Remember the family priest story? Maybe I found the connection…. Who is Antonio Joseph Silva?

If you look back to one of my blog posts from 2017 you will see, “The Abandoned Indian Child and The Priest Who Fell in Love”. This story has been a part of our family lore over many generations. Family members are certain about the fact that a priest’s robe hung in a closet on the Silva Ranch and that the children were forbidden to touch it. This has lead to much speculation and research on finding the priest in our Silva family. Letters have been written to the Archdiocese in search of our Silva priest but to no avail. I will cut to the chase and tell you right off the bat that no, I haven’t found our priest but maybe, just maybe, I have a clue to the explanation. This story might end up being the most exciting ever! Have I got your attention? Let’s roll…

So, who is Antonio Joseph Silva? He is my 4th great grandfather. He was born on 9 February 1788 in Picuris, Taos, New Mexico. His parents were Santiago Ramon de Santa Maria Silva and his wife, Maria Josefa de la Luz Ponce de Leon.

“New Mexico Births and Christenings, 1726-1918”, database, FamilySearch(https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:FDN2-938 : 20 January 2020), Antonio Joseph Silva, 1788. Image found here: https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-89DX-8V6Y?i=90&cc=2341907

They are discussed in the 2017 blog post I mentioned above and again in my blog post, “Skipping to the Good Part” where I laid out the genealogical proof on this family. Antonio Joseph was the 6th of 8 children born to this couple and the first to be born in New Mexico after his parents and siblings moved from Guadalupe del Paso del Norte (modern day El Paso) to Picuris Pueblo which is located 60 miles north of Santa Fe and 24 miles southeast of Taos.

The Picuris Pueblo website with it’s beautiful photo gallery can be found here: http://www.picurispueblo.org/photo-gallery-.html

So apparently there’s more to Antonio Joseph Silva than just his standard birth, marriage and death information as it appears in most genealogy. Who knew, right?

It turns out that a mystery of much interest has been rolling around amongst the New Mexico genealogy crew for quite some time. My long-time genealogy buddies (and cousins), Jonathan Ortega and Felipe Mirabal, researchers I hold in the highest esteem as my mentors, have spent much time discussing the identity of a mystery artisan, a santero – a person who makes religious images. The particular santero in question carved religious items in Tome, New Mexico ca. 1810. He is known to be named Antonio Silva, but there are several men with that name during the time period. Where I’m heading with this, obviously, is that I believe that my 4th great grandfather, Antonio Joseph Silva is the santero who carved religious items for Our Lady of Immaculate Conception Church in Tome, New Mexico. Before I get to the evidence that potentially points to this conclusion, let me tell you a little more about santeros.

From the book, Santos and Saints – The Religious Folk Art of Hispanic New Mexico, by Thomas J. Steele, S.J., published in 1974; I learned a great deal about santeros and their work. These men were significantly more than just artists and woodcarvers. They created santos (images of saints) that were revered by the community as divinely-inspired and considered to be the earthly representations of the saints themselves. According to Steele, “…a santo is holy art because it was fashioned according to a holy prototype and for a holy purpose”. For those not familiar with Catholicism; saints are people that performed miracles in their lifetime and were beatified by the Pope for their works. Well-known examples would be St. Christopher the patron saint of travelers, St. Francis the patron saint of animals, and St. Jude the patron saint of desperate causes, plus many more. Steele says of the santeros’ work that the art did not exist simply for art sake, but that in the eyes of New Mexicans specifically, the santos were a part of everyday activities such as prayer, penance, pilgrimages and processions. So it follows that in order to be the creator of such revered artwork, the santero himself was assumed and demanded to be a holy man. As Steele says, “…for only thus could the santo be holy and powerful in the religious sphere due both to its maker’s holiness and to the holiness of its subject matter”.

(You may read more of Steele’s book here: https://ia903201.us.archive.org/15/items/santossaintsreli00thom/santossaintsreli00thom.pdf )

At least one researcher before me has all but concluded that Antonio Joseph Silva is indeed the santero from Tome, New Mexico. A book, that can be found online, entitled, El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro Volume II, compiled by Gabrielle G. Palmer and Stephen L Fosberg and published in 1999 by the New Mexico Bureau of Land Managment contains an essay by Robin Farwell Gavin in Chapter 16 – “Santeros of the Rio Abajo and the Camino Real” which names my ancestor as the supposed artist.

This book may be read online here: https://books.google.com/books?id=QPTiAAAAMAAJ&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false

Antonio Jeseph Silva was born in 1788 in Picuris and was still there when the 1790 census taken. He was married about 1808 when he was 20 years old to Maria Antonia Baca. The marriage record cannot be located but we know that she was the daughter of Ygnacio Baca and Barbara Antonia Mirabal. It is likely the marriage took place in Tome because their first child, Maria Estefana Ascencion Silva was baptized there in 1809.

New Mexico Baptisms – Nuestra Senora de la Imaculada Concepcion de Tome – Volume I – 22 Mar 1793 – 8 May 1853 – page 148

New Mexico, Births and Christenings, 1726-1918,”index, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/V2HS-79Z : accessed 06 Feb 2013), Antonio Silva in entry for Maria Estefana Acencion Silva, 15 Aug 1809; citing reference , FHL microfilm 17026. Image at: https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-L9DX-8FDF?i=414&cc=2341907

Seven more children were born to Antonio Silva and Antonia Baca. Their last child was Buenaventura Silva who was born 1822 in Tome. His birth record (in Spanish) names both sets of grandparents.

“New Mexico, Births and Christenings, 1726-1918,”index, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/V24Y-FK8 : accessed 06 Feb 2013), Antonio Silva in entry for Buenaventura Silva, 15 Jul 1822; citing reference , FHL microfilm 17026.

In 1843, Antonio remarried after the death of Maria Antonia. The diligencias of his marriage to Maria Andrea Ballejos names Maria Antonia as his first wife. This couple goes on to have two children together. Antonio Feliciano Silva born in 1845 and Maria Susanna Silva in 1849. Both children were baptized in Tome.

New Mexico Roots Ltd – Diligencias Matrimoniales or Pre-Nuptial Investigations (1678-1879) – page 1837

“New Mexico Marriages, 1751-1918”, database, <i>FamilySearch</i> (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:FD5M-15H : 20 January 2020), Antonio Silva, 1843.Image at: https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CSQB-ZBLF?i=106

If Antonio Joseph Silva is indeed the santero who created the carvings in the Tome church, then he would have been living in Guadalupe (near Nuestra Senora de Guadalupe Church – present day Juarez, Mexico) by 1855. He would have been 67 years old. This is entirely possible. His father is known to have moved from Picuris to Guadalupe as early as 1800. His mother, Josefa Ponce, died there on 25 Aug 1815 and then Santiago remarried to Maria Micaela Lucero on 18 October 1815. Transcription of the death and marriage record by Aaron Magdaleno (https://aaron-magdaleno.site123.me) :

Death: 25 Aug. 1815 Josefa Ponce, casada con Santiago Silva Marriage: 18 Oct. 1815 Don Santiago Silva, viudo (widow) de Josefa Ponce de Leon con Maria Micaela Lucero, HL Leonicio Lucero (dfto) y Maria Manuela Valencia (I-165).

Antonio’s youngest brother, Tomas Joseph de los Dolores Silva was also living in Guadalupe. He married his wife, Dorotea Lucero de Godoy in Guadalupe on 5 Feb 1810 and was enumerated in the 1816 census of El Paso next door to his father and new stepmother. (https://aaron-magdaleno.site123.me/):

Marriage: 5 Feb. 1810 Jose Tomas De Silva, HL Don Santiago de Silva y Doña Josefa Ponce de Leon con Maria Dorotea Lucero De Godoy, HL Don Dionicio Lucero De Godoy y Doña Maria Ana Bacicoa (I-37). El Paso 1816 Census: 85. Santiago Silva Esp. casdo 55 Micaela Lucero 20 Luz Ledesma soltero 16 86. Tomas Silva casdo 28 Dorotea Lucero su esposa 26 Jose Silva parvlo 02 Dionicio id id 7m.

I have not found definitive records that prove Antonio Joseph Silva’s movements after 1849 when his last child was born and baptized in Tome, New Mexico, and I do not have his death record. Antonio’s father, Santiago, and at least one brother were living in Guadalupe from about 1800. It makes perfect sense that my ancestor Antonio Joseph Silva (If he is proved to be the santero) would have traveled between Tome and Guadalupe and potentially also be the artisan associated with creating the santos in Mesilla, New Mexico as well. So that genealogical question is still open until more proof is uncovered.

Back to my thoughts related to there being a Silva priest in our family. Antonio Joseph Silva would have been the grandfather of Juan Andres Silva born 1839 in Tome. Juan Andres is our first Silva ancestor in Lincoln County, New Mexico. He fought in the Civil War on the Union side at the Battle of Valverde and is known to have been in Fort Stanton, New Mexico as early as 1873. (See my blog from 2017 “Juan Andres and Petra Ballejos…”. If Antonio Joseph Silva is indeed the santero of Tome and Rio Abajo fame, then he would have been revered in our family as a man of the highest holy esteem. Whether or not the clothing in the closet were actually priest robes, if they belonged to Juan Andres Silva’s grandfather the santero, the children would definitely have been in awe!

Okay, so I might have exaggerated a tiny bit about this being the most exciting story yet – but to me, well you know how I am about family history. Thanks for reading – much family love, Rebecca

Skipping to the Good Part

Today I decided to change from my original plan to move through the generations in chronological order.  I’m starting to bore myself 😃, so today I decided to skip to the end of the book and sneak a peek at the good part.

So the question is, how far back does my Silva line go?  I get that question all the time.  I wish I could tell you that I have been able to make the connection from our Silva’s to Spain or Portugal or Italy or someplace really exciting, but sadly not yet.  Maybe one of my readers has more information on on my family that they want to share? Please!

I CAN tell you that our Pino family line is well researched by some other great genealogists and it goes back to Albenga, Italy.  I personally have traced 35 different lines of my mom’s tree back to the Oñate Period in New Mexico.  That is the period of time from when Santa Fe was founded until the Pueblo Revolt – 1598 to 1680.  The Spanish soldiers from whom our family descends are:

• Cristobal Baca, born in Mexico City, one of the Captains who came to Santa Fe in 1600 to reinforce the Oñate colony.  This one man, in my opinion, is pretty much the, “Father of New Mexico.”  If you are researching your New Mexico family history and DON’T find him, I would be shocked.  At least 11 of my family lines go back to him.
• Pedro Duran y Chavez, a native of Valverde de Llerena, Spain, was in one of Oñate’s troops in Santa Fe in 1600.  I think he is tied for the title of, “Father of New Mexico.”  At least 15 of my family lines go back to him.
• Alonzo Varela Jaramillo, from Santiago de Compostela, Spain.  He was with Oñate in 1598.
• Diego Trujillo, first appears in New Mexico records in Santa Fe in 1632 at age 19 or 20 as an Alferez (junior ranking officer).
• Juan Herrera, a native of Mexico City, a 20-year-old soldier in 1600 in Santa Fe

But I’m getting off track a little bit.  The good stuff for today’s discussion is our “main” Silva line.  That would be our Paternal Line, also known as our Y-DNA line.  From father, to son, to son, to son…

There is another Silva line that traces back to Antonio Silva and his wife, Gregoria Ruiz who are a founding family of the city of Albuquerque.  Some of our other family lines trace back to that Silva family, but ours is a different line and not connected, so far as I have found yet.

I recently had my Uncle Sonny Silva do his DNA with Family Tree DNA – the 111 marker test- so that we will eventually (hopefully) be able to connect our line to other Silvas in the world and find our most distant ancestor.  Uncle Sonny’s Y-DNA shows our Silva halpogroup to be E-BY6865.

I have already written about Fred, Enrique and Juan Andres Silva.  Juan Andres’ father was Jose Enrique Silva.  He was born in 1813 in Tome, New Mexico.  His father was Antonio Joseph Silva who was born in 1788 in Picuris, New Mexico (Near Taos).  His father was Santiago Ramon de Santa Maria Silva who was born in 1749 in Santa Eulalia, Mexico (Near Chihuahua).  His father was Francisco Joseph Silva who was born about 1720 in Zacatecas, Mexico.

I found this marriage record by searching the un-indexed images at the Family Search website.  The marriage record for Francisco Silba and Gertrudes Cifuentes is from the Church at Santa Eulalia in Aquiles Serdan, Chihuahua.  Roughly and partially translated it says:

On the 7th of March in the year 1748, married and veiled Francisco de Silba, Espanol and Gertrudis de Sifuentes.  Witnesses, Pablo M___, ____ …

source image found at: https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-266-11667-181664-55?cc=1521780&wc=MC9S-QZ7:69035801,69035802,69479401

The next year, Francisco and Gertrudis Silva baptized their first child, Santiago, at the Sagrario (chapel) in Chihuahua. Roughly translated:

On the 8th of September in the year 1749, christened Santiago Ramon de Santa Maria, infant Espanol, son of Francisco Silva and of Gertrudis Sifuentes, Espanoles.  Godparents: Juana Maria Madalena La ________ and Costelo ______

https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-267-12053-6233-70?cc=1521780&wc=MC9S-8PD:69034801,69997001,70036701

Santiago married Maria Josefa Ponce de Leon on the 22nd of October 1771 in El Paso del Norte at the Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe Catholic Church.  She was the daughter of Juan Joseph Ponce de Leon and Casilda Lucero de Godoy of El Paso del Norte.  The couple’s marriage record translated:

22 Oct. 1771 Santiago Silva, legitimate son of Francisco de Silva y Gertrudis Fuentes with Josefa Ponce, legitimate daughter of Juan Joseph Ponce y Casilda Lucero

Source:  www.aaronmagdaleno.com/Marriages1678-1850.pdf

Santiago and Josefa had 5 children in El Paso del Norte before they moved about 1785 to Las Trampas and then Picuris, New Mexico.  Can you imagine moving in wagons and on horseback for 380 miles with young children?  That is unbelievable to me and I can’t imagine what was so enticing in Picuris to make them want to go there.  I know that Santa Eulalia is known for their silver mining.  I am guessing that maybe Santiago moved in order to mine for silver in New Mexico.

(For more information about Picuris: https://www.nps.gov/subjects/travelspanishmissions/san-lorenzo-de-picuris.htm )

San Lorenzo de Picuris Mission

Their 6th child, Antonio Joseph was baptized in Picuris in 1788.

15 Feb 1788 Antonio Jose, born the 9th, son of Don Santiago Silva and Josepha Ponce, of this jurisdiction. Grandparents not listed GP Jose Reyes Gonzales and Maria Antonia Trujillo

Source: New Mexico Mission de San Lorenzo de Picuris – Baptisms 1750-1867; pg 63

Three of their young daughters, Maria Ygnacia, Maria Cleofas and Maria Luz, must have passed away young because they are not listed with the family in the 1790 Census of the settlement near the Mission and Pueblo of Picuris.  It reads:

 #58    Santiago Silba, S, 45; m. Maria Josefa Ponce de Leon, S, 39; 3 sons: 13, 3, 1

(Their oldest daughter, Maria Margarita married in 1788 to Juan Cristobal Sanches – so these children would have been Jose Mariano, Antonio Jose & Noberto Vicente.  The youngest, Thomas Joseph was not born until 1791)

Source:  New Mexio Spanish & Mexican Colonial Censuses 1790 * 1823 * 1845 — Revised Edition; page 107

Antonio Joseph Silva was living in Tome by about 1808 when he married Maria Antonia Baca.  I’m thinking that this may have been about the time that his mother, Josefa died.  Santiago moved back to El Paso del Norte with the youngest child, Thomas.  There, Santiago remarried in 1815 to Micaela Lucero and Thomas married Dorotea Lucero de Godoy in 1810.

Antonio Joseph Silva married Maria Antonia Baca about 1808.  I have not been able to find a marriage record for the couple but the baptism records from Our Lady of Immaculate Conception Church in Tome show that they baptized eight children together between 1809 and 1822.  Only the record of their youngest child, Buenaventura, lists the paternal grandparents as Santiago and Josefa Ponce de Leon Silva.  The maternal grandparents are given as Ygnacio Baca and Barbara Mirabal.

Antonio and Maria Antonia’s 4th child is our ancestor, Jose Enrique Silva – the father of Juan Andres.  He was born in Tome on the 10th of July 1813.  His baptism record roughly translated:

Jose Enrique, Vecino de Tome

On the 15th of Julio 1813, I, Father Jose Ygnacio Sanches, priest of this Mission of the Immaculate Conception of Tome, do solemnly baptize the infant, five days old, with the name Jose Enrique, son of Antonio Silva and Maria Antonia Baca.  Godparents: Juan Herrera and Maria Rafaela Maldonado

Source: FHL Film #17026

He married Ana Maria Josefa Baca, the daughter of Don Juan Estevan Baca and Doña Maria Rafaela Pino, in Tome on the 9th of September 1833.  Their marriage investigation was performed on the 30th of August.  The priest, after interviewing 4 witnesses and finding no impediments, gave permission for them to be married.  It reads:

————-Diligencias de Matrimoniales for Enrique Silva and Doña Maria Josefa Baca————- Note: Mexico became independent of Spain in 1821, so New Mexico was no longer governed by Spain but by Mexico

 

 

Lots and Lots of Cousins in this Family!

So, first things first… my grandparents were cousins.  They were half second cousins 1x removed to be exact.  My Papo’s father was half first cousin to my Grandma’s grandmother.  Confused?  Here’s how it happened:

So that means that Juan Andres Silva and Jose Cayetano Chavez were half-brothers.  Enrique Silva and Donaciana Chavez were half first cousins.  Fred Silva (My Papo) and Estefana Pino were half 2nd cousins. So Fred and Dorothy were half 2nd cousins 1x removed!!

Now let’s complicate things a little bit further.  Papo and Grandma were also 4th cousins because of Joaquin Mariano Pino who was a 3rd great-grandfather to both of them.

Now here’s another wrinkle in the family tree.  My grandfather’s aunt (Reymunda Silva) married my grandmother’s uncle (Gregorio Pino).  Reymunda was the sister of Enrique Silva.  Gregorio was the brother of Estefana Pino.  So that meant that all the kids of Gregorio and Reymunda were first cousins to both my grandfather and my grandmother.  More complicated than that is that all the grandchildren of Gregorio and Reymunda are double 2nd cousins to my mother and her sister and brothers.

More on the Pino ancestry in a later post.

 

 

 

 

Breaking News: Some of our Indian Roots are in Abiquiú

So I have solved some of the mystery of my great Grandmother, Rebecca Artiaga Silva’s Indian ancestry!!!!  It still doesn’t answer the question of which tribe but from my reading on Abiquiú, I have found that the Indians there were primarily Hopí and Tewa but there were also other tribes represented as well.

As you know, I have been working my way back in time through my New Mexico family history.  My last post was about Juan Artiaga and his wife, Sabina Estrada.  I realized how little I actually knew about Sabina’s early life, so I decided to take a new look at her history.  This re-examination of her ancestors took me into a deep-dive of the New Mexico church records.  Surprisingly, it lead me to my 5th, 6th and 7th Great Grandparents who were Genizaro Indians and residents of the Abiquiú Pueblo as early as about 1740.  For days now, I have been reading everything I can get my hands on regarding Abiquiú. I’m not done, but I was so excited that I had to share what I have learned so far.

Abiquiu is about 60 miles northwest of Santa Fe.  The settlement was on the frontier of Spanish settlements and was frequently raided by the Utes and Comanches.  It was so dangerous in 1747 that the residents requested permission from the Governor to abandon the settlement.  He granted the request temporarily for safety reasons.  The Spanish residents went to stay with relatives in San Jose de Chama and Santa Cruz de la Canada. By 1750, the Governor ordered them to resettle Abiquiu.  In 1754, Governor Tomás Vélez Cachupín made the first land grant exclusively to Genizaro Indians in New Mexico.  The new pueblo was named Santo Tomás Apóstol de Abiquiú and the Governor placed sixty Genizaro families in possession of the land grant.  The grant was 2,550 varas to the east and west, 2,400 varas to the north, and 5000 varas to the south.  In the years that followed, there were many legal disputes over boundaries and who owned the land.  Some of the Genizaros had sold their pueblo land to Spaniards and even one of the Abiquiu priests got involved in the wrangling with curses of damnation being hurled at the pueblo residents.  Eventually, the southern boundary was confirmed in 1829 and the northern boundary was finally confirmed in 1894. The Genizaros fought for their rights and held on to their land grant, essentially as it was originally issued by Governor Velez Cachupin.   The land was surveyed to be 16,500 acres and the final land patent was issued to the Abiquiu Board of Grant Commissioners in November of 1909.  More info about Abiquiú can be found here: http://newmexicohistory.org/people/pueblo-de-abiquiu-a-genizaro-community

Source: “The Witches of Abiquiu – The Governor, The Priest, The Genizaro Indians, and The Devil”  by Malcolm Ebright & Rck Hendricks; page 93

So how do we get from Rebecca Artiaga back to her Genizaro / Indian great, great Grandfather, Francisco Xavier Márquez?

It is very easy to put all this information on your Ancestry tree and call it good enough, without proof.  Many people do that everyday on Ancestry and other genealogy websites, to the frustration of serious researchers. Proof requires that you show birth/baptisms records and/or marriage records that name the parents and link each generation to the generation before that.  Here’s my proof:

Rebecca Artiaga is shown to be the daughter of Maria Sabina Estrada and Juan Artiaga in her baptism and marriage records.

Santa Rita Church Records – Carrizozo, NM  –  https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CSQY-V6MM?mode=g&i=33 —image 34 —Film # 007854341

Santa Rita Church Records – Carrizozo, NM  Film #007854342   https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CSQY-G23J?mode=g&i=74&cat=385848

Maria Sabina Estrada, in her baptism and marriage record, is shown to be the daughter of Luciano Estrada and Estefana Marquez (Casias is the name of her step-father).

Source: New Mexico Baptisms: Anton Chico 1857-1872, page 1

Santa Rita Catholic Church – Carrizozo, NM – Film #007854342 https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CSQY-G24J?mode=g&i=98&cat=385848

Estefana Marquez is shown to be the natural child of Maria Dolores Rufina Marquez in her baptism and marriage records.  Her baptism record also gives her grandparents as Francisco Marques and Maria Barbara Mansanares.  She was baptized at the Church of Santo Tomás in Abiquiú.

Marques, Maria Estefana, bap. 18 June 1840, ae 8 da; natural d/ Rufina Marques; am/Francisco Marques and Maria Barbara Mansanares; gp/ Alejandro Molina & Maria Relles Valdeza of Abiquiú.

Source:  New Mexico Baptisms- Church of Santo Tomás de Abiquiú, page 103 and 104

Source: La Iglesia de Nuestra Senora de Los Dolores, Las Vegas, Territorio de Nuevo Mexico – 30 Anos de Casamientos – Enero 1853 – Diciembre 1882; page 18

Maria Dolores Rufina Marquez is shown to be the daughter of Francisco Xavier Marques and Maria Barbara Manzaneres in her baptism record as well as the baptism record of her granddaughter.  She was baptized at the Church of Santo Tomás in Abiquiú.

Marquez, Maria Dolores bap 18 May 1808, ae 1 da; d/ Francisco Marquez & Maria Barbara Manzanares; gp /Juan Gutierrez & Guadalupe Martin. Residence: Pueblo

Source:  New Mexico Baptisms- Church of Santo Tomás de Abiquiú; Volume I, page 150

Francisco Xavier Marquez is shown to be the son of Antonio Joseph Marquez and Maria Dolores Trujillo in his baptism record.  His baptism record also reveals that his parents were both Indians from the Abiquiú Pueblo.

Marquez, Francisco Xavier Bap 13 Jan 1786, b. 13 same day at dawn; s/ Antonio Joseph Marquez & Maria Dolores Truxillo, Indians of this pueblo; gp/ Francisco Garzia & Maria Dolores Tafoya, vecinos of this jurisdiction.

Source: New Mexico Baptisms- Church of Santo Tomás de Abiquiú, Volume 1, page 67

I haven’t retrieved the microfilm original marriage record but the index for that record from Family Search shows that the parents for both Francisco Marquez and for his wife are recorded on the original document from the Church of Santo Tomás de Abiquiú.

Source: “New Mexico Marriages, 1751-1918,” database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:FDPW-LTL : 12 December 2014), Francisco Marques and Maria Barbara Manzanares, 22 Nov 1807; citing Santo Tomás Apóstol, Abiquiu, Rio Arriba, New Mexico, reference ; FHL microfilm 16,621.

Dolores Trujillo’s baptism record shows that she is the daughter of Antonio Trujillo and Margarita (no surname) and that they are Indians from the pueblo

Maria Dolores, bap 19 July 1760; d/ Antonio Trujillo & Margarita (n.s.); gf/ Antonio Valdes. Indians of this Pueblo

Source:  New Mexico Baptisms – Church of Santo Tomás de Abiquiú, Volume 1, page 9

Juan Crisostomo Artiaga and Maria Savina Estrada – 2nd Great Grandparents

Juan Artiaga was born the 26th of January 1844 in Polvadera, New Mexico (according to his military records).  He was baptized on the 28th of January 1844 at Nuestra Señora de Belen.  His parents are listed as Jose Artiaga and Maria Antonia Chaves.  His paternal grandparents are Gregorio Arteaga and Juana Trinidad Baca.  His maternal grandparents Enrique Duran y Chaves and Maria Micaela Baca.

New Mexico Baptisms – Our Lady of Belen – page 307

In 1850, he is listed in the town of Valencia, in Valencia County, NM.  He is 10 years old (he was really only 6) and living with his parents and two siblings (Manuel, age 4, and Josefa, age 1).  He was the middle child of at least ten known children.

By July of 1861, Juan Artiaga was 18 years old when he enlisted the Union Army for a 3-year tour of duty.  He served in both Company H and D of the 2nd New Mexico Infantry and then Company A of the 1st New Mexico Cavalry. (Juan’s initial enlistment records say he was 18 but his discharge record just 3 years later say he was 25).    From the book, “New Mexico Civil War Soldiers,” I found this information about his regiment:

Juan stayed with Company A of the 1st New Mexico Cavalry through the end of his enlistment and mustered out at Fort Stanton on 31 July 1864.  His service record for 1863 through 1864 shows that he traveled all over New Mexico tending and escorting the beef herd and the horses.

I have not been able to determine anything about what happened with Juan between July 1864 and July 1870.  Those 6 years are important because I believe that he married and had at least one child, Manuel Artiaga.  Manuel lived in Lincoln County and married Eliza Miller.  Rebecca Artiaga Silva was very close to his family which makes me believe that he was her half-brother.

In 1870, he is found in Las Vegas, San Miguel, NM with his parents.  He is 26 years old and working as a farm laborer.  By the end of that year he has met and married Maria Savina Estrada (14 years old) at Saint Joseph Catholic Church in Anton Chico, New Mexico which is only 30 miles south of his parent’s home in Las Vegas.  The rough translation of their marriage record reads:

16th December 1870, Married Juan Artiaga, legitimate son of Jesus Artiaga and Maria Antonia Chaves of Las Vegas with Maria Sabina Estrada, legitimate daughter of Luciano Estrada and Maria Estefana Casias, of Chaperito.  Witnesses:  Carlos Martinez y Carlota Leger

I recently found a baptism record for a child of Juan and Sabina.  His name was Luciano and he was born on the 8th of January 1879 in Los Torres, New Mexico.  He was baptized in Chaperito.  He must have died because he is not listed with his parents in the 1880 census.

Sabina and Juan are listed together in Lincoln County in the 1880 Census on the Sais Ranch, which was enumerated as a separate community.  Sabina was said to be 27 but she was actually 23.  Juan was 38.  I have no idea where that was in the county, so if any of you readers have any information on that, I would love to hear it.  Savina was early in her pregnancy with their second child at the time of this census because Rebecca was born in February of 1881 at what is locally known as the Phil Richardson Ranch.  (According to what my cousin, Janice Silva Burris has told me, this seems to be very close to the Stutz homestead pictured below – maybe one of you readers might know).

At this point, Juan Artiaga disappears from the story.  I have searched and searched and have not been able to find any record of him after the 1880 Census.  The 1885 Census shows Sabina living with a man of Swiss heritage by the name of Henry Stutz.  Henry arrived in New York from Switzerland in 1874.  In the census, Henry is 33, Savina 28, Rebecca 4, and Mary is 1.  Mary’s baptism/birth record from 1883

Source: https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CSQY-VF1Q?i=48&cat=385848 – Santa Rita Church Record images

lists her as Maria Concepcion Estrada with no father listed, but Maria goes through life with the Stutz name and she eventually marries Roberto Swan.  The two facts:  Mary’s birth record in 1883 showing her as the “natural” child of Sabina and also the 1885 census showing Sabina living with Henry Stutz, implies that Juan died or left about 1881-1882.

Henry Stutz was known to be a very good step-father to Rebecca.  He cared for the family very well and I am told by my cousin, Frank Silva that his father, Trankie Silva wrote fondly of some of the food preservation skills that Rebecca learned from her step-father.  He taught them how to make saurkraut, chow chow, preserves, butter, german beer, cure pork, salt bacon, ham and jerky.

Henry Stutz

Savina and Henry lived together for the rest of their lives and had three more daughters together; Dora, Margarita (married Francisco Fresquez Vigil) and Anita (married Panteleon Torres).  They finally married the 20th of May 1902 after all off their children were born.  Saturnino Baca and his wife, Juana Chaves were the padrinos at their wedding.  The fact that Savina and Henry lived together for more than 17 years before they married always seemed strange to me.  I have wondered if maybe Juan Artiaga left Savina and maybe she did not know if he died or where he was, so therefore; maybe she had to wait to marry.  Again, if anyone has anymore information on this, please let me know.

Source:  https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CSQY-G24J?mode=g&i=98&cat=385848 – Santa Rita Church Records.  Henry’s parents given as Solomon Stutz and Dorothy Guerin. Savina’s parents given as Luciano Estrada (deceased) and Estefana Marquez (Casias)

Henry and Savina had two homesteads.  One on the south side of the main road near Nogal.  The other is where my Uncle Trankie Silva built his home and where his widow, Nora Mackey Silva and their children still live today.

I don’t know the exact date of Sabina’s death, but I found this small newspaper announcement in the Carrizozo newpaper on the 17th of June 1910.  It says that Annie (Anita) Stutz was ill with Typhoid Fever and that her mother had died recently.  Henry Stutz passed away in late March of 1931 at the Silva Ranch.  After reading this blog, my friend and fellow genealogist, Michael Horne, sent me a copy of Henry’s obituary from the Alamogordo Daily News.  Thank you Michael!  It gives so much information about Henry that I never heard before – it’s especially exciting to find out that he was a friend of Billy the Kid.

From The Alamogordo Daily News 2 April 1931 – courtesy of Michael Horne

 

 

“So are you savvy with all that DNA stuff?”

I was just asked that very question the other day.  I’m proud to say, “Why yes, I think I am.”  I’m the first to admit that I don’t know everything, and I needed a bunch of help figuring it out, but I’m pretty satisfied with where I’m at with it right now.   The science still baffles me but the strategies of finding a common ancestor and analyzing matches is getting much easier.

I got both my mother and my father’s DNA into the Ancestry database right at the very beginning of this DNA revolution.  Then I had mine done, my first cousin did hers and I convinced my Uncle on the Silva side to let me do his so we would have Y-DNA to compare with other New Mexican Silvas.  Hopefully, one day we will be able to determine through his DNA who our first Silva male was that made it to Nueva España from Spain.

I have now helped three different DNA cousins find one or both of their birth parents  by analyzing their DNA matches.  I have connected a hundred or more cousins to my tree using common matches and persistent, pain-staking, nerve-wracking, diligence.  In a couple of cases it took months and a bunch of very late nights, but I finally figured it out.

If you have your DNA on Ancestry, I have a few suggestions to help you and others get the most out of the experience.  Whether your goal is to find cousins, build out your tree, have your DNA added to the global community for future research, find parents, or just to get help finding your heritage.  These suggestions should help but they are also my opinion and if you disagree, I understand –

• Before you submit your DNA – start a tree on Ancestry.  If you don’t have a tree, other researchers have nothing to work with.  Remember, you WANT them to find you.  It can help you with your research goals.  It doesn’t have to be a huge tree but try your best to at least include your parents, grandparents and great-grandparents if you can.
• Make your tree public. Contacting the tree owner for information works great if it is a limited question but sometimes, as I said, it takes months of careful analysis to come to a connection.  If you don’t have full day and night access to someone else’s tree, it’s nearly impossible.  I totally understand wanting to keep your information private.  Many other researchers have told me that they have worked so hard on their information and they don’t want hobbyists to just take the info and not have to do the work.  Or take the work and then make big genealogical mistakes that stay in cyberspace for an eternity.  That is so valid!!  I have more than 20,000 people in my tree and it has taken 13 years of very hard work.  I don’t like my pictures stolen without attribution.  But I keep my tree public because I want it out there to help other researchers.  If I have wrong information, I LOVE it when someone tells me and I try to correct it immediately.  I try to respond to all my email and be a good steward for the sake of history.
• Understand what you are looking for in someone else’s tree to make a cousin match.  You are looking for a common set of grandparents (great, 2nd great, 3rd great…).  That means you should be able to find a person in the other person’s tree that is absolutely one of your grandparents (great, 2nd, 3rd…).  Think of it this way.  If you are on the phone explaining the match to someone else.  You should be able to say, “Thomas and Mary Somerhalder” are my 3rd great-grandperents and they are also your 3rd great-grandparents.  That means we are 4th cousins.  If it turns out that Thomas and Mary are your 3rd Great Grandparents and they are the other person’s 5th Great Grandparents, that’s ok too.  It just means you are 4th cousins 2x removed.
• I can’t tell you how many times I have corresponded with folks that say something like, “such and such was married to such and such”.  “We are related through her husband”.  That is possible BUT remember you are looking for bloodline relationships.  It’s very easy to get turned around and get lost in the hunt.
• Know who YOUR 1st cousins are and who your PARENT’s 1st cousins are before you start if you can.  I know this isn’t always easy because you are talking about living people.  Google searches, Facebook and social media can help you find out more about your living relatives.  It feels a little snoopy but if the pages are public maybe they are looking for you too.
• If you are adopted, bless your heart, it can be complicated but don’t give up.  The trick is to find common last names among multiple DNA matches.  Then use the “in common with” feature to see who is related to who and who they are NOT related to.  Sometimes you have to ask a person if they are willing to share their matches with you.  As it was with one of my cousins, it could come down to the fact that one of his close matches didn’t match me very closely at all.  From that one piece of information we were able deduce who his grandmother was and then make a very good determination of who his father was.

Please contact me if you have questions or need help.  My contact information is available if you click on my photograph to the left.

Juan Andres Silva and Petra Ballejos – 2nd Great Grandparents

Juan Andres Silva and his wife Petra Ballejos – photo taken about 1906.  Thank you Uncle Sonny Silva for giving it to me.  It is precious and I promise it’s in good hands.

Juan Andres Silva was born 1839 in Tome, New Mexico.  He was the second child of Jose Enrique Silva and Ana Maria Josefa Baca.  At 9 days old he was baptized at the Purisima Concepcíon Catholic Church in Tome.  I was thrilled to find that his baptism record gives the names of his parents AND his grandparents!  As a researcher, trying to go back one more generation is sometimes next to impossible.  Finding this record was like finding the Holy Grail.  His parents are listed as Enrique Silva and Maria Baca.  His paternal grandparents were Antonio Silva and Maria Antonia Baca.  His maternal grandparents were Don Estevan Baca and Doña Rafaela Pino.

Purisima Concepcíon Catholic Church -Tome, NM

Juan (Jose) Andres Silba – Baptism record

Petra Ballejos was born in 1853 in Cebolleta, New Mexico.  She was baptized at San José de la Laguna Catholic mission.   Her extracted baptism record also reveals the names of both parents and grandparents and reads as follows:

BALLEJOS, Ma. Petra, Bap 9 Jun 1853, age; 1 month old, legitimate d/o Jose Ma. Ballejos and Ma. Francisca Jaramillo, res not listed, Paternal GPs; Jose Toribio Ballejos and Guadalaupe Pino, Maternal GPs; Manuel Jaramillo and Lorensa Aragon, GP:  Jose Narciso Pino and Ma. Barbara Jaramillo.  Off: Rafael Chaves.  Film No. 23, Frame 78, Page 327

I am still perplexed as to how Juan Andres met Petra Ballejos.  Cebolleta is 69 miles from Tome!!  I’m going to go out on a limb and make an assumption that they met when Juan Andres served in the Union Army during the Civil War.  I have been surprised at the distances the Army traveled during that time.  I digress, but another long-distance union is between Savina Estrada and Juana Artiaga (Rebecca Artiaga Silva’s parents) – he was born in Polvadera and she was from Anton Chico – about 150 miles.

Juan Andres enlisted in the Union Army at Albuquerque in July 1861 when he was 21 years old.  He mustered in with Otero’s (Volunteers) 2nd New Mexico Infantry.   Juan Andres’ company participated along with all the other companies of the 2nd New Mexico Infantry at the Battle of Valverde in February of 1862.  Click the link below for more information about the battle.

 

Battle of Valverde

Juan’s records show that he earned extra duty pay by working as a hospital attendant in January and February 1862.  So I can picture him helping to tend the wounded during the battle and that makes me very proud of my great, great grandfather.  He mustered out in May of 1862 in Santa Fe – Company D and then A of the 2nd New Mexico Infantry.  Here are a couple of links to his military record from Fold3.com.  It is a paid subscription site, so I’m not sure if they will open if you are not a member.  Give it a try by clicking the links below:

Juan Andres Enlistment Record

Juan Andres Muster Out Record

After his Army enlistment, Juan and Petra married in the town of Cebolleta.  Their marriage record reads as follows:

Jan 11, 1866. Jose Andres Sylva, res not given, the s/o Jose Enrique Sylva and Maria Baca married Petra BALLEJOS,res of Cubero the d/o Jose Maria Ballejos and mother not shown. Test: Cruz Jaramillo and Rafaela Mason. Roll 9, Page 89, Frame 47.

They made their first home a short distance away in Cubero and were living there in 1870 with their first child, Margarito but by 1873, the little family must have made the long trip to Lincoln County.  Their second child, a daughter, Eduvigen was born at Fort Stanton in Lincoln County.  Petra gave birth to five more children but two of them,  Susanna and Rafael must have died young because they are not with the family in the 1885 census.

I believe the family first lived just east of the town of Capitan, on Salado Creek, near the current day highway because their homestead was granted there in 1900.  It was quite common for families to live on a property for several years before the land grant became official.  At some time close to 1900, Juan Andres and Petra moved to Enrique and Rebecca’s ranch in the Tucson mountains.  According to one of my Silva cousins, Juan Andres began the building of the Silva Ranch house and Enrique completed it.

In 1907, Juan Andres was found deceased by a passerby with his horse nearby.  It is likely that he died of heart failure at the age of 67.  Here is the Carrizozo newspaper article from The Outlook – 2 Feb 1907:

Petra received Juan Andres’ Widow’s pension from his military service and was cared for by her children who all settled in the Tucson Mountain area.  She passed away 10 years after Juan in 1917.  They are both buried at the Silva Cemetery.  Juan has a military headstone.

 

Forgotten Young Man

My plan over the next few days is to begin going back one more generation.  This is where genealogy begins to get boring for a lot of people.  I promise to try and keep it interesting with little tidbits like newspaper articles and photographs, etc.  But before I start our journey into the past, I want to talk about a forgotten member of the Silva family.  He is so forgotten that I hardly have any information at all.  I was telling my friend that it seems the normal folks in families and histories just get slight mentions.  “She was kind”, “He was a hard worker”, “She was a great mother”… and so on.  The ones that really get your attention and the ones you really remember are the ones that are notorious.  The scoundrels, the outrageous, or the ones that died tragically.  Sad but true.  I hope that my writing can bring these long-passed ancestors to light in a way that is interesting and that you will remember them.  Even if they are not all “notorious”.

So here’s what I know about my Grandfather Fred’s older brother, Juan Andres Silva.  He was born March 24, 1905 and was the 4th child of Enrique and Rebecca.  He was named after his grandfather Silva and from what I can tell from the two pictures I have of him; he was probably the MOST handsome of the Silva boys (next to my Papo, of course).

Juan and Fred Silva

I can only assume that Juan grew up on the ranch, working hard like his parents and all his brothers and sisters.  I also assume that by the end of the week, the young men and women were ready to socialize.  In those days and in that part of New Mexico, that would mean a ride into town to go to a dance or to the bar.  Such was the case on the night of August 19, 1928.  Juan Silva was returning back home to the ranch when he was attacked by Salomon Maes.  His death certificate reads, “Cause of death: being struck on the head with a rock with homicidal intent.”  Think about that for a minute.  It’s very easy to move right past the birth and death dates in a genealogy report, thinking, “Oh, poor thing, he died so young.”  It happened so long ago and there is so little information about the incident.  Questions that come to mind for me are, Why? Was there a jealous fight over a girl?  Who was Salomon Maes and what happened to him?  My aunt Sylvia pointed out the spot on the road, west of Lincoln, where the murder happened.  You can still see the location today.  There is a giant boulder on the south side of the road that I think has graffiti on it now.  According to my aunt; Salomon and some others hid behind the boulder and waited for Juan to pass.  Then they ambushed him.  This is a seriously awful story.  I wish it had not happened and I wish that Juan had had the chance to grow up and get married and have kids like all the rest of the Silva family.  I wish he were pictured with the rest of his brothers and sisters in that beautiful family portrait that I posted earlier.  We would be saying, “Look at those EIGHT Silva men, aren’t they handsome?”.   “Let me tell you about my grandpa.”  I just wanted to make sure that someone said something about Juan since he doesn’t have any direct descendants to tell his story.

Rest in peace great-uncle Juan.  You were very loved.

“La Gloria y La Capilla de San Isidro” The Silva Cemetery and The Peralta Ranch Chapel

High atop the Tucson Mountain in Capitan, there is a beautiful ranch cemetery named, “La Gloria”.  It is also known as The Silva Cemetery.  Since the late 1800’s, the Silva and Peralta families and their extended families have buried their loved ones among their ancestors.  The cemetery is difficult to get to, but if you ever go there it is well worth the trip.  Access to the cemetery is through private property, so don’t try it on your own.  There is still family in Lincoln County who can help you.  It is seriously one of the most beautiful and peaceful spots on earth.  With the slight cool breeze and the awesome silence and beauty surrounding you, you feel the need to whisper.  In the distance, you are able to see the snow-capped White Mountain of Ruidoso and a 360 degree view of the most gorgeous landscape imaginable.  I honestly feel closer to heaven when I am there.  My husband and I have even talked about wanting to make it our final resting place.

I am told that the cemetery is accessible from the east (The Peralta Ranch), the west (The Silva Ranch) and the south (Tranky Silva’s Ranch) of Tucson Mountain.  My mind goes back in time and it is very hard to imagine what it must have been like to walk, or ride a horse and take a wagon that distance on a dirt path up to the very top of the mountain for a funeral.

Click the link below to be directed to Google Maps

The Silva Cemetery

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Peralta Ranch Chapel- “La Capilla de San Isidro”

The Peralta Ranch Chapel is located on the east side of Tucson Mountain and is on Peralta family private property.  In days long past, both the Silva and Peralta families held Catholic mass there.  For a long time, the area did not have their own priest, so a priest would travel long distances stopping at each locality to perform the sacraments of baptism, confirmation, Eucharist, penance, annointing of the sick and matrimony.

My mother remembers that as a child, they would go to the church on May 15th for the Fiesta de San Isidro (the patron saint of farm laborers).  They would walk around the church singing and carrying a statue of the saint.  My cousin, Isidro Peralta, who still lives at the ranch, was born on May 15th and is named after Saint Isidro.

Uncle Sonny in front of chapel

Mom and Uncle Sonny at La Capillita

 

 

Maternal Great-Grandparents– Benigno Peralta Gallegos and Estefana Pino

The birth and parentage of my great-grandfather Benigno was one of my biggest genealogical research challenges.  My mother hesitantly told me right from the beginning that her grandfather’s father was unknown.  He was illegitimate and that there would just have to be a gap in our family tree.  Every record I found seemed to bear that out, as his marriage record did not list his parents and census records only showed him in the household of his mother and step-father, Natividad Peralta and Jesus Bonifacio Flores.  I was disappointed but persistent.  I literally badgered my mother until I got the true story.  She finally just blurted it out.  Apparently, everyone knew who his father was, they just didn’t want to be the one to tell the story.   Since all the parties involved were long dead; she decided it was time to bring the facts to light.  Benigno’s father was actually Natividad’s sister’s husband.  How difficult that must have been for him and for the family.  Benigno’s birth record reads as follows:

  “In this Church of El Manzano, on the 17th of February of 1887, baptized Benino Peralta, 7 days old son of Natividad Peralta, from Punta de Agua. Padrinos, Jesus Maria Chavez and Victoria Chavez”.

At some point, probably soon after he was born, the decision was made to give Benigno his grandmother’s last name of Gallegos.  He went on to have a very close relationship with his Flores half-siblings who lived closer to Albuquerque in Chilili.  He also was very close with his Peralta family.  Demecio Peralta, who married Francisquita “Kika” Silva, was Benigno’s second cousin.  Their ranch was just on the east side of the Tucson Mountain from the Silva Ranch and also still exists today in the care of the Peralta descendents.

The church in Manzano, NM where Benigno was baptized

Estefana Pino was born on Christmas Day of 1888 at La Sierrita and was baptized at Rancho Antonio Torres in Lincoln county.  She was the daughter of Prescilliano Pino and Donaciana Chaves.  Estefena had a little brother, Gregorio and a little sister, Carmelita but her life would be marked with tragedy beginning at a young age when her sister died at age 2.  Then her mother passed away suddenly when she was about 15.  Her father remarried but it must have been hard to lose her mom so young.  In 1905, at age 16, she and Benigno were married in Carrizozo.

Estefena with her mom and dad, sister and brother in 1896

The young couple made their first home in the mining boom-town of White Oaks, NM which was about 10 miles north of Carrizozo.  The family is enumerated in White Oaks in both the 1910 and 1920 censuses and Benigno is listed as a farmer.  He and Estefena had seven children:  Donaciana, Nellie, Dorothy, Edward, Julia, Joe and Virginia.  The first five children were born in White Oaks, but in March of 1920, Benigno was granted a homestead and the family moved to the ranch on the flats at the foot of Vera Cruz Mountain just east of Carrizozo.  The ranch was walking distance from Estefana’s brother Gregorio’s ranch (his wife was Reymunda Silva).  The two families were very close and the cousins grew up like siblings.  Ranching was hard work and raising a family in that isolated environment must have been challenging.  The nearest town was 7 miles away but trips to White Oaks, Nogal, Capitan, Lincoln and La Sierrita were made regularly by horse and buckboard.  Fresh water was drawn from a well.  Butter was made in a churn.  Cows, goats and chickens needed tending.  I can’t even imagine doing laundry without machines or keeping oil lamps filled and cleaned for light.  In this environment, the family thrived and Estefana is described by the family in the sweetest, kindest terms.  She tatted and crocheted.  She loved knick knacks and flowers.  Her yard was filled with beautiful rose bushes.

Louis Lalonde and Benigno

Benigno and Estefena about 1914

Donaciana, Benigno & Estefena

Donaciana, Nellie, Dorothy and Edward

 

Tragedy struck Estefena’s family again on the 12th of July, 1925.  Her  10-year-old son, Edward and her 15-year-old half brother, Pablo were both struck and killed by lightening while they were out walking the fence line on the ranch.  I cannot imagine the heartache for the whole family.  Their oldest daughter, Donaciana, was the victim of a terrible incident perpetrated against her when she was about 20 years old at a local dance.  Her drink was spiked with a fertility drug used by the cattle ranchers.  It made her crazy and she never recovered.  She eventually was moved to the New Mexico State Mental Hospital at Las Vegas where she passed away at age 34.

Donaciana and Virginia

  Donaciana and little sister, Virginia    

 

The letter was left at the home of one of her children and wasn’t found until several months after death.

 

 

 

 

 

The Abandoned Indian Child and The Priest Who Fell in Love

Anyone who does family research is confronted with the stories that are handed down through the generations. Here are two stories from my Mother’s family history.

Petra Ballejos Silva

Rebecca Artiaga Silva

One story is that my great-grandmother was abandoned in the forest by her tribe after an Indian raid on the settlers. Our family took her in and raised her as one of their own. When I questioned my mother for more details, she said the child’s name was Petra. This was before I learned that my 2nd Great Grandma was Petra Ballejos. I knew from the pictures that Mama Rebecca looked very Indian, so of course that convinced me that the stories must be true. I searched and searched all the census records looking for any clue of a Rebecca or Petra living in a family where it appeared she was adopted. No luck. I did begin to put the genealogical pieces together though, for both her family and Petra’s family. When I finally got a photo of Petra (Rebecca’s mother-in-law), I was blown away. She looked even more Indian than Rebecca! Again, I was convinced that the story must be true. So I kept bouncing back and forth between what I was told through family folklore and the true facts that unfolded in the records. Baptismal records for both women were very specific about when they were born, their parentage and even grand-parentage. They were both descendants from hispanic families with documented lineages.  So where was my “abandoned Indian child” ancestor?

Here’s my somewhat educated explanation.  As I mentioned in an earlier post, the Spanish settlers mixed with the native population over time but that’s not the entire story.  In general, my understanding is that the soldiers and Spaniards who came to settle in Nueva España were from families that held their pure Spanish lineage as quite important.  By settling the new lands for their king, they were rewarded with land and titles.  Mixing with the native indian population, especially in the early years, was not something that was easily and openly accepted among the settlers or the church that held an even more powerful position than the Spanish officials chosen to govern the new settlements.  Before I began my research, I had never heard the term, “Genizaro”.  It came as a shock to me that in the early days of the Santa Fe settlement, many Indian tribes had slaves.  They were the Indian women and children that had been left behind by other tribes during battle. These Indians were traded to the Spaniards just like any other commodity.  These were the genizaros.  I’m sure the Spaniards had a moral dilemma about this but they were commanded by the church and by their king to bring Catholicism to the natives.  They also needed workers and servants.  These genizaros were a  marginalized group within the Spanish homes and society.  They were taught Spanish ways, raised in the church and expected to entirely give up being Indian but still remained a separate, much lower class.    It is my belief that the folklore of “abandoned Indian children” came from this early practice and not specifically about my two great-grandmothers.  Though it is quite obvious in the photographs and in my mother’s DNA results that the Indian blood is strong in our family.  Where exactly it comes from, and which tribe(s), I will probably never know.

Another family story that I have heard over and over again, is that one of our Silva ancestors was a priest.  He fell in love and left the priesthood to be with his sweetheart.  The couple left Spain, and in order to keep his defection from the priesthood a secret, he changed his last name from Ponce de Leon to Silva.  Some of the members from the Pino family (whose grandmother was Reymunda Silva) say that there were priest robes hanging in a closet on the ranch and that as children they were not allowed to touch them.

Much research time has gone into trying to prove this story true or false but again to no avail.  One very interesting thing that came up in my research is that my 5th great-grandfather, Santiago Ramon de Santa Maria Silba who was born in 1749 in Santa Eulalia, Mexico, was married to Maria Josefa Ponce de Leon in the Nuestra Señor de Guadalupe Catholic Church in Paso del Norte in 1771.  Shortly after their marriage they traveled to Picuris (near Taos) to make their home in New Mexico.  There is still no indication that he or his father or any of his descendents were ever priests, but the research continues.

Paternal Great-Grandparents – Enrique Silva and Rebecca Artiaga

 

Jose Enrique Silva was the son of Juan Andres Silva and Petra Ballejos.  He was born in 1874 at Rio Bonito in Lincoln County, New Mexico.  Rebecca was born in February 1881 in Nogal.  In the 1880 and 1885 censuses, Enrique’s Silva family is enumerated in the town of Lincoln.  Rebecca was the daughter of Juan Artiaga and Sabina Estrada but her dad was not around in 1885.  I’m sure he died but can’t find the record.  Her mom married Henry Stutz and she was raised by him.  The Stutz family was also in Lincoln in 1885.  By the time of Enrique and Rebecca’s marriage in June of 1898, they were all living in the Tucson mountains, presumably at the Silva Ranch.

Baptism- Rebecca

Baptism- Enrique

The couple were married at the Santa Rita Catholic Church in Carrizozo.  A rough translation of the marriage record says:  On the 20th day of June in 1898, after the diligencias (marriage investigation done by the priest to determine if the couple was too closely blood related) was done and one bann (announcement during mass of the pending marriage) and then two more banns, no impediments were found to prevent the marriage.  The priest performed the veiling / marriage of Enrique Silva, single, legitimate son of Juan Andres Silva and Petra Ballejos with Rebecca Artiaga, single legitimate daughter of Juan Artiaga, deceased, and Sabina Estrada;  all residents of Tucson.  Their padrinos were Saturnino Baca and Juana Chavez.  Juana Chavez was the half-sister of Juan Andres Silva and the wife of Saturnino Baca (Father of Lincoln County, commander of the 1st NM Cavalry in the Civil War fighting for the Union, member of the New Mexico Territorial Legislature, sheriff, judge and county commissioner).

After their marriage, Enrique and Rebecca went about the very hard work of raising a large family and working a large ranch to ensure their survival and to support themselves and their parents.  In 1907, Juan Andres passed away.  The couple cared for his wife on the ranch until she passed away in 1917.  The couple had 13 children. 5 girls and 8 boys.  Their first child, Susanna, passed away early and one of their sons, Juan Andres was murdered at age 22 on the way back home from a dance in town.  Enrique passed away suddenly at age 57 from pneumonia after a bout of influenza in 1932.  When he died, he left Rebecca to run the ranch and raise the 5 youngest children alone.  Of course, the older children pitched in and the Silva ranch continued to grow and prosper and still exists today.

 

 

Federico “Fred” Silva and Isidora “Dorothy” Gallegos

Fred and Dorothy Silva are my grandparents.  Fred was born 8 January 1908 in Capitan, New Mexico. Dorothy was born 25 June 1913 in Carrizozo.  They both were born on the ranches that their parents homesteaded in Lincoln County.  The old Silva ranch house still exists and is tucked away about two miles north of the highway at Indian Divide in the Tucson Mountains northwest of the town of Capitan.  It is still owned by descendants of the Silva family.  In general, the area was referred to in historical and church records as “La Sierrita” or Tucson.  The ranch house and buildings were built about 1900 by Fred’s father and mother, Enrique and Rebecca Artiaga Silva.

Dorothy’s parents were Benigno and Estefana Pino Gallegos.  She was born and raised on her family’s ranch which is about 7 miles northeast of the town of Carrizozo in the flat lands at the foot of Vera Cruz Mountain.  The ruins of the old ranch still exist and I got a chance to visit both ranches in 2013

Gallegos Ranch House

Aunt Sylvia reliving memories

Gallegos Ranch House 2013

North end of the house

Front of Silva Ranch House

La Chosa – where food was stored to keep it cool

back side of the house

Silva Ranch in 2013

Papo and Grandma both completed high school in Lincoln County and Papo went to college in Abilene.  They married on 15 September 1934 in Carrizozo and made their first home on the Silva Ranch.  They moved several times as Papo worked hard to support his growing family of five children; Sylvia, Sonny, Dorothy Jane, Joe Edward and Alphonso.  They even moved to San Francisco when WWII broke out because Grandpa’s job was in support of the war effort.  By 1945 they were back in New Mexico at Holloman Air Force Base and then finally in Alamogordo, where they made their final home.

Fred and Dorothy 1973

Front l to r: Joe Edward, Dorothy, Fred, Alphonso Back l to r: Sylvia, Sonny, Dorothy Jane

 

 

 

 

“Where did you come from?”

Being a New Mexican brings many common questions from folks who are curious.  The most frequently asked question is, “Where did you come from?”  I always found it a bit odd growing up, but then I was born in Virginia.  I suppose people did find it strange to meet a young girl with dark hair, permanently tanned complexion, and high cheekbones living in the rural south.  And then when they found out that my dad was born and raised in Virginia and my mother was from New Mexico the questions got even a bit stranger – like, “So how does your mom like living in the United States?”  Even today, in 2017, I have been asked how long it takes to get a passport to visit my family in New Mexico.  Crazy, right?

So to answer the question of where my New Mexico family came from is very simple.  Spain.  I’ve done the genealogy all the way back to the Oñate Period.  That’s the time in New Mexico history when the Spanish conquistadors crossed the Rio Grande at El Paso and traveled north into New Mexico.  They were commanded by the king of Spain to build mission churches to bring Catholicism to the natives and to colonize the new lands.  My 10th Great Grandfather, Pedro Duran y Chaves was from Valverde de Llerena, Spain and was with Oñate’s troops in 1600 in New Mexico.  My ancestors settled in Santa Fe about 1607 (for reference, the Pilgrims didn’t come to America until 1620).  In 1680, the Pueblo Indians revolted against the Spanish rule.  Many Spanish settlers were massacred and the survivors were pushed back to the garrison at El Paso del Norte to be safe.  They were not able to return to their homes until 1692.  At that point, several of my ancestors returned to Santa Fe and also to Albuquerque which was founded in 1706.  These families grew and prospered and worked hard to establish their homes.  Some of my ancestors mixed with the Native Americans.  This explains why most New Mexicans find they have Indian ancestry when they have their DNA done.  Eventually, a number of my ancestors moved from the Albuquerque and Santa Fe areas to Tome and Manzano, New Mexico in the mid to late 1700’s.  From there they came to Lincoln County.  My 3rd Great Grandfather, Jose Cayetano Chaves was in Lincoln in the 1870 census.  My 2nd Great Grandfather, Juan Andres Silva and my 3rd Great Grandfather, Pablo Pino were in Lincoln in 1873.  Interestingly, Pablo Pino’s ancestors were known to have come from the Italian coastal town of Albegna, near the French Riviera and Spain.

Back to the topic of DNA.  I had my mother’s DNA done by Ancestry.com.  She is 26% Spanish, 18% Italian, and 26% American Indian. (She also has some interesting trace amounts of DNA as well – 5% European Jewish.  More info to come in later posts about New Mexico’s Crypto-Jewish heritage)

Juan Andres Silva and his wife Petra Ballejos – photo taken about 1906

 

Juan Andres Silva, Presciliano Pino, Jose Cayetano Chavez and Pablo Pino

My Family Tree

This is my New Mexico family tree, starting with my mother.  As I move backward in time it might be helpful to be able to refer to it from time to time.  Here’s a link to my full tree that is public on Ancestry: https://www.ancestry.com/family-tree/tree/10031738/family?cfpid=-708396390

Welcome

Thank you for visiting my blog site.  I am Rebecca Somerhalder and I’m a long-time genealogy researcher.  My passion for genealogy began in 2004 when my father brought me a box of pictures and letters that my grandmother collected during her own years of family research.  I felt so blessed to have all that precious history and I wanted to share it.  That lead me to researching my full family tree, specifically my mother’s family from New Mexico.  Oh, what a winding, wonderful, enlightening road that has been.

My mother was born on her grandfather’s ranch in Carrizozo, New Mexico in 1938.  For those of you who are not familiar with New Mexico, Carrizozo is in Lincoln County.  It’s the home of Billy the Kid and the wild west lore of cowboys and Indians, railroads and saloons, boom-towns and hard scrabble ranch life.  Never in my wildest dreams did I think I would find my own history to be so exciting.

In the blog posts to come, I will tell you more about my New Mexico family, beginning with the more current generations and then moving back in time.  From time to time I hope to write about New Mexico history and genealogy related topics.  Please feel free to contact me with questions and comments and I’ll do my very best to help you in any way I can.

Photo:  Taken in 2013, driving north between Nogal and Carrizozo, New Mexico.

“I saw behind me those who had gone, and before me those who are to come. I looked back and saw my father, and his father, and all our fathers, and in front to see my son, and his son, and the sons upon sons beyond. And their eyes were my eyes.” – Richard Llewellyn