Santa Cruz Leaders

The population in the Santa Cruz valley was more diverse than the one in Chimayó. Marriages hadn’t yet bridged cultural differences between La Cañada, the Río Abajo, Ciudad de México, and the mining towns, but men were cooperating to create a more unified society.

Witness lists from the diligencias matrimoniales indicate that more than two-thirds of the weddings between 1714 and 1730 were approved by men from both La Cañada and elsewhere, even when the bride and groom were from the same group.

Year	Both Local	Man Local	Woman Local	Both Not Local	Total
1714	2	1	2		5
1715	2		1		3
1716		3		1	4
1717		2			2
1718	1		3	2	6
1719		1	1	4	6
1720			1	4	5
1721				1	1
1722			1	1	2
1723	3		1	3	7
1724
1725		1		1	2
1726				3	3
1727			2	5	7
1728	1			1	2
1729
1730		1			1
1731
1732
	9	9	12	26	56

More important, a pool of men was called year after year. That could mean the friars were more comfortable with some men than others. However, with frequent ecclesiastical turnovers, the reappearance of some men more likely suggests they were the agreed upon community leaders.

The group represented the entire male population, with more in their twenties and thirties when they first appeared. However, while men in their thirties were most often to be called, the ones called for five or more years were likely to come from families in Nuevo México before the Revolt: José de Madrid, Antonio Bernal and Tomás Núñez de Haro were each called in seven years.

Age	5+	2-4
20s		9
30s	4	9
40s	1	6
50s	2	5
60s		1
70s		1
Number of Years Called to Witness by Age When First Called

Madrid was the son of Roque and his first wife, Juana de Arvid López. Neither Bernal’s parents nor those of his wife, Rosa María Romero de Prazda, are known. Francisco Romero de Prazda was tentiente alcade at Santa Domingo in 1664. He had a dependent named María living with him in 1693 at El Paso.

Núñez was born in Zacatecas, but apparently moved north before the Revolt, perhaps when Diego de Peñalosa was governor in the 1660s. He married Juana Durán, whose father Nicolás was an aide to Peñalosa. Her paternal grandmother was Catalina Bernal. His current wife was the niece of Juana, another Juana Durán. This was the daughter of the first Juana’s brother, Salvador Durán, and Ana Márquez.

Núñez was the only one known to be close to the Franciscans. He supported them in 1730 when the Bishop of Durango was making inquiries, and was a member of the Conquistadora Confraternity.

The man who testified for six years, Sebastían Durán, was the son of Fernando Durán y Chaves and Elena Ruiz Cáceres. His family was originally from the Río Abajo, but they were living in Taos in 1680. Elena was descended from Juan Ruiz Cáceres whose daughter married the father of Roque de Madrid. Roque himself married Salvador’s daughter, Josefa Durán, in 1715, when he had been a widower for more than a year. They had been accused of adultery in 1700.

Domingo Martín was the oldest of the frequently called witnesses. His father Domingo was apparently the oldest son of Luis Martín Serrano. When Luis’s property was divided, his son Domingo may have received the best share, or bought out his brothers Antonio and Francisco who moved to Chimayó.

The other two men called for five years were new colonists. Roque Jaramillo was eleven-years-old when his brick-mason father decided to leave Mexico City. José de Atienza Sevillano also came from an urban, skilled-trades family: his father made paving stones, his brother Juan was a weaver.

Most of the remaining men who were called in two, three or four years were equally from La Cañada, Mexico City or the mining towns. The exception were the soldiers who were present between 1715 and 1719, and again in the late 1720s.

			First Appearance
Years	Name	From	Year	Age
7	Antonio Bernal	Local	1718	30
7	José de Madrid	Local	1718	40
7	Tomás Núñez de Haro	Zacatecas	1714	52
6	Sebastían Durán	Local	1714	38
5	Domingo Martín	Local	1714	56
5	Joque Jaramillo	Mexico City	1720	35
5	José de Atienza	Mexico City	1714	36
4	Juan Alonso Mondragón	Local	1718	40
4	Lucas Flores	Parras	1714	50
3	Francisco Xavier Romero	Mexico City	1714	56
3	Juan Alonso	Local	1719	38
3	Juan de Atienza	Puebla	1714	46
3	Juan Martín	Local	1717	23
3	Mateo Trujillo	Soldier	1723	48
3	Pedro Sánchez	Río Abajo	1725	22
2	Antonio de Herrera	Salvatierra	1714	30
2	Cayatano de Atienza	Mexico City	1725	34
2	Cristóbal Tafoya	Tlalpujahua	1720	40
2	Diego Martín	Local	1716	45
2	Domingo Montes Vigil	Zacatecas	1719	25
2	Francisco Alberto de la Mora	Zamora	1716	56
2	Isidro de Medina	Durango	1720	28
2	Juan de Sandoval Martínez	Mexico City	1722	63
2	Lázaro de Córdova	Mexico City	1714	24
2	Luís de Archuleta	Local	1720	20
2	Roque de Madrid	Local	1716	70
2	Miguel Martín	Local	1714	30
2	Nicolás Sisneros	Local	1714	24
2	Ramon Medina	Soldier	1719	28
2	Santiago Romero	Mexico City	1719	26
2	Ventura Esquibel	Soldier	1718	33
Santa Cruz Witnesses for Diligencias Matrimoniales between 1714 and 1730

Notes: First appearance means within this time period; the older men no doubt began being called when they were younger.

Roque’s brother Lorenzo was accused of illicit relations with Juana Domínguez in 1697. They later married. Salvador’s daughter, Josefa Durán, used the name Luján when she was married to Augustín Griego. Both accusations of infidelity occurred when Diego de Vargas was under attack by Pedro Cubero. Lorenzo’s name appears as maestro de campo in Santa Fé.

For more on the Bishop of Durango, see the post for 28 June 2015.

Chávez, Angélico. New Mexico Roots, Ltd, 1982.

_____. Origins of New Mexico Families, 1992 revised edition.

Kessell, John L., Rick Hendricks, and Meredith Dodge. To the Royal Crown Restored, 1995.