From the archive
One of my favorite aspects of ancestry research is finding a record that gives you just a little bit more than you expected.
While most Catholic church records contain somewhat “standard” information, I occasionally find one that stops me in my tracks and I just have to sit back and ponder what I just read. These are the records that speak more clearly about the way people lived and what they had to endure during colonial times. I hope you find them as fascinating as I do.
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Marriage Record
Jesus Nazareno, Ojinaga, Chihuahua
Jose Maria Bihl, 24, and Rosa Ribera, 16 (daughter of Jorge Ribera and Dolores Estrada). Bihl’s mother and father were captured Lipan Apaches when he was a small child.
Death Record
Jesus Nazareno, Presidio del Norte, Chihuahua
Record describes Mescalero Apaches, one of whom was named Joseph, who killed three Lipan Apaches and captured a 2-year-old Yndia. These particular Mescaleros were more than likely working alongside the Spanish as “Yndios volantes” that made up part of the defense of the area in return for food and security, and had most likely been converted to Catholicism. It notes that the Lipan Apaches died without being baptized.
Marriage Record
Jesus Nazareno, Ojinaga, Chihuahua
Guillermo Russell, 26, and Tomasa Rodriguez, 22. Parents: Robert Russell, Elizabeth Todd; Dario Rodriguez, Lucia Baeza. What prompted this family to move to this area from the state of Kentucky? Perhaps something to do with the end of the Civil War in the U.S.?
Burial Record
Santa Cruz del Rosario, Valle del Rosario, Chihuahua
This is a record of some bones belonging to Casimiro del Portillo, Español, being buried in the church. He was apparently killed by Indians at a nearby camp. He was married to Juana Maria Molina.
Death Record
Presidio del Norte, Chihuahua
Multiple deaths including Capitán Juan Francisco Granados and Fray Francisco Buenavida, along with 3 other unnamed soldiers from a company unknown. They were all killed at the hands of the Comanches in an area called La Vega near the Pecos River. Granados and Buenavida were buried there; it is not known if the other three were buried or just left for dead. This was certified on August 4, 1819 by Eusebio Galindo, military chaplain of the San Carlos company.
Death Record
Jesus Nazareno, Ojinaga, Chihuahua
At 10am on May 27th, Francisca Villa, widow, died at the age of 124. While it is unlikely that she actually reached that age, it’s safe to say she was probably very old. It was not unusual to lose track of birthdates and age for many people, especially the elderly, during these times.
Burial Record
Santa Cruz del Rosario, Valle del Rosario, Chihuahua
Record of my 5th great-grandfather, Pablo Quintana (actually Pablo Quintanilla), who was killed by Indians in La Hoya. He was married to Maria del Rayo Armendaris (after the death of his first wife, my 5th great-grandmother, Maria de la O Melendes). He left many children behind at El Rancho de San Juan de los Quintanas.
Baptism Record
San Jose, Hidalgo del Parral, Chihuahua
Record indicating a black woman named Luzia, a slave from the nation of Angola, Africa and a slave of Sebastian Montenegro, being baptized. This is one of many records indicating the slave trade and the forced conversion to Catholicism that occurred throughout the history of colonial Mexico.