"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!

1897 Obituary: Manuel Gallegos y Baca (with genealogy reports)

I found an obituary for a certain Manuel Gallegos y Baca in the 12 March 1897 issue of "The Chieftain" newspaper (Socorro, NM.)

Manuel Gallegos y Baca, of this city, died at his home last Sunday morning, and the funeral ceremony and burial took place the following day. The deceased was born at Belen, January 1st 1819, and came to Socorro in the early thirties. He was married in 1840 to Maria Quitira Garcia, who died about two years ago. They had ten chidren of whom seven survive, viz: Manuel, Fernando, Florentino, Felicitas, Juanita, Martin and Emilia, who are all married.

Source:  Obituary: Manuel Gallegos y Baca, The Chieftain (Socorro, New Mexico), 12 March 1897; online archives (http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov : accessed 30 December 2015).

You can access the obituary here.

I did a little bit of research, and was able to find some information about his and his wife's ancestry.  Below I show that ancestry through their daughter Maria Dolores Gallegos. I have particular interest in this family because one of their descendants Eloisa Stackpole married my great granduncle Ricardo Zimmerly. Click on the links below to see descendant and ancestry charts of this family.

Descendants of Manuel Gallegos

Ancestors of Maria Dolores Gallegos

Correction: My distant cousin M.W.H. pointed out on Facebook that I forgot to mention that Manuel Gallegos' grandson Herminio Torres also married a Zimmerly, my great grandaunt Gertrudes Zimmerly. This is true. I actually have him listed in the "Descendants of Manuel Gallegos" report above, but I forgot to mention him specifically in this post. Sorry! - Robert J.C. Baca, 1 January 2017.