Jose Cortes del Castillo
(abt. 1653 - 1698)
Maria de Carvajal
(1672 - )
José Cortés del Castillo and his wife María de Carvajal were
the parents of our ancestor María
Rafaela Cortés [Cortéz][1689-?].
We know this from page 166, Origins
of New Mexico Families, Revised Edition, by Fray
Angélico Chávez.
José was the son of Pedro Cortés. In the colonist registry prepared by Velasco
while he was in Mexico City in 1693 enlisting people to re-settle New Mexico
after a thirteen-year exile following the Pueblo Revolt of 1680, José was described as a native of Puebla,
Mexico, forty years old, of medium height, with an aquiline face, large eyes,
and large forehead, and a scar under his nose. José is probably a descendant of
one of the several Cortés kinsmen involved in the conquest of Mexico,
including Hernán Cortés himself.
María was described as having been born
in Querétaro, State of Querétaro, Mexico. She was twenty-one years old and the daughter
of Ignacio de Carvajal, presumably of Querétaro. She was fair with a broad face and large
eyes. Presumably she was of pure Iberian
blood because she was fair. Because some
of the Carvajals were from Portugal,
we do not know exactly where on the Iberian Penninsula her ancestors came from.
The
couple was married in the church of
Santiago,
Querétaro, Mexico,
about 1687. They already had a daughter,
Andrea, before their marriage. By
the time they left for New Mexico
in 1693, they had two other children. The two listed children were Rafaela [our ancestor], age five, born
at San Miguel El Grande, having a round face and forehead and large eyes; and Leonisio Daniel, born in Mexico City, having large eyes and a large
forehead. Andrea was traveling to New Mexico
with the family of Juan Cortés, and
his wife, María de Ribera. Juan was thirty-six years old, son of Fernando Cortés, and born in Mexico
City. He was
likely a first cousin to José Cortés del
Castillo. These two Cortés families
were the forbears of the New Mexico Cortéz family.
On
the trip to New Mexico, the
Corteses also traveled with our Quintana, Atienza, Moreno Trujillo, and
Gutiérrez families.
José
died after only four years in New Mexico.
We have no record of María’s later life.
CHILDREN OF
JOSÉ CORTÉS DEL CASTILLO AND MARÍA DE CARVAJAL
[1] María
Rafaela Cortés was born about 1688 in San
Miguel el Grande, a town that in 1826 changed its name to San Miguel de Allende. It lies in
eastern Guanajuato, Mexico.
She was five during the journey to New Mexico
in 1693-94. She married Mateo de Mestas
about 1704. They are our ancestors. She
died between 1750 and 1763. Their
biographies are elsewhere in this work.
[2] Andrea
del Castillo was born prior to the marriage of her parents, about
1786. She was about seven when the
family left New Spain for New
Mexico. No further information.
[3] Juan
Antonio Cortés del Castillo was born about 1694, perhaps while his parents
were moving from New Spain to New
Mexico. He
married in 1720 Juana de Mata Espinosa.
[4] Dionisio
Daniel del Castillo was born about 1695 in New Mexico. On 14
September 1718, he married our aunt, Josefa Martín Serrano, daughter of Cristóbal Martín Serrano and Antonia
Moraga.
[5] Inés
del Castillo was born about 1698 in New Mexico. On 15
June 1718, she married Francisco
Jurado.
Submitted by Donald Rivara, June 23, 2009.
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