1818 list of Socorro, Nuevo Mexico Residents

As you may know, I've published a three part article in the New Mexico Genealogist about the early residents of Socorro, New Mexico. Last year I found a list of contributors to a military campaign against the Navajos that included Socorro residents. This is the earliest list known list of Socorro residents.

Recently, I've been compiling these names in my genealogy database. I've printed up an alphabetical list of the name, changing the spellings as they would be in modern day. I've also included the names of a few women named in the list. Sometimes these women would be named directly such as Barbara Varela (Barela); other times they were listed as "the spouse of" or "the widow of" a particular man. For these cases, I did my research to find out who exactly was the spouse of that particular man was.

Below is the list.

1818 List of Socorro, Nuevo Mexico Residents

Name	Date	Description/Place
ABEYTA, Diego Antonio	18 Sep 1818	Socorro, Nuevo Mexico
ABEYTA, Jose Rafael	18 Sep 1818	Socorro, Nuevo Mexico
APODACA, Rafael	18 Sep 1818	Socorro, Nuevo Mexico
ARAGON, Joaquin	18 Sep 1818	Socorro, Nuevo Mexico
ARAGON, Miguel Antonio	18 Sep 1818	Socorro, Nuevo Mexico
BACA, Dionisio Antonio	18 Sep 1818	Socorro, Nuevo Mexico
BACA, Jose Antonio	18 Sep 1818	Socorro, Nuevo Mexico
BACA, Juan Dionosio	18 Sep 1818	Socorro, Nuevo Mexico
BACA, Juan Francisco	18 Sep 1818	Socorro, Nuevo Mexico
BACA, Maria Rafaela	18 Sep 1818	Socorro, Nuevo Mexico
BENAVIDES, Antonio Jose	18 Sep 1818	Socorro, Nuevo Mexico
CARILLO, Antonio Jose	18 Sep 1818	Socorro, Nuevo Mexico
CHAVES, Juan Baptista	18 Sep 1818	Socorro, Nuevo Mexico
CHAVES, Maria Soledad	18 Sep 1818	Socorro, Nuevo Mexico
GALLEGOS, Domingo	18 Sep 1818	Socorro, Nuevo Mexico
GARCIA, Pedro	18 Sep 1818	Socorro, Nuevo Mexico
GARCIA JURADO, Francisco Xavier	18 Sep 1818	Socorro, Nuevo Mexico
GOMEZ, Maria Gertrudis	18 Sep 1818	Socorro, Nuevo Mexico
GRIEGO, Juan Antonio	18 Sep 1818	Socorro, Nuevo Mexico
GRIEGO, Vicente	18 Sep 1818	Socorro, Nuevo Mexico
GURULE, Antonio	18 Sep 1818	Socorro, Nuevo Mexico
GUTIERREZ, Jose Antonio	18 Sep 1818	Socorro, Nuevo Mexico
LOPEZ, Rafael	18 Sep 1818	Socorro, Nuevo Mexico
LOPEZ, Ramon	18 Sep 1818	Socorro, Nuevo Mexico
LUNA, Domingo Lorenzo	18 Sep 1818	Socorro, Nuevo Mexico
MALDONADO, Antonio Jose	18 Sep 1818	Socorro, Nuevo Mexico
MALDONADO, Leonicio	18 Sep 1818	Socorro, Nuevo Mexico
MALDONADO, Simon	18 Sep 1818	Socorro, Nuevo Mexico
MARTIN, Jose Maria	18 Sep 1818	Socorro, Nuevo Mexico
MOLINA, Jose Antonio	18 Sep 1818	Socorro, Nuevo Mexico
MONTOYA, Antonio	18 Sep 1818	Socorro, Nuevo Mexico
MONTOYA, Cristobal	18 Sep 1818	Socorro, Nuevo Mexico
MONTOYA, Feliciano	18 Sep 1818	Socorro, Nuevo Mexico
MONTOYA, Juan	18 Sep 1818	Socorro, Nuevo Mexico
PADILLA, Felipe	18 Sep 1818	Socorro, Nuevo Mexico
PADILLA, Jose	18 Sep 1818	Socorro, Nuevo Mexico
PADILLA, Juan Domingo	18 Sep 1818	Socorro, Nuevo Mexico
PADILLA, Lorenzo Tiburcio	18 Sep 1818	Socorro, Nuevo Mexico
PEREA, Miguel	18 Sep 1818	Socorro, Nuevo Mexico
RIVERA, Luis	18 Sep 1818	Socorro, Nuevo Mexico
ROMERO, Carlos	18 Sep 1818	Socorro, Nuevo Mexico
ROMERO, Juan Bartolome	18 Sep 1818	Socorro, Nuevo Mexico
ROMERO, Santiago	18 Sep 1818	Socorro, Nuevo Mexico
ROYBAL, Jose Manuel	18 Sep 1818	Socorro, Nuevo Mexico
SALAZAR, Christoval	18 Sep 1818	Socorro, Nuevo Mexico
SALAZAR, Juan de Jesus	18 Sep 1818	Socorro, Nuevo Mexico
SALAZAR, Tomas	18 Sep 1818	Socorro, Nuevo Mexico
SANCHEZ, Ana Maria	18 Sep 1818	Socorro, Nuevo Mexico
SANCHEZ, Diego Antonio	18 Sep 1818	Socorro, Nuevo Mexico
SAVEDRA, Jose Francisco	18 Sep 1818	Socorro, Nuevo Mexico
SERNA, Pasqual	18 Sep 1818	Socorro, Nuevo Mexico
SILVA, Maria Juliana	18 Sep 1818	Socorro, Nuevo Mexico
SILVA, Pedro Antonio	18 Sep 1818	Socorro, Nuevo Mexico
SILVA, Vicente	18 Sep 1818	Socorro, Nuevo Mexico
SISNEROS, Maria de la Luz	18 Sep 1818	Socorro, Nuevo Mexico
TAFOYA, Anselmo	18 Sep 1818	Socorro, Nuevo Mexico
TAFOYA, Juan	18 Sep 1818	Socorro, Nuevo Mexico
TRUJILLO, Barbara	18 Sep 1818	Socorro, Nuevo Mexico
TRUJILLO, Bernardo	18 Sep 1818	Socorro, Nuevo Mexico
TRUJILLO, Juan Agustin	18 Sep 1818	Socorro, Nuevo Mexico
TRUJILLO, Juan Antonio	18 Sep 1818	Socorro, Nuevo Mexico
VALDEZ, Miguel Antonio	18 Sep 1818	Socorro, Nuevo Mexico
VARELA, Babara	18 Sep 1818	Socorro, Nuevo Mexico
VIGIL, Jose Manuel	18 Sep 1818	Socorro, Nuevo Mexico

Preparer: Robert J. C. Baca

Alcalde Miguel Aragon of Socorro and Valencia

I have the day off from work on this day after Veterans Day. Often, when I have the day off and my wife doesn't, I'll do a whole bunch of genealogy research. Today, I decided to add some information into my database about the 64 Socorro residents listed in an 1818 contribution list. This is the earliest list of Socorro residents that I know of, and is a good indicator as to who were the original founders of the Socorro Land Grant.

There were a few people who I could not information about. This included the first person on the list: "El Alcalde Don Miguel Aragon." Who was Miguel Aragon, the supposed alcalde of Socorro. I entered his name in google, and found this information written down by Antoinette Duran Silva:

"While at the visitor center, I, of course, related my interest in genealogy and in the town of La Joya. I was directed to a book titled Rio Abajo Prehistory and History of a Rio Grande Province by Michael P. Marshall and Henry J. Walt, published by the New Mexico Historic Preservation Division, Santa Fe, 1984. Among the information was a statement regarding the La Joya de Sevilleta Land Grant, "In 1818 Don Miguel Aragón, alcalde mayor of Valencia, stated, "before me José Antonio Quintana and Carlos Gavaldón have requisite presentation for themselves, the first resident of the community of Sevilleta and the second of the ranchitos of the same community..." The document in question involved the transfer of land "on both sides of the river" from Sr. Quintana to Sr. Gavaldón for the sum of "one team of oxen and two cows with calves". The following year, Carlos Gavaldón requested grant title for the 68 residents of "Nuestra Señora de los Dolores de Sevilleta," and in June 1819 the grant was confirmed" (page 274)."

Of course! This made sense! The reason why I couldn't find him in Socorro is because he was actually a resident of Valencia, some 50 miles north. He was probably appointed as the alcalde (mayor) of Socorro since this little community had just been founded 2 or 3 years prior. He may have visited Socorro, and may have been there to supervise the contributions to the military campaign against the Navajos.

I have a copy of the book that Antoinette references. I now have one more fact that I can add to my research.

Source: Antoinette Duran Silva, "Reflections on My First Year of Genealogical Study" from Antoinette Duran Silva's Genealogy Homepage http://home.earthlink.net/~rasilva1/antoinetteduransilva/reflections.html, copyright (c) 1994, accessed 12 November 2012.

See also my article Robert J. C. Baca, "Early Settlers of the Socorro Land Grant: An 1818 List Part I", New Mexico Genealogist, Vol. 50 (September 2011), p 117.