land claims, land grants, American, Spanish, Mexican, Native American, Pueblo, legal, ownership, real estate, territory, territorial law; William Pelham
Audio file "Centennial Journeys" radio program 2012
Claude Stephenson, State Folklorist, Department of Cultural Affairs
Rick Hendricks, State Historian, State Records Center and Archives
William Pelham was the first American official sent to New Mexico to attempt to sort through the Spanish and Mexican land grant documents. His purpose was to determine legal property ownership in the new territory. Although he managed to verify some Pueblo land claims, he was thwarted in most of his efforts.