The Line of Santiago

As many of you know, my name is Robert James Baca. What you might not know is that my middle name comes from my mother's father Santiago Baca. Santiago literally means "St. James" in Spanish, but is often translated as "James."

When researching my family, I noticed a trend among my ancestors. I call it the line of Santiago.

My maternal grandfather Santiago Baca was born on December 24, 1907, and died on July 19, 1961. Santiago Baca married my grandmother Maria Pablita Zimmerly in 1932.

Santiago Baca's maternal grandfather was Santiago Padilla, who was probably born in the mid 1800s, and married my 2nd great grandmother Maria Albina Trujillo in 1878.

Santiago Padilla's 2nd great grandfather was Santiago Trujillo who was married to Victoria Chaves, probably in the 1760s. He was probably born in the 1730s or 1740s.

The leap from Santiago Padilla and Santiago Trujillo is a bit large (5 generations.) As such, it's unlikely that Santiago Padilla was named after his 2nd great grandfather. However, it does appear that my grandfather was named after his grandfather. You will see that in many Hispanic families, especially those from a hundred a years ago. New Mexicans generations ago were often named after one of their grandparents.

So my middle name seems to go at least as far back as the 1800s, and possibly the 1700s. This is a neat legacy to have.

My grandparents Santiago and Pablita (Zimmerly) Baca