynched in Las Vegas, New Mexico on the night of June 25 and 26 of 1882 for the killing of Jennie Lawrence at George Close's dance hall in El Moro, near Trinidad in the brand new state of Colorado. El Navajo Frank Tafoya was a half breed New Mexican Hispano/Navajo.

"El Navajo" had come into the dance hall after midnight as the dance was going on, he wanted to trade his rifle to George Close for a bottle of whiskey. George refused to make the trade, for Navajo Frank had swilled down too much liquor, and besides it was against the law to sell or give liquor to an Indian.

This refusal made Navajo Frank very angry and out the front door he walked cursing George and the whole world. He stalked across the street until he reached the railroad tracks; there he sat down on the end of one of the cross ties facing the dance hall. He then pointed his rifle towards the glass of the front door and fired into the dance hall while the dance was still going on. A very pretty girl, Jennie Lawrence from Pueblo, Colorado was dancing with Jimmie Russell of Trinidad. Navajo Frank's bullet struck her in the left side, passing thru her heart. She was killed instantly.

Navajo Frank escaped somehow. But he was later captured in Las Vegas, New Mexico and lynched.

Information comes from the books;

My Life on the Frontier, 1864 - 1882 written by Miguel Antonio Otero and published by the University of New Mexico Press and Death On The Gallows written by West Gallager and published by High Lonesome Books in Silver City, New Mexico.

The Hanging Of Paula Angel

Check out the article here, great article, click on the site below;

http://newmexicohistory.org/people/paula-angel-the-only-woman-ever-hanged-in-new-mexico

Comparison Pictures - Rowe, NM 1955 - 2013, 58 Years later, look closel!!!

The alignment between the two pictures is not quite right... But you get the "picture". Look at the growth of Pinion and Juniper trees all over the place. Only a few ant piles are to be seen in the Google image at the upper right hand corner of the new picture.

La Historia de dona Maria Candelaria Ulibarri

Maria de la Candelaria Ulibarri was born in Santa Fe, New Mexico on February 5, 1765 and baptized on the very same day by a man known as Joseph Miguel (no last name available) and Juana Catalina Angela. This was 9 years before the American Revolution of 1776. Her parents were Jose Fernando Ulibarri and Maria Olaya Armenta.

Candelaria, as she was known, married Jose Rafael Garcia who was baptized on November 28, 1765 shortly after he was born. Their marriage took place on September 27, 1790 in Santa Fe. Jose Rafael was the son of Francisco Garcia de Noriega and Rita Padilla.

Together they had the following children;

1. Jose Antonio Garcia - Birthdate unknown
2. Miguel Garcia - Birthdate unknown
3. Pablo Garcia de Noriega - Birthdate Unknown
4. Bernardo Garcia de Noriega - Birthdate unknown
5. Diego Antonio Garcia - Born December 22, 1797
6. Juana Garcia - Born about 1800
7. Ana Maria de Jesus Garcia - Born July 22, 1801 and died/buried on February 24, 1804.
8. Maria del Rosario Garcia - Born June 26, 1804
9. Jose Rafael Garcia - Born December 1, 1806

All of the children were probably born in Santa Fe. Some are documented as being born there but most probably all were. Both Candelaria and her husband Rafael were born there, so it is safe to assume the children were all born there also.

Jose Rafael died in 1817 and was buried in the church on March 11, 1817. He was not quite 52 years old.  Candelaria was just over 52 years old having celebrated her birthdate the previous month. At least two of the children were still young, 1) Maria del Rosario was thirteen and 2) Jose Rafael had just turned ten. So, under the best of circumstances, it would have been hard on Candelaria.

On the 3rd of February of 1823 Maria Candelaria baptized a young Navajo child in Santa Fe and named him Jose Maria Agapito Ulibarri. He was living in her house. The record shows "espuesto en la casa de Candelaria Ulibarri". Jose Maria Agapito's real parents are listed only as "Nabajos". She and an individual identified only as Jose Teodoro were the "padrinos" at the baptism.

Something terrible must have happened to the Navajo child named Jose Maria Agapito because just  a year later on February 20, 1824 he was buried in Santa Fe. He is listed as Indian parvulo (infant) of the Navajo Nation. The cause of death of the child is not stipulated.

Another tragedy happened soon there after. Dona Maria Candelaria Ulibarri herself died and was buried just 3 months later on the 22 of May of 1824. Again no cause of death is noted, just that she was the widow of don Rafael Garcia.

The moral of the "story" is the hardships folks had to endure, just imagine Maria Candelaria. Imagine the birth and death of Jose Maria Agapito, imagine his biological parents. All we can do is wonder. But it is interesting what you can glean from the historical records.