by J. J. Bowden
Cristobal Nieto, a resident of Santa Fe, appeared before Governor Pedro Rodriquez Cubero seeking the revalidation of a grant which he had received on August 5, 1697, covering the land he was then occupying. He explained that the title papers which Cubero had given him as evidence of the grant had been destroyed before possession of the land had been delivered, and, therefore, the requested action was necessary in order to protect his interests. On May 10, 1700, Cubero revalidated the prior concession and directed Alcalde Antonio de Aguilera to place Nieto in possession of the property. By virtue of this decree, Aguilera met Nieto at his home on August 1, 1700, and proceeded to place him in royal possession of the premises, which he described as being all the land:
… from a small cedar standing behind the house, and some piles of stones, running in a straight line to the main road, and from a small acequia to a pile of small stones separating the lands of Domingo de la Berreda, and from said pile of stones running in a straight line to the ruins of an old house behind said house of Domingo de la Berreda to the river and running along the same to the first cedar.[1]
Juan Nieto, as one of the lineal descendants of Cristobal Nieto, filed suit[2] in the Court of Private Land Claims on February 11, 1893, seeking the confirmation of the grant. In his petition the plaintiff alleged that the grant contained about 1,200 acres of land and was bounded:
On the north, by the Santa Fe River; on the east, by the house of Cristobal Nieto; on the south, by the Camino de Carros; and on the west, by the lands of Domingo de la Berreda.
He also filed a great deal of documentary evidence establishing a chain of title back to the original grantee. The government filed a general answer putting into issue the allegations contained in the plaintiff’s petition.
When the case came up for trial on June 11, 1898, the plaintiff announced that he no longer wished to prosecute his suit. Therefore, the court entered a decree rejecting the claim.[3] The plaintiff was prompted to make this announcement since it appears that this was merely a small allotment within a larger grant covering the lands of the ancient Pueblo of Quemado, which was located near the present town of Agua Fria.
[1] Archive No. 638 (Mss., Records of the A.N.M.).
[2] Nieto v. United States. No. 81 (Mss., Records of the Ct. Pvt. L. Cl.).
[3] 3 Journal 391, (Mss., Records of the Ct. Pvt. L. Cl.).
El Pino Grant; J.J. Bowden’s research on land grants;