Mariana Duran

Mariana was born circa 1835, probably in Tesuque, New Mexico to Jose Pablo Duran and Ignacia Lovato. She died sometime in the early 1920's in Rowe, New Mexico. She was my maternal great grandmother. This is a picture of her in the summer of 1900.

She married Juan de Jesus Archuleta on 10 September 1862 when she was about 27 years of age, but they had been together for over 10 years. By the time Juan De Jesus and Mariana married they had Jose Eulogio 9, Cleta 7, and Margarita 2. Acording to the marriage information they "legitimized" them at the time of the marriage. They would have Mauricio, Pablo and Ignacia after the marriage. Juan De Jesus and Maria Anna Duran had 3 kids that died in infancy. Susana, Perfiria and Juanna.

She was widowed sometime after 1876 and remarried to an individual named Miguel Martin. No information remains to indicate what happened to Miguel or when he died. But he was a shoemaker in Santa Fe,

Mariana Duran was burried in Las Ruedas after the velorio in Rowe, New Mexico in the 1920's. She was possably the last person buried there. My brother recalls a conversation with our mother, Mariana's grand daughter, about the death and burial of Mariana Duran. It must have been a long ride from Rowe to Las Ruedas. It was not a good road in the 60's when I last walked down to the Las Ruedas site. In the 1920's it could not have been much better.

Funny thing, but there is a descendant and namesake of Mariana alive and doing well in Minnesota in 2009.

Book Review for "New Mexico's Future" by E.L. Moulton

The book "New Mexico's Future" by E.L. Moulton was a research study to determine what New Mexico ought to do to incorporate returning soldiers from World War two. The book is authored by E. L. Moulton but the committee was chaired by O.M. Lowe, Chairman of the Federal Reserve District.

A very interesting book, especially for the times. It gives a very special view of the times. The book was printed in 1945. It addresses many interesting things about the pre and what was expected of the post war years. But the most interesting thing that jumped out to me when I started reading the book was that not one, zero, nada Hispano New Mexican were included in the group who came up with the document. Not one out of a total of fiftey one (51). Can you believe that?

Can you imagine something like that now? 1945 was not that long ago, but as far as Hispanos in the New Mexican Government it is a lifetime. Hispanos have come a long way, a very long way in what is the Hispano homeland, in the United States, New Mexico.

La Idoma de Nuestros Antepasados, Los Nuevo Mejicanos

Was it "Spanglish"? Was it the queens Spanish? Was it a Mexican Spanish? This is my second post on the language of our New Mexican forefathers.

The Spanish my grandfathers spoke had very few English words, one here and there, but not many. By the time my mother came around there were several as New Mexicans struggled to incorporate names for things that had not been around during the Spanish and Mexican era's. And the Spanish was different from the Spanish spoken elsewhere. Ruben Cobos in his book A dictionary of New Mexico and Southern Colorado Spanish probably says it best. That it was "a language made up of archaic sixteenth and seventeenth century Spanish, Mexican Indian words, mostly from the Nahuatl and some Rio Grand Indian words."

I remember using the word areoplano for airplane, nickle for nickel, and many other words. I clearly remember the old air mail stamps and the wording por avion.... I thought the words were French. By the mid 50's and early 60's it had turned to Spanglish for sure. And now even the Spanglish has more English words than Spanish. And a good percentage of the Hispano population of New Mexico do not even speak the language.

For the most part the Spanish spoken today is a version brought by Mexican immigrants who have arrived here since the 1950's. The language of our New Mexican forefathers is almost gone. It is not taught anywhere and is spoken only here and there. Just ask yourself when was the last time you heard the term "reals" as in cuatro reals used. Ask yourself if you know the meaning of the term real when used as a monetary term in previous years in New Mexico.

We were all Roman Catholics.

Not any more. The change in New Mexico started as soon as the American Occupation. But it has speeded up, and I think that the WWII was a watershed event as far as New Mexico Hisapanos and religion goes. And it is no different in the family.

From my perspective it is caused by marriage, divorce and/or remarriage. The Catholic Church is very strict and other churches allow a member to divorce and remarry as much as they want. And some folks marry outside of the religion and there goes the Catholic Church.

I left the Church when I married and did not raise my family as a Christian, much less a Catholic.

Now I think that my family has a member in about every Christian sect there is, and they either married into them or divorced into them..

Territorio de Nuevo Mexico VS Ramon Archuleta, Ref. Justice of the Peace Romqn Benavidez

The following are notes my grandfather, Roman Benavidez kept when he was a justice of the peace in the late territorial and early statehood period for precinct No. 12, which was in San Miguel County, Rowe, New Mexico. His papers are in the possession of my sister in Albuquerque. She copied the documents from the original and I am using what she transcribed. The translation from Spanish to English is mine.

Ramon Archuleta and Juana Ortiz were married in Pecos, New Mexico on july 11 1891. They lived in Rowe New Mexico and in 1909 they had at least 3 children. Must have been a real screaming match to pay $100.00 back in those days.

Spanish.

Este dia, 22 de Abril A.D. 1909 Comparecio la Senora Juana O de Archuleta por medio de una reclarasion jurada acusando en ella a Ramon Archuleta del crimen de alalto y golpeo por palabras. Una horden de el asunto fue puesta en manos del contestable Cristoval Padia a si mismo para los testigos y el oficial retornado y presentado al acusado en un areglo dando una fianza Ramon Archuleta de la suma penal de cien, $100.00, pesosy por el periodo de 6 meses en favor de Juana Ortega de Archuleta. Esta dia 22 de Abril de 1909 la cual fue aprobada.

Roman Benavidez
Juez de Paz
Pto. No. 12

English.

On this date, April 22 1909 A.D. Senora Juana O. De Archuleta apeared before me with a sworn declaration in which she is accusing Ramon Archuleta of the crime of verbal assult and battery. An order was placed in the hands of the constable Cristoval Padia, the same for the witnesses and the official returned and was presented to the accused. Both parties agreed and enteres into an arrangement where a "bond" was placed on ramon Archuleta in the sum of one hundred, $100.00, dollars over a period of 6 months in favor of Juanita Ortega de Archuleta. This day, 22 April 1919 A.D. it was approved.

Roman Benavidez
Justice of the Peace
Prect. No. 12

Scattering of the Family

Back in the colonial period my ancestors lived everywhere and moved as the situation warranted. That slowly changed over the years to where they hardly ever moved. Maybe to a neighboring village. But they were tied to the area by necessity and family.

My maternal grandparents lived their entire lives between El Gusano, New Mexico and Santa Fe, New Mexico. From the time they were born until they died. My paternal grandparents lived in the Sapello/Watrous, New Mexico area. They travelled a bit, but not much. Travel was expensive. And moving away from your home town was a very difficult decision.

Now the family is scattered far and wide. Living not only all over New Mexico but in Washington State, Texas, Colorado, Tennessee, Montana, California, Utah. Some live in foreign countries, but do not seem to live there permanently. They are in foreign countries as a result of the military. And this is just the family members I am aware of.

Where it used to be that you knew all of your close relatives because all lived near by. Not so any more, There was some scattering before WWII, but since then it has really increased. Family know who their first cousins are, but do not know them. And second cousins? Forget it. If you put this "scattering" on a bell shaped curve you would be a third away from the apex. By the middle of this century they will be everywhere.