Don FELIPE ROMERO and MARIA CASILDA MESTAS

 Félipe ROMERO & Maria Casilda MESTAS

Don Félipe Romero the son of Diego Romero and Josefa de Medina was born circa 1710 at Santa Fé,  Nuevo México and died before 1783 at Joya, Rio Arriba,  Nuevo México . He was married by 1744 to Dona Maria Casilda Mestas daughter of Matias Mestas and Maria Rafaela Cortes. She was born in 1722 Santa Cruz, Santa Fé,  Nuevo México and died before 1800 at Joya, Rio Arriba,  Nuevo México .

After the establishment of the villa of Santa Cruz de la Cañada in 1695, there was a gradual resettlement up the Rio Grande above its confluence with the Rio Chama in the area known as La Cañada . Initially, the process of Spanish settlement north of Santa Cruz was largely one of families reclaiming lands lost during the Revolt.  “Throughout the seventeenth and eighteenth century, frontier settlement at Santa Cruz de la Cañada had produced a rustic and self-reliant population.”

Felipe Romero  was an adult during much of the mid-18^th Century.  He became fairly prosperous in the La Cañada  area and had a large family,  possibly 13 children by his two wives.  The population of Nuevo México was increasing rapidly from these very large families and there were  less individual records regarding  the Romero families by then.  The family was known to have resided near Santa Cruz and it was written that “Throughout the seventeenth and eighteenth century, frontier settlement at Santa Cruz de la Cañada had produced a rustic and self-reliant population.”

Felipe Romero was married to Casilda Mestas as his second wife, and lived in the farming communities of Santa Cruz and La Joya, sometimes spelled Jolla, and today is known as Valverde. The community is about 41 miles north of Santa Fé  and located on New México state highway 68 east of the Rio Grande. 

Felipe Romero and his wife Casilda  raised a large family in La Joya, where one of their sons, named Juan Miguel Romero married Maria Manuela Garcia de Noriega, a descendant of Juan Garcia the Lieutenant Governor of Nuevo México  at the time of the 1680 Revolt.  Juan Miguel  was  the grandfather of Antonio de Jesus Romero who was the grandfather of Modesto Romero who was the grandfather of Michael Ray Romero.

The Santa Cruz Catholic Church building was originally constructed between 1733 and 1748 to replace an earlier structure that was reported to be in danger of collapsing and beyond repair.  The first baptism in the community was recorded on September 15, 1710 but most records prior to 1733 are sporadic at best. 

Felipe Romero’s  family resided in the villa of Santa Cruz for the first half of the 18th century until after 1750 when he relocated to La Joya, directly north of San Juan de Los Caballeros Pueblo. With no encomiendas after the reconquest and a scarcity of Indian labor even for pay, the resettlement process was typified by “small subsistence farms and ranchos, not large haciendas.” Generally, the early settlements were in the form of scattered ranchos involving extended family groups rather than multifamily communities.  The first houses were small, but with time larger houses of up to 10 rooms began to be built.

The Sebastian Martin Serrano grant

Several families, including the large Martin-Serrano family early on reclaimed pre-Revolt royal grants in La Cañada .  The vast Sebastian Martín grant of over 50,000 acres extended up the Rio Grande for several miles north of the San Juan de los Caballeros Pueblo and as far east as what later became Las Trampas.   This grant was about four miles northeast of the Rio Grande-Chama River confluence where a chapel was built called  Nuestra Senora de Soledad (Our Lady of Solitude), in 1712.  There a community, later known as Los Luceros, sprang up.

 

Farther north the community of Embudo was established by a grant in 1725, made to Sebastian’s brother, Francisco Martín Serrano,  Juan Marquez, and Lazaro de Cordova. Lazaro Antonio Córdova y Herrera was the father of Gregorio and Juan Roque Cordova, whom Felipe Romero would act as a sponsor to their children.  Embudo and other northern communities, was abandoned for a period in the mid-1700s because of Comanche attacks which delayed the establishment of La Joya until 1750.

La Joya

La Joya was the last community to be established up the valley before reaching the Rio Grande gorge and right at the northern edge of the Sebastian Martin Serrano grant.  In 1750 Juan Matias Velarde established the  community  of "La Joya" on the Spanish land grant given to Sebastian Martin Serrano. 

 

Juan Matias Velarde was the son of Juan Antonio Pérez Velarde, who settled near El Paso del Río del Norte in 1725 and his wife doña Juana de Valverde y Cosio. Juan Matias’ father was appointed High Sheriff by the Inquisition and move to Santa Cruz de La Cañada  where he encouraged other members of his family to move north. 

 

Antonio Perez Velarde sued Antonio de Sandoval for slander when he accused Velarde of sodomy. A charge of perjury was brought against Velarde but there was no final judgement on the case.   The community of La Joya was later was renamed Velarde after this family. Felipe Romero probably did not relocate to La Joya unto after 1760  which became the home of Felipe Romero and many of his children before moving east. 

 

The church at San Juan de los Caballeros Pueblo was the main church for the outlying communities of Los Lucero, Embuda and La Joya and was where many of the christening and marriages took place.

Felipe Romero’s Youth

Felipe Romero was born circa 1714 in Santa Fe or Santa Cruz, Nuevo México to Diego Romero and Maria Josefa Medina.  A prenuptial investigation in 1801 for Felipe Romero’s granddaughter confirmed that he was the son of Josefa Medina and thus by extension the son of Diego Romero.

 The investigation showed descent of Manuel Sanchez and Nicolasa Sandoval from Josefa’s parents who were listed as “Jose Medina and Maria Telles Zapata”.  As that they were dealing with relatives from a prior 100 years, the investigators mislabeled Maria Zapata Telles Jiron as Maria Telles Zapata and probably didn’t know that both Isidro and Josefa were adopted children and may not have been related at all. The subjects of the investigation were the great grandchildren of Maria Zapata Telles Jiron’s adopted children Isidro de Medina and Josefa de Medina.

 

Siblings- Isidro Medina  and Josefa Medina  1st degree consanguinity

First cousins-  Theodora Medina  and Felipe Romero 2nd degree consanguinity

Second Cousins- Pascuala Vigil  and Antonia Romero 3rd degree consanguinity

Third Cousins- Manuel Sanchez and Nicolasa Sandoval 4th degree

 

Felipe’s father Diego Romero died when Felipe was about 15 years old. At that age he certainly would have been trained as a cadet, as all Spanish males were required to have military training.  As a middle aged man he was even referred to as “Lieutenant” which showed he had a military status.

 

Felipe Romero may have been stationed in Santa Fé  between the years 1732 and 1735 while his mother and siblings were at Santa Cruz.  When Felipe Romero  was 18 years old, in Santa Fé , he sponsored, along with his mother, an unnamed son of Juan Jose de la Cruz and Josefa de Espinosa on 31 August  1732.  A few months later they acted as sponsors on 26 December 1732 again in Santa Fé  for a child of his 16 year old sister Juana Medina and Pedro Antonio Martin Serrano. In 1734 at Santa Fé  he was a sponsor of a child of Francisco Silva  and Lugarda Lucero de Godoy and in 1735 he sponsored the children of Pedro Romero and Bartolme Fernandez de la Pedrera.

 

The earliest document found regarding Felipe Romero is dated 20 July through 3 September 1733 where he was involved in the proceedings of a suit against Francisco Espejo about 2 horses. 

 

When Felipe Romero was a young soldier, Nuevo México became less isolated as a party of French traders came from Illinois Territory in Upper Louisiana.  They were well-treated and then allowed to return to the Mississippi River country as the Spanish did not consider them a threat.  However in the late 1740s Felipe Romero saw the arrival of more French traders in Santa Fé  who were quickly captured, relieved of their goods, and sent south to Mexico City to be questioned. By raising the cry of French intrusion, the governor hoped the viceroy might be forced to provide more troops and funds for the defense of Nuevo México .

Marriages

It is likely that Felipe Romero was married twice, perhaps first when he was 21 years old. A christening record from Santa Cruz showed that “Phelipe Romero and his wife Maria de los Angeles” sponsored “Blas, son of Pedro [Diego Luzero] and Ana Maria Martin on 23 Dec 1735. Diego Lucero had married Ana Maria Martin Serrano in 1726.  It is not known whether Felipe Romero and Maria de los Angeles had any children but she must have died circa 1740 as Felipe married Maria Casilda Mestas supposedly on 13 June 1741, in Santa Cruz. He would have been 27 years old and she 19 years old.  There is no known record of their marriage, however. Dona Maria Casilda Mestas was the daughter of Matias Mestas and Maria Rafaela Cortes and the mother of all his known children. Their first born was Antonio Jose Romero born circa 1743.

Governor Enrique de Olavide y Michelena 1736-1737

Felipe Romero was probably married when Governor Cruzat's term of office expired in 1737 and he was replaced by Henrique de Olavide y Michelena, who, not surprisingly, “found a number of problems in the province”. Among them was continuing trade with the Apache and Comanche  Indians. He ordered that all trade be stopped and commanded that this notice be published by all alcaldes of villas and pueblos. “That Olavide was worried about illicit commerce was understandable for it was growing rapidly. This was the result of years of interchange between Pueblo Indians, non-Christian natives, and the Spanish.” This system undermined the Nuevo México's fragile economy.”

 

The trade situation was again brought into focus during 1739 with the trial of Miguel de Salazar of Taos. The defendant was caught with goods going into Comanche lands. Salazar trial underscored the continued exasperation over an illegal trade that could not be stopped. Many were caught and tried, but it had no effect.

 

Governor Olavide was also concerned about Plains Indians raiding pueblos and settlements. He was convinced that a massive Indian attack was soon to take place in Nuevo México and to prevent it, he ordered the men of Santa Fé , including pueblo natives, to get ready for a campaign against the Comanches. However his plan was cancelled when no attack happened.

 

The one major project that Governor Olavide undertook was the visitation of all pueblos in 1736. Believing that the pueblos were happy, Olavide retired to Santa Fé  and reported to the viceroy that conditions in Nuevo México  were good.

Governor Gaspar Domingo de Mendoza 1737

Many  of Josefa de Medina’s older children were adults and several of them were already married as was Felipe Romero, Juana Romero, and Pedro Romero, when on 12 May 1737, King Philip V of Spain appointed Mendoza Governor of Nuevo México , although he did not occupy the government of the province until January 1739.

 

A group of seven Comanches traveled to Taos Pueblo to trade tobacco when they indicated also that French traders would visit Nuevo México  in the spring. When the news reached Governor Mendoza, he decided to establish a presidio (fort) in the north to protect the population of Taos from the possible French invasion.   Nine French traders under the leadership of Paul and Pierre Mallet from the Illinois country in Northern Louisiana arrived at Taos in 1739. The Spanish, for the first time, had a confirmed group of Frenchmen in Nuevo México .

 

With the arrival of the Frenchmen in Nuevo México the Mallet party was brought to Santa Fé  where they were questioned by Governor Mendoza. The Mallet party remained in Nuevo México  until 1741 when they were quietly released by Mendoza to either stay or return to Illinois.

The 1740’s

Felipe Romero a widower married Maria Casilda Mestas supposedly on 13 June 1741, in Santa Cruz. He would have been 27 years old and she 19 years old.  There is no known record of their marriage however to support this date and no known record of the death of Maria de Los Angeles. Dona Maria Casilda Mestas was the daughter of Matias Mestas and Maria Rafaela Cortes and became the mother of all his known children from 1743 to the 1770’s. Their first born was Antonio Jose Romero born circa 1743 so the marriage date of 1741 is probably correct.

 

In 1741 Manuel Martin Serrano and Salvador de Torres, both of Santa Cruz, were found guilty of assaulting the Indian servant of Bernardo Roybal. This must have been a major issue as that it involved the children of Sebastian Martin Serrano, Marcial, Margarita, Rosa, Manuel, Angela, José Antonio, Josefa, Juan, and Francisco. Bernardo Roybal had married Margarita Martin Serrano, the widow of Juan de Padilla. Her brother Juan Manuel had married Elena Roybal. Marcial Martin Serrano  was married to Lugarda de Medina the daughter of Captain Diego de Medina and Maria Zapata Telles Jiron and thus aunt to Felipe Romero.  Salvador de Torres was the son of Diego de Torres.  The two men were found guilty, fined, and ordered to pay personal damages to Roybal.

 

This increase of servant abuse may be an indication that the Spanish felt secure enough that they could get away with it. Indian servants were nominally free but in reality they were often slaves. Servants were personal property and, if hurt by others, their owners could be compensated. It is worth noting that most servants were either Apaches, Utes or Navajos. Since these were the tribes that the Spanish spent the most time trying to control, it was inevitable that captives were brought back from campaigns.

 

Governor Mendoza also undertook a campaign against the Comanches but there are no “juntas de Guerra” describing the action, but several orders by him indicated that the campaign did occur and it was, as usual, a failure.  “That the campaign was a failure can be surmised from a 1742 order that told the alcaldes mayores of pueblos and towns throughout Nuevo México  to be extra vigilant against Indian raids owing to the setbacks of the recent campaign.”

Governor Joachin Codallos y Rabal 1742-1749

When Governor  Joachin Codallos y Rabal came to the office, Nuevo México  was still a small province. There were twenty-four settlements and the population of Spaniards in Nuevo México was reported in 1742,  to be 9,747 not including soldiers. He stated that there were twenty-four settlements and he reported that Albuquerque, which he said had a garrison of eighty soldiers. The report was about ten times over the actual population of Spanish in Nuevo México according to historians.  

 

When Joachin Codallos y Rabal took office in 1743, Felipe Romero was married and residing in Santa Cruz. His mother Josefa de Medina was still alive as she acted as a sponsor of several infants with her unmarried son Salvador Romero. Governor Codallos y Rabal  remained governor of Nuevo México until 1749.  Josefa de Medina died in October at Santa Cruz after Tomás Vélez Cachupín had taken office as governor in May.

 

Nuevo México economy was improving mainly by livestock of cattle and sheep. A trade with Nueva España developed with livestock driven to Chihuahua for slaughter and processing, “suggesting a tanning and wool industry had not yet fully blossomed in Nuevo México.”  The new governor sanctioned a wool trade between Albuquerque, Santa Fé , and Santa Cruz from the abundance of sheep in the province for woven cloth and blankets. Some of the excess wool was even exported to Nueva España, which helped the trade balance in the province.

 

Well off families were often asked to be godparents or sponsors of children of family and neighbors. Felipe Romero’s wife Casilda Mestas had an aunt also named Casilda Mestas who was a half-sister to Casilda Mestas father. They both lived in Santa Cruz and were mentioned in church records there.  On 17 January 1744 Juana Mestas, daughter of Francisco Xavier Mestas and Thereza Vigil was sponsored by Nicolas Cisneros and Casilda Mestas, the aunt of Casilda Mestas wife of Felipe Romero. Nicolas Cisneros’s brother Pedro married Juana Mestas, his wife’s sister. 

 

The following year, Felipe Romero and Casilda Mestas were listed as sponsors on 2 March 1745 of Antonia Leonarda Tafoya a child of Francisco Xavier Tafoya and Maria Paula Martin. Casilda Mestas and Felipe Romero’s son José Romero was born circa 1745 probably at Santa Cruz de la Cañada.

 

An official census of Nuevo México taken in 1745, showed that the population was far smaller than the one claimed in 1742. The 1745 census showed 3,047 persons residing in the province of Nuevo México, of which only 910 were Spaniards. El Paso del Norte was not included as it should have been.  The 1745 census probably was inaccurate also, in that it did not include all of the pueblos and therefore underestimated the total population of the province. Nonetheless, it does show that since 1695 Nuevo México  grew by about one hundred percent. The Spanish settlement of Santa Cruz had 100 families while “no mestizos or mulattoes were listed. Nor were Indians listed in this census.

 

Governor Codallos y Rabal undertook a “visita general” in 1745 during which time he toured the entire province and asked that any problems be brought to his attention. Codallos y Rabal went into each pueblo and town and questioned the alcalde about conditions. The visita was for the benefit of the natives more than for the Spanish, and Codallos y Rabal returned to Santa Fé  satisfied the province was in good condition.

 

Baptismal Records in the Santa Cruz church for 1747 showed  that on 21 February 1747, Casilda Mestas along with her brother in law Salvador Romero sponsored Antonio Julian, a son of Jose Cordova and Pasquala Manuela Fernandez.  Jose Cordova was a brother of Gregorio and Juan Roque Cordova. A few days later on 24 February 1747, Salvador Romero and Casilda Mestas sponsored Antonio, son of Gregorio Cordova and Barbara Casanga. Gregorio was the brother of Juan Roque Cordova whom Felipe Romero would sponsor his child in 1753. Felipe Romero may have been away at that time in 1747 as for why he was not listed with his wife as a sponsor.

 

 Later in the year Félipe Romero and Casilda Mestas had a daughter named Maria Rita Romero, christened on 12 November 1747 with her grandmother doña Josefa Medina being her sponsor.

 

Governor Codallos y Rabal  in October, 1747, led a campaign against the plains Indians and his troops "killed 107, captured 206, and secured about 1000 horses" in the north. 

 

Many of the people who lived in El Paso del Norte down south had migrated to other places, so in 1748 Governor Codallos y Rabal  ordered them to return, as the region was being attacked by Indian tribes there and the governor did not have enough people to protect it.

 

On 8 January 1749 Casilda Mestas sponsored a child along with her brother in law Diego Romero and two weeks later 29 January 1749 she sponsored a child again with Salvador Romero. This would indicate that Felipe Romero was away from home again as a soldier.

 

The government of Codallos y Rabal officially ended in 1747, when and the king of Spain appointed Francisco de la Rocha as his successor. However, Rocha refused the position to govern Nuevo México  because he was sick and could not exercise his governmental responsibilities. Thus Codallos y Rabal remained at the head of the government of the province until 1749, when the Spanish Crown then appointed Tomás Vélez Cachupín as the new governor of Nuevo México . Velez took office in May, 1749 and was chosen to continue in his post in the 1760s for a second term.

Governor Tomás Vélez Cachupín

When Tomás Vélez Cachupín took office on 6 April 1749, Nuevo México's population was 3,779 Spaniards, an increase from the census of 1745. “There was a population of 536 Spanish families and 1,428 to 1,570 families of neophytes (Indians learning Christianity) not including between 220 and 330 families residing in El Paso del Norte.” 

 

The census of 1749 shows that the villa of Santa Cruz had a population of 1,204 Spanish and 580 Indians with the villa only second to Santa Fé  in size. The majority of residents of Santa Cruz, however, did not live in the pueblo but on the outskirts on various farms and ranchos.  By mid-century, the Nuevo Mexicanos  were no longer the frontier settlers of earlier years.  Nuevo México  during the mid-eighteenth century seems to have grown and changed rapidly.

The Census of 1750

In 1750, the largest concentration of Spaniards in the Espanola Valley was still at Santa Cruz de La Cañada.  There in the valley were 241 families of 1,515 Spanish colonists at Santa Cruz, Cuarteles, and Chimayo.   Félipe Romero and Casilda Mestas are listed in the  census of the Villa Nueva de Santa Cruz de Canada taken on 25 July 1750. The census  listed 197 Spanish families and 100 Indian families living at the villa of Santa Cruz which was actually a scattered community. Felipe was named as “Phelipe Romero,  his wife and 3 children.” They were  Casilda Mestas and her children Antonio Jose Romero, Jose Romero, and Maria Rita Romero. This census record clearly showed that Félipe Romero and Casilda Mesta had more children then what was recorded at the Santa Cruz church.

 

Other Romeros found in the census were the sons of Francisco Xavier Romero who had died circa 1745. They were Nicholas Romero, wife, [Lugardo Valerio] and 5 children, Bernardo Romero and wife with 5 children, Juan Romero and wife with 2 children, Juan de Dios Romero and wife, [ Juana Baptista Padilla] , 3 children, 1 servant.

 

A baptismal record from San Juan de Los Caballeros dated 22 October 1750 showed that “Phelipe Romero and Casilda Maestas” were the godparents to “Salbador Féliciano de Jesus Lovato son of Capitán Juan Joseph Lavato and Elena Martin Serrano.”  Elena Martin was the daughter of Manuel Martin de Serrano and his wife Elena Roybal. This record indicated that the Romero’s may have moved to Joya by this time as that Joya was in the jurisdiction of San Juan de Los Caballeros and not Santa Cruz. However they may have simply traveled to the church there for the baptism.

Increasing Prosperity and French Traders

There was an increase in commerce as there is evidence that a major trade between Chihuahua and Santa Fé  developed during this period of the mid-18th Century. Extensive lists of goods imported to El Paso del Norte indicate that a massive trade was channeled through that city. El Paso was the stopping point for all goods going into and out of Nuevo México.

 

In 1750, another group of seven Frenchmen arrived from an Arkansas River post in Louisiana. Attitude towards the French had stiffen and the French were not only be kept out, but that the governor of Nuevo México  established  a more “permanent communication with Spanish Texas in order to monitor the movements of the French.”   

 

In 1751 another party of four Frenchmen reached Nuevo México and were taken to Santa Fé  for questioning. Their names were not recorded and the men were then sent to Chihuahua for further interrogation. In addition to combatting the French problem, Governor Vélez Cachupín ordered a campaign against the Comanche as the governor probably felt that the Indians had allowed the French to come through a "barrier" that was supposed to be impenetrable.  “To stop this he would seal up the Comanche's plains to the east.”

 

On 1 June 1751 Felipe Romero along with Juan Leon witnessed a deed between Manuel Martin Serrano and Nicolas de Apodaca at San Francisco Xavier de Pueblo Quemado in Rio Arriba County,  Nuevo México about a league from Santa Fé. Manuel Martin Serrano was the father of the first wife of  Salvador Garcia de Noriega. Their daughter would later marry Felipe Romero’s son  Juan Miguel Romero. About a month later this son of Felipe and Casilda, Juan Miguel Romero was baptized on 19 July 1751. He was sponsored by doña Francisca Atencio the 39 year old wife of Manuel Xavier Perea.

 

In the fall of 1751, Governor Vélez Cachupín sent troops into Comanche country in eastern Nuevo México  with 164 men perhaps Felipe Romero was among them. The Spaniards drove 145 Comanche Indians into a hut and then set it afire, killing 101 natives. He lost one man and returned to Santa Fé  in late 1751 with forty hostages. Governor Velez Cachupín, despite his campaign, failed to stop the raiding Indians. However, his success in killing Comanches made a good impression on the viceroy who rewarded Vélez Cachupín with a commendation.

The Census of 1752

Another census taken in 1752 showed a population of 4,448 persons in Nuevo México, but there was no breakdown between Indians and Spaniards. “It should be assumed that with a number as small as 4,000 the governor must have considered only Spanish and not Indians or half-breeds.” Even more confusing are totals given in the census. The governor lists 956 heads of families, 2,881 children, wives and others living in the households, which is a total of 3,847. But his final total is 4,448. Where the difference of some 400 came from is unclear.”

 

 “The numbers for Santa Fé, Santa Cruz and Albuquerque seem too small for everyone residing in these cities and must reflect only the Spanish populations.”  Santa Cruz only listed 556 residents.

 

The 1752 census also counted the arms and horses to be found among the general population. It was recorded that there were 2,002 horses, 553 muskets, 432 lances, 401 leather jackets (for protection against arrows), 221 swords and 83 pistols for the companies of cavalry. “The number of soldiers in Nuevo México  in 1752 might sound like enough to handle any situation that could arise, but in fact they were just able to hold their own, for the Comanches, Apaches, and Utes had more men and probably as many horses and guns as the Spanish.”

 

The census of 1752 was, of course, interesting for the information it contained, but it was also unique because it was the first printed census of Nuevo México . It appears that the frontier now was safe enough to take one's family.

Baptisms at Santa Cruz

Between 1752 and 1759 Félipe Romero was the sponsor or godfather for  thirteen children of relatives and neighbors. In 1752 he sponsored Vincent a child of Antonio Sandoval and Josefa Chaves, a child  of Andres Trujillo and Juana de Sena, and Juan Domingo Leal a son Nicolas Leal and Manuela Antonia Martin.   He sponsored 3 children in 1753, a child of Lazaro Trujillo and Maria Marquez de Ayala, Petrona Cordova the daughter child of Juan Roque Cordova and Maria Teresa de Sandoval, and Marcial Martin and Gabriela de Atienza. Marcial was the son of Francisco Martin Serrano.

 

As that Felipe Romero did not sponsor any children in 1754 he may have been away campaigning against the Comanche. The Velez administration ended in 1754 with the appointment of Francisco Marin del Valle as governor who served from 1754 to 1761.

 

Tomás Vélez Cachupín was a good governor who was able to handle most anything that came his way. There were no major difficulties during his term of office and he retired with honor. While no “residencia” or review is available for him, he must have done an excellent job for he was reappointed in 1761 and he ruled for another five years.

Governor Francisco Antonio Marín del Valle 1754-1760

When Francisco Antonio Marin del Valle took office in 1754, Felipe Romero was 40 years old and was well established in Santa Cruz. However Governor  Marin del Valle “suffered from many of the problems that plagued his predecessors. There were still thefts of royal supplies, an illegal Indian trade thrived, livestock still strayed and the hostile raids continued.”

 

 Governor Marín del Valle’s main accomplishments was that he ordered a new map made of the El Paso de Norte region which was the "first accurate and detailed map" of Río Bravo [Rio Grande], particularly the part that coincided with Nuevo México.

 

The army was also a major concern for Governor Marin del Valle as the military was still a serious problem in eighteenth century Nuevo México. Soldiers were willing to do anything to break the cycle of  boredom and dreariness that surrounded the presidios. “They would gamble, sell their belongings, fight, get drunk, become involved in affairs of the heart and were generally a badly behaved bunch lot.”

 

In 1755 Felipe Romero sponsored another child of Andres Trujillo and Juana de Sena as well as another child of Nicolas Leal and Manuela Antonia Martin in Santa Cruz. In 1756 he was a sponsor for children of Juan Archuleta and Jose Ricon. Felipe Romero acted as a sponsor to three children in 1757. They were children of Jose de Herrera and Maria Jaramillo, Bartolome Martin Serrano, and Francisco Xavier de Herrera and Francisca Mestas. Francisca Mestas was an aunt of Casilda Mestas wife of Felipe Romero. In 1758 he sponsored in Santa Cruz children of Ygnacio Pacheco and María Margarita Martín Serrano, and  Nicolas Gabriel Ortega and  Anna Bartola López.

 

On 2 February 1759 Casilda Mesta along with her 8 year old son Juan Miguel Romero sponsored child  in Santa Cruz which may meant that Felipe Romero was away again.

Governor Mateo Antonio de Mendoza Díaz de Arce 1760-1760

Mateo Antonio de Mendoza Díaz de Arce was a military leader and the interim governor of Santa Fé  de Nuevo Mexico for just one year in 1760, between Francisco Antonio Marin del Valle and Manuel Portillo Urrisola. After assuming the governor's charge, he settled in Chihuahua where he resided until he ended his administration never assuming the office in Santa Fé . Officially, he ruled only for a few months, but no document confirms he was ever in Nuevo México

Governor Manuel de Portillo y Urrizola 1760-1762

Manuel de Portillo y Urrizola served as the acting Spanish colonial governor of Santa Fé  de Nuevo México from 1760 to 1762, Portillo y Urrizola was appointed Acting Governor of Santa Fé  de Nuevo México on 10 May 1760, replacing Mateo Antonio de Mendoza Díaz de Arce.

 

In 1760, Catholic Bishop Pedro Tamaron of Durango paid his one and only visit to his parishes and missions in northern Nuevo México. His report described some of the towns that he visited and he also created a census. The primary objective of this journey was to establish further the claims of the Bishopric of Durango as to the jurisdiction over the province.

 

Bishop Tamaron’s travels began at El Paso del Norte, an area he described as a prosperous valley. He stated: "They grow wheat, maize and other grains of the region as well as fruit trees, apples, pears, peaches, and figs." He concluded that 2,479 whites and 249 Indians lived in the city and along the river north to Isleta.

 

After inspecting the Albuquerque area, Bishop Tamaron went on to Santa Fé  where Governor Francisco Antonio Marin del Valle, welcomed him in great style. The bishop reported that "the governor came forth with a numerous and brilliant retinue. He dismounted from his horse and joined me in the coach." Tamaron stayed at Santa Fé  for some time. He noted that "the buildings of the villa both churches and houses are all adobe. There is no fortress there nor any formal presidio building." He was not impressed by the defense of the city as he concluded that "Santa Fé  is a very open place...."

 

After visiting Santa Fé, Bishop Tamaron inspected the northern pueblos in La Canada. At Nambe he found 204 persons, 118 of whom were Europeans.  The bishop complained that Nambe was less than comfortable and there was a "plague or swarm of bedbugs encountered here..."  His final local visit was to Pojoaque where he found ninety-nine persons. He said they, too, were regularly visited by a priest from Santa Fé .

 

Bishop Tamaron then proceeded to the parish of Santa Cruz de la Cañada, the second largest Spanish city in Nuevo México, located about thirty miles north of Santa Fé . There he found 1,515 Spaniards and “mixed bloods”. The bishop offered no other description of the area.  Leaving Santa Cruz he visited the parish of San Juan de los Caballeros. Bishop Tamaron recorded that the pueblo of San Juan de los Caballeros “consisted of 50 Indian families consisting of 316 persons, and 75 Spanish families consisting of 575 citizens.”  The nearby community of Nuestra Senora dela Soledad, six mile to the north of San Juan de los Caballeros had 36 Spanish families consisting of 333 settlers. When the bishop moved on to Taos, he made no mention of a Spanish population there which was the most northerly town in Nuevo México.

 

After his visitation of 1760, Bishop Tamaron concluded that the priests of Nuevo México  "are comfortably off, each one in his pueblo and the king contributes 300 pesos a year for their support." He was critical of the progress made by the priests towards “the natives”, stating that "they do recite the catechism in Spanish...[but] they do not understand what they are saying." He recommended that the friars make sure that the Indians learned Spanish and more European ways. “If this were not accomplished, the bishop saw little hope for the continued usefulness of the missions.”

 

The results of the bishop's visit showed that Nuevo México  had grown and that the missions were in good condition. Despite a few disparaging remarks about the Indians and their ability to learn, the bishop seemed generally satisfied with the Church in Nuevo México.

The Taos Valley Massacre

After the Bishop had left, in August 1760, the Comanche violently attacked the area of the Pueblo of Taos. Known as the Taos Massacre of 1760, about 3000 Comanches attacked Pablo Francisco de Villalpando and Marciel de Torres haciendas in the Taos Valley where about 64 people were killed and 54 captured primarily from the extended families of Torres and Villalpando. The Torres and Villapando families had intermarried with the Martin Serrano families of Soledad.

 

The Indian attack was most likely spurred by Spanish fierce campaigns with their allies against the Comanche nation. “Governor  Francisco Marín del Valle was an adherent of the eye-for-an-eye school, or better, many heathen eyes for one Spanish eye. During his administration and those of his two short-term successors, violence begot violence.”

 

Taos was a trading post between the plains Indians and the Pueblo Indians as well as their Spanish allies.  In the summer of 1760, when the Comanche came to trade, two dozen Comanche scalps were hung in Taos with dancing being performed  “before their very eyes. In revenge the Comanches “rallied a huge war party and descended on the Taos Valley in August 1760”

The Torres and Villapando Haciendas

More than a dozen families were living in the Pablo Villalpando estancia in Taos and the same or more at the Marciel de Torres hacienda. Their houses had large towers for safety lookouts, chapels located within the courtyard, and more than likely had bells to notify outlying workers if hostile Indians had been seen. “Based on what we know about haciendas, small fortresses, enclosing the inhabitants for safety, the battle must have been fierce” when the Comanches descended on the two estancias.

 

Marcial Torres had married Rosa Luján Martín Serrano  the daughter of Sebastian Martin Serrano in 1730 at San Juan de los Caballeros and had eight children. His first wife had died about 1747 and Marcial remarried María de la Luz Martín Serrano and had five more children. She was the daughter of Antonio Francisco Martin Serrano and Catalina de Villalpando.

 

The family was very resourceful and had defensive towers built at the corners of their hacienda for protection. The older children had all married and were residing at the hacienda  which “had grown quite large along with the neighbors who were not too far away.” 

 

Pablo Villalpando married Francisca Luján Martin Serrano and had a great estancia in the Taos Valley also, built like a fortress to protect his family against Indian attacks. Most of his extended family lived there with him and while he survived as he must have been away, almost all the men and any women who had helped defend the property were killed.

 

In August 1760, thousands of Comanche warriors descended into the Taos Valley and attacked the fort like haciendas. Marcial de Torres was killed and his second wife María de la Luz Martín Serrano was taken captive. His sons Jose Joaquin and Pablo de Torres were killed and their wives Pascuala Martín Serrano daughter of Antonio Martín Serrano and Catalina Villalpando and Francisca Salazar daughter of Jose Antonio Salazar were captured.

 

After the massacre, Marcial Torres father-in-law Antonio Martín Serrano outlined who was killed and captured.  The number is nowhere near the reported 64 dead and 54 captured although he is mainly outlining the Torres Family. Others were probably taken as hostages, however, no legal papers or other items were found to help identify all the killed or captured.

Reprisal

Although Governor Marín's retaliation failed, he was replaced with Governor Manuel Portillo Urrisola. The Comanche still surrounded the Taos valley and Governor Urrizola mustered eighty men, probably including Felipe Romero and his brother Salvador Romero, to go to Taos to punish the Comanche for the massacre and dislodged them from the area.  In December of 1761 the Spanish joined the Ute and attacked the Comanche encampment where reportedly 400 Comanche were slaughtered and 300 more captured.  During the battle with the Comanche, some “nearby Utes saw an opportunity to profit from the engagement.”  They slipped into Taos while the Spanish slaughtered scores of Comanches and in the process, the Utes drove off some 1,000 horses belonging to both parties.

 

By "this glorious victory," Governor Manuel Portillo Urrisola had hoped to “inspire such dread in all heathens” that Nuevo México would be left in peace. There is considerable skepticism from historians regarding  the number of Comanches that were allegedly killed, however. “The numbers were doubtlessly inflated. The Nuevo Mexicanos  probably could not have mauled the Comanche so severely without great loss to themselves.”

 

Governor Manuel de Portillo y Urrizola was replaced in 1762 by Tomás Vélez Cachupín. The new governor made a peace agreement in 1762 with the Comanche which was mostly favorable to the Comanche granting them status as allies rather than enemies of the Spanish in New Mexico. 

Governor Tomás Vélez Cachupín 1762-1767

In 1762 Tomás Vélez Cachupín, an “old hand at Nuevo Mexicano  affairs” returned to Santa Fé  and took office. His appointment in 1761 was a surprise to many Nuevo Mexicanos . When Tomás Vélez Cachupín took office as permanent governor in February 1762, he was faced with a continuing Comanche threat northeast of Taos.

 

When he began his second term as governor, Vélez Cachupín found many Comanches prisoners captured at Taos in Santa Fe,  so he decided to release six Comanche women to establish a new beginning of peace with the Comanches. Because of this, a group of fifteen Comanches warriors and women went to Taos to "negotiate" with him. Because of this meeting Governor Cachupín banned trade in Comanche slaves by the Spanish, in order to maintain peace with this people. However, Cachupín allowed the Spaniards who resided near Santa Fé , and who had Comanche slaves, to keep them, “as the governor might have problems with the Comanches in the future and might need to exchange prisoners with this people.”

 

Consequently, he was in contact with the Nueva España’s Viceroy Marques de Cruillas. The two officials planned the best method of ridding Nuevo México  of Comanches. The new troubles with the Indians caused concern at Mexico City, and in 1763 the viceroy wrote to Velez requesting information about the threats. 

 

In addition to the Comanche situation, Velez dealt with normal functions of government. He was ordered by the viceroy to take no action against certain residents of Santa Cruz who had left the province without permission. For the first time since the 1600s, residents were able to leave without express consent. It indicates that the province was secure enough to allow more movement into Nueva España. Increases in population, rapid expansion of trade to the south, and a relaxation of Indian pressure allowed the Nuevo Mexicanos  a chance to move freely about the region.

 

The second term of Vélez Cachupín was less exciting and somewhat more normal than his first administration. There were no further clashes with the Church, there were no Indian campaigns, and there were no invasive Frenchmen.  Governor Vélez Cachupín found that by 1762 criminal and legal matters he dealt with in the 1750s had moderated. Prior to his return, cattle and sheep rustling was on the rise. During his second term the number of such cases dropped greatly.

 

Marital difficulties seemed to be quite common in Nuevo México . If they could not be settled by a priest, they ended up in court. Incest was also a problem. In the case against Manuel Martin, numerous witnesses, and Martin's young daughter told of rape and child abuse. He was found guilty. Martin appealed to Velez and received a pardon. He was released because the charge was so hard to substantiate that the verdict should have been "not proven".

 

Another case in 1765 brought Eusebio Chaves to the bar for having assaulting Andres Martin. Chaves was found guilty, fined ten pesos, and sentenced to fifteen days in jail. He appealed to the governor, only to be denied.

 

Cattle theft was still a problem in 1766 as seen in the case against Mauricio Trujillo, who was accused of stealing livestock from Toribio Ortiz. After nearly six months of testimony, Trujillo was found guilty and sentenced to three years in exile.

 

Felipe Romero in 26 January 1766 was the sponsor  of a child of Bartholo Garduno in Santa Cruz  they only record of him sponsoring any child in the 1760’s.

 

For the first time in many years residents saw better days ahead. In Governor Vélez Cachupín 2nd Term, Indians were treated quite well and literally became part of a Nuevo Mexicano  family. They were taught to speak Spanish, possibly to read a little, and in some cases to write.

 

Governor Vélez Cachupín finished his Nuevo Mexicano  career by concluding an investigation begun in 1760 at the settlement of Abiquiu, where it was alleged that witchcraft was rampant. After six years of testimony, seven or eight Indians were found guilty and were sentenced to become servants of Spanish families where they would be "rehabilitated."

The Seven Years' War 1756–1763

The Seven Years' War was a global conflict involving most of the European great powers, fought primarily in Europe and the Americas. One of the opposing alliances was led by Great Britain and Prussia. The other alliance was led by France and Austria, backed by Spain which only joined the conflict in 1762.

 

For most of the Seven Years' War, Spain remained neutral, turning down offers from the French to join the war on their side. During the war's latter stages, however, with mounting French losses to the British, leaving the Spanish Empire vulnerable, Spanish King Charles III signed an agreement with France. Britain then declared war on Spain and in August 1762, the British expedition captured Cuba, then a month later, captured the Philippines.

 

The Seven Years War between Great Britain and France concluded with the Peace of Paris in 1763. France was the big loser, but Spain came out quite well. Spain gained considerable North American territory for her efforts on behalf of France. By the Treaty of Paris, Spain ceded Florida to Britain and the British handed back Havana and Manila to Spain. As compensation for their ally's losses, by the Treaty of Fontainebleau the French ceded to Spain, New Orleans with Louisiana being placed under administration at Havana. The threat of France in the Mississippi Valley was removed and Nuevo México  and Texas were for the first time in nearly 100 years free from threat of a major foreign power.

The Marques de Rubi Report

 Since there was no longer the threat of a foreign power in Nuevo México  and Texas, Spanish authorities felt “a less centralized government could be established. Instead of a province governor reporting directly to the viceroy of Nueva España, a Commandant-General at Chihuahua City would become the middleman between the provinces and the central government.

 

 To implement these plans, King Charles III made two major appointments. The first was that of Jose de Galvez, who was given the title of visitador general. It was his job to report to the crown conditions he found in Nueva España and to make recommendations for corrective measures. The second appointment went to Cayetano Maria Pignatelli Rubi Corbera y San Climent, the Marques de Rubi. His mission was to conduct a careful inspection of the frontier's military organization and to assess the state of defense along outlying areas of Nueva España.

 

In May of 1766 Rubi left Mexico City and  began his tour that included auditing the internal administration of each presidio, considering the relations of officers with their men, and looking into the character of the soldiers and their general fitness. The Marques was accompanied by Nicolas de Lafora, a captain in the Royal Engineers, who wrote an excellent description of the visit beginning in Mexico City and subsequently ending there.

 

He inspected the presidios of northern Nueva España before making his way to El Paso del Norte in July of that year. At El Paso he found a well-defended town of about 5,000 people with five mission towns nearby. His only suggestion was that a local militia be established, making it possible to release royal troops. Rubi rightly considered El Paso the key to the defense of the lower Rio Grande valley.

 

The Rubi party left El Paso only to be attacked between Fray Cristobal and Albuquerque by Apaches who tried to steal horses and sheep. However, the expedition proceeded and reached Santa Fé  in August, 1766 and was greeted by Governor Tomás Velez Cachupín.

 

 “The Marques found a town of 2,324 and a garrison of eighty men. Rubi was unimpressed with Santa Fé  noting that it could not possibly be defended for there was no fortress or walls. However He felt that a garrison of eighty men would be adequate to hold northern Nuevo México  while satisfactorily covering the pueblos.

 

When Rubi visited, a shaky truce was in effect with the Comanche. “It is surprising that Rubi did not consider the Nuevo Mexicano  situation worse than it was. Comanches, Utes, and Apaches surrounding Nuevo México and had  caused considerable trouble for Spain. Governor Tomás Velez Cachupín must have presented a picture of tranquility to the Marques, since Rubi made no mention of Indian difficulties north of Santa Fé .”

 

In 1768 Rubi returned to Mexico City and submitted his proposal that a line of presidios from the mouth of the Rio Concepcion in Sonora to the mouth of the Rio Guadalupe in Texas. Each presidio should have a garrison of fifty men properly equipped for frontier patrols and battles. The Marques de Rubi's report, one of the most sensible ever written about Nuevo México , brought many of its woes to the attention of the crown. It is a credit to King Charles III, his ministers, and various viceroys, that Rubi's perceptive ideas were implemented.  The proposal submitted to the King in 1772 was finally favorably acted upon.

 

While the Rubi inspection was in progress, Tomás Vélez Cachupín retired, one of the few governors of Nuevo México  to serve two full five year terms. The fact that he ruled so long indicates that the Spanish government considered him one of their better bureaucrats. The fact is that Vélez Cachupín maintained a careful balance between hostile tribes by trading with them and sometimes forcing them back by military expeditions.

Governor Pedro Fermín de Mendinueta 1767 – 1777

Felipe Romero was 53 years old when Pedro Fermín de Mendinueta became governor and captain-general of Santa Fé  de Nuevo México province in 1767. Within a few months after taking office, Governor Mendinueta faced his first crisis. A flood along the Rio Santa Fé  inundated Santa Fé  and its suburbs in October, 1767. Mendinueta called out the residents of Santa Fé  to build embankments to save public buildings. As governor he saved the public buildings of Santa Fé from the rising Santa Fé  River. Because of his efforts the “Palace of the Governors still stands”. 

 

Mendinueta’s government paid great attention to the regulation and punishment of crimes in Nuevo México, which were especially abundant in Albuquerque and Santa Fé . In November 1767, Mendinueta established a law to regulate the hardest crimes of gambling, concubinage, theft, and prostitution. In the rural society of Nuevo México, most of civil cases were related to land and livestock.

 

Cattle rustling was still a problem, as a case against three men demonstrated. Pablo Francisco de Villalpando, Jose Trujillo, and Jose Yendo were charged with cattle theft at Santa Cruz and were brought to trial jointly. All were found guilty. They were sentenced to an indefinite jail term. Francisco de Villapando was a survivor of the 1760 Taos Massacre.

 

By comparison, the civil and criminal problems that faced Mendinueta were tiny when compared to the problem of Indians. Indian troubles continued as the Comanche broke the peace treaties in place by the former governor  therefore Governor de Mendinueta had to fight them. The Comanches frequently attacked the population of northern Nuevo México. The governor tried to make a peace treaty with them, but it failed when the Comanches disobeyed the treaty.

 

One of the first weaknesses the governor noted was that the Spanish population was spread out along the Rio Grande valley where it was vulnerable to attack as  that a number of small villages and private ranches were built well away from the protection of a major town.. He proposed that all Spanish residents be concentrated in population centers where they could repel invaders. The governor suggested that Spanish settlements should be designed much like the Pueblo Indian villages which were far more defensible than individual ranchos.

 

Governor de Mendinueta established several new measures to defend the population of Nuevo México  from the Comanche attacks. He ordered  all Spanish people of Taos to resettle in the most populated places of the province rather that in individual farms so that they could repel the attacks of the Comanches. This proposal was opposed by the traditional views that the Spanish  had about their settlements. In addition, the governor said the Pueblo Indians should leave their villages and settle in the cities inhabited by Spaniards, "for defensive purposes", where the Spaniards could also teach them the Spanish customs.

 

Governor Mendinueta also conscripted the people of Spanish origin and the Christianized Indians to the Nuevo Mexicano  troops through a law that required the Spanish should exercise military service for eighteen days, regardless of where they lived. Each Spaniard of Nuevo México  was required to join the army, taking a horse and carrying any weapon they had (either a spear, pike, or any other). As that Felipe Romero’s older sons were all in their twenties and Juan Miguel was 16 years old, his sons would have been affected by this order. Refusing military service in a campaign was considered insubordination which a man could be fined 100 pesos and jailed for an indefinite term.

Final Days of Felipe Romero

It is not certain when Felipe Romero and Casilda Mestas relocated to La Joya from Santa Cruz. In February 1770 Felipe Romero sponsored a child of Salvador Medina and Manuela Martin at Santa Cruz. On 4 March 1770, he was  listed as “Lt. Don Félipe Romero” when he and Casilda Mestas” sponsored Juana Geronima Romero the  daughter of his brother Salvador Romero and Paula Mascarenas at Santa Cruz.

 

Even with this new policy of conscription, Governor Mendinueta could not stage a major military campaign against the Comanches and they continued to attack almost every day in the northern province. Therefore, he ended up coming to terms with the Comanches to stop their attacks, as the Spanish troops were always defeated by the Comanches. He signed a treaty with them in February 1771 in Taos. The treaty forbade Spaniards from moving or traveling into Comanche territory if they wouldn’t  attack the Rio Grande Valley again.

 

The treaty was followed by good trade relations for a while between the two groups. The peace allowed the Comanches to visit the Taos fair, where their presence had been prohibited since 1761. However, the Comanches didn't stop attacking Nuevo México, so the treaty was broken shortly after its approval. The Comanches continuously attacked the Spanish settlements  throughout the 1770s.

The threat of Comanches was constant in Nuevo México, despite all efforts to crush them.  While a line of presidios was established from the Gulf of California into Texas in 1772 to provide a more  thorough defense system the new presidios did not affect Nuevo México  significantly, because the province already had several presidios.

 

Despite the governor's determined efforts at crushing the Comanches, he was unsuccessful. He never had enough soldiers, guns, or horses at any one time to mount a major campaign.

 

The governor’s term expired in 1776, a year that marked the greatest change in Nuevo Mexicano  governmental and military history, for Nuevo México was incorporated into the Provincias Internas and Governor Pedro Fermín de Mendinueta lost his position as colonial governor and was officially recognized only as a military officer. He was replaced briefly with Francisco Trevre then permanently by Juan Bautista de Anza in 1778.

The End of Nuevo México's "Independence" as  a “Kingdom Province”

Felipe  Romero was 62 years old when the Spanish Crown reorganized all of the parts of the viceroyalty of Nueva España, leading to a broad new policy for controlling the indigenous people in this province. A new administration subdivision named “Provincias Internas” was established, to provide more autonomy for the frontier provinces Nuevo México and Alta California. Thus, Nuevo México  began to be "more and more integrated into Nueva España" instead of a separate “kingdom”.

 

In 1772, Spain finally admitted that Nuevo México  was a province that needed to be fully supported. Thus, the last years prior to the reorganization of 1776 were more important to Nuevo México's future than any period since Vargas' reconquest of 1695.

 

Nuevo México was absorbed in 1772 into the western provinces of the newly created Provincias Internas and to some extent lost its identity. However, what was important was that trade now could be conducted within the provinces  of Texas, Arizona, California, Nueva Vizcaya, Nueva Leon and most of northern Nueva España. Prior to the reorganization, Nuevo Mexicano  trade was limited to Chihuahua City, Parral, and sometimes Durango. Another impact of the change was that the central provincial government of Nuevo México  was removed from Santa Fé to Chihuahua where a governor ruled the province.

Governor Juan Bautista de Anza Bezerra Nieto 1777-1787

Felipe Romero most likely passed away during the administration of Juan Bautista de Anza.  Anza served as an expeditionary leader, military officer, and politician primarily in California and Nuevo México under the Spanish Empire. He is credited as one of the founding fathers of Spanish California and served as Governor of the Province of New Mexico.

 

After Anza’s return from a successful expedition in 1777 to Alta California, he was appointed on 24 August 1777 by the Viceroy of Nueva España as the Governor of the Province of Nuevo México. Governor Anza led a punitive expedition against the Comanche, who had been repeatedly raiding Taos in 1779. With his Ute and Apache allies, and around 573 Spanish men, Governor Anza surprised a small force of the Comanche near present-day Colorado Springs and won a decisive victory. During a monumental battle, Chief of the Comanches was killed and de Anza delivered a resounding defeat to the natives. The Comanche, having suffered heavily at the hands of the Spanish in 1783 , sued for peace in 1784. The last of the Comanche chiefs eventually acceded and a formal treaty was concluded on 28 February 1786 at Pecos Pueblo. This paved the way for traders and the development of the Comanchero trade. It is doubtful that Felipe Romero participated in the campaign but his older sons may have.

 

Certainly Felipe Romero died before Governor Juan Bautista de Anza left office in 1787 when he returned to Sonora where he died in 1788, 52 years old.

 

Felipe Romero died after December 1779 and before 1783 most likely at La Joya. On 12 December 1779 both Félipe Romero and Casilda Mestas acted as the sponsors for the son of Gregorio Martin Serrano and his wife Maria Victoria Tenorio “of Joya”.  The child was named Félipe de Jesus Rafael Martin and may have been named for Félipe Romero.  This baptismal record is evidence that Félipe Romero and his wife were residents of  Joya by 1779.  This baptismal record is the last document located, in which Félipe Romero is mentioned when he was 65 years old. He probably died between 1779 and 1783 when his wife was mentioned as a sponsor of a Comanche woman along with Jose Miguel Romero.

 

Félipe Romero died before his wife who is found as a widow in the 1790 Census of San Juan de los Caballeros.  She is listed some distance from Jose Miguel Romero as household number 304. Jose Miguel Romero is household number 50 living near his Garcia in-laws.

 

The 1790 Census of San Juan de los Caballeros shows the following:  Casilda Mestas Spanish age 68 (1722) a widow, Son aged 18 (1772) and 1 female servant. If the census is correct Casilda was bearing children until she was 50 years old. Spanish women married young on the frontier and her husband Félipe Romero was at least 8 years older than her. Casilda Mestas may have married again after the 1790 Census for records show that a Rafael Antonio Luna was married to a Casilda Mestas in 1791.            

Félipe Romero and Casilda Mestas Known Children.

As  an accurate account of the children of Felipe and Casilda Mestas is unknown except in a few rare occasions it can only be surmised to how many children they actually had. They were married for around 38 to 42 years and had between 13 and 15 children from 1742 until perhaps 1774.  In any case Casilda spent much of her married life pregnant.

 

1. Antonio José Romero  was born circa 1742 at Santa Cruz de la Cañada and died circa 1799 at La Joya  Nuevo Mexico.  He was the Alcalde Mayor of La Joya at one point. He married first Maria Francisca Ribera  in 1770 perhaps daughter of Salvador de Ribera and Tomasa de Aguilar. After his first wife died he married secondly in 1779 Maria Baca, at the “Presidio of Santa Fé.  Between16 February and-12 March 1779, there was an investigation of consanguinity between the couple which proves he was the son of Felipe Romero and probably his first born.     

“Antonio Jose Romero, about 36, [1743]  widower and soldier of the presidio of Santa Fé , was the legitimate son of Felipe Romero and Casilda Mestas, citizens and natives of Santa Fé . Maria Baca, 30, widow, was the legitimate daughter of the late Nicolas Baca and Teodora Fernandez [de la Pedrera], Espanols, citizens and natives of Santa Fé . The couple was related in the third and fourth degree of consanguinity on a transverse line.

Maria Baca was the second wife of Domingo de Luna. “Antonio Jose Romero  stated that Maria was poor, pregnant, at an age that would deny her other opportunities to marry, away from her relatives, and without means to support herself.”

 Fray Juan Bermejo, chaplain of the presidio, received the petition in Santa Fé  before the notary, Bartolome Fernandez. Witnesses: Juan Antonio Fernandez, 30, citizen and native of Santa Fé , knew the couple was related by consanguinity in the third and fourth degree on a transverse line. Francisco Javier Fragoso, 50, citizen and native of Santa Fé . Santiago Fernandez, 30, citizen and native of Santa Fé . Fernando Griego, 40, citizen and native of Santa Fé .

On 16 February 1779 Fray Bermejo forwarded the petition to EI Paso. There on 10 March, Father Rivera passed it on to Father Dominguez, who approved the dispensation. Father Rivera granted it on condition that the couple perform an act of public penance. On the day of their wedding, they were to attend mass with black candles in their hands. After mass they were to stand on the top step of the high altar and in a loud voice pray an estacion mayor to the Blessed Sacrament, asking God for the welfare of the church and its supreme head, for the relief of the blessed souls in purgatory, the success of the Spanish monarchy, and the present public needs and temporal goods. Assuming they accepted the penance, the vicar ordered fray Juan Bermejo to go ahead with the marriage.

 

2. Juan José Manuel Romero was born circa 1745 who married Maria Lugarda Antonia Hurtado daughter of José Hurtado and Juana Sánchez. He may have also married Maria dela Sandoval. He died after 1816 at Embudo, New Mexico

 

3. Maria Rita Romero was Christened 12 November 1747 at Santa Cruz. Her sponsor was Josefa Medina. She married Antonio Alonso Sandoval 21 February 1762 at Santa Cruz He was the son of Tomas Sandoval and Rosalia Fernández, Agea

 

4. Juan Miguel Romero was Christened  19 July 1751 and died 8 June 1818 at La Joya. He married María Manuela García de Noriega

 

5. Juan Domingo Romero was born about 1753 and died 2 September 1828 (74-75) at La Joya, Rio Arriba. He was married to Maria Martin y Lujan. Baptismal records of San Juan delos Caballeros  show that he was married to a Maria Martin y Lujuan of Joya by 1782 with whom he had six children. She must have died between 1792 and 1796 when he is listed as married to Maria Manuela Garcia with whom he had eight more children including all the ones listed in the 1816 census.  The 1816 census of La Joya listed “Domingo Romero age 60 (1756) and Manuela Garcia age 48 (1768). Maria Manuel Garcia dela Mora,  born 1764, was the daughter of Jose Manuel Garcia de la Mora.  

 

6. Juana Gertrudis Romero  

 

7. Francisco Romero was born  circa 1756  at Santa Cruz de la Cañada, and married Gregoria Pascuala Lucero Trujillo

 

8. Maria Ygnacia Petrona Romero christened 3 July 1759 at Santa Cruz de la Cañada and died  25 July 1776 at the age of 17  she married Ildefonso Ribera.

 

9. Maria Antonia Romero was born 1760 and married Manuel Sandoval. Their daughter Nicolasa Sandoval born in 1766 had a prenuptial investigation in 1801 when she married Manuel Sanchez as her second husband. “Manuel Sanchez, 24, single, citizen of the Taos jurisdiction for about seven years, was  the legitimate son of Juan Ignacio Sanchez and Pascuala Vigil. Nicolasa Sandoval, 35, Española, citizen of Embudo in the San Juan de los Caballeros jurisdiction, was the widow of her first husband, Antonio Torres. The couple was related in the fourth degree of consanguinity on a transverse line and had had carnal relations. The prenuptial proceedings were conducted at Taos by Father Vera.

Witnesses: Antonio Jose Lobato, 65, citizen of the Taos jurisdiction, had known Sanchez for  about seven years and Antonio Torres, the late husband of Nicolasa Sandoval, for about fourteen years. He signed his statement.  Juan Bautista Martinez, 55, citizen of the Taos jurisdiction. He signed his statement.

On 10 March 1801, Father Vera forwarded the information to Father Gonzalez in San Juan de los Caballeros. On 14 March 1801, Nicolasa Sandoval stated that she had lived about twenty-two years in Embudo. She was unaware she was related to Sanchez In the fourth degree of consanguinity until her uncles told her after she and Sanchez had engaged in carnal relations. Their acts were not a means of obtaining a dispensation. From the day she learned of the relationship, she had not communicated with her intended and had let it be known that he was not to return to her home until they received a dispensation. The occasions on which he had been in her house were very few. One of her sons had married a sister of her intended but at the time of that marriage they were not aware that the couple  was related in the fourth degree. Had they known, they would not have committed so grave a sin.

Witnesses: Manuel Garcia de la Mora, 56, alcalde mayor of the Taos jurisdiction, signed his statement. He stated that neither of Nicolasa's two brothers supported her; rather they had destroyed the few goods her first husband left for her children. Pedro Alonso Maese, 66, Justicia  of Embudo.

Father Gonzalez forwarded the proceedings to Bishop Olivares y Benito in Durango. On 28 April 1801 ,Vicar General Fernandez Valentin granted a dispensation on the basis of honestiIfamiliiI.

The bishop approved it and ordered Father Gonzalez to publish the banns three times. Assuming no new impediment arose, he was to marry the couple, granting the nuptial blessing. That declaration was  dispatched on 6 May 1801.

 In Santa Cruz on 26 June 1774, Father Raja baptized three-day-old Juan Manuel, the legitimate son of Juan Ignacio Sanchez and Pascuala Vigil. His godparents were Paulin Martin and his wife, Juliana Gonzalez.  In San Juan de los Caballeros on 23 April 1800, Father Gonzalez buried Antonio Torres, husband of Nicolasa Sandoval, both citizens of the plaza of San Antonio at the puesto of Embudo.

 

9. Maria Dolores Romero born circa 1762 and married Santiago Salazar .

 

10. Maria de la Luz Romero Born circa 1764 San Juan de los Caballeros,  Nuevo México and married Lorenzo Jaramillo,

 

11. Jose Rafael Romero; Born circa 1766  San Juan de los Caballeros,  and married Juana Maria Ortiz,

 

12. Juan de los Reyes Romero circa 1770 La Joya, Rio Arriba, Nuevo México married Maria dela Soledad Romero.

 

13. Maria Josefa Romero was born circa 1774 and married Jose Miguel Lucero son of Santiago Lucerno and Barbara Padilla. Santiago Lucero and Barbara Padilla  acted as the Godparents to Don Miguel Romero and Dona Maria Manuela Garcia de Noriega’s daughter Maria dela Luz Romero in 1799.

 

Mestas and Cortes Families

Juan de Mestas Peralta was born circa 1635, in Asturias, Spain. He had children by Antonia Gonzales de Vitoria de Carvajal before 1659, in Santa Fé Nuevo México, Viceroyalty of Nueva España. It is unclear whether they were married as when he left Nuevo México he left his family of two sons behind, possibly more. She was the daughter of Alferez Domingo Gonzales Lobon and Magdalena de Carvajal and granddaughter of  Juan de Victoria Carvajal and Isabel Holguin. He died before 1688, probably in Mexico City in Viceroyalty of Nueva España.

 

Juan de Mestas had come to Nuevo México  in the mid-summer of 1656 in the company of Governor don Juan de Manso, who lived briefly in Nuevo México, between the years 1655 and 1661. He probably belonged to Governor Manso’s personal retinue. Some brothers of his were with him, and these also returned with him to Mexico City, where he was living in 1661. “From his association with the infamous Nicolas de Aguilar we can presume that he spent much of his time in the Salinas district, from whence, legitimately or otherwise, came two Mestas individuals.”

 

Testimony given in 1662 by Capitán Miguel de Hinojos, an encomendero and resident of Santa Fé, mentioned of "Juan de Mestas, mercador" ("Juan de Mestas, merchant"). Furthermore, in July 1662, Juan de Mestas was described as "camarada y paisano del Don Juan Manso" ("pal and countryman of the said don Juan Manso"). This information indicates a very close friendship existed between Governor Manso and Mestas. Being a good friend of Governor Manso, Mestas may have traveled with him from Spain to the New World. Governor don Juan de Manso was governor of Nuevo México from 1656 to 1659 and was a younger brother of fray Tomás Manso, Franciscan Procurator-general in Nuevo México. It is probable that Juan de Mestas, who was also Asturian, knew the Manso brothers and may even have been a native of Luarca himself or from some nearby village or town.

 

Juan Mestas stored his commercial goods in a room at the Governor's Palace. In early 1659, two Indians by the name of Juan Zuni and Cristobal el Meco found the door slightly open and stole goods that the eventually distributed to others in the Villa de Santa Fé . Mestas suspected Zuni but when confronted, Zuni denied the theft. Some of the goods came into the possession of the wife of Bartolome Romero, the uncle of Captain Diego Romero who purchased them from an Apache woman named Maria. Maria was a servant of Capitan Hernan Martin Serano and the wife of Nicolas Duran, el mozo. An investigation followed and Zuni and el Meco were arrested. Most of the goods were returned to Mestas.

 

During the investigation of Governor Manso in 1659, the new Governor Lopez de Mendizábal placed Manso under house arrest. Concerned for his life, Manso wrote several letters to the viceroy of Nueva España and entrusted copies to three men, Juan de Mestas, Padre fray Nicolas Cháves and Diego Gonzalez Lobon. These three men traveled together to Ciudad de Mexico where Mestas was mentioned in July of 1662 as having provided information to the Real Audiencia of Nueva España regarding the case of his “compañero”, Governor don Juan de Manso. Juan Mestas was still in la Ciudad de Mexico as of May 1663.

 

Juan de Mestas Peralta had two sons by Antonia Gonzales de Vittoria, Juan de Mestas Peralta el mozo and Tomás Peralta de Mestas who remained in Nuevo México and were young men during the Pueblo Indian Revolt of 1680.

Juan de Mestas Peralta el Mozo

 Juan de Mestas Peralta was born circa 1656 in Santa Fé and died in 1729.  With his brother Tomás de Mestas, Juan escaped the 1680 massacre with only a horse and sword between them. They eventually met up with their mother and some other “brothers and nephews who had escaped to El Paso”.  They were included in a family of seven persons— their mother Antonia Gonzales de Vittoria, brothers, and nephews. Both Juan and Tomas passed muster together in the following year.

 

Juan Mestas married 13 year old Casilda Lopez de la Cueva 22 November 1688 in Durango, Nueva España. In Herencia, The Quarterly Journal of the Hispanic Genealogical Research Center of New Mexico, Volume 21 Issue 3 - July 2013 , is information regarding the wedding on 22 November 1688, , Mexico, of Juan de Mesta and Peralta and Casilda Lopez, listing his parents as Juan de Mesta y Peralta, deceased, and Antonia Gonzales de Vittoria, Spaniards, and hers as Jose Lopez, deceased, and Mencia de la Cueva. Also is the marriage of Casilda Lopez's parents, Jose Lopez, mestizo and Mencia de la Cueva in Durango, Mexico on 29 September 1674.

 

Juan de Mestas and Casilda Lopez had a son Julio Vicente Mesta y Peralta christened 18 January 1690 at La Inmaculada Concepción, in Durango. He must have died as in infant as he is not in the lists of people returning to New Mexico.

 

Juan Mestas Peralta and Casilda Lopez de Cueva returned to  Santa Fé  Nuevo México as part of the Reconquest in 1693. However, the journey was too arduous for his bride and she died shortly after arriving in Santa Fé where she was buried. Before she passed away Casilda Lopez  had a son Mateo Mestas.

 

When Juan applied to marry Maria Trujillo in November, 1695, he stated that he had been born in Santa Fé, but did not know who his parents were even though he clearly named them in 1688. As is often the case when a couple did not want a marriage investigation they often said they did not know who their parents were.  He and Maria Trujillo may have been too closely related and did not risk an investigation. Maria Trujillo bore Juan Mestas a large family of five daughters and  six sons.

 

Juan Mestas after he remarried in Santa Fe, he settled to the north on the Chama River and was granted lands in the Jacona area 3 miles west of Pojoaque which he sold some of the land to Ignacio Roybal in 1705.  After applying for a land grant in the Pojoaque Valley, Juan de Mestas took possession with Roque Madrid officiating the ceremony.

 

On the tenth of the month of December, of the year 1699, I, Lieutenant General, Roque Madrid, Chief Alcalde and War Captain, of this Jurisdiction for his Excellency Pedro Rodrigues Cubero, Governor and Captain General did execute the Royal possession to Juan de Mestas, resident of this place, from the side of a hollow and above a house lot and from said side of hill and lot, the line runs from east to west to the river, below the Pueblo of Pojoaque towards the Pueblo of Jacona to a bluff, within which there is given him the three fanegas of planting land, and from north to south along said River to the hills descending from Cuyamungue without including any of said land of the said Pueblo, but including the appurtenances of the Pueblo of Jacona and from north to south along the said Pojoaque River, where the junction of the rivers is from a stake which is driven in said hollow. What it may so appear, I signed this with one of my attending witnesses who knew how to sign, and who by request-signed for the other and with Salvador de Anaya Almazan instrumental witness et supra, Roque Madrid, Salvador de Anaya Almazan, Jose Manuel Giltomey, at the request of Jose Madrid, Jose Manuel Giltomey.

 

Juan was established in Pojoaque by 1710 , giving his age as fifty-eight born in 1656. In 1715, he and his 21 year old son, Mateo, received permission to visit New Vizcaya, very likely to see relatives who had remained at Guadalupe del Paso or to do some trading.  

 

Later, beginning by 1724 Juan de Mestas and his sons received a large grant on the east side of the Chama above its confluence with the Rio del Ojo Caliente. Numerous grants were made to individuals up both sides of the Chama all the way up to near what is now Abiquiu. He died circa 1729 most likely at  Pojoaque

Matias Mestas and Rafaela Cortes

            Mateo de Mestas was born circa 1694 in Santa Fe, and his mother Casilda Lopez died when he was an infant. He married at the age of 25, Rafaela Cortez in 1720 at Santa Cruz. They were the parents of at least 4 sons and 4 daughters. He died on 14 October 1764, in Santa Cruz de la Cañada, Nuevo México, Viceroyalty of Nueva España, at the age of 70, and was buried in Santa Cruz de la Cañada.  

 

Rafaela Cortes was the daughter of Jose Cortes del Castillo and Maria de Carvajal, residents of Mexico City. Rafaela was born about 1689 at San Miguel el Grande, Nueva España. She died in Santa Cruz de la Canada, Nuevo México, Nueva España and buried 11 June 1763.

 

Mateo de Mestas and Rafaels were the parents of four daughters, Casilda Mestas, Francisca Tadea Mestas, Juana Guadalupe Mestas, and Maria Juana Mesta. They had four sons Antonio Ygnacio Mestas, Cristobal Maestas Cortez, Bartolome Mestas, and Mateo Mestas.

 

Rafaela Cortes died 11 June 1763 in Santa Cruz de la Canada, Nuevo México, at the age of 75, and was buried in Santa Cruz. Mateo de Mestas remarried shortly after the death of Rafaela. His second wife was  Maria Antonia Sandoval  who became his widow when Matias died on 14 October 1764, in Santa Cruz at the age of 70.

The will of Mateo Mestas

I, Mateo Mestas, a legitimate son of Juan de Mestas and Casilda Lopez, residents of this jurisdiction of the villa of Santa Cruz de la Cañada, being sick in bed, I order and direct this testament and last will.

I, the said Reverend Father, acting according to the will of the Testator, name as executors and keepers of the property first, Ignacio Mestas, second, Bartholo Mestas, children of said Testator; they shall comply with this last will.

The said Reverend Father, declared that the said Testator, stated, that he had been married two times, according to the mandates of Our Holy Mother Church.  First, with Raphaela Cortes, from which marriage they had six children, four are living and two are dead.  They are  Juan Mestas, Casilda, Juana and Bartholo.  The two dead are Cristobal and Francisca.  The second wife was Maria Antonia Sandoval, from which marriage we did not have any children; wherefore, I declare as my legitimate children, those from the first marriage.

I declare, that whatever property we have, it was obtained through the work of my wife Raphaela and of me.

I declare, that the part of my property which belonged to my deceased wife, I have divided the same among my children, as I will appear from the partition made the Father, who was acting for the deceased.

I declare that my wife left under my care two calves which are here.

I declare that our house belonged to my wife, Maria Antonia Sandoval; said house consists of four rooms with the little furniture belonging thereto.

I declare that I have one house adjoining this one, which consists of one hall and two rooms, which I bought from my son, Ignacio, with one cow.

One parcel of land consisting of two hundred and first varas, more or less. [About 600 square feet]

Four mares, three one year old mules, one black horse. Thirteen cows, one calf. Five oxen.

One riding saddle with iron stirrups, one bridle.

                Two hoes, one axe, one boring bit, one adze, one plow share, nine sickles.

One comal of iron, two kettles, one iron axe, two kettles, one small caldron, one pair of spurs, one hoe, one plane and one branding iron.

I declare this to be my last will with my children heirs; I leave to Maria Antonia Sandoval, my second wife, the house and furniture belonging with it.

I request the said alcalde mayor, Joseph Esquivel, to authorize it, by interposing this judicial decree.

I, the said Lt. Alcalde Mayor certify that I know the Testator herein, and that he is perfectly sound in mind.  And that I interposed my judicial decree, at said villa of Santa Cruz de la Cañada, 6 October 1764.  Acting with the witnesses of my assistance in the absence of a public or royal scribe, there being none in this Kingdom.  And that it may so appear I signed with the witnesses.

To all of which I certify.  Joseph Esquibel, (rubric); Assisting witnesses: Juan Luis Cano Saens, (rubric); at the request of Pedro de Oliva, Luis Cano Saenz, (rubric)

Endorsement, testament in favor of the heirs of Bartholo Mestas year of 1764

Jose Cortes del Castillo and Maria de Carvajal

José Cortés del Castillo and his wife María de Carvajal were the parents of María Rafaela Cortés.   They were married in the church of Santiago, Querétaro, prior to starting out for New Mexico. They had a daughter, Andrea, before their marriage, and two other children after, Rafaela and Dionisio.

 

The Viceroy of Nueva Espana, don Gaspar de la Cerde, Conde de Galve, initiated additional colonist recruitment for Nuevo México to support the accomplishment of Governor don Diego de Vargas. The Spanish Crown would provide and transport families who enlisted to settle in New Mexico. These families would receive honors and privilege of colonizers granted land in the king’s name. The viceroy designated Cpt. Cristobal de Velasco and fray Francisco Farfan as official recruiters to lead the colonizing expedition to New Mexico. The stipulation was that only Espanoles, people of Spanish background, legitimately married and of good character, would be allowed to enlist. Many were tradesmen who were attracted by the chance to obtain honors, privileges, and favors of Spanish nobility.

 

By early September 1693, 66 families and one single man (232 individuals) left Mexico City in mid-September for a three-month journey north to Nuevo México on the Camino Real to Santa Fe. Four families left the expedition, and three single Frenchmen joined the colonists. The group reached El Paso del Norte in April 1694. This was the largest group of people (124 adults and 93 children) to travel the full Camino Real. Members of these new families intermarried with descendants of the first and second waves of Nuevo México colonization and added their family names to pass down the generations.

 

In the Cpt. Cristobal de Velasco list of colonists, the family is given as follows: José Cortés del Castillo, son of Pedro, born in Puebla de los Angeles, Nueva Espana, forty years old, of medium height, with an aquiline face, large eyes and forehead, and a scar under the nose. His wife, Maria de Carvajal, was twenty-one, the daughter of Ignacio and a native of Querétaro; she was fair with a broad face and large eyes. Only two children are listed with them Rafaela, five years old, born at San Miguel el Grande, having a round face and forehead, and large eyes; and Dionisio Daniel, born in Mexico City, having large eyes and a large forehead.“ Another Velasco list gave three children named Andrea, nine, Rafaela, six, and Dionisio, six months old.“

 

José Cortés, may have been a descendant of one of the several Cortés kinsmen involved in the conquest of Mexico, perhaps including Hernán Cortés himself. Cortes had two natural sons by doña Marina (Malinche) and doña Antonia Hermosillo as well as legitimate sons. .

 

María de Carvajal was described as having been born in Querétaro, State of Querétaro, Mexico.  She was twenty-one years old and the daughter of Ignacio de Carvajal, presumably of Querétaro.  She was fair with a broad face and large eyes.  She was of pure Iberian blood because she was fair.  Because some of the Carvajal’s were from Portugal, we do not know exactly where on the Iberian Peninsula her ancestors came from.

 

The couple was married in the church of Santiago, Querétaro, Mexico, about 1687.  They already had a daughter, Andrea, before their marriage. By the time they left for Nuevo México in 1693, they had two other children. The two listed children were Rafaela [our ancestor], age five, born at San Miguel El Grande, having a round face and forehead and large eyes; and Deonisio Daniel, born in Mexico City, having large eyes and a large forehead.  Andrea was traveling to Nuevo México with the family of Juan Cortés, and his wife, María de Ribera.  Juan was thirty-six years old, son of Fernando Cortés, and born in Mexico City.  He was likely a first cousin to José Cortés del Castillo.  These two Cortés families were the forbears of the Nuevo México Cortéz family.

 

On the trip to New Mexico, the Corteses also traveled to Nuevo México with the Quintana, Atienza, Moreno Trujillo, and Gutiérrez families from Mexico City.

 

As a marriage witness in 1694, the father gave his age as forty and forty-two, his birthplace as Puebla, and his full name as José Cortés del Castillo. “His brother Juan Cortés was at Nambé in June, 1696, when the Indians rebelled, killing him with a daughter, not named, and her husband, José Sanchez. José died after only four years in New Mexico.  We have no record of María’s later life.

Children of Jose Cortes del Castillo and Maria de Carvajal.

1.            Andrea del Castillo was born prior to the marriage of her parents, about 1786.  She was about seven when the family left Nueva España for New Mexico. No further information

2.            María Rafaela Cortés was born about 1688 in San Miguel el Grande, a town that in 1826 changed its name to San Miguel de Allende. It lies in eastern Guanajuato, Mexico. She was five during the journey to Nuevo México in 1693-94. She married Mateo de Mestas about 1704. 

3.            Dionisio Daniel del Castillo was born about 1695 in New Mexico.  On 14 September 1718, he married Josefa Martín Serrano, daughter of Cristóbal Martín Serrano and Antonia Moraga.

4.            Juan Antonio Cortés del Castillo was born about 1696, perhaps while his parents He married in 1720 Juana de Mata Espinosa.     

5.            Inés del Castillo was born about 1698 in New Mexico.  On 15 June 1718, she married Francisco Jurado.