1711 The Life and Times of Esteban Padilla: How the Acquisition of Land Changed His Social Status and Place in the Padilla Family Hierarchy By Samuel Sisneros Esteban Padilla was born at Bernalillo, New Mexico circa 1711, the illegitimate son of Diego de Padilla, presumably of the Spanish class…
1793 By William H. Wroth Manuel Armijo was the last governor of New Mexico under the Mexican Republic, serving in that office three times. He was born in the Albuquerque area, probably in Belen, in 1793, the son of Vicente Ferrer Armijo and María Bárbara Chávez. The Armijos in…
Governor Joaquín del Real Alencaster, 1803-1808 By Rick Hendricks Joaquín del Real Alencaster was born to Antonio del Real and María Antonia Alencaster in Cádiz, Spain, around 1761.According to testimony by his brother, Antonio, the family moved from Cádiz, where the brothers were born, to Algeciras where Antonio, at…
1 28 1814 By Samuel Sisneros Padre Ramón Ortiz’s parents were don Antonio Ortiz and doña Teresa Miera, both descendants of prominent Spanish colonial families in New Mexico, Chihuahua, and Mexico City. Padre Ortiz’s paternal ancestor was Nicolas Ortiz the progenitor of the prominent Ortiz family in New Mexico….
12 7 1859 By Suzanne Stamatov Octaviano Ambrosio Larrazolo, son of Don Octaviano and Doña Donaciana Corral de Larrazolo, was born on 7 December 1859 in El Valle de San Bartolo (later known as Allende) in the state of Chihuahua, Mexico. His father Don Octaviano was a prosperous landowner….
5 16 1894 by Michael Ann Sullivan Fabiola Cabeza de Baca was born 16 May 1894 in Las Vegas, New Mexico to Graciano Cabeza de Baca and Indalecia Delgado. The Cabeza de Bacas trace their ancestry back to Alvar Nunez Cabeza de Vaca who explored New Mexico in the…
1 17 1793 El Padre Martínez nació en Abiquiú el 17 de enero del 1793, en lo que entonces se llamaba provincia de Nuevo Méjico. Sus padres fueron el don Severino Martínez y María del Carmen Santisevan. La vida del presbítero don Antonio José Martínez se extiende a través…
12 6 1836 A native son of New Mexico, Nicolas T. Armijo was born in Los Gallegos, Bernalillo county, on the 6th of December, 1835, being, as before stated, a descendant from one of the oldest and most distinguished Spanish families in the Territory. His father, Juan Cristobal Armijo,…
Upon returning to Spain in 1493 after his first voyage, Christopher Columbus contacted Pope Alexander VI (a Spaniard by birth) to report his discoveries. Acting as the great European arbiter of the day, the pope then issued a bull (decree) that divided the New World lands between Spain and…
By Gregg Gonzales From 1760 to 1859, La Castrense Church (the Military Chapel), stood on the south side of the Santa Fe Plaza across from the Palace of the Governors. The church’s official name was Nuesta Señora de la Luz (Our Lady of the Light), however, most of the…
