Hello,

Thank you for allowing me to join this group. I am looking forward to learning from everyone here. I've been lurking for awhile now as a visitor reading public posts and am impressed by the knowledge and research of the members here.

Even though I've researched my Texas and American ancestors for a few years I'm a novice with Mexican genealogy. I have many questions and maybe a bit of original research to contribute, also. 

I am researching families primarily in Jalisco and Guanajuato that are spread out like a wide curved paintbrush stroke from Aquascalientes southeast across Encarnación de Díaz and Lagos de Moreno through León and ending around Silao.

Surnames include (bold type indicates special interest): Gómez/Gómes, Tavares/Tabares, Pacheco, Carillo, Mena, Beloso/Veloso/Velas, Villegas, López de Lara, Padilla/Padilla de Ávila, Mezquita/Amesquita, Araisa/Araysa/Araiza, Quirós, Días/Díaz, Abrego, Sánches/Sánchez, Almaguer, Yañez, Ojeda, Hernández Ñagas, Saavedra, Mendoza, Santoyo, Santos, San Joseph, Luna y Tapía, Amador, Hernández/Hernándes/Hernándes de Aguila, Lópes/López, Chavarria, Martínez/Martín, Flores, de la Cruz, de los Reyes, Zamores/Samores, de Silva/de Silba, Medina, Espitia, Lovato/Lobato, Ximénes/Giménes/Jiménes, Espinosa/Espinoza, Gonzáles/González, Alonzo, Ortiz de Parada, Moreno, Gonzáles de Ruvalcava, Gallardo, Rodas, Balderrama/Valderrama/Gauderrama, Beserra/Becerra, Carrillo, Romo/Romo de Vivar, Macías, Baladés/Valadés, Lomelín, Ruiz de Esparza/Ruis de Esparsa, de la Cerda, de la Cerna, López de la Cerda, Báez/Báes/Váez/Vaz, Ysassi/Isassi/Ysas/Isasi, Rodrígues/Rodríguez, Ponse/Ponce/Ponze, Gutiérrez, Torres, Garnica, Cardoza/Cardosa, Cardona, Zamarripa/Samarripa, Cortéz/Cortés, Pichardo and de la Mota.

With multiple lines of descent from the following couples in the 1600's and 1700's: 

• Simón Báez and María de la Cerda
• Juan Días Toribio and Ines de Abrego
• Bartholomé de Mesquita and Luisa de Torres
• d. Juan Christoval de Luna y Tapía and Beatris Ynes
• Capitán Martín Gabadi de Navarro and da. Petronila de Moctezuma
• Diego Becerra and María Días (alias María Hurtado)

Thanks again,

Travis

A new member (NA, T) asked if anyone in the group has, or is working on this. Also whether it would be good information to upload to the website (Not my area of research but I'd say YES, please do):

I am working on a transcription of the 1669 padron of the Villa de Santa María de los Lagos, with some genealogical notes on its individuals and family groups with some references to records (marriage, baptism and dispensas). I'm only on page 11 so far so it'll be awhile before I'm finished. Ultimately my intention is to cross-reference it with the 1676 padron. Also, I'm indexing the pueblos and ranchos in the 1808 padron (with brief notes on some ranches like chain of ownership, name changes, etc.). 

Joseph Puentes

ps: just in case if you all see any Puente/Puentes/De La Puente in any of those records or Diaz too please bring them to my attention.

Hi everyone, 

I'm trying to read another document from Francisco de Covarrubias, but I can't make out what the highlighted words say. Could someone take a look and let me know what the highlighted words say? I really appreciate it. 

Estimados compañeros,

¿Alguno de ustedes tiene información que lleve a la localizaión del origen de Rodrigo de Pinedo, residente en Jerez y marido de Catalina Cid Caldera?

Agradeceré enormemente cualquier información al frespecto.

Un cordial saludo,

hfaizcorbe

In search of any Jauregui descendants that  originated in Nochistlan then carried over to Mexticacan & Cañadas Jalisco.  Ancestor Nicolas de Jauregui, from Los Yugos Cañadas, born around 1790, is who we are researching.  Married 1st wife, Petra Gomez. 2nd wife, Juana Yniguez. Searching for  maternal & paternal records for Nicolas Jauregui as his mother was recorded as Juana de Jauregui. He must have taken his mother's surname. 

When I cleaned up several generations on the Esparaza tree on Family Search to reflect the accurate relationships I was very careful to include the correct mother’s maiden name on each record which was especially important on generations with the same name, like Lope Ruiz Esparza Espinosa and Lope Ruíz de Esparza Diaz. However, the same Family Search user who had deleted the couple relationship mentioned on my previous post changed a number of the names, including some, but not all of the wives by adding long extensions like these: 

Lic. Lope Ruíz De Esparza Espinoza Sr. De Esparza de Galar y Zariquiegui 
Lic. Pedro Ruíz De Esparza Caparroso Sr. De Esparza de Galar y Zariquiegui - Lope Ruiz Esparza Espinosa’s son Martin Ruíz De Esparza Huici Sr. De Esparza de Galar y Zariquiegui - Lope Ruiz Esparza Espinosa’s father 
María de Larrasoaña Sra. Del Palacio de Zariquiegui – One of Martin Ruíz De Esparza Huici’s wives (Not Lope’s mother)

This extended version of the name was obviously taken from court documents like the example below that uses the name in the title with the added description in the Content of the summary, but this isn’t always the case. There are many court actions that only use Lope Ruiz de Esparza in both the title and Content of the court action.

LOPE RUIZ DE ESPARZA contra DOMINGO DE OSCOZ
Content: Lope Ruiz de Esparza, señor de los palacios de Esparza (Galar) y Zariquiegui, vecino de Pamplona, contra Domingo de Oscoz, residente en el barrio de Santa Engracia de Pamplona, sobre retrocesion de la venta de una viña junto al degolladero de Pamplona de Antonio de Espinosa, su primo carnal, por 47 ducados, alegando derecho de tanteo como pariente mas cercano.

My question is whether those of nobility were referred to as Lord or Lady of a domain from birth, or only after the death of the father? It doesn’t make sense to me that three generations of Esparza men who may have been alive at the same time would all be referred to as Lord of Esparza de Galar y Zariquiegui. It seems that, for genealogy purposes, using the mother’s maiden name after the paternal surname distinguishes one generation from another sufficiently. Family Search offers another area called Other Formation/Alternate Name where name variations and additional information can be added.

Anyway, I looked into what Family Search recommended for Name entry and following the guidelines changed the names back to the ones I had originally used with paternal and maternal surnames. I included Source documents that stated ONLY the name without the extended description in the title of court actions, suggested that name variations could be added under Other Formation/Alternate Name, and actually added the extended information in that section. Again, the user changed them all back to the extended names. I’m not to get into a dueling match with this user and make any more changes. Meanwhile, I’m going to a Family Search seminar in June that deals with how to maintain accuracy in trees and deal with those who are making it difficult, so I will bring up my issues then. 

Thanks for any insight that can be offered here about title and name traditions in Spain during the Middle Ages and in genealogy, in general. 

I have been doing major research online from home and my local Family History Center in an effort to ensure a more accurate ancestor tree on Family Search for the Ruiz de Esparza family that originated in the Pamplona, Spain area. I’m aware that back in 2016 there were discussions here about this family, but am sharing my experience in case there may be something new and also, in the hope someone here may be able to assist me with questions I’ve encountered. 

The most challenging issue, my main priority, was correcting the extra generation that resulted from the creation of a record for Lope Ruiz Esparza b. 1500 as the son of Lope Ruiz Esparaza Espinosa b. 1510 and Maria Caparroso b. 1533. This record presented Lope Ruiz Esparza b. 1500 as the husband of Anna Maria Díez de Eguino b. 1522 with their child Lope Ruiz de Esparza Diaz b. 1569 (who is the progenitor of the Ruiz de Esparza line in Aguascalientes, Mexico.) Obviously, the son could not have been born before the father and mother!

It was a complicated project to make the necessary corrections and I was very careful use Source documents each step of the way to ensure an accurate tree resulted with Lope Ruiz de Esparza Diaz b. 1569 being the son of Lope Ruiz Esparaza Espinosa b. 1510 and Anna Díez de Eguino b. 1522 who was mother of Lope (the younger) as the result of an additional relationship between Lope (the elder) and Anna Maria Diez de Equino. The birth years may, or may not be correct, as although there was Source documentation for the relationships, there were no specific birth years included. In some cases, there was explanation presented for the estimated years, in others there was none. Any insight, or documentation sources for birth years would be appreciated.

I read somewhere here that Lope Ruiz de Esparza Espinosa and Ana Maria Diaz de Eguino were not married. I located this reference on page 193 of Martin Leal’s Retoños de España en la Nueva Galicia, 5-3 Ruiz de Esparza 

 “Anna Díez de Eguinoa is a resident of the town of Raona in Mescoaslaalta; that Lope Ruiz de Esparza is publicly considered to be her natural son and that of Lope Ruiz de Esparza, the elder. That being free, single, and about to be married, she gave birth to the aforementioned Lope Ruiz de Esparza, the younger.”

This states they were “about to be married” so, they may or may not have ever been married, but it clearly confirms the parents of Lope Ruiz de Esparza b. 1659.

In the process of searching for the necessary Source documents I discovered the record below: 

1595 Lope Ruiz de Esparza and Isabel de Ascarraga against Juan de Espinal and Juana Salinas

Content: Lope Ruiz de Esparza, lawyer of the Royal Courts, and Isabel de Ascarraga, his wife, lords of the palaces of Esparza (Galar) and Zariquiegui, residents of Pamplona, ​​against Juan de Espinal and Juana de Salinas, his wife, residents of Pamplona, ​​regarding the scope of accounts of an arbitrary judgment in a lawsuit relating to the payment of interest on a census of 1,500 ducats subject to a house in the Pellejerias neighborhood of Pamplona.

This clearly states that in 1595 Isabel de Ascarraga was the wife of Lope Ruiz Esparza. This has to be Lope Ruiz Esparaza Espinosa (the elder) because there is another Source document that shows Lope Ruiz Esparaza (the younger) on a passenger list to the Indies in 1593. When I looked for the record of Isabel de Ascarraga I discovered that she is presented as the wife of Pedro Ruíz De Esparza y Caparroso b. 1551, son of Lope Ruiz Esparza Espinosa (the elder). 

Then I found this Source document:

1604 ISABEL DE ASCARRAGA vs. JUAN DE HUARTE AND OTHERS
Content: Isabel de Ascarraga, widow of Pedro Ruiz de Esparza, resident of Pamplona, ​​against Juan de Huarte, Barbara Ruiz de Esparza, his wife, and others, residents of Pamplona, ​​regarding the nullity of deeds of obligation and debt contracted by her husband.

It appears that Isabel was the widow of Pedro Ruiz Esparza in 1604, but at the time of the earlier 1595 court action, she was married to his father Lope Ruiz Esparza (Espinosa). Initially it seemed that her husband Pedro must have passed that year, or prior, in order for her to be remarried in 1595.  I also noted that there were numerous court actions against Pedro by siblings and family members for debt he owed. This explains why Isabel was requesting that her deceased husband’s debt be forgiven in 1604.  

In 1595 Lope Ruiz Esparza Espinoza would have been about 85, depending on the accuracy of his birth date of 1510, and Isabel would have been 48.  From I’ve read here on Nuestros Ranchos that age difference isn’t unusual in the Ruiz Esparza family, although a father marrying a son’s widow seems strange. Initially, I thought that maybe because of his advanced age and Pedro being his eldest son and heir, Lope (the elder) may have been living with Pedro and his wife at the time of Pedro’s death. Maybe it made sense for Isabel to marry her husband’s father because she was already taking care of him and it, also, may be way of getting around Pedro’s debt.

Then I saw another Source document with a 1597 court action by Pedro Ruiz de Esparza “against Juan de Huarte, servant of Lope Ruiz de Esparza and Maria de Esparza, his parents, resident of Pamplona, ​​about death threats.” Wait, if Pedro was still alive in 1597, how did his wife Isabel marry his father in 1595? 

Then I saw this court action from 1594: 

Lope Ruiz de Esparza vs. Pedro Ruiz de Esparza
Content: Lope Ruiz de Esparza, resident of Pamplona, ​​against Pedro Ruiz de Esparza, his son, lawyer of the Royal Courts, resident of Pamplona, ​​regarding payment of 11 and a half ducats, the remainder being alimony for 2 years.

“alimony for 2 years” - Did Isabel marry Lope (the elder) after she and Pedro were divorced? I didn’t think divorce was very common in the Middle Ages, especially in a Christian family. If this is the case, and Pedro was not deceased by 1595, he certainly was by 1604 when Isabel is identified as his widow. Hmmm? Maybe there was something to the death threats in the 1597 court action? 

When I added Isabel De Azcarraga as another wife of Lope Ruiz de Esparza Espinosa on Family Search using the 1595 court action document as a Source, the relationship was deleted the next day with no explanation by the same Family Search user who had created the extra generation. Is my interpretation of the 1595 court action wrong? Has anyone already unraveled this mystery? If not, does anyone have any insight into these relationships? I have another question, but will do a separate post.

Hello, all!

I am hoping to get some help with the address in the following document, please.

page 242, record 5049.  https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33SQ-GPJ1-K36

record 5220.  https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33SQ-GPJ9-JN3

I can make out house 607.  It's the street name that I can't quite make out.  Calle 44 <Something> Hidalgo.

I'm hoping to locate the nearest parish to search for baptismal records for the children of Hilario Lopez and Angela Morales.

Thank you!

Hello everyone, 

I'm hoping someone can help me translate what this document says. It's about Francisco de Covarrubias married to Isabel de Rodas. I can figure out a couple of things but was hoping someone with more experience could help me figure out what some of the words say. I attached the document. thank you!

I posted a comment on the previous topic "Lope Ruiz de Esparza 'el menor' is the 3rd cousin to St. Francisco Javier de Jasso," but since it was from 2016, I'm creating a new topic. I recently joined Nuestros Ranchos with hopes of finding more about the Esparza family that originated in Pamplona, Spain, among other challenges. I ran into Nuestros Ranchos while searching for documentation that verifies what is posted on Family Search. Does someone know whether the book mentioned by Rick A. Ricci in the previous topic has been published. If nothing else, the posts here have given me new resources to investigate. I'm happy to share anything new that I might discover, but there's so much here, I don't know whether I'll find more than what's already been shared.  

My tree created using Family Search is in my folder is at  https://nuestrosranchos.org/lambchop48, but the names and dates, especially in the Esparza branch, change each time I look because of updates and merges completed, often without source documentation other than "family" or "facts." My goal is to be able to find and use source documents with correct names and dates, so the trees on Family Search will be accurate. Thanks for any assistance that can be offered.