Researching Another Baca Family for This Month's Presentation

Today, I was at the Albuquerque Special Collections Library researching for the presentation that I will be giving at the El Camino Real International Heritage Center on March 21st. As you may know, it is about a woman by the name of Maria Guadalupe Torres. She was born in 1812, and was among the re-settlers of Socorro, New Mexico in the early 1800s. She married two men, Francisco Antonio Garcia in 1825, and then Pedro Antonio Baca in 1834. She had many children with both men.

I am descended from a child of her and her first husband. They are my fourth great-grandparents.

One of the children that she had with her second husband was a man by the name of Juan Jose Baca. He owned a large home and store that still stands in Socorro. Today, I found a few census records on the man in the Ancestry.com library edition. I wish to share them with you.

Juan Jose Baca married Maria Francisca Miera on 14 February 1866 at the San Miguel Mission in Socorro, New Meixco. Logically, I decided to begin looking for this family first in the 1870 census. That is where I found them.

In the 1870 Census of Socorro, New Mexico, they are listed in dwelling 155, as family 140. Juan Jose Baca is listed as a 27 year old general merchant, with real estate worth $1,500, and personal property also at $1,500. His wife, 17 years old, was a housekeeper. Their daughter Guadalupe was 2 years old. A fifteen year old White male by the name of Crux (Baca) also lived in the house, although I'm not sure who he is. Rita (Baca), a 22 year old Indian woman, and Andres Castillo, a 23 year old White male carpenter also lived in the household. They may have been employees of the Bacas and/or borders, although I am not certain of their relationship.

The 1880 Census of Socorro, New Mexico, shows them in dwelling # 164, as family # 194. Juan Jose's parents are shown on the same page above them in dwelling # 163. This time Juan Jose is 37 years old and his wife Francisca is 30. Once again, Juan Jose is listed as a merchant. Their children as listed as: Guadalupe, 11 year old girl; Felipe, 9 year old boy; Dominicia, 7 year old girl; Salomon, 5 year old boy; Marie Isabel, 3 year old girl; and Juan Nepomuceno, 9 month old boy. In addition, Ignacio Sanches, 45, and Francisca Sanches, 30, are listed as servants.

Due to a fire, there are no 1890 census records for New Mexico.

In the 1900 Census of Socorro, New Mexico, the Juan Jose Baca household is found on two pages. First, the are on the bottom of the page, listed as dwelling # 266, family # 266. Each family members birth month and year are listed on the record, but I won't list them here. According to the record, 56 year old Juan Jose Baca, had been married to 48 year old Francisca for 34 years. She had 14 births, with only 11 children living. Their children living in the household included son Juan N., 19; son Emilio M., 17; daughter Angelina P., 15; and son Juan J., 11. The record continued on the next page.

The top of the next page of the 1900 Census shows two more of their children: daughter Pabla, 7; and son Lucas C., 6 years old. No other children or occupants are listed.

By the 1910 census of Socorro, New Mexico, it appears that Juan Jose Baca was dead. They are listed as living in dwelling 236, and are family # 270. "Francisqita Baca", 59, is the head of the household. Many of her adult children live with her - they are all listed as single. The names are hard to read, so what follows are my best guesses: Nepomuseno, 28, son; Amelio, 26, son; Agustina, 23, daughter; Juan J., Jr., 21, son; Paubla, 18 years old, daughter; Lucas, 16, son. In addition, three grandchildren are listed - all with the surname Castillo - Juan, 19; Alfonso(?), 17; and Ignacio(?), 14; all boys. All but Ignacio were born in New Mexico: Ignacio is listed as being born in Texas. There is also one servant in the household, Victorina Martinez, who was born in Texas, and whose parents were both from Texas.

In this record, Francisquita is noted as having 14 births, with only 10 children living. Apparently one died between the 1900 census and the 1910 census.

Francisca is not shown in the 1920 or 1930 censuses.

One last thing: I want to point out that although this family's last name is Baca, they are only distantly related to me - and that is through my fourth great-grandmother Maria Guadalupe Torres. This Baca family may also be distantly related to my mother's Baca family, going back to families who came here from Belen in the early 1810s. If there is any relation to my father's family, it's even more distant going back to the 1700s or even the 1600s.