Unusual Terms in New Mexican Baptismal Records

Padres, no conosidos - Unknown parents.... It is hard for me to believe that an infant of unknown parentage would be baptized. It could be that the parents were known and the priest was trying to protect the parents. But it was not unheard of for this term to be used for children abandoned at the church for whatever reason. Sort of like "hijo de la iglesia" listed below.

*Espuestos - That some of the "espuestos" were indeed "foundlings", and possibly the victims of poverty, is certainly not excluded. Undoubtedly some of the so called "espuestos" were children of captive Indian women fathered by their masters or older household members. Because of the local social stigma associated with illegitimacy it is likely that in most instances some of these vague terms were used euphemistically. It served to keep illegitimacy managable, especially in church records.

Hijo(a) Espurio(a) - Bastard child of.... The archaic term  Espurio(a) literally means bastard. Usually used when the mother of the bastard child was identified.

Hijo(a) Natural - Nicer way of saying bastard child of..... The same meaning as espurio(a) except it has a softer ring after the centuries.

Hijo(a) ligitimo(a) - Legitimate child of......

De la nacion de "_______" - Belonging to the Indian nation of..... This tern was used when baptizing Indians of known backgrounds. When the Spanish priest knew where the Indian child came from. Indian children were commonly integrated into Hispanic New Mexican households.

Hijo(a) de la Iglesia - Son or daughter of the church..... Who knows what this meant. Does not necessarily mean a priesthood holder had to be the father. It could simply mean the child was raised by the church. Often times when they would be abandoned or left in care of the church. Although every now and then it was common for church leaders to have children out of wedlock like the case with Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla.

Hijo(a) de "Gaspar" y "Rosa", No last name given - Son or daughter of Gaspar and Rosa with no last name given for the parents...... These children were, in most cases, children of Indians who for one reason or another did not have last names. In most cases the Indian child being baptized would be assigned the last name of the "padrino".

*NOTE: Some information comes from the New Mexico Historical Review, Volume 70, July 1995, Number 5. An article there titled " Analysis of Deaths in New Mexico's Rio Abajo during the late Spanish Colonial and Mexican Periods, 1793 - 1846 written by Oswaldo G. Baca.