Cristobal de Baca the Elder (abt. 1567 - after 1613) Ana Ortiz (abt. 1570 - ) Cristóbal de Baca [Vaca] and his wife, Ana Ortiz, were the parents of our ancestor, Alonso de Baca [abt. 1590-after 1662].  We know this from the well-documented work, Origins of New Mexico Families, by Fray Angélico Chávez, pp. 9-11.  We will at times refer to Cristóbal as Cristóbal de Baca the Elder to differentiate between him and his grandson and namesake who lived abt. 1635-1697. Cristóbal was the son of Juan de Vaca of the Francisco Coronado expedition of 1541 into the American Southwest. The son was born in Mexico City about 1567. Ana was born about 1570 in Mexico City and was the daughter of Francisco Pacheco and an unknown mother. Cristóbal and Ana were married about 1585. Cristóbal was a soldier, and Captain Baca and his family became part of the reinforcement group of colonists and soldiers who arrived at the then-capital of New Mexico, San Gabriel del Yunque, which lay across the Rio Grande from the San Juan Pueblo at the junction of the Chama and Rio Grande rivers.  The Bacas arrived in San Gabriel on 24 December 1600, just in time to celebrate Christmas with the poverty-stricken original settlers of 1598. In his muster papers in 1600, Cristóbal is described as the son of Juan de Vaca, born in Mexico City, of good stature, dark complexioned, well-featured, and thirty-three years of age.  He brought with him his wife, three daughters, two sons, and a female servant named Ana Verdugo, no doubt an Indian. In New Mexico our Vaca branch took to spelling their surname Baca.  One of the Vaca family later went to California, where the town of Vacaville is named for him.  The character Elfego Baca of New Mexico history is also a kinsman.  The Bacas were one of the few families who remained in San Gabriel when most of the colonists returned to New Spain in the early years of the 1600’s.  Cristóbal himself was very critical of some friars who led the desertion.  In 1603 he commanded the escort that brought four new Franciscan friars from Mexico City. That means he was gone from his family for about a year. In 1613 Cristóbal was acting as syndic for the friars.  After this he disappears from the records, but his descendants begin to fill the annals of New Mexico.  There is a De Baca County in New Mexico named for Ezekiel Cabeza de Baca, one of his descendants, who was the second state governor of New Mexico. The family name Cabeza de Vaca is derived from a title and name received by a Spanish hero in 1212, but our New Mexican family did not use the full name until the 1800’s.  Even then, it was only used by some of the Baca/Vacas.  There were several Vacas who came to the New World shortly after its discovery.  Among those in Cortés’ time were Diego de Vaca, a native of Mancilla in León; and Luis Vaca, a native of Toledo.  Either of these could have been Cayetano’s grandfather.  We are descended from three children of Cristóbal de Baca and Ana Ortiz.   CHILDREN OF CRISTÓBAL DE BACA AND ANA ORTIZ [1]        Alonso de Baca was born about 1590 in Mexico City.  He is our ancestor and his biography is elsewhere in this work.  He died after 1662, when he was living at his rancho near Bernalillo. [2]        Juana de Zamora was baptized 7 June 1592 in Mexico City.  She married Simón Pérez de Bustillo.  They were our ancestors and their biographies are elsewhere in this work. [3]        María de Villanueva [aka María Ortiz] was born about 1593 in Mexico City.  She married Simón de Abendaño, and they both died young. They are our ancestors, and their biographies are elsewhere in this work. [4]        Antonio de Baca was born in 1589 in Mexico City.  Like his brother Alonso, he was a captain in the military in Santa Fe.  He became the leader of the Santa Fe Cabildo [City Council] and was the leader of the move to find Nicolas Ortiz innocent of the murder of ex-Governor Luis Rosas in 1642.  For this, he and seven other captains were beheaded in the square at Santa Fe on 21 July 1643 for sedition. His brother Alonso barely escaped the same fate when another group of fourteen were slated to be executed.  Antonio’s head was nailed to the gallows after his execution. [5]        Isabel de Bohórquez was born about 1586 in Mexico City.  She married Pedro Durán y Chávez.  Together they created a line of prominent descendants of New Mexico. Isabel was literate, unusual for a woman of those times.  Perhaps her siblings were literate as well.  She owned an hacienda at a place called Arroyo de Tunque in the vicinity of San Felipe Pueblo. Submitted by Donald Rivara, June 23, 2009. Copyright © Genealogy Trails All Rights Reserved with Full Rights Reserved for Original Contributor