What is the possibility? What is the probability?

This is a picture of Sebestiana Benavidez. Click on the image to make it larger. It has been copied too many times. Sorry about that.

Marianna Duran, one of my maternal great grandmothers, was born circa 1834 in Teseque, New Mexico. There has been a persistant story that she was a Tesuque Indian and married one of my maternal great grand fathers, Juan de Jesus Archuleta. It is known that he was much, much older than her. Thirty six (36) or there abouts. Juan de Jesus had been married before. These stories can only be attributed to Marianna's daughter, my grandmother or Marianna's grand children, my mother and uncles. They all knew her. And there is a church record that does list Marianna as the "adoptive" daughter of Pablo Duran. The term "Adoptive" was sometimes used to indicate Indian children taken into Hispanic homes.

Sebastiana Benavidez is my great grand aunt.  Our common ancestors are Jose Rafael Benavidez and Maria Dolores Garcia de Alviar. She is the sister of one of my paternal great grandmother's, Maria Simona Benavidez. In my records I have no information on either Sebestianas birth date or birth place. It is my guess she was born some where around 1843 - 1848. I base this on the fact that she married Pedro L'Esperence in March of 1863. I do know that some of my great grandmothers siblings were born in Tesuque.

Anyway there is an article in June 2008, Volume Number 47, Issue Number 2 of the New Mexico Genealogist, The Journal of the New Mexico Genealogical Society by Laurie Tavino Pioggia that makes a case for Sebestiana being an Indian from Tesuque Pueblo. The author states there that Sebestiana's grand daughter Constancia L'Esperance left written information on a family bible that indicated that was indeed the case. And that Sebestiana was adopted by the Benavidez family.

Now what is the chance that the family of my great grandmother Marianna, living in Tesuque in the time period when she was born, 1834, and the family of Sebestiana, born circa 1843 - 1848, knew each other? I think there is a very good chance that they did indeed know each other. Now what is the chance that both of these women were Tesuque Indians? That is harder to determine, It certainly is possible, but is it probable? Who knows. The author of the article and I have communicated via email and over the phone and discussed Sebestiana.

Any way, it is interesting to speculate. And the author certainly has better information on Sebestiana than I do. And she also has better information on Sebestiana than I do on Mariana. I have some unanswered questions on the relationship  my great grandfather, Juan de Jesus Archuleta, had with the family of his father in law Pablo Duran in Tesuque, New Mexico. You see his first wife was a woman named Maria Antonia Duran who was the daughter of a man named Jose Duran. Seems like there were quite a few Benavidez, Archuletas and Duran's living in the area.

Also one needs to keep in mind that there are two Tesuque's. The Indian Pueblo and the old Hispanic village. Located in close proximity to each other.

Las Ruedas, New Mexico in 1870, Demographics

Las Ruedas, New Mexico was a Hispanic community located on the Pecos River below present day Rowe, New Mexico. The census was taken on the 26th of July in 1870 by the census taker Demetrio Perez. The village consisted of 84 people in 19 households. 

Three Americans had married into the local Hispano community, Samuel Dean Jr. Born in Maine, John B. Boles born in Virginia and O.P. Anderson born in Georgia. Roque Samaron was listed as being born in Mexico and he also married into the local Hispano community.

Personal notes: I knew Marta Alarid , then age 8. I knew her in the 1950's living in Rowe, New Mexico. Pablo Archuleta the younger was the son of the older Pablo Archuleta here. Also Felix Sameron, here 2 months old, would  in 1905, along with his wife Maria de los Angles Flores, baptize my mother, Maria del Refugio Benavidez.

1 - Antonio Ortiz age 55 a farm laborer who could read but not write.

His wife Albina a houskeeper age 40 who could not read nor write.

Agapito, age 23 a farm laborer who could not read nor write.

2 - Samuel Dean Jr. age 31 a farm laborer who could read and write. Samuel was born in Maine.

His wife Juliana a housekeeper age 19 who could not read nor write.

Cruz age 2.

Roberto at 5 months old.

Juana Archuleta age 12 who could not read nor write.

Victor age 7.

3 - Miguel Sena age 45 a carpenter who could read and write.

His wife Ynes a housekeeper age 38 who could not read nor write.

Justo age 18, a farm laborer who could not read nor write.

Cecilio age 15 living "at home" and could not read nor write.

4 - Matias Alarid age 49 a blacksmith who could not read nor write.

His wife Josefa a housekeeper age 40 who could not read nor write.

Gertrudis a seamstress, age 18 who could not read nor write.

Jose de la Cruz age 10 and who could not read nor write.

Marta age 8. 

Casamiro age 6.

Maria 7 months old.

Nicolas listed as age 15 and a domestic servant who could not read nor write. 

5 - Gregorio Gonzales age 37, a farm laborer who could not read nor write.

His wife Ygnacia a houskeeper age 38 who could not read nor write.

Jesus Gutierrez age 13 living "at home" who could read but not write.

Jose age 3.

6 - Jose Antonio Valencia age 33, a farm laborer who could not read nor write.

His wife Ramona a houskeeper age 18  who could not read nor write and whom Jose Antonio married the previous January.

7 - Antonio Maria Archuleta age 66, a farm laborer who could not read nor write.

Luis a farm laborer age 33 who could not read nor write.

8 - Pedro Barranca age 55, a farm loborer who could both read and write.

His wife Maria de la cruz a houskeeper age 34 who could not read nor write.

9 - Ponciano Archuleta age 28, a farm laborer who could read but not write.

His wife Salome a houskeeper age 25 who could not read nor write.

Manuel age 8.

Teresa age 5.

Candalerio age 2.

10 - Francisco Archuleta a farm laborer age 25 who could read but not write.

His wife Mariana a housekeeper age 15 who could not read nor write.

2 month old son Eugenio.

11 - Francisca Lovato a housekeeper age 64 who could not read nor write.

Juan J. Montoya age 22, a farm laborer who could both read and write.

Dario age 19, a farm laborer who could not read nor write.

Leonardo age 15, living "at home" and who could both read and write.

Manuela age 12 and living "at home" and who could not read nor write.

12 - Pablo Archuleta age 64, a farm laborer who could not read nor write.

His wife Dorotea a housekeeper age 64 who could not read nor write.

Marcos age 38 a farm laborer who could both read and write.

Pedro age 37 a farm laborer who could neither read nor write.

Sotero age 28 a farm laborer who could read but not write.

Antonio age 19 and a farm laborer who could not read nor write.

Albino a ge 25 and a faarm laborer who could not read nor write.

Maria de Jesus a washerwoman age 19.

13 - Pablo Archuleta age 33, a farm laborer who could read but not write.

His wife Trinidad a Housekeeper age 25 who could not read nor write.

Ricarda age 8.

14 - Jesus Valencia age 36, a farm laborer who could read but not write.

His wife Salome a housekeeper age 26 who could not read nor write.

Maria a seamstress age 16.

Zeferina living at home at age 12 and could not read nor write.

Rosario living at home and could not read nor write.

Juan age 4.

Alcario age 2.

15 - Roque Samaron age 32 a farm labor who could not read nor write. Roque was born in Mexico.

His wife Librada a housekeeper age 24 who could not read nor write.

Felix at 2 months old.

16 -  Juan Maria Martinez age 51, a farm laborer who could not read nor write.

His wife Isabel a housekeeper age 40 who could not read nor write.

Domingo age 12 living at home and who could not read nor write.

17 - Juan Encinias age 58, a farm laborer who could not read nor write.

His wife Estefana a housekeeper age 50 who could not read nor write. .

Pablo age 26, a farm laborer who could not read nor write.

Matilde a seamstress age 23 who could not read nor write.

Anastacio age 15 living at home and who could not read nor write.

Cresencio age 9.

Juan age 7.

18 - John B. Boles age 43, a farm laborer who could both read and write. John was born in Virginia.

His wife Manuela a houskeeper age 21 who could not read nor write.

Manuelita age 3.

Thomas G. age 1.

Maria de Jesus Sena a washerwoman age 75 who could not read nor write.

19 - O.P. Anderson age 56 a farm laborer who could read but not write. O.P. was born in Georgia.

His wife Antonia a housekeeper age 40 who could read but not write.

Severiano age 14 living at home and who could both read and write.

Isidora age 5.

Las Ruedas, New Mexico

Click on the google image to make it larger. You can't make out the details otherwise.

This is an aerial view of the Picacho, Rowe and Las Ruedas area of San Miguel County in New Mexico. Las Ruedas was just east of Rowe on the Pecos River and is where a lot, if not most of the early settlers of Rowe came from. They came as a result of the Santa Fe Railroad arrival and its replacement of the Santa Fe Trail.

Las Ruedas was the only village on the old Los Trigos Land Grant. and was depopulated as a result of the railroad arriving in the area. I do not know who was the last person to leave but it probably occurred in the late 1800 or very early 1900's. I have access to the 1860 and 1870 Territorial Census and will post here on the demographics of the village. I will do it as I find time.

When I was a kid in the 1950's the church was still there, in ruins, but still there. You could still see the remnants of the rock fence around the church. The presence  of a church there indicates that my ancestors lived there for a while. There were stone remnants of the houses on the semi flat areas close to the river. There was also the concrete remnant of a water holding tank that the railroad used to pump water to the railroad at Rowe for the steam engines.

When we walked down there to go fishing or swimming we would always look for lead along the old pipeline. We used the lead as sinkers for our fishing lines. Just cut a notch in a small piece of lead with a knife attach it to the line and bite down on it and wa laaaa, a custom made sinker. There was a cool place to swim on the furthest point east in this photo that the river reached. "El Remance" was well known to all of the kids in Rowe.

The Los Trigos land Grant, of which Las Ruedas was part of, ended up in the hands of "Buddy Folgensen and his actress wife Greer Garson. When they passed away the property was split up and the Pecos National Monument ended up with parts of it. I do not know who exactly owns the old village site. I am told that Jane Fonda and Val Kilmer own the rest. Anyway this post is about Las Ruedas, not the Los Trigos Land Grant. There are references to Las Ruedas  in the book titled "Four Leagues of Pecos" written by G. Emlen Hill and another titled "Before Pecos, Settlement Aggregation at Rowe, New Mexico" written by Linda S. Cordell and published by UNM Press. The place is pretty near to being totally forgotten.

El Gusano, New Mexico on July 26, 1870

An aerial view of modern day South San Isidro courtesy of Google Earth. Click on the image to make it larger. The areas to the west and south of the village are those that were irrigated and planted as "milpas". Milpas were family plots or large gardens where folks grew their vegatables.

El Gusano, now South San Isidro, on July 26, 1870 consisted of 13 families made up of 67 individuals, here is a snapshot of the community as provided by the 1870 territorial census compiled by Demetrio Perez. All of the Benavidez and Encinias listed in El Gusano, as well as some of the others, are relations of mine and were relatives of my maternal grandfather Roman Benavidez.

Only 3 of the residents could read and only 1 could write. Juan Andres Benavidez listed in the 1870 territorial census as 27 years old was actually 30, having been born the 6th of November of 1840, could read and write. Juan Andres was my maternal great grandfather. Pablo Encinias age 37 and his son Tiburcio age 14 are listed as being able to read, but not write. 

Every male was listed as a farm laborer and the women for the most part were listed as housekeepers except for 1 washerwoman and 3 seamstresses. The men were probably tending farm fields along the Pecos River. El Gusano is on the river and a few acres can be irrigated. So the men were tending their own fields.

The washerwoman was Susana Garcia, age 25. The seamstresses were Manuela Garcia age 20 and her sister Teodora age 16 were sewing as was Catarina Garcia, age 15. Susana, Manuela and Teodora were all sisters and living with Marcelina Encinias, my maternal great great grandmother, and the other Garcia siblings. There were 3 males and 6 females in the family living with Marcelina. Marcelina was the widow of Camilo Garcia who died a couple of years previous.

Here are the heads of households.

1, Juan Cristoval Benavidez, my maternal great great grandfather.

2, Gregorio Benavidez was Juan Cristoval's brother.

3, Ponciano Benavidez was Juan Cristoval's brother also.

4, Cresencio Garcia.

5, Marcelina Encinias, my maternal great great grandmother and sister in law of Crecencio.

6, Pablo Encinias, Marcelinas brother and son of Tomas Encinias..

7, Tomas Encinias at age 97 living with his third wife and the father of Marcelina was my maternal great great great grandfather.

8, Tomasa Segura, married Jose Marcos Garcia and into the family.

9, Juan Garcia.

10, Simona Cordova listed as being 46 was in reality 44 as she was born on the 28th of October in 1826 in Pecos, New Mexico. She was the widow of Juan Ortiz. Listed as living with her was her grandson, Asencio Benavidez, a relative of mine and her son Trinidad Ortiz who would later marry into the family.

11, Domingo Archiveque married to Socorro Encinias, Marcelina's sister .

12, Antonio Encinias, son of Tomas Encinias and his third wife and half brother to Marcelina.

13, Jose Andres Mejia.

So just 1 of the families living there there seems to have no connection. But that is just a guess on my part. 

Margarita Archuleta

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This is a picture, from an old tin type, of my maternal grandmother Ignacia's older sister Margarita Archuleta. I do not have any idea as to when it was taken, but my guess is the 1880's or 1890's. I knew this lady, she was born circa 1860 and died circa 1952. She actually stayed at our house for a while late in life. I understand that she was married more than once. By the time I remember her she was a widow. She had no children. My guess is that she is buried in Rowe, New Mexico.

For information on her first marriage to Juan Nicolas Butierrez refer to page 169 of the publication Santa Fe Marriages, St. Francis Cathedral, Jan 1858 to Oct 1889 published by the Hispanic Genealogical Research Center of New Mexico. Witnesses/padrinos were Francisco Garcia and Francisca Butierrez. She is listed as the legitimate daughter of the deceased Juan de Jesus Archuleta and Mariana Duran.

She is inumerated in the 1920 federal census. She lived and died in a very difficult period for New Mexicans. She was born 16 years or so after the American occupation of New Mexico. She lived under the territorial administrations and later witnessed first hand the early statehood period.

Volunteer "Historians"!!!!!!

Click on the image to make it larger. This is a picture of the San Miguel Mission Church, the oldest church in the USA. 

Hispanos in New Mexico, especially Santa Fe, need to step up to the plate and volunteer in places where they are "making presentations about us". Or others will and we may not like the results. An example follows. If you do happen to volunteer be truthful and do not promote agendas...

I went and paid my $1.00 to go into the San Miguel Mission, the "Oldest Church". I went into the church itself and sat down to listen to the "historical account" a person was making to what seemed like a group of German tourists. The presentation was no where close to factual. Not even close.

He told them that several hundred Indians from Mexico had decided to relocate/migrate and that when they got to Santa Fe they decided to build the San Miguel Mission on top of another Native American holy place. So that the Mission had had religious significance for over 800 years. But no where in his presentation did he tell the tourists that the "Indians from Mexico" had come with don Juan de Onate. 

I personally think that was a horrible oversight. I don't know what effect the talk had on the Germans, but they did not hear the whole truth.

Pablo Archuleta and His Friend Manuel Garcia

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This is a photo of Manuel Garcia and Pablo Archuleta. I have no idea when it was taken. It is a copy from an old tinplate I have. My mother gave me the tin plate and told me the names of the folks. Pablo was her maternal  uncle. She spoke fondly of him. I have not been able to make out what they had in their hands.  

Manuel Garcia is on the left and my Grandmother's brother Pablo Archuleta is on the right. I do not know anything of Manuel Garcia. Pablo Archuleta was the son of Juan de Jesus Archuleta and Marianna Duran. He was married to a woman by the name of Juana Garcia, so this was probably his brother in law. But, at this time, that is speculation on my part.

Pablo was born circa 1871 and probably in Santa Fe or Las Ruedas, New Mexico.

Mariage information for Pablo and Juana comes from page 37 of the publication "New Mexico Marriages, Pecos, October 1862 - April 1904" published by the Hispanic Genealogical Research Center of New Mexico. Witnesses at the wedding were Roman Gabaldon and his wife.

Pablo Archuleta and Juana Garcia had one son Higinio, who did not live to adulthood. Juana lived to be an old woman and died in Salt Lake City, UT where she lived the last years of her life with relatives. I do not know when Pablo died, I never met him so he was dead prior to the 1950's.

Pablo killed a man from Parajito, New Mexico and was sent to the  New Mexico State penitentiary. I do not know who he killed and how long he was in Prison. Nor do I know of any of the details. 

Cleta Archuleta

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This is my maternal grandmother Ignacia's older sister Cleta. She was the second child of Juan de Jesus Archuleta and Maria Anna Duran and was born circa 1854 - 1855 either in Santa Fe or Las Ruedas, New Mexico.

Enumerated in the 1860 Census at Las Ruedas, San Miguel, New Mexico Territory, Roll M653_713, page 336, image 63. Las Ruedas was on the Pecos River about a mile down the arroyo from today's Rowe, New Mexico. In this census there was Juan de Jesus age 60, Maria Mariana age 20, Jose Eulogio age 8 and Cleta age 6.

According to the church records in Santa Fe, by the time Juan De Jesus Archuleta and Maria Anna Duran married on 10 September 1862 they had Jose Eulogio 9, Cleta 7, and Margarita 2. According to the marriage information they "legitimized" them at the time of the marriage.

This information sets her birth date for either 1854 or 1855. She married an individual named Donaciano Martinez and had one child, Higinio Martines who died before reaching the age of 6.

I would guess that the picture was taken sometime around 1900 judging by the way they added the puffy sleeves and collar. It is similar to the picture, in one of my earlier posts, of my grand parents Roman Benavidez and Ignacia Archuleta with Maria Anna Duran and their son Jose Benavidez. I would guess she had her hair tied in a bun behind her head. Anyway, if my guess is right about the date when it was taken, it would make Cleta 44 or 45.

The First Trip On The Camino Real

CLICK ON THE MAP FOR LARGER IMAGE.


At least 24 of my direct line ancestors, out of 500 or so "First Colonists", have been identified as having come over the Camino Real de la Tierra Adentro with don Juan de Onate on his 1597 expidition.

This was 23 years before the pilgrims landed at Plymouth Rock.

This was 96 Years before don Diego de Vargas would lead the remanants of the colony back to Santa Fe from the El Paso del Norte area during the re-conquest.

This was 179 years before the American Revolution.

This was 206 years before Lewis and Clark began their journey to the west.

This was over 225 years before travel over the future Santa Fe Trail by Americans would become common.

The Camino Real trek was dangerous, very dangerous. Much more so than the trek across the future "Santa Fe Trail" would be hundreds of years later. Don Juan de Onate and his colonizers traveled it in 1597/1598. The remanants (decendants of the original settlers) of the colony traveled it when fleeing the 1680 Pueblo Revolt. Don Diego de Vargas and the remenants of the colony, decendants of the original settlers, traveled it again in 1693 - 1695. These colonizers traveled in large groups of men, women and children along with their provisions, including livestock to start or restart the colony.

Reference a book titled "The Last Conquistador, Juan de Onate and the settling of the far Southwest" by Marc Simmons. There it states: "The column that don Juan de Onate led, when completely lined out, stretched more than two miles, it's length studded with fluttering pennants and spiked with polearms, such as lances, hatchet like halfberds, and wicked half moon blades, or media lunas. In the vanguard, like a pair of colorful sails, the crimson and gold standard of the king and the richly ornamented standard of Onate. Upon closer examination, separate elements could be distinguished: eighty wagons and ox carts rumbling on their heavy wheeles, the loads covered with stout white canvas. Two coaches drawn by mules and owned by don Juan de Onate. Three small pieces of artillery and seven thousand head of livestock, beef cattle, spare oxen, horses, pack mules, donkeys, sheep and goats. And finally, the people, Onate's colonists, over five hundred souls."

To put the don Juan de Onate's Camino Real trek into perspective we can look and see that it came 206 years before Lewis and Clark would "find the way west" in 1804.

The Lewis and Clark men were gathered and in the winter of 1803 - 1804 were trained in Illinois across the Mississippi from St. Louis, the starting point. In May of 1804 they set out up the Missouri, and the next winter was spent at the Mandan Native American villages near present day Bismark, North Dakota. In 1805 the hardest part of the journey was made. After reaching the three forks of the Missouri River, and naming the three branches after Jefferson, Madison, and Gallatin in loyalty to the administration, they followed the Jefferson as far as they could. Then their Shoshone guide, the remarkable woman Sacajwea, helped to obtain horses, which were introduced by don Juan de Onate's settlers, for them to continue across the high Rockies. They crossed the contiental divide at Lemhi Pass and went over the Bitteroot Mountains through Lolo Pass. They had reached the land of westward flowing rivers and for part of their way they followed the Clearwater River down to the Snake River. The Snake took them to the Columbia River where they spent a miserable, rainy winter season at Ft. Clatsop, a crude post they built on the Pacific Coast.

In the spring they started back across the continent. In July of 1806 the party split up for a time in order to explore as much territory as possible. Lewis went with a group down the Marias River, while Clark and most of the men decended the Yellowstone River; they were reunited on the Missouri at the mouth of the Yellowstone on August 12 1806. The party arrived back at St. Louis on September 23, 1806 and were greeted with much acclaim.

To further put it into perspective we quote Josiah Gregg in his book on the Santa Fe Trail and writing about travel there in 1831. The book titled "Commerce on the Prairies" and he writes "very seldom that any lives are lost in encounters with them (Indians) , in the course of 20 years since the commencement of the trade, I do not believe there have been a dozen deaths upon the Santa Fe route (trail), even those who have been killed off by disease".

Reference a book "Los Capitalistas" by Susan Calafate Boyle, on page 29 it states, "The nearly seventeen hundred miles separating Santa Fe and Mexico City were not as formidable an obsticle as the hardships of the trip. The terrain was rugged, the Indian threat was always present, and scarce water was found often in fetid springs or pools.... only rendered tolerable by necissity". Historian Albert Bork (Nuevos Aspectos) remarked that the character of the territory between Missouri and New Mexico was ideal compared to the extremly difficult nature of the roads leading into the interior of Mexico.

From "By Force of Arms, the Journals of don Diego de Vargas. 1691 - 1693" written by John L. Kessel and Rick Hendricks. New Mexico's racially mixed Spanish population grew slowly from a few hundred during Onate's properietorship to almost three thousand members by 1680. The royal governor, his appointees, the Franciscans and members of some fifteen or twenty econimically and socially prominant families formed the upper layer of this frontier society. Most of the remaining colonists worked for them. Because New Mexico lay at the far reaches of the Camino Real and attracted few immigrants, its residents intermarried until almost everyone was related. Hispanic New Mexico became a colony of cousins.

Again we quote Josiah Gregg in his book "Commerce on the Prairies" written in 1831. If we exclude the unsubjugated savages, the entire population of New Mexico, including the Pueblo Indians, cannot be set down, according to estimates I have been able to obtain at more than 70,000 souls. Divided as follows; white creoles 1,000, Mestizos or mixed Creoles 59,000, Pueblos 10,000 and Americans, scarcely 20.

INDIAN TROUBLES FOR THE MARTIN FAMILY

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Cristobal Martin' Serrano (number 8 on this pedigree chart) was killed during a Comanche raid documented here on this web log.  His great grandson Jose Andres (Andele) Martin'(ez), (number 1 on this chart) would be taken captive by the Apaches  four (4) generations later, this is also documented here on this web log.

 

My information on the raid that Cristobal Martin' Serrano was killed comes from  pages 77 and 78 of the publication titled "New Mexico Burials, Santa Fe - St. Francis Parish and Military Chapel of our Lady of Light (La Castrense), 1726 - 1834". This publication is published by the New Mexico Genealogical Society.

The information on Jose Andres (Andele) Martin'(ez) comes from several sources, but the information on his capture and captivity comes from the book titled " Andele, The Mexican-Kiowa Captive, A Story of Real Life Among the Indians", written by J. J. Methvin and published by the University of New Mexico Press in Alburquerque, New Mexico.

I wonder if Jose Andres Martin'(ez) knew that his great grandfather was killed by the ancestors of the Comanche that he represented in talks with the United States Government in the late 1800's. I would imagine he did know. The family memories would not have dimmed that much.

Anyway, it was a very interesting period for my family. Bumping into this information was the highlight of our genealogical research in the last year.

There are many similar stories about my ancestors in New Mexico. And the historical record is there. Even for the non professional, such as myself.