My genealogy database is now lists over 17,000 people

 Hello, friends:

Today my Socorro Land Grant Project genealogy database has exceeded 17,000 names. Are you interested in finding out about your family who lived in the Socorro area? Contact me. We could share information with each other. 

I tend to do research in spurts. It helps that this weekend is my Labor Day break. 

I'll be posting this database to Ancestry.com. I suggested to everyone that you save your database online every so often in case your computer is lost or damaged and you lose your data. This uploaded database will be private, as I have a lot of projects that I'll be working on in the future. 

Happy researching!

- RJCB

 

Video Blog: Finding Philip Bourguignon's Family in Census Records

I uploaded a new video blog to YouTube: "Using New Mexico Census Records to Find Sgt. Bourguignon's Children". 

In the video, I discuss my 2nd great-grandfather Philip Bourguignon's part in history, find his family in various U.S. censuses, and follow his wife to Albuquerque to visit her son Luis, whose family was living in the Barelas neighborhood. Along the way, I add names and records to my Ancestry.com family tree.

Samuel Zimmerly's Civil War Pension Files (from index)

 Unlike my 2nd great-grandfather Philip Bourguignon, I do know my 2nd great-grandfather Samuel Zimmerly's date of death. Based on his obituary, Samuel died circa November 20, 1887. A history of the Zimmerly family states that he died on November 20, 1887, while the obituary below mentions that he died the day before the publication date of November 22, 1887.

Zimmerly was a member of Co. B, 1st Infantry, of the California Column. The obituary mentions other members of the same company including Samuel C. Meek, Joseph D. Emmerson, Richard Patterson, Councilman McCuistion, E.L. Smart, and Sam Creevy, all who were residents of the city of Socorro and its vicinity. 

Sources: 

Author Anonymous, "Zimmerly Family in Socorro for 100 Years," El Defensor Chieftain (Socorro, New Mexico) (17 November 1966). 

"Samuel Zimmerly's Obituary," obituary, p. 3, Santa Fe New Mexico, Santa Fe, New Mexico, 22 November 1887; online archives (http://0-access.newspaperarchive.com.albuq.cabq.gov/us/new-mexico/santa-fe/santa-fe-new-mexican : accessed 2 September 2026).

The pension index below shows that Samuel Zimmerly applied for an invalid Civil War pension on September 21, 1885, while his wife Paula Torres de Zimmerly applied for a widow's pension on July 18, 1889. 

Source: "U.S., Civil War Pension Index: General Index to Pension Files, 1861-1934," database, Ancestry.com (Ancestry.com: accessed 2 September 2026), Index of Invalid and Widow's pension files. Pension Requests made by Samuel and Paula Torres de Zimmerly

Philip Bourguignon's Death Date?

Until recently, I wasn't able to estimate the date that Philip Bourguignon died. However, after reviewing a pension record index, I believe that I can use this record to estimate his death date within a two-year period. 

It appears that my 2nd great-grandfather may have died between May 25, 1892, and July 14, 1894. I base it on the pension index below that shows the dates of Philip's Civil War invalid pension request and his wife Tomasita's request for a widow's pension. 

Source: "U.S., Civil War Pension Index: General Index to Pension Files, 1861-1934," database, Ancestry.com (Ancestry.com: accessed 2 September 2026), Index of Invalid and Widow's pension files. Pension Requests made by Philip and Tomasita Bourguignon.

New Video Blog: "Reflections on My Father's Baca Family"

With the passing of my Aunt Maryetta recently, I decided to do a little bit of reflection on my dad's family. My aunt was the last of her generation to pass - the last of her siblings. She only has one living Baca cousin. 

My Book "History and Families of the Socorro Land Grant, Part I" Now on Sale!

 

Hello, dear readers!

My book "History and Families of the Socorro Land Grant, Part I: The Baca Family and Their Descendants" is now on sale at Amazon.com!

After over 25 years of research, my efforts are finally realized. This book includes genealogies of 35 out of 66 founding families of the Socorro Land Grant. In the future, I will publish genealogies of the remaining families.

This is a valuable resource for family historians and the general public who are interested in families of the area of Socorro, New Mexico. Follow this link to purchase a copy of the book.

Using the Native Bound Unbound Database to Find Our Native Ancestors

 If you haven't heard of the of the "Native Bound Unbound" Project and Database, you are missing out on an important resource for New Mexico genealogy and history. As a Hispanic New Mexican, I know that my ancestry is complicated. I am descended from both Spanish enslavers and indigenous enslaved. The project's goal is to identify enslaved Native people who are not normally mentioned in historical records. Their names are out there; often they are given Spanish names rather than their original birth names. But they are out there and need to be recognized and celebrated. 

Doing a cursory review of the database, I have already found a number of my ancestors who enslaved people. And I found at least one ancestor who was once enslaved. 

I have written about Jose Tomas Candelaria before on this blog. He is my fifth great grandfather on my Grandmother Maria Teresa (Torres) Baca's side of the family. Apparently, according to my uncles, my great grandmother Juana Andrea Montoya (Teresa's mother) indicated that she was Apache. Although my research does show that she has a number of "Spanish" ancestors, her 2nd great grandfather is Jose Tomas Candelaria, a genizaro. Genizaros were de-tribalized Natives who often were captured as children and put in Spanish households. Many received their freedom as adults and often received land, usually in the outskirts of communities in order to be a buffer against raids from certain tribes. 

Jose Tomas Candelaria was listed as a "genizaro" in the 1790 Spanish census of the 4th plaza of Alburquerque. He is one of a few Candelaria people listed as genizaros, indicating that a few of these citizens were probably raised in one or more Spanish Candelaria households. In entry # 155, 20-year-old Jose Tomas Candelaria is listed with his 15-year-old mestiza wife Ana Maria Gallego. In the Spanish caste system, mestizos were people of mixed Spanish and Native parentage. 

Review an image of the actual census record as well as a translated transcription of the records. The Candelaria/Gallego household is entry # 155 on the page.

Jose Tomas Candelaria entry in the 1790 Census

Once again, this is a great resource for research. Although the transcriptions are only for the household that include Native peoples, images of the entire census are there to peruse. This is a free resource that genealogists should use.

Let us honor all of our ancestors, especially those who were silently ignored over the years. 

Book Signing and Presentation: "Baca Family Connections to the Socorro Land Grant"

 Yay! The time is nearly here. I will have my first official book signing at the Albuquerque Genealogy Center (Albuquerque Main Library), 501 Copper NW, Albuquerque, New Mexico, 2nd Floor, on November 22, 2025, between 10:30 and Noon. 

My book "History and Families of the Socorro Land Grant, Part I: The Baca Family and Their Descendants" will be on sale on Amazon.com on November 3rd. I'll put a link on this blog on that date. Retail price is $50.

I'll be reading from the book and answering questions.

I will sell and sign the book at the event for the discounted price of $40. Please bring cash or check. Cards will not be accepted.

Click on this Link to See or Print out the Flyer.

Robert's updated Ancestry.com DNA results

 

Ancestry recently updated its DNA results. I don't completely agree with the current results. The last results showed that I had about 50% Iberian Peninsula results. The current results show that I only have about 38%. I do like the Native American breakdown - it's more specific, and similar to what I had before - around 25%. The other European results confuse me though (not shown in the picture above, click on the link below.) There's a lot of Great Britain percentages: Southeastern England & Northeastern Europe, East Midlands, Northern Wales, and Central Scotland & Northern Ireland. There are also results in Denmark, Southern Germanic Europe, and Sicily. There is even some French Canada: Quebec and Acadia. There is also two separate Sephardic, and one Ashkenazi Jewish results that add up to a total of 6%.

What I know about my ancestry is that I have Spanish and Mexican ancestry. Basically, Iberian Peninsula/ Native America admixture. I also have two great-grandfathers who were from Germany and Switzerland, separately - which should be around 6% of my DNA for each of those ancestors. 

With my Iberian ancestry, there is no doubt some Jewish mixture, and possible mixture from other nearby European countries. For instance, the Pino family which is in my bloodline were from Italy. My German ancestor, Philip Bourguignon, may have also been part French, based on his surname. However, he himself identified as German and was from the Duchy of Hesse-Darmstadt. 

One last possibility: my Y-DNA results from FamilyTreeDNA are often seen as a Celtic variation. It was once known as R1b1b2 but is now known as R-M269. The Celtiberians were an ethnic group in early Iberia. I do have a few matches in my Y-DNA of people with Irish ancestry.

See my full ancestry results in the link below:

Robert's Ancesty.com DNA results

"History and Families of the Socorro Land Grant, Part I" Book Available November 3rd!

 If you follow me on Facebook, you may have learned that I'm publishing my book "History and Families of the Socorro Land Grant, Part I: The Baca Family and Their Descendants". It will be available on November 3rd on Amazon.com.

Below is an image of the proof copy of the book.

Last week I did a final edit of the book and submitted the final draft to Amazon. 

The book details the genealogies of 34 descendants of the Baca family who were among the founders of the Socorro Land Grant in 1815. These are not just people with the Baca surname, but also the Abeyta, Chaves, Gallegos, Garcia Jurado, Padilla, Sanchez, Tafoya, and Trujillo families, among others. The genealogies begin Cristobal Baca and Ana Ortiz, who arrived in New Mexico with their family in 1600, and continues another 8 generations. The descendant narratives extend into the 1800s, and in a few cases into the early 1900s. Additionally, I've included one other Baca family, the descendants of early Socorro settler Juan Dionisio Baca. He was not actually descended from the Baca family, but rather from Petronila Garcia Jurado and an unknown father. Juan Dionisio Baca was the ancestor of famed lawman Elfego Baca, New Mexico Archbishop Robert Fortune Sanchez, and many other Socorro residents.

Other sections of the book explore a brief history of the Socorro Land Grant, five-generation pedigree charts for each of my four grandparents, and a series of vignettes. These stories highlight the connections between the Torres and Baca families, the role of the Cabeza de Baca lineage in the Socorro Land Grant, the Montoya family as defenders of the grant, and the legacy of María Guadalupe Torres, a matriarch whose descendants include many prominent members of the García and Baca families of Socorro.

Lastly, within the descendant narrative, you will find transcriptions of census records, obituaries, and even short family histories. It's not just names and dates - I flesh out many of these families' stories.

The book is over 550 pages, with extensive citations, and a name index of over 3,000 people. I have been researching my family for over 25 years, which includes many founders of the land grant. You will find this book to be the most extensive Socorro Hispanic family history, and I'm just beginning! There are another 31 founders who I will profile in subsequent volumes. 

When it is released, it'll look a little different from my proof copy: it'll have a green cover! The cost is $50, which is a bargain for a genealogy like this. If you are interested in New Mexico genealogy and history, you'll find this book to be just what you are looking for!