by J. J. Bowden
In June, 1839, Jose Francisco Baca y Terrus and a number of landless citizens of New Mexico petitioned the Ayuntamiento of Santa Fe for a grant covering a tract of vacant agricultural land on the arroyo below Galisteo and bounded:
On the north, by the hills of Matadero; on the east, by the mouth of the Cañada de Infierno; on the south, by the hills of the Arroyo de la Jara; and on the west by the lands of Agustin Duran.
Since the petition had not been acted upon and planting was fast approaching, Baca, for himself and on behalf of his associates, re-petitioned the Ayuntamiento for the grant on May 15, 1840. After having ascertained that the petitioners sought the land for agricultural purposes and that the granting of their request would not prejudice the rights of any third party, the Ayuntamiento recommended that each petitioner with “sufficient means” be granted 200 varas and those with “small means” be given 100 varas subject to the condition that the grantee fence their tracts and Agustin Duran, as the senior possessor of the Maragua Grant should have the preferential right to use the water for irrigation. The Ayuntamiento then referred the matter to Juan Andres Archuleta, the Prefect of the Central District of New Mexico, who grated the land to the petitioners on June 12, 1840, and ordered the second alcalde of Santa Fe, Domingo Fernandez, to place the grantees in possession of the premises. In response to Archuleta’s decree, Fernandez went to the grant, which was located in the glen formerly known as the Cañada de Infierno but then called the Cañada de San Francisco, and on June 28, 1840, did quietly and peacefully place the grantees in possession of the premises.[1]
The grantees promptly occupied and continuously cultivated the land. Either they or their heirs and legal representatives were still in possession of the land on May 16, 1871, when the owners of the grant petitioned Surveyor General T. Rush Spencer for the confirmation of the grant, which they alleged contained approximately 2,000 acres. When the claim came up for hearing on November 24, 1871, the claimants offered testimony tending to prove that Jose Francisco Baca y Terrus and 15 named associates had been granted and placed in possession of the lands described in the expediente of the grant which was on file in the Archives. They also alleged that in 1840, Juan Andres Archuleta was the acting governor of New Mexico. On the following day Spencer rendered a decision in which he held that each of the documents in the expediente was genuine and complete except for the act of Possession, the latter portion of which was missing. Notwithstanding the fact that the Act of Possession was incomplete, Spencer held that the document was sufficient to show that possession of the grant had been duly given and the defect was not fatal to the title, Therefore, he recommended the confirmation of the grant to Baca and his associates.[2] A preliminary survey of the grant was made by Deputy Surveyors Griffin & McMullin in November, 1877, for 1,589.87 acres.[3]
Since Congress had not acted upon the grant, it was presented to the Court of Private Land Claims on February 17, 1893, by Nasario Gonzales, who claimed it by purchase.[4] When the case came up for hearing on April 13, 1894, the government conceded that the grant papers were genuine. However, notwithstanding this concession, the government contended that the grant was invalid since the prefect had no authority, under Mexican law, to dispose of lands or create equities against the government. As a rejoinder to this defense, Gonzales alleged the grant had been made by Archuleta as Acting Governor of New Mexico during Governor Manuel Armijo’s absence from Santa Fe on a military expedition. In answer to this proposition, the government pointed out that even though Armijo was absent from Santa Fe, Archuleta could not have been Acting Governor for Armijo was still in the Territory. In connection with this point, the government also contended that the Constitution of 1836, which was then in force in New Mexico, defined who should become acting governor in case of his absence from the Territory or disability, to perform the duties of that office and in no instance was a prefect authorized to become acting governor without appointment from the National Government.
The court sustained the government’s contention and rejected the grant and dismissed Gonzales’ petition. On April 24, 1894,[5] Gonzales apparently recognized the weakness in his claim for he did not appeal the decision.
[1] Archive Nos. 1015 and 1016 (Mss., Records of the A.N.M.).
[2] H. R. Misc. Doc No. 181 42d Cong, 2d Sess. 65‑75 (1872).
[3] The Cañada de Sa Francisco Grant No. 57 (Mss., Records of the S.G.N.M.).
[4] Gonzales v. United States No. 98 (Mss., Records Of the Ct. Pvt. L. Cl.).
[5] 2 Journal 103 (Mss., Records of the Ct. Pvt. L. Cl.).