Land Grants through the centuries of New Mexico History
by J. J. Bowden Upon learning that a group of persons were considering the formation of a new colony on the premises known as Rancho del Rio Grande, Nicolas Leal appeared before the Alcalde of Taos, Antonio Jose Ortiz, and advised him that the proposed project would be prejudicial…
by J. J. Bowden Having resigned his commission as captain in the army and position as commander of the garrison at Santa Fe in order to accept limited duty by performing the functions of a sergeant, Cristobal de la Serna needed an independent source of income to support his…
by J. J. Bowden Antonio de Moya and his young wife, Francisca Antonia de Gijosa, were among the colonists who resettled New Mexico following its reconquest by Diego de Vargas in 1693. The couple settled at Santa Fe where Moya practiced his trade as a mason. Following Antonio’s death,…
by J. J. Bowden Picuris is an ancient Tigua pueblo located about forty miles north of Santa Fe and eighteen miles southwest of Taos. The pueblo stands on the north side of Pueblo Creek about a mile above its confluence with Penasco Creek. Although Picuris was visited by Coronado…
by J. J. Bowden Loranzo Lovato filed suit in the Court of Private Land Claims on February 14, 1893, seeking the confirmation of the Salvador Lovato Grant. In his petition, Lovato alleged that Salvador Lovato and his two sons, Juan Antonio and Rafael, petitioned Governor Fernando Chacon in 1793…
by J. J. Bowden Rafael Fernandez and twenty-three associates, all residents of the Pueblo of Picuris, petitioned the Territorial Deputation of New Mexico on March 6, 1829, asking for a grant covering the tract of vacant land embraced within the following boundaries: On the north, the boundaries of those…
by J. J. Bowden Valentin Martin, Eusebio Martin and Juan Olgin, for themselves and thirty-eight associates, petitioned Governor Fernando Chacon for permission to resettle the abandoned Town of Santa Barbara and grant them the lands formerly belonging to that settlement. In a decision dated January 11, 1796 Chacon noted…
by J. J. Bowden Smith H. Simpson, “for himself and other claimants,” petitioned Surveyor General Henry M. Atkinson on September 25, 1877, seeking the confirmation of the Orejas del Llano de los Aguajes Grant. In support of the claim, he filed a testimonio which showed that the following proceedings…
by J. J. Bowden On March 20, 1872, Anthony Joseph, Adolph Guttman, Julian Freedman, and Lucien Stewart petitioned Surveyor General T. Rush Spencer seeking the confirmation of a grant which allegedly had been made to Jose Sanchez and nineteen other colonists by Governor Fernando Chacon. In support of their…
by J. J. Bowden In conformity with a royal order, Governor Tomas Veles Cachupin made a tour through New Mexico in 1751 to determine the general conditions prevailing in his province. At Santa Fe, he found that the population had increased to the point where there was not sufficient…
