T. Edward Shumaker As a young man of about twenty-six, Hugh N. Smith enlisted in the army to serve with Colonel Alexander Doniphan (1808-1887) in the US-Mexico War. The war had broken out between the two North American republics in 1846, the same year that Kearny arrived in Santa…
A Royalist in Transition: Facundo Melgares, the Last Spanish Governor of New Mexico: 1818‑1822 by Arthur Gomez In August 1818 Viceroy Juan Ruíz de Apodaca, the Conde de Venadito, received documents written by an anonymous visitor to New Mexico. These papers, intercepted by Spanish ambassador to the United States,…
The Civilian Government and Military Commanders Bitterly Disagree on Native Relations In this document, the civilian government and military commanders bitterly disagree on how to handle relations between Native Americans and the local residents. In this document, the civilian government and military commanders bitterly disagree on how to handle…
Essay on the Cristobal Nieto Grant, the family history and origins. "When Cristobal Nieto’s father, Alcalde José Nieto, heard the news of the Pueblo Indian uprising at Galisteo on August 10, 1680, he rounded up his family at his nearby estancia and tried to escape. Tragically, José Nieto, his…
The History Bureau of the Museum of New Mexico conducted an oral history project covering the way of life of the Hispanic sheepherder of the states eastern plains. The following account is based on the authors interviews at the History Bureau with Mariano Chavez, the son of a traditional…
By Mark Thompson In 1819, of Tome with a grant of land on the east side of the Manzano Mountains in Valencia County. Although never surveyed, it was estimated to cover…
Written by Mark Thompson. Mr. Thompson practiced law in New Mexico for thirty years and is a member of the State Bar of New Mexico Historical Committee. An earlier version of this essay appeared in the Southern New Mexico Historical Review, Volume 14, January, 2007. By Mark Thompson LLEWELLYN:…
By Richard Flint and Shirley Cushing Flint Ceran de Hault de Lassus de St. Vrain, born May 5, 1802 in Spanish Lake, Missouri, was the fourth child of Jacques Marcellin Ceran de Hault de Lassus de St. Vrain and Marie Félicité Dubreuil. Ceran's grandfather, a French Flemish noble displaced…
Twenty-second Governor of New Mexico, 1668-1671. WPA Writers Project By Grace Meredith Captain Don Juan de Medrano y Mesia was the twenty‑second governor of New Mexico, and unfortunately only a little information concerning him and his activities, is to be found in any of the historical works now…
By Norma Libman Sponsored by the Paul C. S. Carpenter History Project and funded by the King/Carpenter Charitable Trust Simon Ortiz grew up on the pueblo in the town of McCartys (“Deetseyamah”), and worked in the uranium mines, served in the military, attended college, and then took up what…
