Alonso de Baca (abt. 1590 - after 1662) Alonso de Baca was the father of our ancestor, Cristóbal de Baca [abt. 1635-1697].  Cristóbal’s mother is unknown. We know this from the well-documented source, Origins of New Mexico Families, by Fray Angélico Chávez, pp. 9-11. Alonso was born in Mexico City, Mexico [then New Spain], about 1590.  He was the son of another Cristóbal de Baca and Ana Ortiz. His father was a soldier. In 1600, the entire family signed on as colonists to reinforce the new Kingdom of New Mexico of Governor Juan de Oñate, with his father to serve as a soldier enroute to and in New Mexico.  The young Alonso, three grown sisters, and his older brother Antonio de Baca, were the de Baca children.  Alonso was eight or nine at the time the family headed north across the desert terrain.  They arrived in San Gabriel del Yunque, then the capital of New Mexico, on 24 December 1600, when New Mexico is usually gripped by a frigid winter.  The Christmas of 1600 must have been exciting.  The 1598 colonists would have appreciated the added numbers of soldiers and colonists for safety reasons, and the newcomers would have been happy to mark the end of their journey. Among our other ancestors in the 1600 reinforcement group were Simón de Abendaño, Juan de Herrera, Juan Luján, Francisca Jiménez, Gerónimo Márquez, Bartolomé Montoya, María de Zamora, Juan López Holguín, and Catalina de Villanueva.  The de Bacas would have lived in San Gabriel until 1610, when the town was mostly abandoned for the newly-created capital of Santa Fe. He would have been among the founding colonists of that city. Alonso moved south from Santa Fe to the Río Abajo District near Bernalillo at a later date, probably when that town was founded. He would have been one of the original citizens.  He probably married about this time, but we do not know the name of his wife. Like their father, both Alonso and his brother Antonio became soldiers. Both rose in the ranks early and obtained captaincies.  In 1634 Alonso led a large group of soldiers on an expedition authorized by Governor Peñalosa.  He left Santa Fe and roughly traveled along what later became the Santa Fe Trail.  He and his troops traveled to Quivira [Kansas] and reportedly were near a large river [the Missouri or the Mississippi] when they met with hostile Indians, whose attacks forced the group to retreat. [p. 20, Quest for Quivira:  Spanish Explorers on the Great Plains 1540-1820, by Thomas E. Chavez].  Alonso’s brother Antonio was more into politics than Alonso.  He was elected to the Santa Fe Cabildo [City Council] about 1640 along with some others who were inflamed over the corruption of Governor Luis Rosas and the governor’s anti-cleric stance.  A replacement, Governor Pacheco, arrived from Mexico, but when Nicolás Ortiz’ wife was found in the ex-governor’s home and pregnant by him, the governor was murdered by Ortiz and some other conspirators. The Bacas were pleased over the murder of Rosas and did their best to shelter the murderer and prevent his conviction.  As the leader of the Cabildo, Antonio was the ringleader of organizing the release of Ortiz.  The government in Mexico City saw the entire event, including the friars’ rebellion against the civil government, as sedition.  They wanted swift justice to make the point.  Governor Pacheco of New Mexico was given orders to do so. The Governor decided that the eight captains involved in the conspiracy would beexecuted.  On July 21, 1643, the eight were beheaded in the plaza at Santa Fe.  Antonio de Baca’s severed head was then nailed to the gallows.  The Governor afterward ordered fourteen more persons executed, including Alonso de Baca, but this did not come about.  Perhaps there was too much protest against all the violence.  Alonso spent time in prison but was later released.  For more on these events, see the biographies of Francisco de Salazar, Juan de Archuleta I, or Diego de Márquez.  Alonso died after 1662, when, at age seventy-two, he was still living on his rancho near Bernalillo in the Río Abajo. Little is known of his children.  Two known children are listed below. CHILDREN OF ALONSO DE BACA [1]        Cayetano de Baca, our ancestor, was named for his paternal grandfather.  He was born about 1635 in Bernalillo, Bernalillo County, New Mexico. About 1655 he married Ana Moreno de Lara.  They fled New Mexico during the Pueblo Revolt and returned in 1693.He died in 1697.  Their biographies are elsewhere in this work. [2]        Isabel de Baca was born about 1612 in Santa Fe.  She married Juan Ruiz Cáceres. Submitted by Donald Rivara, June 23, 2009. Copyright © Genealogy Trails All Rights Reserved with Full Rights Reserved for Original Contributor